Looysen promoted to the Western Hockey League

17-year-old Nathan Looysen continues his assault on the hockey pyramid, this time moving up to the Western Hockey League after signing a players contract with the Kamloops Blazers yesterday.  The young phenom from Saanichton is considered 17 years old due to his 1996 birth year however he will not be 17 until November 24th.

Looysen attended the Kamloops Blazers Main Camp which commenced one week ago and was considered a bit of a long shot to make the squad.  He was never drafted by the WHL team however was listed last season while he skated with the Peninsula Panthers.

A lot has happened to the youngster in the past 12 months.  He was banged up in an informal skate with the Panthers early last August and could not attend tryouts for the team due to the injury.  The Victoria Royals Major Midget program decided that he was not quite what they were looking for and all Looysen did after that was work his tail off which lead to him being signed by the Panthers two months into the regular season.  He was not out of place playing against 20-year-old players and his development seemed to grow each week.  Looysen was scouted often by several clubs in the WHL but it was Kamloops Blazers Island Scout Greg Batters who believed that the youngster could play for the Blazers.  Looysen was placed on the Blazers 50-man protected list in November and a year of hard work and development ended on Wednesday evening at 9:30 pm when he was signed by the Blazers to the standard Western Hockey League players contract.  Looysen has been told by the team that he would be there for the entire year and he will be in the lineup on Friday night when the Blazers travel to Kelowna to take on the Rockets in their first exhibition game this season.

Looysen called Panthers Head Coach Brian Passmore last night to pass along the news and this call was one that did not catch Passmore off guard.  "Nathan is a pure goal scorer, a great teammate and a kid that enjoys being on the ice all the time.  He really fit nicely into our Club last year as a 16-year-old and we filled him up with icetime and watched him get better and better.  This is not the end of the line for Nathan, hard work and being a great person is paying off for him."

And today Looysen and Panthers owner Pete Zubersky enjoyed a long chat about the road that he has chosen.  Looysen advised that he will be attending Valleyview Secondary School where he will be entering Grade 11.  He said that the camp in Kamloops has been such a great experience rubbing shoulders with guys that are very close to playing in the National Hockey League.  He indicated that one of the players on the Blazers signed his entry level contract in the NHL earlier today and it has left the youngster a bit wide-eyed. 

"Sam Grist who is a vet in the WHL and a Peninsula boy has really helped me out a ton," said an excited Looysen.  "The atmosphere has been phenomenal, it's a great place for developing.  Everyone wants to get better, every single guy."

Looysen continued, "The really cool thing about all of this is it goes to show that you don't have to move away to keep moving up and developing.  I did not have to go to P.O.E. (Pursuit of Excellence residental hockey school in Penticton) or anywhere else.  I played Minor Hockey on the Peninsula and then I went to the Peninsula Panthers.  If it were not for the Panthers I would not be in Kamloops today, I know that."

Zubersky had an intersting spin on Looysen's development and his hockey career.  "Spencer and Allison have supported his hockey in every way possible for the past decade and it is just awesome to see them all enjoying in the success.  I have seen a lot of kids come though our program, Jamie and Jordie Benn and Ryan O'Byrne are currently playing in the NHL today.  Taylor Ellington, Greg Scott and Mike Hamilton all played here and were drafted into the NHL and all played in the American Hockey League.  I have said this a bunch of times to many people over the past year and that is in my opinion Nathan has the same offensive skills that Jamie Benn had at the same age when he played for the Panthers.  In no way do I think that this is the final step for Nathan.  I think the next 4 or 5 years are going to be filled with excitement and I believe you will see this young fellow scoring a lot of goals in the WHL and beyond.  I believe one day he will play in the National Hockey League.  We're all very excited for Nathan and wish him the very best of luck in the future".

The Peninsula Panthers open their regular season at home next Friday, September 6th with the puck set to drop at 7:30 pm.