Panthers have had a busy month as the Club moves to fill out the roster

On March 24th - 26th the Peninsula Panthers watched their Spring Identification Camp play out and judging by the smiles around the rink, the Club could not be any happier.  The Coaching Staff and Management watched as 72 players romped up and down the ice for the weekend.  And on Sunday afternoon when the Zamboni had greased the ice for the last time and when all the pucks stopped banging off the boards, six solid Junior prospects, namely Matt Lawrence, Skyler Diamond-Burchuk, Brendan Martin, Josh Lingard, Tanner Wort and Riley Braun were reeled in.  The Panthers added a 7th late this Monday evening when hulking stopper Chris Akerman agreed to ink with the Club for the 2017/18 season.

"I felt we really had a fast and competitive camp," said General Manager Pete Zubersky.  "The skill on the ice was really top-end, even many of the younger 2002's.  The camp was competitive and some of the games had the fans coming out of their seats.  It was awesome to see.  We want to move forward and affiliate several of the players in the camp who did not crack the squad and we will have them out to practice and games this coming season."

But the real value of the camp was in stocking up the cupboard and the Panthers did just that.  Zubersky was not surprised with a couple of the Club's selection however there were several that were early Christmas presents.  Zubersky opined, "Six really good players and more importantly, six really great kids agreed to come out here to play on the Peninsula for this coming season on the Sunday after the camp, and another jumped on board this Monday after I had a long discussion with the family.  We have gone a long way in making our lineup better but we still have a few irons in the fire.  I would expect that these kids are going to roll into August ready and raring to go and I would also expect our returning players to do exactly the same thing. Based on the new players coming in, we will be advising our veterans that they really should be ready to go.  Just sitting at home with feet on the coffee table will be a mistake."


Matt Lawrence: 18-year-old Forward born January 8, 1999
6'2", 190 lbs.  Shoots right, plays right wing.  Sees the ice and can make plays.  
Last Team:  Kelvin High School Hockey
Hometown:  Winnipeg, Manitoba
Quote:  "It's an honour to come out to BC from the Prairies to play some high level hockey.  I'm really excited for the season to start.
Coach Tippett's take:  Winnipeg native Matt Lawrence is an 18-year-old big framed 6'2" RW.  He uses his size to get to the net and has a soft touch with the puck.  He averaged a goal a game last season and skates well

Skyler Diamond-Burchuk: 18-year old Defenceman born September 16, 1999
5'10", 165 lbs.  Shoots left, gritty and offensive puck-moving D
Last Team:  Kelvin High School Hockey
Hometown:  Winnipeg, Manitoba
Quote:  "I'm looking forward to the fresh start on the Peninsula and I'm excited to be playing with such a great team of guys.  I love the town and am happy it will be where Matt Lawrence and I are kicking off our Junior careers!"
Coach Tippett's take:  Skyler Diamond-Burchuk is a very mobile puck-moving left-handed defenceman.  He is also a native of Winnipeg and played on the same team as Lawrence.  He competes at the national level in the Red Bull Extreme Skating events and is fearless.  He defends well and makes a great first pass.

Chris Akerman: 18-year-old Goaltender born June 10, 1999
6'3", 205 lbs. Hulking goaltender with even a bigger on-ice persona.
Last Team:  Cowichan Capitals Midget AA
Hometown:  Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Quote:  "I am very excited to meet my new teammates and get to know all of them.  I'm stoked to play with the Panthers.  They welcomed me to their team and their staff are a great group of people.  I am eager to get to know the ones I have not yet met."
Coach Tippett's take:  Chris brings enthusiasm with a big frame.  We identified him last fall as a goaltender that we should pay close attention to in case he became available.  The minute he steps on the ice he takes control of his end barking out instructions to his defencemen.  When he comes out and challenges the shooter, he is like an eclipse of the net.  You just cannot teach 6'3" and 205 lbs. 

Brendan Martin: 17-year-old Forward born October 26, 2000.
6'1", 195 lbs.  Big-bodied power forward who brings an edge fans will love.
Last Team:  Victoria Royals Major Midget
Hometown:  Victoria, B.C.
Quote:  "I think we have a good young team and I thing we have a chance to do something special out here."
Coach Tippett's take:  Brendan Martin played last season with the Victoria Major Midget Team.  He was a guy we thought brought something much different to the table.  He hunts the puck tenaciously and plays with some bite.  He is a left-handed forward with good puck skills.  We envision him playing with Ty Hermsen to form a high energy "Hate-to-play-against line."

Josh Lingard:  17-year-old Forward born Decmeber 26, 2000
5'11", 160 lbs.  Skill, heart, energy & just starting to grow.  He is the real deal!
Last Team:  Peninsula Eagles Midget AA
Hometown:  Saanich Peninsula
Quote:  "The Panthers have welcomed me into their dressing room and I am excited to play with them full time.  It will be great to play with Riley and Tanner again this coming season.  We had really good chemistry together this past year."

Tanner Wort:  17-year-old Forward born November 6, 2000.
5'11", 190 lbs.  Played LW with Lingard & Braun and can flat out score.
Last Team:  Peninsula Eagles Midget AA
Hometown:  Saanich Peninsula
Quote:  "I am excited to start in a new league with a great group of guys.  I have been playing hockey since I was 6 and have been in Peninsula Minor Hockey the whole time and was always hoping to play for the Panthers."

Riley Braun:  16-year-old Forward born January 15, 2001.
5'10", 185 lbs.  Played RW with Lingard & Wort.  Intelligent, great talent and a gamer.
Last Team:  Peninsula Eagles Midget AA
Hometown:  Saanich Peninsula
Quote:  "I grew up watching the Panthers every Friday night so it's exciting to be a part of the Club now.  AP'ing this last year was a great experience, the guys really made me feel welcome and part of the team."

Coach Tippett's take on the Lingard, Wort and Braun:  It seems kind of weird to announce we have signed the three Peninsula players - they practiced and played games with us most of last year.  These are a very special trio.  For us old guys, they remind me of the LA Kings Triple Crown line who dominated the NHL in the 1980's.  A scorer, a power forward and a maestro.  Their collective skill set makes everything work but it's their uncanny sense of what each other is thinking that really sets them apart.  They were all recruited heavily.  In our discussions they talked about loyalty and how important it was to them to be a Panther. 

Coach Tippett's take on the Spring Identification Camp Weekend:  “We went into the camp with a definite shopping list and came out with most of it. We have one solid goaltender and a couple of options for the second spot.  We wanted to add at least one player on the blue line, preferably left handed shot and Skyler Diamond-Burchuk checks that off.  Up front we knew that the Peninsula trio were an important piece of the puzzle. We were fortunate to lock those three up on Saturday. We really wanted to add a couple more forwards who brought some of the 4 S’s. Size, Speed, Skill and a little “Scare - acter”. Lawrence and Martin more than fulfill that. We will still add one and possibly two forwards before August.  We got bigger, stronger, faster and added skill while not getting a whole lot older. We will be immediately better while still sticking with the longer term plan of building a perpetual championship contender.  There will be some players who will have legitimate chances to play Junior A. One of our mandates is to develop players. We may very well lose a player like Coughlin or Yee. Great for them but also great for our program. If we do our job developing players it just attracts more players to the Panthers.  We will go into the season with the luxury of a much deeper roster as compared to last season.  There is going to be some battles for roster spots and more battles to earn ice time."

The Peninsula Panthers still have some tinkering to do and are expecting to make several more additions.  "We have not figured out who our other Goaltender will be at this point," said Zubersky.  "Justin Anderson is in Red Deer and looking at Junior A if possible.  We don't really know what his plans are.  Sean Parkinson was moved to the Westshore Wolves around Christmas and we have his playing rights coming back here.  Sean has played some games with the Grizzlies and that situation needs to play out.  And we were really impressed with two other Goaltenders in our camp - guys whom we think can play here right now.  We also will be trying to complete two trade agreements which will probably result in two players coming this way.  We have another iron or two in the fire, we expect to have some news on new faces in the next several weeks.  A lot of the heavy lifting has been done but we are not yet finished quite yet."