Forwards Josh Lingard, Marshall Brown, Tanner Wort, Matt Lawrence and Riley Braun, defencemen Shota Yamamoto, Skyler Diamond-Burchuk and Thomas Spink and goaltender Bryce Schiebel have all been named to the South Division Prospects Game slated to go on January 7th in Campbell River, B.C. Should any of the forwards be unable to go for any reason Panthers Carson Cox has been named as the 1st alternate. Should any goaltender be unable to attend for any reason, Panthers Chris Akerman will be gearing up in January for the game.
"We obviously have a young squad and a lot of prospects," quipped Pete Zubersky. I would have liked to have seen a couple more of our guys be named but we have to be happy with how things ended up. We lost a tough one yesterday to the Storm but it was anyone's game right until the end. We still have work to do and have another two months before the playoffs and we will get better. But for now our kids are on their Christmas Break as of the end of the game yesterday. For now this is a nice gift for nine of our guys and I expect that we might just add one or two more players before all is said and done."
Brad Tippett had a few words of wisdom. "Our philosophy is to mold a tight knit group of players who want to get better individually and collectively every day. We are very proud of the players named to the team as we are proud of all of our players. Having 9/21 players (plus two alternates and likely a couple more who were in consideration) named only reenforces that philosophy. Each of our guys is deserving of being there. They all play key roles on our team. Night after night we call in them as “Go-To” players in critical situations —— and they love it! It will be interesting to see how much they stack up when they playing against a whole team of players their same age."
The Panthers will host the Saanich Braves on New Year's Day at 3:30 pm. But until then it's time to be with friends and family. Best of the season to all!
The following was a release from the VIJHL Monday morning;
December 18, 2017.
The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League has released the rosters for the 2018 VIJHL Prospects Game. Forty-two of the league’s rising young stars will meet at Campbell River’s Rod Brind’Amour Arena on Sunday January 7, 2018 for a North versus South showdown.
“It’s a truly special experience for the players assembled from across the VIJHL who have the opportunity to showcase their skills before hundreds of the passionate hockey fans in Campbell River and the scouting staff in attendance,” said VIJHL President Barb Byrne on announcing the lineups.
Named to the Prospects North squad are forwards Dawson Frank, Booker Chacalias, Pearce Messer, Kyle Kaufmann, Luc Wilson, Brett Kinley, Finn Withey, Jalen Price, Ryan Butler, Noah Kelly, Landon Dziadyk and Greyson Weme, defensemen Dylan Hartl, Logan Cursley, Aiden Sutherland, Timon Prexler, Erik Hanus and Mauro D’Alessandro, goaltenders Derek Krall, Spencer Deakin and Jacob Sweet.
Named to the Prospects South team are forwards Darwin Lakoduk, Josh Lingard, Marshall Brown, Keegan Durrance, Mateo Albinati, Tanner Wort, Zack Guerra, Braydon Nelson, Matt Lawrence, Brandon McClintick, Matthew Sparrow and Riley Braun, defensemen Alexander Benger, Shota Yamamoto, Skyler Diamond-Burchuck, Thomas Spink, Evan Abgrall and Tory McClintick, goaltenders Nate Reinhart, Luke Sheldrake and Bryce Schiebel.
Five alternate players (2 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie) were also announced for each division. Forwards Ethan Schmunk (A1) and Cody Savey (A2) for the North and Carson Cox (A1) and Andy Westhaver (A2) for the South. Among the backliners, Reid Lindsay (A1) and Logan Archer (A2) are alternates for Prospects North while Jake Wilhelm (A1) and Lukas Yesaki (A2) are alternates for Prospects South. Between the pipes, Blake Wood in the North and Chris Akerman in the South are the alternates.
According to Byrne, “Best-on-best competition is a valuable way to evaluate talent.” All nine member clubs will be represented at the Prospect Game with Campbell River and Peninsula each boasting nine of their players to the two rosters.
The selection process involved all 9 member clubs who each nominated players born between 1999 and 2001. Those submissions were reviewed by a five-person selection committee which had the challenging task of narrowing the two rosters down to twelve forwards, six defensemen and three goalies.
The coaching staff for the two teams will be assigned by Christmas.
The 2018 VIJHL Prospects Game will be broadcast live on HockeyTV as the free VIJHL Game of the Week (https://vijhl.hockeytv.com).
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