Panthers Shifting Gears - An Open Letter

August 9, 2021
North Saanich, B.C.

An Open Letter - Pete Zubersky

For music lovers young and old, the names of Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon will elicit many fond memories.  And who could ever forget the great hit intertwined in a litany of great hits by the Beatles, "The long and winding road" written by the two.  The title could not be more appropriate for the Peninsula Panthers who have dealt with a myriad of stops and starts since March 11, 2020 due to a global pandemic.  Although we were all dealt with a life-altering blow, the science community quickly responded with a number of different vaccines and now we find the vast majority of Canadians and British Columbian's are fully vaccinated with the numbers going up from here.  We undoubtedly will have more concerns as we move along, however I believe that for the most part that our struggles will continue to fade in the rear view mirror.

Let's get to some of the latest news.  The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League has grown from 9 to 11 teams with the addition of the Lake Cowichan Kraken and the Port Alberni Bombers.  The South Division will consist of Kerry Park Islanders, Westshore Wolves, Victoria Cougars, Saanich Predators and the Peninsula Panthers.  The North Division will have six teams including Campbell River Storm, Comox Valley Glacier Kings, Alberni Valley Bombers, Oceanside Generals, Nanaimo Buccaneers and the Lake Cowichan Kraken.  Historically, the VIJHL teams had a 48-game schedule however this season we will move that number up by four and now each team will play a 52-game Regular Season.  We will play the other four South Division opponents 5 home and 5 away and will play the North Teams 1 home and 1 away.  This is the most exciting development the VIJHL has seen in the past decade or more.  The League is really gaining a lot of recognician as being one of the best - if not the best - Junior B Leagues in the Country.  I would like to see one more teams added in time for next season to give us a 12-team League which would consist of six in both Divisions.  In my mind, that would be a time to put a hold on all expansion.  Sooke would be a very interesting location to add a franchise.  I know that in the past it did not work out in Sooke however, the community is growing in leaps and bounds and the time is now ripe.

We held a late camp on July 23-25, a camp that we usually hold in early April after the season has been put to bed.  The time was not right until into July and we co-hosted the three days at the Panorama Recreation Centre with the Islanders and the Kraken.  We signed a couple of players from the camp and also made a deal with the Whiterock Whalers from the Vancouver League for 19-year-old silky smooth forward David Moody.  Moody will be attending the University of Victoria this Fall and we were able to come to an agreement for cash.  He skated in our camp for a couple of days and although it is hard to judge the true talent based on this situation in the middle of the summer, safe to say that we were all thrilled with the package he brings to the table.  Davey is a left-shot forward who can play the left side or in the middle.  He can skate, moves the puck well and looks like he might have a flare for putting the puck into the back of the net.  But most importantly, he seems like a fantastic person and that is a key we look for when adding to the Club.  I really believe we have developed a great culture and have a tight group here on the Peninsula and Moody will enhance on what we have already built.

Jackson Skerratt was accepted by the Saanich Police Department and due to time committments it was impossible for him to continue on as a full-time Assistant Coach with the Club.  Brad Tippett has found Bill Ansell to ride shotgun with him, and who has a long history as a player in the game.  I will be discussing Bill in an article which will be posted in the next day or two but safe to say, Bill knows his way around the rink and I am sure you will all enjoy meeting our new Assistant Coach.

We will be practicing three times a week for the next couple of weeks as we prepare for the opening of the regular season.  We have two or three spots that we will most likely fill over the next 3-4 weeks and will use the practice time and three exhibitions to help us get to our final selections.  We will host two exhibition games including the Westshore Wolves on Thursday,  August 26 and the Saanich Predators on Friday, September 3rd.  Both of the games will go at 7:30 pm in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.  And we will open the 2021/22 Regular Season on the road at the Archie Browning against the Victoria Cougars on September 9.  And we will get right back at it the next night, Friday, September 10 for our Home Opener at the Panorama with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.  I could not think of a better way to start the season and I expect that this time around this long-time rivalry will be a heated one.

I would be remiss to not say one final good-bye to last season's 20's Tanner Wort, Josh Lingard and Brayden Evans.  Lucas Thomson-Fiddes looks like he will be heading to Vancouver to attend University and we wish him the best of luck on his new path.  Carter Johnston is leaning towards not returning this season and so we are actively looking at a number of different goaltending possibilities to complement 20-year-old Connor Svienson between the pipes.  We made a late season trade and acquired Dayton Clarke from the Islanders for Carson Strom and cash however, it looks as though that move may not bear fruit.  Clarke has indicated that he will be heading east to play Junior "A" in Elliot Lake, Ontario.  We wish Dayton all the best in his hockey.

Our website will get very busy from this point right up to September 9th when we open in Victoria and then host the Cougars the following evening for our Regular Season Home Opener.  I want to thank every single fan and sponsor who have stayed the course with us over the past 17 months.  I cannot remember there ever being so much anticipation going into a Regular Season as the journey we are set to embark on.  I believe we have a really good club this time around and Coreen and I are looking forward to greeting each and every one of you in the weeks to follow.