Although the B.C. Hockey League is still waiting to get back in action for the 2020-21 season, some former Cowichan Valley Capitals players have made news in the professional ranks recently.
On Feb. 12, former Caps forward and Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey product Kyle Topping made his professional hockey debut for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League and scored his first pro goal, opening the scoring in San Jose’s 5-2 victory over the Texas Stars.
Topping, who grew up on Saltspring Island, had a quick stint in the AHL, as he was sent down to the Allen Americans of the ECHL after just two games.
Topping had five goals and seven assists in 53 games with the Caps in 2015-16 before heading to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, where he spent four years. He played 226 games with Kelowna, posting 71 goals and 125 assists for 196 points, then signed an AHL deal with the Barracuda — the farm team of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks — in May.
Topping’s older brother, Jordan, played for the Allen Americans last year, finishing with 26 goals and 19 assists in 56 games. Jordan Topping played 51 games for the Caps in 2013-14.
One week after Topping’s pro debut, on Feb. 19, former Capitals goalie Laurent Brossoit earned the second shutout of his NHL career, making 29 saves as his Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 in Vancouver.
Brossoit had previously shut out the Canucks on Dec. 18, 2018, also in Vancouver, when he played for the Edmonton Oilers. With the second shutout, the Port Alberni native joined Glenn Healy as the second goalie in NHL history to earn his first two shutouts against the Canucks. In his career, Brossoit is 3-0-0 against Vancouver, with a .981 save percentage.
“If there’s a city that I want to have those stats, it’s probably this one,” Brossoit told NHL.com
Brossoit played 21 games for the Caps in 2009-10, goign 10-8-0 with a 3.78 goals-against average and .898 save percentage.
