Heading into the 2020-21 season, the Vernon Vipers are a young team. Only six players returned from last year and are looked upon to lead a new core. In previous articles this fall, I looked at Jojo Tanaka- Campbell and Trey Taylor. Now it’s time to get reacquainted with the remaining four returning Vipers.
Congrats to Vernon Vipers F Cameron MacDonald on his commitment to Dartmouth College!#ModernHockey @ShawInfo
📸 @garrettjames22 pic.twitter.com/OYnupFkwWe
— BC Hockey League (@GoBCHL) July 22, 2020
Cameron MacDonald
MacDonald began his post-minor hockey career in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. The Surrey native played 29 games in the 2016-17 season and had 38 points with the Yale Hockey Academy U15 prep team.
In 2017-18, he played for the Valley West Hawks in the BC U18 AAA league. MacDonald had 46 points in 34 games and also played in four BCHL games with the Powell River Kings as an affiliate player, posting two assists.
He also played in the WHL Cup in 2017-18, which is a tournament for U16 players from the four Western Canadian provinces. MacDonald played in five games for Team British Columbia and had four assists.
In 2018-19, MacDonald played in the CSSHL U18 with the Yale Hockey Academy prep team and had 60 points in 32 games. He also had another 10 points in the playoffs. Also, that season, MacDonald played three BCHL games as an affiliate with the Chilliwack Chiefs.
In the offseason heading into 2019-20, MacDonald was recruited to Vernon and played in his first BCHL season. He had 25 points in 56 games and another nine points in five games during the playoffs.
2020-21 is MacDonald’s last season in the BCHL, as he has committed to play for Dartmouth College in the NCAA starting next September.
Jack Glen
The 19-year-old Regina, Saskatchewan native is entering his second year with the Vipers. Glen’s first hockey season of record is 2014-15 in the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League U15 with the Regina Monarchs U15 AA. He played in 31 games and had 18 points.
In 2015-16, he moved to British Columbia and joined the Shawnigan Lake School U15 Prep team in the CSSHL U15. There, he played in 25 games and had seven points.
Glen joined another BC-based team the following season when he played with Delta Hockey Academy Elite 15s in the CSSHL U16 and put up 20 points in 30 games.
In the 2017-18 season, Glen moved back to Saskatchewan and played with the Regina Pat Canadians U18 AAA of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. He had 13 points in 44 games, and played with the same team in 2018-19, posting 27 points in 36 games.
Last season, Glen was back in BC to play for the Vipers. In his rookie BCHL season, he had a dozen points in 41 games.
Kjell Kjemhus
The Grande Prairie, Alberta native played with the Pursuit of Excellence U15 Prep of the CSSHL U15 in 2014-15. In 11 games, he didn’t score any points.
The following season, Kjemhus played for both the U15 prep team, where he had 38 points in 25 games, and the POE Elite 15s as an affiliate player, where he had no points in three games.
In 2016-17, he made the jump to the CSSHL U18 with the POE prep team. He played in 14 games and had nine points. Kjemhus also played in the North American Prospects Hockey League 18U with the same team and had three points in 14 games. He also made his Western Hockey League debut with the Regina Pats, going scoreless in three games.
Kjemhus made appearances with the same three teams in 2017-18 in addition to the WHL’s Prince George Cougars after being traded by Regina. With the Cougars, he had four points in 24 games.
In the 2018-19 season, Kjemhus started with the Vernon Vipers and played in 10 games, notching a single assist. He also played with the Cougars and the Moose Jaw Warriors. Kjemhus finished the season with six points in 48 WHL games.
Last season, he played 31 games with the Saskatoon Blades and had two points. This upcoming season, Kjemhus will play his first full BCHL campaign with Vernon.
Nicholas Kent
Kent is the only defenseman and only American on this list. The Ladera Ranch, California product played for the Los Angeles Jr Kings U13 AAA in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League in 2014-15.
In 2015-16, Kent crossed the border and played with Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep in the CSSHL U15. The following season he continued at the DHA playing for mostly the Elite 15s, but also in three games with the U18 prep team.
During the 2017-18 season, Kent played with the Wenatchee Wild. He played in 16 Fred Page Cup playoff games along with the Doyle Cup and RBC Cup as the Wild were among the best teams in junior A hockey. In 24 regular season games, he didn’t score any points.
The following season, Kent played in 30 games with the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and had 15 points. He finished the season a single assist in 24 games in the United States Hockey League with the Green Bay Gamblers.
Last season was his first in Vernon, and he had 14 points in 41 games. Kent added two assists in the Vipers first round playoff win against his former club in Wenatchee.
