The inaugural BCHL mega-mock draft

Team breakdowns

Here’s how each team breaks down, along with the builders’ explanation of their picks. (Brackets indicate which overall pick the selection was.)

I built my franchise on the philosophy of my head coach intimidation on different levels. Harvey Smyl is a long time thinker and changer with the flow of the game being ahead of his competition more times than not. His assistant Brian Maloney, a former player of his with knowledge of the style, makes for a two-headed monster that can be complemented by a second assistant very nicely.

I needed a small rink like Rolling Mix Concrete Arena with a hungry fan base like Cranbrook that can be the seventh man on the ice and make it impossible for a goalie to get into a rhythm and be comfortable. The smaller ice surface makes for no room to move for any opponents trying to find space.

My building blocks, a pure sniper in Jeff Tambellini, and a pure faceoff/set up man with leadership capabilities in Ethan Bowen, complemented with the right pieces make for a six-headed monster at the front of the lineup. – Clarke

Team Eric Clarke B

I built this franchise on the same principles as the first. A small arena plus the right market equals intimidation. This time around I went with Troy Mick who can rival my other team’s head coach Harvey Smyl in having a winning pedigree and ever-changing with the flow of the game.

Assistant coach Bobby Henderson was a tough customer as a player who carries it over to his coaching style, with hints of his mentor in his philosophy.

The building blocks are a pure scorer in Joey Potskin and an offensively minded defenceman with NHL lineage in Joshua Niedermayer. This franchise is a great rival of my other club and the two teams could be dominant in the BCHL today. – Clarke

Team Riley Fonger A

Team Riley Fonger B

When building this team, I started with smart people behind the bench. Campbell Blair has championship experience and Craig Didmon is good at teaching the players different systems. With good people behind the bench, I choose Ellis Rickwood because of his strong debut during the extended pre-season. I chose Tyler Bozak as the alumni because of his success in the NHL. He was part of the Stanley Cup-winning St. Louis Blues in 2019.

I grabbed Powell River as a city because of its high population of retirees who are willing to watch hockey games. I went with Hap Parker Arena because it is a mid-sized arena, not too big and not too small. It also has some features that some other arenas don’t have, like a video screen for replays. – Hofferd

Team Clifford Hofferd B

When building this team, I knew I also needed smart people behind the bench. Adam Magilo coached the Spruce Kings to second place in the country in 2019, so he knows how to coach a team. Dan Cioffi is presiding over a dominant Coquitlam Express squad. They had the best record of the Mainland teams (before the region had new COVID-19 restrictions put in place).

For my current player, I chose Stephen Castagna because of his strong extended pre-season and his gradually improving point totals. Scott Gomez is my alumni because of his amazing season in Surrey and his later years with New Jersey.

I chose Coquitlam because it’s in a massive metropolitan area and Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex is well-maintained. It also underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation in 2010. This puts it on par with some of the newer facilities in the league. – Hofferd

Team Jason Jhutti A

With the first pick of the draft, I went with one of the greatest coaches the BCHL has ever seen in Fred Harbinson. His recruitment alone will bring players from all around to join the team. With Harbinson’s help, the team will build a sustainable franchise for years in Trail.

It’s a knowledgeable, passionate market that lives and breathes junior hockey, the fans will pack Royal LePage Place every night, making it a fortress. Fans will watch BCHL legend Duncan Keith skate effortlessly around the rink, knowing he has Jordan Naylor between the pipes.

Keith provides both offense and defense with Naylor stopping the pucks under the guidance of legendary head coach Joe Tennant. With Tennant and Harbinson at the helm, this team will be a staple among the top BCHL teams for years. – Jhutti

Team Jason Jhutti B

The fans in Nanaimo will be excited to see legend Gordie McKay hit the ice at Town Toyota Center. It is always in the top half of the league in attendance, having a passionate and knowledgeable fanbase is crucial for team long-term success, especially with a newer rink.

Nanaimo, a beautiful city, will bring in talent and help build a winning culture in the hands of legendary head coach Mark Ferner and assistant coach Cam Keith, who currently leads the Surrey Eagles. With McKay leading the charge along with Fin Williams, this team is set to hit the ground running in any season. – Jhutti

Team Chris Keck A

Team Chris Keck B

I built this team around the beautiful capital of British Columba. After using my first pick to select Victoria as the home city, I then used my second pick on The Q Centre as its venue. The first player I selected was Victoria native and Grizzlies alum Jamie Benn to be the face of his hometown franchise. I then added Cranbrook Bucks rookie phenom Dane Dowiak to round out the core of players.

The head coach will be Scott Robinson and his eight seasons of experience as a BCHL head coach. Current Merritt Centennials head coach Derek Sweet-Coulter will be the assistant, as we try to get the most out of players we recruit to Victoria. This is a team that could surprise some people and finds immediate success. – Keck

Team Brieann Knorr A

Team Brendan Pawliw A

Team Brendan Pawliw B

It’s pretty safe to say you could ice this team in any era. I stuck to the glory days of the Nanaimo Clippers and took legendary head coach Larry McNabb. With three Fred Page Cup Championships under his belt, finding a way to win shouldn’t be an issue – his right-hand man is Brock Sawyer of the Powell River Kings.

I followed that up by taking one of the most electrifying players in the past decade in Trail Smoke Eaters alum Kent Johnson. The youth continued to be served up front after I selected budding star Sean Donaldson who also has a championship pedigree during his days with the Prince George Spruce Kings and Clippers.

Staying on the island, our team is based out of Duncan and will make its home at the “The World’s Biggest Stick and Puck”, better known as the Island Savings Centre. – Pawliw

Team Kyle Rutherford A

A franchise based in Penticton while playing home games at the South Okanagan Events Centre can only succeed at the box office. Penticton is a great hockey market, often leading the league in attendance. The SOEC is a state of the art facility that also houses the BC Hockey Hall of Fame and has a seating capacity of 5,000 for people who love their hockey.

Mark Holick brings a championship pedigree to the club based on his back to back trips to the RBC Cup in the mid-90s. Shane Kuss was a vital member of both those clubs and ended his career as the all-time BCHL assists leader with 282 in addition to being the all-time BCHL scoring leader with 418 points.

Starting goaltender Logan Terness had a stellar 2019-20 campaign with a 27-10 record and recording the eighth-best save percentage in league history at .932. Terness will develop nicely under assistant coach Alex Evin, who is second on the all-time shutouts list with 10.

A first-class market, facility, coaching staff, and franchise players will lead this team to success not just now but pave the road to success in the future. – Rutherford

Team Kyle Rutherford B

A BCHL team that calls Wenatchee home while drawing in fans paying for tickets in US funds does have a tough travel schedule. Western Financial Place is a 4,200 seat facility that had attendance up over the 3,000 mark when the Kootenay Ice was in its glory years.

The team is coached by Rick Lanz who lead the 1996-97 Surrey Eagles to a 47-7 season. Nearly a decade later Lanz coached the Burnaby Express to the RBC Cup. The star of that team was Kyle Turris, who had a stellar campaign and an even better year in 2006-07. Turris is the highest-drafted BCHL player of all time on the heels of a league-leading 121 point season, including 66 goals.

Assistant Coach Simon Ferguson is still relatively new to the BCHL coaching ranks but had a championship pedigree as a player, winning the Memorial Cup with the Kelowna Rockets in 2004. Joe Howe was set for a long playoff run with the Express in 2020 before COVID-19 ended the season. Howe posted a 6-0 record during last fall’s training season.

A team in a very good hockey market, playing games in an arena with vast seating potential, a championship-winning coach, and strong players will be successful in years to come. – Rutherford

Team Brian Wiebe A

My head coach is one of the legendary bench bosses in BCHL history with more than 500 victories under his belt. Bill Bestwick has also won three Joe Tennant Awards as BCHL coach of the year. His assistant is the 2019 coach of the year Joe Martin, who is a proven recruiting powerhouse in the league.

Cody Monds was poised for a monster season after putting up 22 points in 12 games during the training season. Cliff Ronning is a dynamic scorer who averaged nearly three points per game with New Westminster in the BCHL and played more than 1,100 career NHL games.

The city of Port Alberni is as passionate about its BCHL team as any market in the league, plus Monds, Ronning, and the team built by Bestwick and Martin would fly around the Olympic-sized ice at the South Surrey Arena. – Wiebe

Team Brian Wiebe B

With Bliss Littler as head coach, I have the winningest coach in American Tier I and Tier II junior hockey history. He’s won championships in a number of different leagues. Assistant coach Jason McKee is a two-time coach of the year in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and Canadian Junior Hockey League coach of the year in 2014. They should present a formidable duo in coaching and recruiting.

Ray Ferraro put up one of the most dominant offensive seasons in BCHL history with 135 points in 48 games before an 18-year NHL career. Matteo Costantini was a fifth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres last year and finished fifth in BCHL scoring during the training season. He and Ferraro would be almost unstoppable.

Langley’s junior hockey history is as long as any, while the cozy confines of the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena present an impenetrable fortress for the home team. – Wiebe