Eagles add impact defender McNeill
2004-born Summerside, P.E.I. product Sid McNeill has signed with the Surrey Eagles for the 2023-24 B.C. Hockey League season. The defender spent the last three seasons with his hometown Western Capitals in the Maritime Junior Hockey League.
McNeill finished this past season with seven goals and 50 points in 46 MHL games, which was fourth among all defenders in the league. He added a goal and seven points in seven playoff games. McNeill also won a silver medal with Canada East at the 2022 World Junior A Challenge, posting three assists in six tournament games.
Bulldogs sign Sacred Heart commit Greenberg
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs have signed 2005-born defender Lenny Greenberg for the upcoming BCHL season. Greenberg is committed to Sacred Heart University and will attend the Fairfield, Connecticut campus in Sept. 2024.
Greenberg hails from El Segundo, California, and split the 2022-23 season between Belmont Hill School and the Boston Jr. Eagles 18U AAA. He posted 12 goals and 27 points in 30 prep school games with Belmont and a goal and two assists in 14 games with the Jr. Eagles.
Related: New Bulldogs: Looking at Lenny Greenberg, Wyatt Blace, and James Lyver
Vlaha inks with New Mexico of the NAHL
Wenatchee Wild goaltender Andy Vlaha has signed with New Mexico Ice Wolves of the North American Hockey League for the 2023-24 season. The Snohomish, Washington native spent the last two seasons with the Wild.
Vlaha ended up with a 16-14-1 record, a 3.07 goals-against average, and a .900 save percentage in 34 games with Wenatchee this past season. In the playoffs, the 2003-born netminder was 4-6-0 with a 3.14 goals-against average, one shutout, and a .917 save percentage in 10 games for the Wild.
Clippers add Toneff to their coaching staff
The Nanaimo Clippers have added Curtis Toneff (five goals, 15 assists in 53 games with Westside and Trail from 2011-13). to their coaching staff as an assistant to head coach Colin Birkas for the 2023-24 BCHL season. There’s been no announcement by the Clippers, but Toneff is listed in the position under “Team Operations” on their website.
Toneff, a 29-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., was let go as general manager and head coach of the Merritt Centennials on April 26. He was 14-64-4-4 in 86 games as boss of the Cents from Dec. 2021 until the end of this past season.
Turnbull stays in Slovakia for 2023-24
24-year-old forward Carter Turnbull (78 goals, 75 assists in 155 games with Cowichan Valley and Powell River from 2014-18) will play in Slovakia this coming season after finishing the 2022-23 season in the Central European country.
The Nanaimo, B.C. product has signed a contract with HC Banska Bystrica of Tipos Extraliga for 2023-24. The city is located in central Slovakia on the Hron River.
Turnbull had an assist in six games with HKM Zvolen and a goal and an assist in seven Tipos Extraliga playoff games last season. He also played 41 games with South Carolina of the ECHL, tallying 24 goals and 42 points.
Thompson moves from Cardiff to Coventry
Defender Blake Thompson (four goals, 22 assists in 47 games with Victoria in 2012-13) has signed with the Coventry Blaze of the U.K.’s Elite Ice Hockey League for the 2023-24 season. The Blaze plays in Coventry, England, which is 154 kilometres northwest of London.
Thompson, a 30-year-old from Listowel, Ont., sniped five goals and tallied 17 points in 54 games with the EIHL’s Cardiff Devils in 2022-23. He was scoreless in four playoff games for the Devils.
Wise starts coaching career with the Outlaws
40-year-old Justin Wise (six goals, 17 assists in 22 games with Merritt in 2003-04) has started his coaching career after being hired as an assistant coach for the Mission City Outlaws of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. Mission is a city in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, 67 kilometres from Vancouver. The Outlaws are a junior B squad.
Wise wrapped up his pro playing career in 2005-06 when he had three points in six games split between Florida and Jacksonville of the Southern Professional Hockey League.
