Hockey Ops - September 2, 2016

Good Evening Hockey fans on the Peninsula!

Welcome back tonight for the 2016/17 season and home opener!  It was an overly warm summer and now I expect to see an equally hot contest this evening.

There is so much going on that I simply don’t know where to start, so I will begin at the top.  We were very fortunate to sign a Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations in Regina’s Brad Tippett.  Brad played his hockey in Saskatchewan, went to Michigan for four years in the NCAA before joining the Winnipeg Jets organization.  He played in the AHL with the Sherbrooke Jets among other stops in Minor Pro.  After his playing career, he spent several years with the Prince Albert Raiders as a Coach and General Manager and then went to the Regina Pats and spent four years there as Head Coach and in charge of Hockey Operations.  Our players are so fortunate to have him behind the bench and on the ice with them during the week.

Brad has relocated to Sidney and the Peninsula Panthers players and fans should be in for a treat this year.  Brad has only been on the ice with the players for three practices on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but I could already see quite a change in the boys.  We had a team meeting in the dressing room after practice on Monday and for thirty minutes you could hear a pin drop.  If you have a chance, take some time to chat with him.  He is very personable and approachable and his hockey stories are highly entertaining.

We once again have a young squad with two 16-year-olds and eight 17-year-olds.  Most are rookies except for our starting goalie tonight, Shawn Parkinson and a young forward who we were able to pry from the Westshore Wolves in the name of Marshall Brown.  “Brownie” was flying in camp but in an innocent looking play he banged his calf in an awkward location and limped off.  I honestly expected that he would say that he was a bit sore and would get right back out for his next shift however, I could not have been more wrong.  Marshall went for X-Rays and found that his leg was broken.  He will be out for six weeks but I know that he is already eyeing the middle of October or sooner to return.  We shall see, but I would not bet against the young fellow.  Marshall comes from Quesnel, B.C. and we were able to acquire his playing rights from the Wolves this summer.  He had played for them as a 16-year-old but I watched as he hardly hit the ice.  Against us, his minutes were very limited but he was dangerous each time out.  The Campbell River Storm still owed us a player from the Reece Costain deal 18 months earlier and they were able to obtain Marshall and then flip him to us.  I believed that he would score 20 for us this season but now we will have to wait a bit to see him get going.

The rest of the Club reside here on the Peninsula and in Greater Victoria save for 17-year-old Jack McMillan.  Jack came out to our Spring Camp in April and through a small misunderstanding, I thought that he wanted to return to the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy where he had played last season.  I thought the camp for him was simply to gain some experience at the Junior level and perhaps to affiliate and play a couple games in Junior this season.  Jack Mac had a great camp and when we conducted the final interviews, I let him know how well he did and told him that I would like to affiliate him to the Club this season.  McMillan did not seem happy and said that he was hoping to make the team.  I spoke to his father later that afternoon and it was clear that the wires were crossed over the weekend.  Jack was signed on the final Sunday in the camp and here he is with the Club for the opener tonight.  Jack hails from Delta and is billeting here in Victoria and we are thrilled to welcome him onboard with our Organization.  He is such a great kid and fits in the room well, you will enjoy watching his level of energy as he races up and down the ice tonight and this season.

I will discuss all of the kids at many points throughout this season however, I thought I would focus just a bit on the game for now.  Last season we were in a dogfight for the final 12-15 games after having a poor start to the season.  I would love to see our Club be competitive right off the hop however realize that we are young and there will be a big learning curve.  Alex Olson has moved on to Junior A in the USA and so returning goaltender Shawn Parkinson will play a huge role in the success of the team this time around.  We have a nice group of veterans returning and they will all be on display tonight.  The only other body out of the lineup tonight is Jarrod Lucoe who is on the shelf after getting his wisdom teeth out earlier this week.
OK, that was short and sweet.  For now let’s sit back, get ready for the curtain to rise and for the puck to drop.  Thank you for your support, enjoy!!   

Pete Zubersky