The Peninsula Panthers continued to build their Club for the upcoming 2018/19 season by making a pair of deals this past week. After signing 16-year-old defenceman Hunter Jensen, 18-year-old Peninsula product defenceman Brendan McTavish and 18-year-old forward Garett Gilbertson from Sooke after their prospects camp in early April, the "Cats" continued to waste no time in their retooling efforts.
"We moved Brendan Martin to the Kerry Park Islanders a few days ago after Brendan asked for a trade," said GM Pete Zubersky. "Brendan asked for the trade just before the deadline last year and we wanted to accomodate him. The Islanders were really interested in him and in conversations with them, it was my understanding that his older brother will be an assistant coach up there this coming season. It made sense for everyone involved and we wish Brendan the best of luck with the Islanders."
But the big news was a trade in which the Panthers acquired the 6'4" defenceman Alexander Benger from the Victoria Cougars for the offensively-talented forward Marshall Brown late Tuesday night. Benger lead all VIJHL defencemen with 13 goals which came mostly via his cannon from the point. He added 15 helpers and should help bolster a Panthers power play. The Club gave up Brown who lit the lamp 15 times while adding 24 assists.
"We are thrilled to have added Alex to our mix out here on the Peninsula," explained Zubersky. "He has the hardest shot from the point in the VIJHL and I know that he will add a new wrinkle to our power play with that weapon. I have no doubt that Coach Brad Tippett will put him in situations where he will find success and enable the Club to capitalize on his shot. He will also add some significant size to our back end. But the most important thing is he will fit into our dressing room like a glove. We have a really close group and he will only enhance that situation. I know that Alex is friends with a lot of our guys and our players are going to be thrilled to add him to the mix. Brownie is a good kid and our Organization wishes him all the best."
"We had a few nice surprises in our camp which we ran on Easter Weekend," quipped the General Manager. "We had seen Hunter Jensen at our camp last year and as a 15-year-old back then he really turned our heads. He played in some exhibition games last August and we all thought he looked really good in camp this year. We told Hunter and his parents in a meeting on the Sunday at the end of camp and I think that they were really happy and so were we. He is a great young fellow and he will not be out of place out here playing Junior this coming season."
Brendan McTavish finished out his Minor Hockey with the PMHA and played some regular season games with the Panthers as an affiliate player. "Our guys know Brendan really well as he practiced quite a bit with the squad this past season," expounded Zubersky. "He is a puck-moving guy from the back end and was the Captain of his Midget team last season. He should feel pretty comfortable jumping in with this group."
The biggest surprise of camp came in the form of Garett Gilbertson who hails from Sooke. "We did not know a whole lot about Garett when camp started on Friday, but we sure knew him by Sunday. Brad and I had seen him play a couple of times but when we saw him in camp over a protracted period of time, he really blew us away. He played a lot on a line with Nolan Lee from our Club and the two of them just clicked. Garett seemed to go to the right spot at the right time and his work ethic never took a moment off. When we told him that we wanted to sign him, his eyes just lit up. He brought his mom back into the meeting and we all enjoyed the moment. "The Duke" of Sooke seemed like an appropriate nickname for him; the kid just had an outstanding weekend.
Head Coach Brad Tippett offered his comments on the roster moves over the past several days:
Panthers sign three from Spring camp
We have had a busy off-season highlighted by the Spring Camp. Similar to last year, we committed to a number of players including Defenseman Brendan McTavish and Hunter Jensen as well as forward Garett Gilbertson. There will likely be announcements of additional signings in the coming weeks. We also have made commitments to two other players for the 2019/20 season and are working through the details with the pair.
McTavish played a number of games with us last year so is very familiar with the systems and other players. He is a quarterback-style defensemen with great passing skills and on-ice awareness.
Hunter Jensen finished the 2017/18 season with the South Island Major Midget Royals very strongly despite missing a number of early season games due to a broken arm. Hunter skated most of last Fall with us and we were impressed with his composure and his decision-making. He combines high skill all with great enthusiasm for the game. He thinks the game like a two-year veteran, which should make his transition to Jr. B smoother.
We had scouted Garett Gilbertson a couple of times throughout last season, and every time he was on the ice he was making something happen. Garett did the same thing throughout the camp. On Sunday, we had a number of our veteran players come to us telling us how much they thought of Garett’s play. He came with a determination to make the team and he did just that.
Panthers acquire 6’4” RD Benger from the Cougars
As we looked over the depth chart we knew we had an abundance of forwards, two solid goaltenders, but a little short on the back end. Acquiring 6’ 4” RD Alexander Benger is something we have been working on for a number of months. He has a cannon for a shot, can play in all situations, and will be a great fit in our dressing room. He is close with a number of our guys already. Alex is just the type of young man we want wearing the Panthers' uniform – he resides in Victoria and is an overachiever both on and off the ice. Besides his hockey skills he is an excellent student pursuing an Engineering degree from the University of Victoria. Marshall Brown (19) moves to the Cougars to complete the transaction. “To acquire a player like Alex you are going to have to give up a good player. The Cougars need scoring and will get that with Marshall. We needed a skilled veteran defenseman and so this looks to be a win/win for both teams. We want to thank Marshall for the two years he spent with the Panthers.
Martin moved to Islanders
In an unrelated move, we have traded 18-year-old LW Brendan Martin to the Kerry Park Islanders for future considerations. Brendan wanted to be in a situation where he was going to get more ice time. With the number of forwards we have returning, I could not guarantee that was going to happen. We wish Brendan all the best and thank him for his contribution last season.”
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