Lemay selected by Washington in the NHL Draft
#BCHL connections in the 2021 #NHLDraft
👤 | Brian Wiebe (@Brian_Wiebe)
📰 | https://t.co/yEXjsfuvK9
📷 | Lisa Mazurek Photography (@LisaMPhotos)#BCHLNetwork #NHL #NCAA #USHL #WHL pic.twitter.com/4ky1lugNCS— BCHLNetwork (@BCHLNetwork) July 25, 2021
Salmon Arm Silverbacks defenseman Joaquin Lemay was the lone BCHL player to be selected in the NHL Draft when he went to the Washington Capitals in the fourth round, 119th overall, on Saturday.
Once the 2020-21 pod season started in April, Lemay, a 2002-born blueliner from St-Pierre-les-Becquets, QC, put up 10 assists in 15 games.
The defender is the 10th Silverbacks player taken in the NHL draft and just the fifth ever chosen by the Capitals. Lemay was originally committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for this September, but in a news release, the BCHL confirmed that he will return to Salmon Arm as a sophomore in 2021-22.
Roberts signs on with Basingstoke
The surprises just keep on coming!
He's had to wait for his debut in Bison colours but we're pleased to confirm that Alex Roberts will be a Bison for 21/22!https://t.co/p3RLtKfInB pic.twitter.com/8WRqNm6eJF— Basingstoke Bison (@BisonHockey) July 25, 2021
Forward Alex Roberts (one assist in 10 games with Coquitlam in 2011-12) has signed with the Basingstoke Bison of the National Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom for the 2021-22 season.
Roberts, a 27-year-old from Burnaby, BC, didn’t play anywhere of note in 2020-21 due to the pandemic but spent the 2019-20 season with Mont-Blanc of the French Ice Hockey Federation Division 1. In 22 games with Mont-Blanc, he put up 19 points.
Vees recruit Motzko dies after a car crash
Terrible news about a young man who was set to play in our league this year.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends. https://t.co/RxolPIIPBy
— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) July 25, 2021
Penticton Vees president, general manager, and head coach Fred Harbinson tweeted out news of the passing of forward Mack Motzko. According to Harbinson, the 20-year-old was due to join the Vees for the 2021-22 BC Hockey League season.
The Associated Press reports that Motzko died of injuries suffered in a crash in Orono, MN, near Lake Minnetonka, on Saturday. Orono Police say speed and alcohol appear to be “contributing factors.”
Motzko, whose dad Bob is the head coach of the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team, split the 2020-21 season between Sioux Falls of the US Hockey League and New Mexico of the North American Hockey League.
