Panthers bolster defensive corps as they prepare for weekend mini-series with Braves

The Peninsula Panthers have been looking to acquire one or two defencemen and on Wednesday night they found just what they were looking for.  Without subtracting from their roster, the Club added 19-year-old Gavin Yee who had been out of the VIJHL this season. 

"Brad Tippett had kept in touch with Gavin for a number of months and on Wednesday evening Gavin decided that he would return home to finish the season.  He will be on an evening flight out of Toronto today and will be in the lineup when we travel to Saanich to take on the Braves Friday night.  Gavin is one of the best defencemen in the League and his arrival will be a sight for sore eyes.  He will make us a lot better right away," said Pete Zubersky.

Head Coach Brad Tippett was more than thrilled to get Yee back into the fold.  "We have stayed in contact with Gavin throughout the fall.  It is unfortunate that the Chinese U20 program did not work out but we are certainly happy to have him back.  Our defence has been ravaged by injuries all season long.  Gavin's positive attitude and reckless abandon style of play is infectious.  He is capable of playing in critical situations and can log a lot of minutes.  A couple of our defencemen have actually been plying too much for them to play more conservatively.   You can never get enough good defencemen and we just got one of those today.  Our Organization is thrilled."

The Panthers were bested by the Victoria Cougars 5-2 at home on Tuesday night and were missing Shota Yamamoto and Skyler Diamond-Burchuck from the lineup.

"We were really short on Tuesday," quipped Zubersky pointing out the obvious.  "Fifteen-year-old Ethan Brandwood jumped into the lineup for his first Junior game and did not look out of place in any way.  I thought he played around 22 minutes in all situations and I loved his compete.  Late in the 3rd period he made a play in our zone where it looked like he was going to move the puck but instead made a tight turn away from traffic and moved up ice.  It was a real sign of confidence from a young fellow with a huge upside."

Zubersky discussed the rest of the season.   "Adding Gavin and getting Shota and Skyler back will be such a difference-maker in terms of our level of play.  We are working on a couple more things and are trying to make the roster better.  We want to be able to compete with the best in the VIJHL and with so much parity in the League, we have to continue to improve."



With another event taking place at the Panorama on Friday, the Panthers will travel to Saanich to take on the Braves.  They will return HOME ON SATURDAY night when the local fan base will get their first look of the season at the new addition.  The puck drops at 7:30 pm SATURDAY night.