For the first time in franchise history, the Greater Vancouver Canadians will have a permanent home for the coming season.
The B.C. Major Midget Hockey League club has struck a deal with the City of Richmond to play all home games at the Richmond Olympic Oval. The team will also train at the world class facility, that features two Olympic size ice rinks. An additional weekly practice date has also been secured at the Richmond Ice Centre, where the NHL size rink dimensions will compliment the majority of road games.
The Canadians, which represent the top midget age (15-to-17-years-old) players from Vancouver, Richmond and Delta, have typically split their weekend home games between two arenas since the league was founded in 2004.
Their roster is typically loaded with Western Hockey League Bantam draft picks and this season will be no exception. The 2012 class of freshmen includes 15-year-olds Glenn Gawdin (Seafair) and Adam Musil (Delta) selected fifth and sixth overall respectively by Swift Current and Red Deer in this spring's draft.
"We are very excited (to have a permanent) home as it was something we have always strived for but not a lot of places want to make that kind of commitment," said Canadians head coach Leland Mack. "To be honest, I didn't think this would ever happen. It took a lot of work by (Team manager) Jonathan Reilly to get it done and Richmond really stepped up for us.
"To know where we are going to be every week and having our own permanent dressing room is just huge for the program. The other (dryland) training options here are endless. We're thrilled to be part of this high performance facility."
The BCMMHL regular season schedule consists of a two-game weekend series between teams. Home games will be played at 4 p.m. on Saturdays and the back half of the double header will likely be at 10 a.m. on Sundays to allow traveling time for visiting teams. The league features teams in Prince George, Cranbrook, Kelowna, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Victoria and five in the Lower Mainland.
Although the Canadians have yet to win a league championship, they have certainly been a perennially contender.
Last season, the were bounced from the playoffs in the semi-finals after a heartbreaking overtime loss in the deciding game to the defending champion Vancouver Northwest Giants. It marked the fourth straight year the two rivals have met in the playoffs with three of the series going the distance.
The team is in the process of finalizing its roster, having held an inter-squad tournament two weeks ago then playing four split squad exhibition games against the Giants this past weekend.
Mack admits playing half of the regular season on Olympic size ice has an influence on his player selections.
"A smaller player who can handle the puck and who can skate is better suited to it compared to a hulking player who liked to bodycheck," he said.
The Canadians have already signed a dozen players but Mack won't know the final status for most of them until after they battle for jobs at WHL and B.C. Junior Hockey League training camps. The team is scheduled to resume training Sept 4.
"It's always exciting going into a season but this one is the most exciting yet," added Mack, who also is a scout for the Seattle Thunderbirds. "Not only do we have a new home but some great prospects coming in. Gawdin and Musil both bring a high level of skill and are over 6-feet.
"The 1997 age group is outstanding and you are going to see that in the level of play throughout the league."
Icing...
. The Canadians have welcomed a new but familiar face to its coaching staff as an assistant. Rob Rogers served as the team's first-ever head coach and was instrumental in starting the franchise.
He has also served a number of year as a coach with B.C. Hockey's High Performance programs.
