The Victoria Grizzlies have a chip on their shoulder coming into the 2020-21 season after being swept in the first round of the playoffs against Salmon Arm. With eight players from the 2019-20 roster not returning, the Grizzlies look to have the horses to make some noise in the newly formed Coastal Conference.
Losing five of its top six scorers is a void obviously difficult to fill since Cody Monds alone was in on 36 percent of all goals the Grizzlies scored in 2019-20. Monds, Henri Schreifels, and Marty Westhaver are all off to NCAA schools this fall.
However, Victoria is buoyed by five players entering their final junior hockey seasons eligible to come back, including third-year veteran and point-per-game forward Alex DiPaolo. As 19-year-olds in 2020-21, Bryce Anderson (24 points in 51 games) and Andrew Amousse (22 points in 51 games) should both see an uptick in their production.
The Grizzlies have a very solid defense corps eligible to return with three 20-year-olds (Brady MacDonald, Reid Lindsay, Jake Veilleux), two 19-year-olds (Colton Kitchen, Isack Bandu) and one 18-year-old (Chace Oliver) all in the mix.
In goal, Blake Wood is the only returning player as Liam Souliere moves on to Penn State. Wood, 18, was 8-13-0 with a 3.73 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage in 25 games.
The depth chart below is based on coaches going with a 23-man roster of 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders.
All college commitment years are collated from each player’s profile on the Grizzlies roster on the BCHL website.
Graduating Players
Chase McInnis (Northeastern University)
Vincent Nardone (University of Nebraska-Omaha)
Marty Westhaver (University of Alabama-Huntsville)
Cody Monds (Providence College)
Henri Schreifels (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
James Davenport (Northeastern University)
Liam Souliere (Penn State University)
Trevor Bishop (aged out)
Eligible Returnees
(* indicates an open spot – assuming the team goes with 13 forwards and eight defencemen)
Forwards
Alex DiPaolo (00)
Edward Yan (00)
Andrew Amousse (01)
Bryce Anderson (01)
Brendan Bowie (01)
Kahlil Fontana (01)
Connor Eddy (02)
Michael Hoekstra (02)
*
*
*
*
*
Defensemen
Brady MacDonald (00)
Reid Lindsay (00)
Jake Veilleux (00)
Colton Kitchen (01)
Isack Bandu (01)
Chace Oliver (02)
*
*
Goaltenders
Blake Wood (01)
*