Cowichan Valley Capitals head coach and general manager Cam Keith has been busy, signing several players to his roster for the 2025-26 season.
2006-born goaltender Jack Hirshorn has signed with the Caps after playing last season with the North Iowa Bulls of the North American Hockey League. 2007-born forward Brendyn Van Oene played last season with the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Gavin Nemis, a 2006-born forward, last played for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Dauphin Kings. 2006-born forward Carter Lundie played last season with the St. Cloud Norsemen of the NAHL. 2007-born forward Noah Lawless is a product of the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds hockey program in the BC Elite Hockey League.
2005-born defender Ryley Cyca comes from the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the MJHL. Finally, 2006-born forward Junsu Kwak last played for the NAHL’s Springfield Junior Blues.
Most of these players already have experience in junior hockey, and Lawless is the only one in this group without. For his part, Kwak is already familiar with Keith.
Kwak was supposed to join the Surrey Eagles roster for the 2025-26 season, but instead, he ended up signing with the Jr. Blues.
This article is about each player’s path to Cowichan Valley. These players are highlighted as of this article’s writing. The Caps may have added more players since this was written.
From the Windy City to Mason City
Hirshorn, who’s from Atlanta, Georgia, played minor hockey with the Windy City Storm hockey program out of Palatine, Illinois. During the 2021-22 season, he played 44 games for the Storm’s U15 AAA team.
For the 2022-23 season, Hirshorn played prep hockey at Shattuck’s St. Mary’s. In 29 games for the school’s 16U AAA team, he was 27-1-0 with a 1.59 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and eight shutouts.
The following season, Hirshorn was with the Shattuck 18U Prep Team. He finished 2023-24 with a 35-1-0 record, 12 shutouts, a sparkling 1.70 goals-against average, and a .908 save percentage in 39 games.
In 2024-25, Hirshorn played for the North Iowa Bulls. In 30 games, Hirshorn had a record of 7-17-2. His goals-against average was 3.49, and his save percentage was .900. He also posted a pair of shutouts.
From Shawnigan Lake to Chilliwack
Van Oene spent time at his hometown Shawnigan Lake School in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. From 2021 to 2024, Van Oene played for several teams at Shawnigan Lake.
In 2021-22, Van Oene played for the school’s U15 and U17 Prep teams, finishing with 25 goals and 18 assists in 35 games. The following season, he spent time with Shawnigan Lake’s U17 and U18 Prep teams. He posted 32 goals and 21 assists in 33 CSSHL games. Van Oene also played one game for the Capitals as an affiliate player.
After putting up 23 goals and 26 assists with the school’s U18 Prep team in 2023-24, Van Oene joined the Chilliwack Chiefs. In 45 games this past season, Van Oene notched 12 goals and 10 assists.
From Winnipeg to Dauphin
Nemis is a product of the Winnipeg Sharks hockey program, tallying 10 goals and 11 assists in 29 games for the U14 AAA team in 2019-20.
The following season, Nemis joined the RINK Hockey Academy in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. From 2020 to 2023, Nemis played for the school’s U15, U16, and U18 Prep teams.
He had seven points in two games during the COVID-19-impacted 2020-21 season. With the U16 squad in 2021-22, Nemis notched 14 goals and 11 assists in 36 games. Nemis finished with seven goals and 19 assists in 32 games in 2022-23 with the U18 team.
Before the 2023-24 season, Nemis signed with the Dauphin Kings. Over the next two years, he played 90 games for the Kings, posting 17 goals and 47 assists.
From West Vancouver to St. Cloud
Lundie played in the CSSHL for four seasons, starting at West Van Academy in 2019-20. That season, the product of North Vancouver, BC had 32 goals and 30 assists in 30 games with the U15 Varsity team.
The following season, Lundie put up two goals and 10 assists in six games with the Burnaby Winter Club U15 Prep team. He only played six CSSHL games that season due to pandemic restrictions.
Back at West Van Academy – this time with the U18 Prep team – for 2021-22, Lundie had three goals and 16 assists in 36 games. He went back to BWC in 2022-23 and scored 19 goals and 13 assists in 32 games with the U18 Prep team. That same season, Lundie played six games for the Powell River Kings as an affiliate player, scoring two goals.
He played his rookie BCHL campaign with the Kings in 2023-24, ending up with five points in 27 games. Lundie joined the Norsemen for 2024-25 and recorded 10 goals and 14 assists in 27 NAHL games.
From Abbotsford to Duncan
A native of Mission, BC, Lawless has played for the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds hockey program in the BCEHL since 2020. He didn’t get into any games in 2020-21 due to pandemic restrictions.
In the 2021-22 season, Lawless scored four goals and 11 assists in 27 games for the T-birds’ U15 team. He moved up to the U17 team in 2022-23 and posted 14 goals and a dozen assists in 36 games.
He spent the last two seasons with the Thunderbirds U18 Prep team. In 69 games, Lawless scored 35 goals and added 37 assists.
From Sherwood Park to Waywayseecappo
A veteran junior hockey defender, Cyca played three seasons from 2018 through 2021 with several teams in his hometown of Sherwood Park, Alberta.
In 2021, Cyca moved northeast to play for the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers U18 AAA team in the Alberta Elite Hockey League. He spent two seasons with the Rangers, scoring seven goals and 25 assists in 72 games. Cyca also served as Fort Saskatchewan’s captain in 2022-23.
Cyca made his junior A debut with the Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. After four games, he was released by the Red Wings and signed with the Portage Terriers of the MJHL. Cyca had eight points in 25 games for the Terriers before being sent to Waywayseecappo at the 2024 trade deadline. He finished with a pair of assists in 15 games with the Wolverines.
Last season, Cyca was an alternate captain with Waywayseecappo, finishing with three goals and 20 assists in 46 games.
From King’s-Edgehill School to Springfield
Born in Seoul, Korea, Kwak played prep hockey at the King’s-Edgehill School in Windsor, Nova Scotia. He spent two seasons at the school from 2021 to 2023, putting up 28 goals and 28 assists in 41 games with the U18 team.
For the 2023-24 season, Kwak joined the Elite Hockey Academy in Northford, Connecticut. His totals with the 18U AAA team are exceptional – 42 goals and 106 assists in 83 games. He also represented South Korea at the IIHF U18 Division I, Group B World Championships in 2023 and 2024. Kwak had 12 points in five games at the tournament last year and two assists in five games two years ago.
This past season, he joined the Springfield Jr. Blues for his first season of junior hockey. In 49 games with the Jr. Blues, he notched eight goals and 24 assists.
