Monteiro brings scoring prowess to Salmon Arm
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks announced the recruitment of 2006-born forward JJ Monteiro from Mount St. Charles Academy 16U AAA for 2023-24. Monteiro has been selected in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, United States Hockey League, and North American Hockey League drafts.
Monteiro, from Hudson, Massachusetts, had a staggering 52 goals and 111 points in 70 prep hockey games as team captain at Mount St. Charles last season. He also added six goals in five games for Team Navy at last summer’s USA Hockey BioSteel Boys Select 16 Player Development Camp.
Schaupmeyer puts pen to paper with West Kelowna
2005-born defender Kaiden Schaupmeyer has committed to playing close to home with the West Kelowna Warriors for the 2023-24 B.C. Hockey League season.
Schaupmeyer, who hails from Kelowna, B.C., played 29 games this past season as captain for the Okanagan Rockets U18 AAA of the British Columbia Elite Hockey League’s U18 division. He scored four goals and 23 points with the Rockets. Schaupmeyer also added one assist in eight games as an affiliate player for the Warriors.
Vees promote Miller to director of hockey operations
The Penticton Vees have promoted assistant coach and video coach Matt Miller to director of hockey operations for the upcoming BCHL season.
Miller, a 25-year-old from Penticton, B.C., was video coach for the Vees from 2020 through to this past season, which is when he added assistant coach duties to his role. He was with the West Kelowna Warriors staff from 2016 to 2018, including one season as assistant coach and assistant general manager.
Urness to make junior hockey debut with Cranbrook
The Cranbrook Bucks added a skilled piece to their forward group on Thursday, with the announcement that 2005-born Noah Urness will join the team for the 2023-24 season.
Urness is from Roseau, Minnesota, and torched the state’s prep school circuit in 2022-23 as captain at Roseau High to the tune of 45 goals and 86 points in 28 games. He also had five goals and 18 points in 14 games with Team Sanford Power of the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League.
Eagles anoint Brassington as captain for this season
The Surrey Eagles announced on Friday that 2004-born defender Ty Brassington will serve as captain for the 2023-24 season, his third in the BCHL.
Related: Two Goal Lead Podcast presented by BCHLNetwork: Episode 14 – Surrey Eagles defender Ty Brassington
The White Rock, B.C. product doubled his points from a goal and seven assists in 50 games during the 2021-22 season to three goals and 14 assists in 46 games in the 2022-23 season. He also has three assists in 14 career BCHL playoff games with the Eagles.
Silverbacks extend Shattock for two seasons
The Salmon Arm Silverbacks have signed head coach and assistant general manager Tyler Shattock to a two-year contract extension.
The native of Salmon Arm, B.C. originally joined the Silverbacks as an assistant coach in October of 2018, before taking over as head coach during the 2019-20 season. Shattock has guided the Backs to an 83-48-13-7 record during his time as the team’s bench boss.
Penticton adds Vanden Berg as an assistant coach
Matthew Vanden Berg has joined the Penticton Vees as an assistant coach to head coach Fred Harbinson for the 2023-24 season.
Vanden Berg was a volunteer assistant coach with the NCAA’s University of Maine for the past two seasons. He’s also coached U18 AAA in the U.S. with Team Carolina, the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals, and the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.
Tong leaves Langley for Whitecourt
2004-born Langley Rivermen defender Ryan Tong has signed with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Whitecourt Wolverines for the 2023-24 season. The Burnaby, B.C. product was a first-year player with the Rivermen this past season.
Tong missed a number of games due to injury and ended up with four assists in 37 games for Langley. He also played six games in the Fred Page Cup playoffs.
BCHL donates $15,000 to Burns Lake Minor Hockey
The BCHL announced on Friday that it has donated $15,000 to the Burns Lake Minor Hockey Association. The funds came from the sponsorship and ticket sales for the league’s Road Show event in Burns Lake, B.C. this past February.
The event saw Salmon Arm and Prince George play a pair of regular-season games in the village of 1,800 people, which is located 1,011 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
Barker departs the Vees’ bench
The Penticton Vees posted a tribute to assistant coach Cam Barker on social media on Friday, with no details as to what the homage is about. Based on the language included in the tweet above, it appears Barker is leaving the Vees organization.
The 37-year-old from Winnipeg was an assistant coach in Penticton for the last two seasons and the Vees won back-to-back Fred Page Cup titles while compiling a regular season record of 93-11-1-3.
Grant commits to the University of Wisconsin-Superior
2002-born goaltender Kobe Grant (2-0-0-0, 1.24 goals-against average, .944 save percentage, and two shutouts in four games with Salmon Arm, Vernon, and Prince George from 2019-21) has committed to the University of Wisconsin-Superior, which is an NCAA Division III school located in Superior, Wisconsin.
Grant, who hails from Sicamous, B.C., played for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Swan Valley Stampeders in 2022-23. In 45 games, he posted a 26-14-3 record along with a 2.69 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage, and three shutouts.
Abbott joins the Crusaders for 2023-24
2005-born defender Quinn Abbott (three games with Cowichan Valley in 2022-23) has signed with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders for the upcoming junior hockey season.
Abbott is a product of North Vancouver, B.C. who spent most of 2022-23 with the Burnaby Winter Club U18 Prep team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He finished with five goals and 24 points in 32 games at BWC.
The three games he got into with Cowichan Valley were as an affiliate player. Abbott also had four assists in eight playoff games for the Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League as an affiliate.
Sillinger inks an AHL deal with Cleveland
Forward Owen Sillinger (66 goals, 87 assists in 171 games with Penticton from 2015-18) has inked a one-year, American Hockey League pact with the Cleveland Monsters for 2023-24.
The Bemidji State University alum from Regina, Saskatchewan posted 11 goals and 36 points in 72 games as a rookie for the Monsters this past season. He has 14 goals and 45 points in 89 career AHL appearances, all with Cleveland over the last two seasons.
Sinclair signs to skate with Belleville Senators
Goaltender Mark Sinclair (33-12-0 with a 2.59 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage, and two shutouts in 45 games with Chilliwack in 2016-17) has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Belleville Senators of the AHL for 2023-24.
Sinclair, a 27-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, had a 19-7-2 record with a 2.70 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, and four shutouts in 32 ECHL games for the Cincinnati Cyclones last season. He played one game on loan to Belleville in April and made 41 saves in a 1-0 shootout loss to Cleveland.
Martan makes the move to Manchester
Forward Mitchell Martan (one goal, two assists in 18 games with West Kelowna in 2016-17) has signed with the Manchester Storm of the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League for the 2023-24 season. The Storm plays in Manchester, which is in northwestern England.
Martan, a 25-year-old from Whitby, Ont., totaled 28 goals and 77 points in 140 NCAA games split between Bemidji State University and Canisius College over the last five seasons.
