Powell River Kings have acquired 2003-born goaltender Liam Vanderkooi via trade from Salmon Arm Silverbacks in exchange for future considerations.
Vanderkooi, who is from Abbotsford, played in 17 BC Hockey League (BCHL) games last year and compiled an impressive posting 13-2-2 record with a 2.86 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. He joins Kyle Metson, who the Kings acquired last month, in the crease.
“[Vanderkooi's] 19 and ready to take his game to the next level,” stated Kings’ general manager Chad van Diemen. “We feel that having two 19 year olds will give Kyle and Liam the opportunity to push each other day in and day out, and gives us a good tandem going into the season.”
Prior to the trade, Metson was the only goalie on the Kings roster with preseason starting this weekend.
“We have been looking to add another goalie for quite a while now,” added van Diemen. “We wanted to add another veteran with junior A experience and although it took a little longer than we had hoped, we are pretty happy to be able to get a deal done to add Liam to our group.”
Vanderkooi, who is six-foot, seven-inches tall, will travel to Powell River and practice with the team before the preseason opens in Chilliwack on Saturday, September 10.
