Grizzlies bring in Grimwood as an assistant coach
The Victoria Grizzlies have added 41-year-old Geoff Grimwood (one goal, three assists in 29 games with Victoria in 1998-99) as an assistant coach for the 2022-23 season.
Grimwood, who’s from Victoria, BC, spent last season as head coach of the Kamloops Storm in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, leading it to a 28-10-4 record.
He was last in the BCHL with West Kelowna as general manager and head coach during the 2018-19 season. Grimwood joined Cowichan Valley as GM and head coach for 2020-21 but resigned before the season started.
Laylin inks a deal with Chilliwack for 2022-23 season
The Chilliwack Chiefs have signed 2004-born forward Casy Laylin for the 2022-23 BC Hockey League season.
The native of St. Michael, MN played 38 games with the Chicago Steel of the US Hockey League last season, finishing with a goal and five assists.
Laylin is committed to playing NCAA Division I hockey at the University of St. Thomas starting in September 2023.
Vees forced to shuffle their crease ahead of 2022-23
After 2002-born goaltender Colin Purcell was forced to retire due to an off-season injury, the Penticton Vees acquired 2002-born netminder Henry Levy.
The Vees sent future considerations to the Blackfalds Bulldogs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League to pick up Levy’s Canadian junior A rights. He spent most of the season in the North American Hockey League with the Minnesota Magicians.
In 13 games with the Magicians, the Salt Lake City, UT product was 6-4-0-1 with a 3.54 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He also played one game in the BCHL with Wenatchee, making 30 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss to Penticton last October.
Penticton also brought in 2005-born netminder Derek Sparks from the Okanagan Hockey Academy Black’s U17 Prep team of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. The Grande Prairie, AB product doesn’t have any stats of record from the OHA Black U17 team last season.
Rai makes his way from the Express to the Kraken
Coquitlam Express assistant coach Justin Rai (47 goals, 55 assists in 116 games with Prince George from 2012-15) has joined the National Hockey League’s Seattle Kraken as a player development consultant.
The native of Surrey, BC was a skills development coach for the Express in 2019-20 and 2021-22. During the 2020-21 pod season, Rai also spent time as an assistant coach for Coquitlam and was elevated to the same role this past January.
Wild commits to Clark for two more seasons
Wenatchee Wild head coach Chris Clark (4.40 goals-against average and a .878 save percentage in 61 games with Victoria and Salmon Arm from 2000-02) has signed a two-year contract extension with the team which carries him through the end of the 2023-24 season.
The 40-year-old from San Mateo, CA was named the Wild’s interim head coach in December 2019 when Bliss Littler stepped down from the role for health reasons. The interim tag was removed prior to the 2020-21 season.
Clark, who has been on the Wild’s coaching staff since 2008 in various roles, has guided Wenatchee to a 36-37-6-1 record since taking over the head job.
Wiebe takes on the ‘C’ for the Chiefs
The Chilliwack Chiefs announced on Thursday that 2003-born defender Abram Wiebe will serve as captain for the 2022-23 season.
The Mission, BC product is entering his third full season with the Chiefs, where he has five goals and 42 points in 74 BC Hockey League games. He is committed to the University of North Dakota for September 2024.
Grizzlies add Wilke to their sales staff and into their broadcast booth
The Victoria Grizzlies announced on Thursday that Tom Wilke has joined the club as its play-by-play broadcaster and a sales associate.
Wilke, who’s from Abbotsford, BC, is an alumnus of Brock University in St. Catherines, ON with a degree in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management. He first started broadcasting sports while in high school in Shawnigan Lake, BC.
In the broadcast booth, Wilke takes over from Scott Didmon (99 goals, 117 assists in 172 games with Merritt, Cowichan Valley, and Victoria from 1988-91), who called Victoria’s games for the last 20 seasons.
