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BCHL Today: Express add former NHLer Hollweg as associate coach, Spruce Kings sign Quinnipiac commit Tait, Fortier and Stevenson up for CJHL awards, and more

Brian Wiebe

Express add former NHLer Hollweg as associate coach

The Coquitlam Express has added Ryan Hollweg as an associate coach to Dan Cioffi for the 2020-21 season.

Hollweg has spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Vancouver NW Hawks. He was a veteran of 228 NHL games from 2005-10.

Hollweg is also a BCHL alumnus, playing 58 games for the Langley Hornets in 1998-99 and scoring 14 goals and 40 assists.

Fortier and Stevenson named CJHL award finalists

The Canadian Junior Hockey League and NHL Coaches’ Association announced on Tuesday that former Coquitlam Express general manager and head coach Jason Fortier is one of six finalists for the Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award as CJHL coach of the year.

Fortier, who parted ways with the Express late last month after he and the team couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension, led Coquitlam to a 47-9-1-1 record in 2019-20.

He is currently the head coach of the Odessa Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League.

Coquitlam Express goaltender Clay Stevenson is one of five finalists for the CJHL’s Top Goaltender award after leading the BCHL with a 30-2-1 record, a 1.77 goals-against-average, a .936 save percentage and four shutouts.

The Dartmouth College commit won the BCHL’s Best Goaltender award and his 2019-20 save percentage is the second-best in league history.

Quinnipiac commit Tait joins the Spruce Kings

https://twitter.com/SpruceKings/status/1252628159465271296

The Prince George Spruce Kings received a commitment from 2001-born forward Connor Tait of the New Jersey Hitmen for next season.

Tait, who’s from Boyds, Maryland, had 17 goals and 17 assists in 35 National Collegiate Development Conference games during the 2019-20 season. He is committed to attend Quinnipiac University in September 2021.

Express sign defenceman Busby for 2020-21

The Coquitlam Express added defenceman Luke Busby of Eden Prairie, Minnesota for the 2020-21 season.

Busby, 18, had a goal and six assists in 25 games with Eden Prairie in the US High School Prep League.

Three Stars of the Night ⏪ April 22, 2017

First Star: Chilliwack forward Jordan Kawaguchi had two goals and two assists as the Chiefs beat Penticton 4-2 in game five of the 2017 Fred Page Cup final series.

Second Star: Chiefs forward Anthony Vincent notched a goal and an assist in the win.

Third Star: Vees captain Nicholas Jones opened the scoring 1:32 into the first period.

Honourable Mentions: Chiefs defenceman Colin Bernard had a goal and an assist. Chilliwack forward Kohen Olischefski posted two assists.

Brian Wiebe

Brian's been involved in the BCHL in a variety of capacities for 17 years. From 2002 to 2012, he served in several roles around the Merritt Centennials organization, including as team president, board member, beat writer, colour commentator, webmaster, media and communications coordinator and marketing assistant. He's been writing about the BCHL since 2008 and served as colour commentator on the TSN 1040 broadcasts in 2012-13. BCHLNetwork is one of Brian's many passion projects that he balances around his full-time job as an instructor in the Radio Arts and Entertainment Program at BCIT in Burnaby.