For the Powell River Kings, the 2023-24 season is one of change. After the Kings partnered with the Birch Group, their roster was made over.
Over several weeks, 10 players departed the team, and 13 players joined. The team also welcomed a new assistant coach as Vancouver Canucks legend Cliff Ronning has joined its staff.
This article is about recapping the changes since my last Kings article. I will also cover the addition of Ronning to the coaching staff.
Goaltending changes
At the beginning of the season, Powell River’s goalie tandem was Owen Crudale and Tresor Wotton. Both goalies departed the team after Crudale joined the North American Hockey League’s Philadelphia Rebels and Wotton signed with the U.S. Premier Hockey League’s Florida Eels, which plays in the USPHL’s Premier Division.
In their places, the Kings have welcomed Vincent Lamberti and Justin Katz. The Kings signed Lamberti on Jan. 24 before acquiring Katz from the West Kelowna Warriors for future considerations three days later.
Lamberti last played for the Connecticut Roughriders of the Eastern Hockey League while Katz spent the last three seasons with the Warriors.
Katz is a veteran B.C. Hockey League goaltender and Lamberti is a veteran of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings hockey program. When Katz sought more playing time, the Warriors traded him to the Kings. As for Lamberti, Kings Assistant General Manager Stephen Seeger Jr. had his eye on him for a while now.
Changes on defense
Joining, and then departing, the Kings is defender Lucas Marshall. After the Kings traded for Marshall from Trail on Jan. 13, he left the Sunshine Coast after only two games and landed with the New Jersey Jr. Titans of the NAHL. Also departing the Kings was Alex Bosland, who was traded to the Brooks Bandits for future considerations.
Meanwhile, the Kings welcomed two new players to their blueline. On Feb. 7, the Kings signed defender Luke De Vries and on Feb. 10, they traded for William Terwoord from the Cranbrook Bucks. In exchange, the Bucks got future considerations.
In late January, Wyatt Davis joined the Kings’ defense corps. Before coming to Powell River, Davis played 34 games as a rookie in the Alberta Junior Hockey League split between the Sherwood Park Crusaders and Camrose Kodiaks. This was before Sherwood Park became a member of the BCHL.
Departing forwards
In December, forward Noah Eyre left the Kings to sign with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League. After Eyre went to the Stampede, Powell River traded his BCHL rights to the Cranbrook Bucks.
In January, the Kings hooked up with the Smoke Eaters on a deal, with Kailus Green going to Trail. In return, the Kings received Marshall. That same month, Finnish-born forward Joonas Linnavuori left for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights of the National Collegiate Development Conference.
Another player who joined the Kings and then left Powell River in a relatively short time is forward Rémi Gélinas. Gélinas started 2023-24 with the Central Canada Hockey League’s Hawkesbury Hawks before signing in Powell River in early December. After 14 games in green and gold, the Kings traded Gélinas to the Nanaimo Clippers for future considerations on Feb. 10.
At the beginning of February, Eron Mitchell left the Kings and joined the Connecticut RoughRiders of the EHL. Mitchell is one of several players who represent a bit of an odd connection between the Kings and RoughRiders.
Arriving Forwards
In early December, the Kings welcomed Italian-born forward Simone Dadiè. He was with the North Iowa Bulls of the NAHL before heading to Powell River. In early January, Powell River inked a pair of cousins from Quebec as forwards Colin Ratt and Wynston Iserhoff come from the Gatineau Flames of the Quebec Junior Hockey League. Ratt, the eldest of the two, is a veteran of 128 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Ratt played two seasons for the Sherbrooke Phoenix before playing one season for the Gatineau Olympiques. As for Iserhoff, he played 41 games for the Flames before coming to Powell River.
One week after bringing in the cousins, the Kings welcomed Lucas LeBlanc from the CCHL’s Ottawa Jr. Senators. Two weeks later, Powell River added Latvian-born forward Kristians Samitis. Like De Vries, Samitis came from the Philadelphia Rebels of the NAHL. Also like De Vries and Ratt, Samitis is a veteran player in his final season of junior hockey.
The final new forward is Ryan Arnold. Arnold and De Vries were signed at the same time. Arnold is a veteran of the AJHL after playing two seasons for Sherwood Park and 48 games for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
Ronning behind the bench
As mentioned above, Vancouver Canucks legend Cliff Ronning, who played for the NHL club from 1991 to 1996, was hired as an assistant coach. In December, Ronning visited Powell River as a guest skills coach and Kings’ assistant general manager Stephan Seeger Jr. sought to bring the Burnaby, B.C. product aboard.
Ronning joins Hockey Hall of Famer and head coach Glenn Anderson along with incumbent assistant coach Dwight Lee on the coaching staff. Ronning made his coaching debut on Feb. 2 as the Kings beat the Victoria Grizzlies 4-2.
For Powell River, this is the start of a transformation. When the Birch Group partnership was announced, they stated one goal — to transform the Kings into a marquee BCHL franchise.
This situation reminds me of what happened with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs when KeyCorp Sports & Entertainment acquired a majority share of the team in 2019. Since that purchase, the Bulldogs have become one of the top teams in the BCHL, making it to the Fred Page Cup Final series before being swept by Penticton.
It will be interesting to see if the Birch Group partnership can bring the Kings to the similar heights they achieved between 2008 and 2012.
