The Surrey Eagles rebuild continues. On Oct. 28, the Eagles participated in this season’s first blockbuster trade, involving five players.
The Surrey Eagles traded 2006-born defender Hunter Heisten, 2005-born forward — and captain — Gavin Rocha, and 2007-born forward Brendyn Van Oene to the Cowichan Valley Capitals for 2007-born forward Owen Fitzgerald and 2006-born forward Kole Keen.
This trade wasn’t the only deal Surrey made in October. The Eagles acquired 2006-born goaltender Mitchell Kathler from the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for 2005-born forward Brandon Gill.
Earlier, the Eagles picked up 2007-born defender Maxwell Davidson from the Brooks Bandits for future considerations.
This article is about the blockbuster five-player trade between Surrey and Cowichan Valley. Before I examine that trade, I will review Surrey’s season up to the point of the trade.
A rough start in the early going
The Surrey Eagles started the season with Brian Passmore in charge. The 45-year-old Passmore succeeded Scott Gomez as the Eagles’ head coach and general manager after the latter left in May.
The Eagles started the regular season with a 0-13-0-0. Surrey didn’t win its first game until Nov. 2 against the Powell River Kings.
As noted above, Passmore was busy on the trade front. Before the Eagles’ Oct. 4 game against Langley, Surrey nabbed 2006-born forward Dru Mushumanski from the Chilliwack Chiefs for 2007-born forward Cameron Caron, who’s playing in the United States Hockey League this season.
This season could mirror the start of Surrey’s rebuild from 2014 to 2017. Between those seasons, the Eagles won a combined 34 games and didn’t make the playoffs until the 2017-18 season.
Every team goes through a rebuild cycle. The Eagles have historically been one of the top teams in the BCHL. They’ll be back sooner rather than later.
The key pieces of the deal
In this blockbuster trade, the Capitals gave up two players as Cowichan Valley head coach and general manager Cam Keith sent Fitzgerald and Keen to Surrey.
Fitzgerald is a junior hockey veteran from Ennismore, Ontario. Before coming to B.C., Fitzgerald played for the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Lindsay Muskies. Before the trade to Surrey, Fitzgerald notched five goals and six assists in 14 games for the Capitals.
Keen is also a junior hockey veteran. A native of White City, Saskatchewan, he spent the 2023-24 season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Melville Millionaires. He signed with Cowichan Valley during the 2024 off-season and this season, recorded seven goals and four assists in 14 games with the Capitals before being dealt to the Eagles.
Now for the players Cowichan Valley received. Heisten is an American defender from Anchorage, Alaska. A stay-at-home blueliner, he joined the Eagles as a rookie last season. In 40 career games with Surrey, Heisten had eight assists.
Rocha has been a top scorer everywhere he’s played. He hails from Brantford, Ontario and spent a season in each of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Ontario Junior Hockey League before heading west. He signed in Surrey in 2024 and was second in scoring on the Eagles last season. He was named Surrey’s captain in September. Before the trade to Cowichan Valley, he posted four goals and six assists in 10 games with the Eagles.
Finally, Van Oene is a B.C.-born forward and product of Shawnigan Lake School in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. Last season, Van Oene was a rookie for the Chilliwack Chiefs. Before the trade, he had one goal in 11 games with the Eagles. Being moved to Cowichan Valley is a full-circle moment for Van Oene, as he was an affiliate player for the Capitals during the 2022-23 season. His hometown of Shawnigan Lake, B.C. is also only 20 kilometres south of where the Caps play in Duncan, B.C.
Each player’s debut in their new colours
Rocha, Heisten, and Van Oene went scoreless in their Capitals’ debut on Nov. 1, but Cowichan Valley won the game 4-2 over Victoria. In the Caps’ next game at home against Vernon on Nov. 2, all three newcomers picked up points. Heisten and Rocha each had an assist, and Van Oene scored a goal in a 6-2 drubbing of the Vipers.
In his Eagles debut, Fitzgerald had a goal and an assist in a 9-5 win over Powell River on Nov. 2, while Keen didn’t find the scoresheet in his first game with Surrey, a 7-0 loss to Coquitlam on Oct. 31. As of this writing, Fitzgerald has seven points in a dozen games with the Eagles and Keen has 12 points in 17 games.
Sometimes, a change of scenery helps a player, and new players can sometimes help turn around a team’s season. More trades are possible for both Cowichan Valley and Surrey. Once the BCHL’s holiday break ends, a lot can happen between then and the trade deadline in February.
Photo credit: Island Images Photography
