The Vernon Vipers of the B.C. Hockey League have swung a deal with the Kanata Lasers of the Central Canada Hockey League to acquire 20-year-old sniper Connor Sleeth.
It’s a three-for-one deal as heading east are Tyler Ho, Will Dow-Kenny, the Junior A playing rights to Coleton Bilodeau and future considerations.
Sleeth, from Markham Ont., spent the last two seasons with the Lasers. This past season he finished third in league scoring with 33 goals and 39 assists.
“Connor will add a veteran presence to the club,” said Vipers’ head coach and general manager Jason McKee. “He clearly has a nose for the net and knows how to finish. We are extremely excited to have Connor in the fold.”
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Sleeth is looking to build off a good season and hopes to commit to a strong NCAA Div. 1 program.
“I’m very excited to be joining a great organization with a great coach and players in Vernon,” said Sleeth. “Hopefully this season, we can build on a great playoff run the Vipers had last season and bring a BCHL and national championship to Vernon.”
Bilodeau, a centre from Vernon, played three seasons for his hometown Vipers, compiling eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points in 117 regular season games (7-11-18 in 2018-19), He added 2-1-3 in Vernon’s run to the Fred Page Cup final in the spring.
Ho, a forward from Surrey arrived in Vernon for the 2018-19 season. He scored 3 goals and added nine assists in 30 regular season games, and chipped in 1-1-2 in the post-season.
Dow-Kenny was acquired by Vernon from the Chilliwack Chiefs for Mitch Andres in a swap of defencemen at the league trade deadline. He compiled 1-8-9 in 47 games with the Vipers and Chiefs, and had no points in three playoff games with Vernon.
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The Vipers also announced that goaltender Max Palaga will rejoin the team for this upcoming season.
The Kamloops product played in five games with the Vipers last season, posting a 1.77 goals against average and .943 Save Percentage.
“Max is a big, athletic goaltender who I believe with consistent playing time will continue to grow his game even further,” said McKee.
The 6-foot-1 goalie surrendered just 13 goals against in 13 games played with the Everett Silvertips last season, including one shutout.
McKee said Palaga’s calming influence will have a big impact on the rest of the group.
“The calmness which Max shows will allow our players to play with confidence in front of him,” he said. “We are very excited to welcome Max back to the Vernon Vipers.”
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