A pair of former Greater Vancouver Canadians standouts will get the rare opportunity to play on home ice this weekend at the Great Northwest Showcase in Burnaby.
The four team event features Simon Fraser University and UBC hosting a pair of high-profile NCAA Division One schools — University of North Dakota and University of Princeton.
SFU faces Princeton on Friday (4 p.m.) and UBC battles North Dakota at 7 p.m. The Showcase concludes Saturday with UBC taking on Princeton at 4 p.m. and SFU facing Princeton at 7 p.m. All games take place at Bill Copeland Arena. Ticket prices range from $10-20 and are available at the door.
For Sean Bonar and Troy Stetcher, the tournament means playing in front of family and friends for the first time since their days in the B.C. Hockey League.
For Stetcher, the wait hasn’t been too long.
The standout blueliner from Richmond is in his freshman season at North Dakota after three productive seasons in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees. He has already been recognized for his play — earning National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Defenceman of the Week honours last month.
The Richmond Minor Hockey Alumni was considered a bluechip collegiate prospect after having a leading role in the Vees capturing the RBC Cup national junior “A” championship in 2012. He was named top defenceman of the playoffs and captained Penticton last season before heading south to play for one of the top programs in NCAA hockey.
The Fighting Sioux regularly sellout their games at the 11,000 seat Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. North Dakota alumni Jonathan Toews, Zach Parise and TJ Oshie.
Like Stetcher, Bonar was named the Canadians most valuable player before heading to Penticton where he outstanding a couple of outstanding seasons between the pipes. The Tsawwassen native compiled a 39-15 record and six shutouts over two seasons and was tournament MVP for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. His stellar play not only earned him an opportunity at Princeton, he was invited to the LA Kings and Philadelphia Flyers training camps.
Even more impressive is how Bonar has juggled his studies at a world renowned Ivy League school. He is a three-time All-Academic Team Conference selection and will earn a degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering when he graduates this spring.
The plan is to pursue pro hockey opportunities once his senior season has concluded. He is looking forward to his first game in B.C. in five years and is expected to start in both games.
“It’s going to great,” said Bonar. “The last time I played (in the Lower Mainland) was probably with Penticton against Surrey. “I’m going to have a lot of friends and guys I played hockey with over the years coming out.”
Bonar was home for Christmas but didn't have the luxury of waiting for his teammates' arrival in Vancouver. He flew to Florida for a two game tournament last weekend before making his way back north again.
