Ready, Set, Go! Panthers open Friday night against Braves

To state the obvious, it has been an eventful off-season for the Peninsula Panthers Junior Hockey Club!  With an ocean full of water that has already gone under the bridge in the past several months, the "Cats" are almost ready for Friday night when the curtain goes up on the 2016/17 VIJHL Regular Season.

"No doubt about it, there have been a myriad of moving parts," said General Manager Pete Zubersky as he exhaled a deep breath.  "This week is always our craziest of the year trying to get everything in place for opening night but for several different reasons this time around has been certainly more challenging than most."

Initially, there were holes to fill in the roster as four departing 20-year-olds in Ty Tremblay, Spencer Loverock, Drayson Lum and Justin Post aged out their Junior eligibility.  Rookie Cam Thompson had a great season on the Peninsula and he was scooped up by the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.  And 17-year-old Ryan Warner was also on the move when the Trail Smoke Eaters signed the big defenceman to play with them in the BCHL. 

The Panthers filled holes with promising rookies and it looked like they were ready to go a couple weeks ago.  But Grayden Hohl requested a move to the Victoria Cougars and his rights were moved on a cash deal.  Last Friday night newly-acquired from the Westshore Wolves in a trade, 17-year-old Marshall Brown took an awkward but seemingly harmless hit in exhibition action and limped off with a sore leg.  Upon further examination, it was determined that he would be out for six weeks with a broken leg. 

"Marshall is a First Nation young man from Quesnel, B.C. and I am not sure that I have met an nicer person," said Zubersky.  "He had looked just awesome in camp and I really felt he would score 20-25 goals for our Club.  With that being said, I really feel for him.  But he has a great attitude and is already looking on the calendar to when he might be back in the lineup."

The Panthers then received some good news/bad news when the Grizzles decided that they wanted to sign the young and speedy sniper Marty Westhaver.  "I was not surprised in the least," quipped Zubersky.  "Marty had a fantastic season here on the Peninsula as a 16-year-old and I said several times to different people that I thought in all the years we have run the Club, that Marty got the most out of his first Junior experience.  I felt all along that Marty had all of the tools to really do something with his hockey and believe that he learned to compete last season.  We are all so happy for him and his family and wish them the best as he moves to the BCHL."

On Tuesday morning, the Panthers inked Peninsula Minor Hockey product, 18-year-old Kye Warmenhoven.  The youngster showed well in the identification camp in April and with the ongoings over the last couple of days, an opportunity presented itself.  Zubersky had Warmenhoven out to practice on Monday night and the two spoke in more depth on Tuesday and the smooth-skating forward let him know that he wanted badly to play with the Club.  It is expected that he will suit up on Friday night and play on a line with veteran 19-year-old Ty Hermsen and newly-signed rookie forward 17-year-old Jack McMillan from Delta, B.C.  The three played on a line in the camp in April and showed some chemistry and the Panthers brass is hoping to catch some lightning in a bottle.  The "McWarmsen" line will feature grit and speed.

"We will be young, entertaining, talented and very fast," explained Zubersky.  He believes fans out on the Peninsula will love this current version of the Club - one which should get them out of their seats early and often. 

"I'm really interested to see how they react on Friday night.  I know there is going to be a lot of butterflies but when they settle in and get going, I think we will see something special.  I know they are all looking forward to the game."

Newly-signed Head Coach Brad Tippett was longer in Regina than first anticipated and he flew into the Victoria Airport just before 6:00 pm Monday night in time to run the 7:30 pm practice.  Tippett is in the process of filling out all paperwork required by BC Hockey and Zubersky is anticipating that this will all be completed prior to the opener on Friday.  "It's a process but Brad is on it and we are working with BC Hockey to get the i's dotted and the t's crossed," explained the GM.

"We went over systems as soon as Coach arrived and after practice we held a team meeting.  You honestly could have heard a pin drop in the dressing room for the 30-minute meeting and it was a lot of fun to have a guy with roots in the game addressing the players.  I think everyone in the room is looking forward to the year."

A large crowd is expected at the Panorama Recreation Centre for the season opener on Friday night when the Saanich Braves head out to the Peninsula - the puck is set to drop at 7:30 pm.