New Recruits for the Vernon Vipers

 

The Vernon Vipers will have some fresh faces when the puck drops on the 2020-21 BCHL season. With nine players graduating from the Vipers after last season, a new group of recruits has signed on to play in Vernon.

Griffen Barr

The 18-year-old defenseman was the first recruit for the Vipers this year. Barr has spent the majority of his playing career with Shawnigan Lake School on both the bantam and varsity teams. The Nanaimo, BC native last played with the Shawnigan Lake School Midget Prep in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, where he had five goals and 37 assists in 42 games.

In a news release announcing Barr’s signing, Vipers head coach and GM Jason Mckee stated that Barr should have an impact right away. “Griffen is a heavy defenceman that helps in all situations. He’s a right-handed shot and that is very important to us.”

Liam Cavan

Cavan is a 6’0″ defenseman from Ottawa, Ontario. He has spent the last two seasons playing for St. Andrew’s College in both the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Associaton and CAHS.

In his final season with St. Andrews, he had nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points and was second in points by a defenseman. Cavan has committed to play with Merrimack College in the NCAA for the 2021-22 season.

Sam Duerr

Duerr is an 18-year-old defenseman from Chicago, Illinois who has played the majority of his career in the Windy City. However, he played last season for the famed Shattuck St. Mary’s Midget Prep team of the United States High School Prep league.

He had 36 points in 44 games and also played in three games with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League as an affiliate player. Duerr has already committed to play for the University of Maine in the NCAA for the 2021-22 season.

Desmond Johnson

Johnson is an 18-year-old, right-handed defenseman from Windsor, Ontario. Johnson has spent the majority of his career playing in Chicago for a variety of teams.

He spent the last season playing for the Chicago Mission U18 team of the High Performance Hockey U18 League. Johnson had 11 points in 14 games and also played in two games for the Springfield Jr. Bruins of the North American Hockey League as an affiliate player.

Logan Lorenz

Lorenz is a 17-year-old forward from Consort, Alberta who played the last two seasons for the Northern Alberta X-Treme Prep of the CSSHL.

In 2019-20, Lorenz was the league’s leading scorer with 29 goals and 49 assists in 33 games. He also suited up for five games as an affiliate player for the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

Ethan Mercer

Mercer joins fellow X-Treme Prep teammate Lorenz in committing to the Vipers. The Slave Lake, Alberta product played one season in the CSSHL and had 32 points in 36 games. The 17-year-old also played minor hockey in Whitecourt and Grande Prairie.

Reagan Milburn

Milburn has already had the chance to impress the Vipers coaching staff. The 17-year-old from Kamloops, BC played in four games for the Vipers as an affiliate player last season and had no points. He spent the 2019-20 season with the Thompson Blazers of the BC Hockey U18 AAA league. Milburn played in 38 games and had 51 points, which was good enough for fifth overall in league scoring.

Nicholas Remissong

Remissong is a forward from Lake Forest, Illinois. He spent the last season playing high school prep hockey with Lake Forest High as well as the Chicago Mission U18 team of the HPHL. He joins fellow Chicago Mission teammate Desmond Johnson on the Vipers this season.

Daniel Rozsival

Rozsival is forward from Chicago, Illinois. He also spent last season playing for the Chicago Mission U18 of the HPHL. Rozsival played in 12 games and had 14 points. He joins fellow Chicago teammates Johnson and Remissong on the Vipers this year. Rozsival’s dad, Michal, played 963 NHL games with five different teams and won a Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks.