Powell River Kings are adapting to a new existence after a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) decision to allow players in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) to be eligible to play collegiate hockey in United States universities.
Kings general manager and head coach Stephan Seeger Jr. said some British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) teams, such as Chilliwack Chiefs, have been significantly affected, having lost six players. The Kings, he said, have lost one player to the Western Hockey League (WHL) and one to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, most recently with Thomas Belzil going to Rimouski, which will be hosting the Memorial Cup (CHL national championship) this season. Previously, Jaxon Fuder left the Kings and is now playing for Red Deer Rebels (WHL).
“Unfortunately, that was our leading scorer, twice, that we’ve lost,” said Seeger. “That’s the nature of the rules changing and guys trying to go to places where they think it is a level up to help their game. That’s a decision that they, their families and advisors have to make.
“As staff here, you hate to see some of your higher up offensive guys leave. Obviously, that’s not something you enjoy, but you warmly welcome the new guys who are coming in to make sure they feel comfortable.”
Seeger said team dynamics are very important, and the Kings want to ensure they are not only raising good hockey players, but raising good members of the community and good gentlemen. He said in that vein, the team wishes the departing players the best when they leave to go to the next level, and that good relationships follow.
“The hockey world is too small to be getting mad at a guy for leaving the team when you think that might be the best decision for him and his family,” said Seeger.
When asked about whether the BCHL will be able to attract good future prospects going forward who want the chance to play in the NCAA, Seeger said he did not want to over-speculate.
“I think what will happen is you’ll just see more movement between the two leagues,” said Seeger. “Specifically, the BCHL has already changed the roster rules for us to now allow unlimited WHL players. If the idea is that we’re sending players to division one, and now all those players are eligible [for the NCAA], we should be allowed to not have a limit on our roster. That makes sense and is a way for the BCHL to stay competitive.”
Seeger said there might be a shift in the overall ages of the leagues.
“I couldn’t tell you which direction it would go, but I’m going to assume one league is going to become a bit younger and become kind of a feeder to the other league in terms of development and skill.
“There are guys who might be on the road to being drafted in the NHL that are highly touted, who might decide to go to the WHL. Then, you might have young guns who are awesome, and might be more late round picks, who still can’t get top six time in the WHL, and they are probably going to want to come to the BCHL. That would be a more roundabout guess.”
Seeger said the plan for the Kings going forward will be to work on offering a great on-ice product and exciting hockey for the community’s fans.
“We are making some moves and working to stay competitive,” said Seeger. “We want it to be fun for the fans to come and watch, and fun for the kids in the community to come and look up to some role models.
“There have been a lot of unique challenges this year. I don’t know how many teams have lost their leading goal scorer three times this year. We’re on that ship. We no longer have [former head coach] Glenn Anderson, who was a great tutor for all of us and who taught us a lot. We miss him dearly every day. However, our plan is to overcome the challenges and create a pretty cool narrative about turning this around. Our only focus is to get Powell River on the right side of the win column.”
Seeger said this doesn’t happen overnight and he is hoping for some patience from local hockey fans, so management can make some moves that will help the team.
“I think the scoreboard isn’t justifying things,” said Seeger. “We’ve been performing and we have got to create a little bit more luck. That’s on myself and the coaching staff, to help create an environment where the players are ready to play, compete every day, and put a good product on the ice.”
Join the Peak's email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday.
