The BC Hockey League and all of its teams are now on the final stretch towards the Fred Page Cup playoffs. Last month, the Chilliwack Chiefs made some moves to acquire veteran players to go on a run not seen since 2017.
The Chiefs are known for bringing in players to make a run in the playoffs with the likes of Ilya Borisychev, Shawn York, Wade Dubielewicz, Ashlee Langdon, Matt Bickley, and Brett McIsaac, to name a few, joining the team for the stretch drive over the years.
The Chiefs started their trades by sending 2003-born defenseman Lucas Bourdon to the Powell River Kings for future considerations. Bourdon came to the Chiefs during the pod season of 2020-21. In 18 games, he had one goal and three assists. After only getting into five games this season for the Chiefs, Bourdon will likely gain more playing time with the Kings.
Trade deadline deals
The second trade the Chiefs made was acquiring 2001-born defenseman Anthony Allepot from the Penticton Vees for future considerations. In 27 games with the Vees before the trade, he had one goal and 10 assists. Before signing with Penticton, Allepot played four seasons with the Val-d’Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and tallied two goals and 26 assists.
The Chiefs needed to make some room on the blue line for Allepot, so they sent 2003-born Joshua Orrico to the Trail Smoke Eaters for future considerations. Orrico was a rookie with the Chiefs this season who posted two goals and five assists in 25 games in Chilliwack.
Chilliwack also sent 2003-born forward Luca Grabas to the Nanaimo Clippers for future considerations. The Burnaby, BC product made his BCHL debut with the Chiefs during the pod season, notching a goal and an assist. This season, Grabas put up two goals and three assists.
With Grabas on his way to Nanaimo, the Chiefs brought in 2003-born forward Daniel North from the Cowichan Valley Capitals for futures. Chilliwack then flipped North and future considerations to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits for 2001-born forward Jack Seymour.
While playing for one of the best teams in the country with Brooks, Seymour had nine goals and 13 assists in 35 games. He brings speed and grit to the Chiefs lineup that will be needed for a long playoff run to the Fred Page Cup.
Looking forward
With adding a veteran defenceman in Allepot and grit with Seymour, the Chiefs have put themselves in a position to make a long playoff run for the first time since 2017. After acquiring Seymour, Chiefs general manager and head coach Brian Maloney didn’t pull any punches on what their aspirations are for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
“We really feel like this is the final move in assembling a team for a long championship run. Obviously, it has been tough the past couple of seasons, and tough to lose some good young players […] [but] we felt as a staff we owe it to our fans and our players to really push towards our goal of winning a championship this season,”
Chilliwack looks to continue its climb up the Coastal Conference standings to secure home ice advantage in the first round of the Fred Page Cup playoffs, with the second and third place Alberni Valley Bulldogs and Nanaimo Clippers both within striking distance.
