The Victoria Grizzlies have put together a new goalie tandem midway through the season.
The team released 2005-born Carter Capton from its roster on Nov. 17, and he signed with Camrose of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. On Nov. 21, 2006-born Paolo Frasca departed the Grizzlies for the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves. Frasca’s departure forced the Grizzlies to find a new goaltender. On Dec. 30, they let 2006-born goaltender Spencer Michnik go after appearing in seven games.
That same day, 2006-born netminder Mitchell Kathler joined the Grizzlies. His BCHL rights were acquired from Surrey for 2006-born forward Landen Ward and future considerations.
On Nov. 25, Victoria head coach and general manager Geoff Grimwood signed 2005-born Finnish goaltender Casimir Weckström. Weckström started this season with the Wisconsin Windigo of the North American Hockey League.
Kathler is the second piece of the Grizzlies’ new goalie tandem. Last season, the product of Airdrie, Alberta spent time with the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Before joining the Grizzlies, he played 11 games for Portage, but also spent time in the BCHL with Alberni Valley and Surrey earlier this season.
This article is about Kathler and Weckström’s paths to joining the Grizzlies. Before that, I will examine where Frasca and Capton ended up.
Frasca to the OHL, Capton to the AJHL
As noted above, Frasca joined the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. He’s forming the new goalie tandem with Bjorn Bronas, who jumped to the Wolves from the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. As for Capton, he rejoined the Kodiaks after spending time with them to start last season.
Before joining Sudbury, Frasca left Victoria with a record of 6-4-0, a 2.27 goals-against average, a .939 save percentage, and four shutouts in 13 games. Capton had a 4-5-0 record to go along with a 3.27 goals-against average, an .888 save percentage and one shutout in 11 games.
As of this writing, Michnik has yet to land with another team. His time in Victoria comes to an end with a 3-2-1 record, a 4.62 goals-against average, and a .876 save percentage.
Kathler’s path from U15 to the MJHL
Before making his junior hockey debut, Kathler played for several Alberta-based hockey programs. In the season that ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he played for the Airdrie Stars U13 team in his hometown. In 2020-21, Kathler didn’t play any games of record with the Airdrie Lightning U15 Prep team in the South Central Alberta Hockey League due to the pandemic.
He played with the Airdrie-Bow Valley Havoc U16 AA team in 2021-22 and the U18 AAA CFR Chemicals Bisons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Kathler was 10-6-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage, and two shutouts in 19 games as a 15-year-old. In two seasons of U18 AAA hockey, he posted a 20-20-0 record, a 3.37 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and three shutouts.
Kathler spent the 2024-25 season with Portage, emerging as one of the MJHL’s top goaltenders despite being a rookie at the Junior A level. In 37 games, Kathler posted a 25-11-1 record, a 2.41 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage, and five shutouts, quickly establishing himself as Portage’s primary option in the crease.
His performance earned league-wide recognition. He was named the MJHL Rookie of the Year, selected to the MJHL All-Rookie Team, and finished the season as a finalist for the league’s Top Goaltender Award. He continued his strong play into the postseason, recording a 5-4-2 playoff record with a 2.30 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and one shutout.
Moving on to Alberni Valley and Surrey
After leaving Portage, Kathler started the 2025-26 season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. In three games, his record was 1-1-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average, one shutout, and a .935 save percentage. He was traded to Surrey on Oct. 30 but only played one period in relief for the Eagles, giving up one goal in a 7-0 loss to Coquitlam on Halloween.
Kathler returned to Portage a week later and went 10-1-0 with a 1.86 goals-against average, two shutouts, and a .941 save percentage with the Terriers. He made his last start for Portage in a 5-0 loss to Steinbach on Dec. 20.
Weckström’s time in Finland
Before coming to North America, Weckström grew up playing in Finnish minor hockey programs in his hometown of Kokkola. He was with the Hermes U16 team from 2018 to 2020 before moving to the Vaasan Sport U16 team in 2020-21. He got into 15 U16 SM-sarja games with Vaasan Sport U16 that season, posting a 4.47 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage.
In the 2021-22 season, he appeared with Sport U18 Akatemia as a 16-year-old, where in two U18 Mestis games he posted a 2.50 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage, including one shutout. That same season, Weckström also appeared in U18 SM-sarja competition, where he recorded a 7.48 goals-against average and a .827 save percentage in six games against older players.
By the 2023-24 season, Weckström progressed full-time to Vaasan Sport U20 in Finland’s U20 SM-sarja, where he became a more regular starter, appearing in 13 games and compiling a 5-4-0 record with a 3.13 goals-against average and a .864 save percentage as an 18-year-old.
These stats illustrate his developmental trajectory through successive Finnish junior tiers over four seasons, advancing from U16 through to the top Finnish junior league by 2024.
Weckström makes the move to North America
Weckström played the 2024-25 season with the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s London Nationals. In 27 games, he went 13-12-1 with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. He joined the Wisconsin Windigo of the NAHL to start this season. Weckström had a record of 6-3-1 to go with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 10 games for the Windigo, which is based out of Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Kathler hasn’t played for the Grizzlies yet after his rights were acquired from Surrey. However, Weckström made his debut for Victoria during its Nov. 29 game against the Powell River Kings. In that game, the Grizzlies beat the Kings 8-5. Weckström came on in the third period, making five saves on nine shots.
