Four players from the Princeton Posse, two from the Campbell River Storm and one from the Westshore Wolves all had a strong showing in the New England Pre-Draft Tournament earlier this month.
In addition to the KIJHL and VIJHL presence, was also alumni of the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy and Okanagan Hockey Academy. The tournament consisted of 76 teams from around the world in a chance to show scouts one last time what they are capable of before the NHL draft. Players in the tournament range from Major Junior to Prep School/Major Midget Calibre.
Kurtis Klinger, Devan Suidy, Brandon Workun and Brandon Schaber all represented the Posse on Team Canada West White, which was coached by Posse coaches Bill Rotheisler and Mark McNaughton who put together the team with Cowichan Capitals Head Scout Lou Gravel. Joining the Posse players were other top junior B players including Brett Lervold (Westshore Wolves), Alex Brewer and Gage Colpron (Campbell River Storm) from the VIJHL.
In addition to the Junior B crew, there were junior A players on the team from the AJHL, MJHL, Switzerland and Sweden; along with the USPHL and WSHL.
Full-roster and stats can be seen here: http://www.proamhockey.com/
The team first met in Boston on Wednesday, May 7 for meetings where most attended a Red Sox game to start the bonding process. Thursday consisted of a practice and an exhibition game in which the Team Canada West White won a tight 3-2 battle. The day also consisted of the players touring both Boston University and Boston College.
The tournament officially began on Friday with the Posse boys winning their first official game by a 5-2 score. Campbell River Storm defenseman, Alex Brewer, scoring in the contest. Saturday morning saw a very tight contest. With Brandon Workun out with a lower body injury, Campbell River Storm defenseman Trent Johnson filled in to help the Team Canada boys break a game long deadlock in the final frame to finish with a 2-1 win. The third official game in the round robin came late Saturday afternoon, where goals from Posse defenseman Brandon Workun (2), Posse captain Kurtis Klinger (1) and Storm Forward Gage Colpron (1) would give Team Canada the 6-3 win to secure a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament, 4-0 including the exhibition game, and first place in their pool, and only team in their pool to move on to the playoffs.
Despite attending a motivating Stanley Cup Playoff game the night before, Sunday morning the boys would be handed their first loss of the trip. Team Canada West White bowed out 5-1 in a sudden death game to a team that had NCAA division 1 commitments into the double digits, which is more than most BCHL teams have. Posse winger Devan Suidy had the lone goal for the western Canadians.
Team Canada West White coach Bill Rotheisler commented: “It was a great experience to see our (Princeton) boys play as well as they did and definitely exceed expectations. The fact that the strong character KIJHL and VIJHL players that we took did so well against some very tough teams will do an incredible amount for their chances to move forward in the game. In addition, for the returning players, it has put their confidence to a point that will increase their own individual level of play, contributing to their respective team’s results and overall league calibre.”
