His Christian faith. His friend’s recommendation. His familiarity with the team. The team moving up a level.
All four factors played a part in Vernon Vipers’ defenceman Landon Fuller’s decision to join the Trinity Western University Spartans hockey program for 2020-21 in Langley.
The Spartans are slated to join the Canada West Conference in U-SPORTS when Canadian university athletics resume after the COVID-19 crisis.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining the Spartans as they make the jump to Canada West next season,” said Fuller, 20, from his parents’ home in Williams Lake.
One of six graduating players from the Vipers, Fuller spent two full seasons with the Snakes after being acquired in a deal with the Coquitlam Express following the 2017-18 regular season.
Fuller played 211 B.C. Hockey League games with the Vipers, Express, Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Surrey Eagles.
He was part of the Vipers’ captaincy in the 2019-20 season, and won three year-end awards with the club: Fan Favourite, Blueliners Academic Scholarship and shared the Rienie Holland Community Service Award with team captain Connor Marritt.
“It was an amazing five years that I’ll remember forever but to be able to start a new chapter of my life attending Trinity Western, I couldn’t be happier,” said Fuller, who chose TWU because of his Christian faith and the school’s Christian community. “I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have and would like to thank everyone who helped me get to get to this point.”
A close friend of Fuller’s attended TWU and gave high recommendations, and Fuller also became familiar with the club when he was called up to the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants after helping the Vipers get to the BCHL’s Fred Page Cup final in 2019. Fuller and the Giants lost Game 7 of the 2019 WHL championship on the road in overtime to the Prince Albert Raiders.
The Giants and Spartans share the ice at the Langley Events Centre.
Fuller is leaning toward studying business at TWU.
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