With the junior hockey season just around the corner, the Langley Rivermen continue to tweak their roster, adding a pair of big-bodied defencemen.
The Rivermen made a pair of moves, swapping blue-liners with the Cowichan Valley Capitals and then signing another defenceman from Ontario.
The first move sees them acquire Jacob Kearley with Charlie Pelnik heading to Cowichan Valley.
Kearley, a 19-year-old from Newmarket, Ont. is six-foot-three and 216 pounds and should add some size and grit to the back-end.
“We’re adding a big body with a lot of skill, who can play both offensively and defensively,” said Rivermen head coach and general manager Bobby Henderson.
As a BCHL rookie last year, Kearley had six goals and 20 assists and 46 penalty minutes in 57 games.
And Langley then signed Jordan Schneider, who is from Toronto.
“I know B.C. has a reputation for having some of the best junior hockey in Canada,” he said.
“I want to challenge myself as a player and compete against better players.”
He played the last three seasons with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and in 103 career games, he has 26 points and 179 penalty minutes.
Schneider is six-foot-five and 205 pounds and should add another physical presence along the blue-line.
“We just want to be tough to play against every night,” Henderson said.
“With some of those smaller rinks in the league, we want to make life tough for the opposing teams.”
“Jordan’s got a big heavy shot and he’ll have a chance to step up and put up a few points on the power play,” the coach added.
The Rivermen begin training camp on Aug. 29 and the team’s first exhibition game is Sept. 5 when they host the Coquitlam Express at Langley Sportsplex.
The team also has a pair of road exhibition games before they close the pre-season on Sept. 14 agains the Powell River Kings at the Langley Events Centre.
The BCHL regular season opens Sept. 19 but the Rivermen’s first home game is not until Oct. 4 versus the Nanaimo Clippers.
