The Surrey Eagles, Cowichan Valley Capitals, and Powell River Kings are all part of a series of trades that sees multiple players change teams across multiple leagues.
The first domino to fall was Surrey’s acquisition of 2002-born defenceman Tanner Komzak, 2001-born forward Primo Self, and future considerations from Cowichan Valley in exchange for 2001-born forward Gabe Schovanek and 2001-born defenseman Colin Campbell.
Next, the Eagles packaged Komzak and future considerations to the Whitecourt Wolverines of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for 2002-born forward Jacob Boucher.
Then, Surrey flipped Boucher and future considerations to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Humboldt Broncos for 2003-born forward Karter McNarland.
Finally, the Eagles moved McNarland and future considerations to Powell River for 2003-born forward Jacob Bonkowski.
So when the dust settled, there were four deals connected involving five teams, seven players, and four batches of future considerations, with Komzak, Boucher, and McNarland each traded twice.
Eagles get Bonkowski and Self
Surrey got a pair of players out of the series of deals, and one of them didn’t play in the BCHL during the 2020-21 pod season.
However, Bonkowski was with Powell River during the BCHL’s 2020-21 pod season and had three goals and 16 points in 20 games as a rookie against Coquitlam and Surrey.
The Richmond, BC product played for the West Van Academy Prep team in 2019-20 and posted 36 points in 31 games. He also made his BCHL debut that season, playing a pair of games with the Kings as an affiliate player.
Self, who hails from Grand Rapids, MI, played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the US Hockey League in 2020-21. In 37 games, he scored eight goals and added four assists.
He notched 12 goals and 37 points as a rookie with Cowichan Valley in the 2019-20 season. Self is committed to Miami University Ohio for September 2022.
It remains to be seen if Self ends up playing for the Eagles, as he was selected by Maryland in the 2021 North American Hockey League Supplemental Draft.
Gabe Schovanek opened the scoring by tipping a point shot! Take a look at how it came together! #OurNestOurFight pic.twitter.com/9pPKm2Q2DU
— Surrey Eagles (@SurreyEagles) February 10, 2020
Capitals end up with Schovanek and Campbell
Like the Eagles, the Cowichan Valley Capitals received two players once the trades were complete. The Caps nabbed Schovanek and Campbell straight-up from Surrey.
Schovanek is a Comox, BC product who played with the Eagles during the pod season and as a 19-year-old, put up a respectable seven goals and 12 points in 18 games.
His numbers as a rookie with Surrey in 2019-20 were very solid, finishing fourth in team scoring with 13 goals and 39 points in 49 games.
Campbell represents a unique case as he comes to the BCHL as a 20-year-old from the Ontario Hockey League. He didn’t play a game in 2020-21 as the OHL season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He did play one season in the OHL with the Guelph Storm, putting up an assist in 23 games during the 2019-20 season. The Mississauga, ON product has some junior A hockey experience after getting into a pair of games as an affiliate with Summerside of the Maritime Junior Hockey League in 2018-19.
Here’s the call of @HumboldtBroncos @KarterMcnarland goal from last night.
Surprised I even got words out.
@theSJHL pic.twitter.com/AwAHA1yVFt— Rory McGouran (@Bronco_Voice) October 25, 2019
Kings grab McNarland
The Kings came away from the trades with the addition of an NCAA-committed forward in McNarland. The product of Saskatoon, SK didn’t actually play with Humboldt in 2020-21 but spent the season split between three teams.
He played nine games with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the US Hockey League, three games in the NAHL with the Bismark Bobcats, and five games in the National College Development Conference with the South Shore Kings. McNarland had five points in five games with South Shore.
In 57 games with Humboldt in 2019-20, the University of Vermont commit was third in scoring on the Broncos with 10 goals and 50 points. He’ll head to Burlington, VT in the fall of 2022.
Komzak and Boucher leave the BCHL
As for the players moving out of the BCHL, Komzak is the only one with extensive experience in the league. The blueliner from North Vancouver, BC heads to Whitecourt with 58 career BCHL games under his belt.
Komzak posted four goals and eight points in 20 games with Cowichan Valley during the 2020-21 pod season. In 38 games as a rookie with Langley in 2019-20, he tallied a goal and three assists. Komzak was traded to Cowichan from Penticton last October.
Boucher hails from St. Albert, AB, and although his rights belonged to the Eagles, he obviously didn’t play in the BCHL because it’s the offseason. He spent 2020-21 in the Western Hockey League with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and in 14 games, registered three assists.
He also played one game with the Wolverines and two games with the High Prairie Red Wings of the Greater Metro Hockey League. Boucher had an eye-popping 10 points in those two games with the Red Wings. After the series of trades, his junior A rights now belong to Humboldt.