Panthers ready for their Home Opener as dress rehearsal comes to a close

Saturday, September 2, 2023
Panorama Recreation Centre
North Saanich, British Columbia

An old adage in hockey and in life is to remember the past, but with a clear vision on the future.  And this is the view the Panthers Management and Coaching Staff have as they prepare for next weekend when they open up at home Friday night at 7:30 pm against the Westshore Wolves.  The Club will then travel to Lake Cowichan to take on the Kraken Sunday evening and there is no doubt that the focus is now on the Regular Season which is about to unfold.

"I think that our Head Coach/GM Tyler Stanton and his staff have worked extremely hard over the past four weeks and we all feel pretty good about where we are," said Panthers Owner Pete Zubersky.

"We still have several guys away at this point.  A youngster who we really like is Ahron Calalay from Campbell River and he was banged up when playing at the Grant Gilbertson Memorial Tournament in early August.  He is now cleared and will be down on Monday evening when we hit the ice.  Evan Mayer is out in Saskatchewan in a Camp this weekend and so we will see if we get him back later next week.  He skated with this group before he left and he will make us better when he returns.  Seth Fryer is out with the WHL's Victoria Royals.  They are early in their process so we probably won't know where the chips will fall for Seth for a number of weeks.

The Cats were bounced by the Victoria Cougars by a 3-1 count on Thursday evening at the Archie Browning Arena and then 6-2 last night in the home-and-home exhibition series last night at the Panorama Recreation Centre.  But the score of the games was not the focus.  Stanton utilized the two games to make judgements on players and to make the final couple of cuts for players that were close to breaking onto the roster.  There was a lengthy lineup of players outside his office after the game ended last night for interviews after the conclusion of Main Camp.  

The Team will now begin a week of practice with the group who will be playing in the Regular Season and it will be an opportunity to add structure to the Cats game.  The new Head Coach/GM dipped his toe in the water over the past number of weeks at the Junior A level and starting this week he will be diving into the deep end of the pool as games now become meaningful.  He's ready to swim some laps.

Panthers Tracks...2nd year veteran Cam Sneek unfortunately fractured his wrist in the game on Thursday and will most likely not see a return until late October...a Tailgate Party will be outside the Arena for the Home Opener on Friday starting shortly after 5:00 pm...live music and a bar-b-que will be front and centre...opening ceremonies will start right at 7:30 pm and fans are asked to be in the rink by 7:20 pm...a large crowd is anticipated...fans should factor in time in lines to purchase tickets...the ticket table will be open at 6:00 pm while the tailgate party is ongoing and there will be opportunity to purchase tickets and then rejoin the happenings outside...Ryan Grambart returned from his professional tryout in Switzerland and was in the lineup last night, albeit, was exhausted due to jet lag...a line of Julien Phillips, Lukas Preweda and Malcolm Fletcher might have been the most effective trio in the contest last night...