Junior hockey is back at the George Preston Recreation Centre and as a long-time resident of the area, John Craighead is excited.
“The buzz has been great, this team belongs to the community of Brookswood,” said Craighead, the head coach and general manager of the Langley Knights.
“I grew up in this area, I am excited to be here and bring hockey back to the area.”
Craighead, a former pro hockey player, lives a block away from the rink.
The junior B Knights relocated this off-season as they were previously the North Delta Devils.
The Knights play in the Pacific Junior Hockey League and are in a division with the Aldergrove Kodiaks (see story below), Abbotsford Pilots, Mission City Outlaws and Ridge Meadows Flames.
The Devils missed the post-season last year, but Craighead has a bigger picture in mind.
Last year’s squad was young with 11 rookies in the lineup.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t make the playoffs, but we dressed the most rookies in the lineup and we had the most kids called up to the next level,” Craighead said.
“I would like to put a winning team on the ice for the community but that is not our end-all be-all.”
Craighead hopes to offer players a chance to stay in the community to continue their hockey development.
“We want to bridge that gap between Langley Minor Hockey and junior hockey. We are losing a lot of good young players from Langley Minor to private clubs and academies,” he said.
As for the product on the ice for the first edition of the Knights, Craighead said fans can expect an entertaining brand of hockey.
“We have a lot of skill players and we are going to be a team that does not give up. Absolutely relentless, persistent.”
Craighead, a tough, physical player in his days, said the team will be a clean team, one that is disciplined and rolls four lines.
“We want to have a very good skating team that is well conditioned,” he said.
“(At) the nucleus of our team, we have four or five returning players and we surrounded that nucleus with a lot of young talent that is very skilled and great skating.”
The Knights return their top four scorers from last season as Levi De Waal, Jackson Surbey, Colin Catchpole and Tristan Craighead each scored 10 goals or more. Craighead led the team with 14 goals.
In goal, Nick Trenciansky returns for a second season and will split time with Cole Forbes, who played in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League with the Valley West Hawks.
Forbes is one of nine rookies in the league.
Langley also has four American imports on their roster.
The season gets underway on Thursday night at the Preston Centre when the Knights host the Mission City Outlaws.
Admission will be free for this game and former Vancouver Canuck Cliff Ronning will do the ceremonial puck drop. The game starts at 7:30 p.m.
The team will play all of their home games on Thursday nights.
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As part of getting ready for junior B, the Preston Centre underwent some work.
A new sound system was put in, as was a fresh paint job in the team’s quarters, with the shade of green matching the Knights uniforms.
Room was also made in the building for the Knights to set up their own fully-equipped training centre.
Craighead said the team has been made to feel right at home in Langley.
“We have been welcomed with open arms,” he said about the relationship with the Township of Langley and Recreation Excellence. Recreation Excellence manages the facility.
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Volunteers are still needed to help out with the Knights. Anyone interested can call the team’s volunteer co-ordinator, Leanne Hillsdon at 604-307.6367.
