BCHL, Coastal Conference, Interior Conference

BCHL Today: Kings promote Sawyer to head coach, Vees add Swiss forward Bottini, Bucks ink forward Rogers, and more

Written by Brian Wiebe on

Kings GM and coach Kuntz steps down

The Powell River Kings will have a new but familiar face leading the charge next season following the resignation of GM and head coach Tyler Kuntz. The team has promoted assistant GM and assistant coach Brock Sawyer to the role of head coach and director of hockey operations.

The Kings went 63-44-8-1 in Kuntz’s two seasons in Powell River. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs last year but fell in the first round to Cowichan Valley this year.

Sawyer has been with Powell River since being hired as an assistant coach before the 2014-15 season. He had a stint as interim head coach during the 2017-18 season when the Kings fired Kent Lewis with eleven games to go.

Vees add Swiss forward Bottini

The Penticton Vees added some international flavour to their roster on Friday with the commitment of Swiss forward Stefano Bottini. The 17-year-old is considered a Canadian citizen because his mother was born in Canada.

Bottini had 12 goals and 28 assists in 43 games with the Lugano U20 team this past season. He added two goals and five assists in 14 international U18 games for Switzerland.

Bucks sign forward Rogers for 2020-21

The Cranbrook Bucks added another piece to their forward ranks with the signing of Brendan Rogers for 2020-21.

Rogers, 18, had 16 goals and 21 assists in 47 games this past season with the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.

He has one game of BCHL experience with the Powell River Kings as an affiliate player in 2018-19.

Three Stars of the Night ⏪ March 28, 2012

First Star: Merritt captain Evan Stack had a goal and an assist as the Centennials beat Penticton 4-3.

Second Star: Surrey goaltender Andrew Hunt made 34 saves in a 2-1 win over Powell River.

Third Star: Vees forward Travis St. Denis had a pair of goals in the loss to the Cents.

Honourable Mentions: Eagles forward Charles Orzetti scored the winning goal against the Kings. Centennials forward Regan Soquila and Penticton forward Mario Lucia each posted two assists. Merritt forward Brent Fletcher scored a goal and an assist.