Former Richmond Sockeyes blueliner Vaughan Bamford is headed to Chicago to continue his hockey career and pursue his education by attending Lake Forest College on a scholarship for the 2019-20 season.
The Lake Forest Foresters are a NCAA Division III program that play in the 12-team Northern Collegiate Hockey Association that also includes schools from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. They are currently ranked No. 30 in the nation.
“I chose Lake Forest because the people, facilities, hockey and education are second to none. I knew it was the place for me the second I stepped on campus,” said Bamford.
Bamford spent a season with the Sockeyes as a 17-year-old. That’s when he caught the attention of the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and was offered roster spot for the 2017-2018 season.
“I felt I needed to play against bigger, stronger and older players if I wanted to best prepare myself for playing junior ‘A,’” said Bamford. “It really turned out to be a great fit and I learned so much.”
The 6-foot-3 and 205-pounder from Tsawwassen has gone on to play nearly 100 regular season games in two seasons with the Bombers.
“The coaches, players, fans and my billet family have all contributed to an amazing experience in Flin Flon,” he said. “Head coach Mike Reagan runs one of the best junior ‘A’ teams in the country.”
It was during this season when Bamford caught the attention of the Lake Forest College coaching staff. Head Coach Patrick Kelliher invited him to Chicago for meetings and a campus tour.
Bamford accepted a scholarship offer and committed to the Foresters program starting in September. He intends on studying finance and economics during his time at Lake Forest.
“Lake Forest presents me with an incredible opportunity to further my hockey career and education,” he added. “I would like to thank my family, coaches and teammates for helping me along the way.”
Icing…
The Sockeyes have evened their best-of-seven quarter-final series with the Grandview Steelers at 1-1 thanks to some late heroics on Sunday night at the Burnaby Winter Club. Michael Araki-Young netted the equalizer with 5:29 remaining and Jake Keremidschieff broke the deadlock less than two minutes later in a 5-2 victory. Brady Sprague and Araki-Young also added empty netters. Game three is Monday at Minoru with a 7:30 p.m. face-off.
