Dec. 13th vs. Kerry Park Islanders - Hockey Ops.

Good Evening Hockey Fans,

Thank you for coming out tonight for our contest against the visiting Kerry Park Islanders.  We saw the Islanders for our home opener way back on September 6th and although we have been into their barn since then, it has been quite some time since most of our fans have had a peek at them.  The crew from Kerry Park currently sit in 4th spot in the South Division however, they have crept within two points of the Westshore Wolves and have played one less game than that same Wolves squad.  We are five points up on the Islanders but have played two less games.  A win tonight would be big for the Club, it would leave us 7 points up on the Islanders as we hit the 30-game mark.

We welcome in 19-year-old defenceman Des Bast who was recently signed from Junior A in the Prairie Provinces.  Des is a gritty and strong skating defenceman and he will add leadership to a blueline already busting at the seams.  Des played most of the season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and returns to his roots here in Victoria.  He last played in the VIJHL for the Islanders and so it is interesting that his first game back would be against his old squad.  Des ran into a bout of sickness prior to him returning home and so this will be his first actual game action in a while. Bast practiced with the Victoria Grizzlies on Thursday afternoon and I imagine the coaching staff took a good long look at him.  There is room on the Grizzlies Affiliate Player list and after a week or two of rounding into form, I would expect that Des will be looking for a spot. 

We have also called up three Ap’s in Josh Gladman from Saanich Midget, Kai Turner from Peninsula Midget and Goaltender Joey Barton from the Racquet Club Midget team.

A lengthy list of scratches follows the team this evening.  Stephen Heslop practiced with the Victoria Grizzlies on Thursday afternoon and he will be in their lineup tonight in a backup roll between the pipes.  Silky smooth skating Spencer Loverock remains out indefinitely with a broken thumb.  Matt Sheeran is out with a shoulder problem although he surprised the coaching staff when he hit the ice in practice all week long.  He was blasting the puck and his speedy recovery is welcome.  I expect that Matt will be out until after Christmas or early into the New Year but his progress is truly heartening.  Our Captain Brett Sjerven remains on the shelf after the scary incident in Campbell River when he crashed dangerously into the boards back on December 1st.  Brett moved pucks and skated on Tuesday in a track suit and was in full gear on Wednesday night but he was sore and will not play this weekend. 
Adam Page has been out for a long time with an array of problems but he is excited tonight and he will slotted back into the lineup and will probably see a lot of time up front in the game.  Reece Costain received a two-game suspension after getting a five-minute major penalty last time out in the final ten minutes of action.  I know that Head Coach/GM Brian Passmore did not agree with this call in any way and he is asking the VIJHL to look into the incident.  I did not see the play and so cannot comment on it but Passy is a pretty good judge and has been around for some time and I would think that he probably has a point.  I never hold my breath on stuff like this but fingers and toes are crossed, albeit, it is late Thursday night.  Jackson Skerratt was sidelined for a couple weeks now and he will draw back in tonight.  He should be a big addition and I know he will be looking to put up some points over the 60 minutes of play.

Joey Karrer gets the start in net for the Club and Joey Barton will be ready to go as the back-up.  Barton attended our Spring Camp last April and really surprised everyone.  He is a good one and is knocking loudly at the door right now.

We are still looking to add some depth at the forward position and a young fellow from the Lower Mainland was in for a skate and a look-see this past week.  Jay Sidhu skated with the Islanders as well so we will have to look into their lineup to see if he stuck there.  Sidhu was close, there was no doubt about that, however we are looking for an impact guy and he was just a tad bit short of the mark.

#18 Tate Coughlin, the talented 16-year-old who has really turned his game up a notch or two this season, made some big news this week when he officially signed a contract with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.  Tate had the contract for several weeks and was delaying the decision however, he pulled out the ink and put pen to paper a couple days ago.  I think he is pretty excited right now.  I have watched this kid get better and better and better as this current season moved along.  After Christmas he will join the Rockets for 4 games and will return to the Panthers in the first week of January.

This was a big decision for Tate and his family as he is now committed to the Major Junior route rather than taking a shot at an NCAA Scholarship.  If a player signs a WHL contract his NCAA eligibility comes to an end for all intents and purposes.  The WHL is a great route however, and it is a much shorter route to Professional Hockey.  For every single season that a player plays at least one game in the WHL, the player receives one year of Education at any University of his choice.  There are rules around this however, in the readers digest form this is about as clear as it can get.

I am always on the side of just going slowly however Passy agrees with the family’s choice and believes that Tate could have a great Professional Career in the game.  I believe that going the Junior “B” route for Tate has turned into one of the best choices a young fellow could make.  He toyed with the idea of going to Major Midget but decided that the Peninsula Panthers were a better option.  I also believe that the credit for his development this season goes to Passy and his coaching staff.  The Peninsula Panthers congratulate Tate and his family.  Wow, what a great Christmas present and what a great way to pass some times around the Christmas season....scoring goals for the Kelowna Rockets.  I hope Tate becomes one on a long list to be successful after playing for the Panthers as a young kid.  Watch this fellow tonight and then picture him as the Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 10 years to come!!
I suppose that most of you have heard that I jumped into the frying pan with the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.  John Wilson and I joined a group of others and joined existing ownership in the team this past Monday.  It started off with a Breakfast meeting nailing down the final details, a press release and a hastily called Press Conference to make the announcement.  I will be wearing the General Manager’s hat and I will say that it has been one busy week this time around.  There has been talk for the past 2-3 months and various persons tried to put together a deal but it looked like it was dead.  I believe there was another group from out of the Province that was taking a run at the team however, in the end our group slid in and on Monday a new adventure started all over again.  If you followed the local sports over the past several days you would have seen that it has not been a real smooth ride so far.  There have been a ton of ups and downs but I am hoping that as this week draws to a close I will see the clouds part just a bit and some blue skies will be visible over the horizon.

The question is, “How will this affect the Peninsula Panthers?”  The same situation existed 10 years ago when I was the General Manager of the Salsa, now the Grizzlies of course.  It will be business as usual here on the Peninsula and I would think that recruiting will be just a bit easier.  We had at least three of our kids out with the Grizzlies this week including Bast, Heslop and Sean Buchanan so for our players I believe that more opportunities will present themselves.  The Grizzlies play at home tonight and then again this Sunday afternoon at 3:00 pm.  Come out and join me on Sunday!

It’s Teddy Bear Toss tonight so have a big arm and give it a toss over the netting after the first Panthers’ goal is scored.  The net is always a bit of a problem so give it a good one and if it takes a couple cracks to get it over, don’t worry about.  The thought is what counts and so thank you for your donation to the Peninsula Toys for Tots cause.
There is no game at home next Friday, the boys will be heading over to Saanich to tangle with the Braves at George Pearkes Arena.  Our next home game will be right after Christmas on December 27th when we host the same Braves squad.

To each and every one of you, the Panthers Organization wish you all the best over the Holiday Season.  Be smart, be safe and enjoy the time with family and friends.  Thanks for being Panthers fans! 

Pete Zubersky