It’s been a season of change thus far for the Powell River Kings. The Kings added to their roster on Oct. 14 by signing veteran 2004-born forward Rhett Hamilton. The Kings also acquired 2006-born forward Tommy Karmiris and 2006-born defender Jason Davenport.
The Kings signed the youngest Westhaver brother to their roster earlier this month and said goodbye to forward Jaxon Fuder, last month after he left for the Western Hockey League.
Powell River also welcomed 2004-born goaltender Vincent Lamberti back to the team. Last season, Lamberti backstopped the Kings to five of their 14 wins.
Meanwhile, Kings head coach and director of hockey operations Glenn Anderson stepped away from the team in late October. Stephan Seeger Junior takes over as head coach while Chad Van Diemen assumes the role of director of hockey operations.
Changes on the ice
As mentioned above, the Kings saw Fuder leave for the WHL. On Oct. 7, he signed with the Red Deer Rebels and made his debut with them a day later against the Vancouver Giants.
In 2023-24, the Kings added Fuder via a mid-season trade with the Cranbrook Bucks. His departure this season created an open roster spot for another player and a week after Fuder left, the Kings signed Hamilton.
Before coming to Powell River, Hamilton played 46 games for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melfort Mustangs split between this and last season. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Trail Smoke Eaters and posted two goals and four assists.
The Kings picked up Davenport from West Kelowna on Sept. 28 in exchange for future considerations. They also signed Karmiris on Oct. 3. Before being traded to the Kings, Davenport played one game for West Kelowna, and before signing to come to Powell River, Karmiris got into five games for the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
Finally, Lamberti returned to the Kings crease for the 2024-25 season. He started last season with the Eastern Hockey League’s Connecticut Roughriders, playing seven games.
So far, Lamberti has split starting duties with 2005-born netminder Cooper Flemming. 2005-born Elliot Pratt left the team in late October and joined the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Whitecourt Wolverines.
On Nov. 4, the Kings signed 2006-born forward Jake Westhaver from the Saanich Predators of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. He is one of the four Westhaver brothers to play junior hockey on Vancouver Island in the last while. Brothers Marty and Andy played for the Victoria Grizzlies while Jack played for the VIJHL’s Westshore Wolves. Before signing with Powell River, Jake was an affiliate player with the Kings.
The Kings added 2006-born defender Conrado Calderini on Nov. 7. He played prep hockey at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts last season. Since 2019, he’s spent time with several U.S. East Coast hockey programs.
Off the ice changes
The Kings have a new bench boss after Anderson resigned as head coach and director of hockey operations.
The six-time Stanley Cup champion replaced Brock Sawyer as Kings’ coach just under a year ago. Before being hired, Anderson’s coaching experience was limited to running hockey clinics and other experiences. Although, he is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Anderson stated that he stepped down because of a series of factors. “I would have to miss a large portion of this season to juggle certain unexpected personal affairs and other part-time commitments that I took on years before I joined the Kings,” he said in a statement.
Anderson’s tenure as head coach in Powell River lasted from Dec. 15, 2023 to Oct. 20, 2024. In his 40 games behind the bench, the Kings won eight games.
As for Seeger Junior, he has coaching experience with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, where he was an assistant coach in 2020-21, and the Connecticut Roughriders of the EHL, where he was GM and assistant coach last season. Seeger also played 66 games in the BCHL with the Merritt Centennials, split between the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons.
The Kings under Seeger Junior
In Seeger Junior’s debut as head coach, the Prince George Spruce Kings defeated Powell River 5-1. The next night, the Kings topped the Spruce Kings 5-2.
Powell River needs coaching stability and Anderson knew that. He couldn’t be away from the team for months while he dealt with personal matters. Seeger Junior has previous coaching experience in junior hockey and has been part of the Kings organization since last season.
Until Anderson’s departure, he and Seeger Junior worked closely together. Having Seeger Junior take over maintains the current coaching staff as Michael McNiven and Christopher Klack are both still in the fold. They were hired by Powell River in the off-season.
Maintaining the same staff is easier for the players too, since they don’t have to learn a new system under new coaches. It’s something Powell River players had to do last season when the Kings switched from Sawyer to Anderson.
Seeger Junior takes over a Kings team that missed the playoffs last season and sits last in the Coastal Conference this season, so there is a steep hill to climb for him to get Powell River back to the glory days of the mid-2010s.
