The Comox Valley Glacier Kings have announced that they will not name a captain before the start of the regular season on Saturday. Head coach/GM Curtis Toneff said, “The opportunity is there for someone. We don’t have a captain. It’s kinda by design. As a younger coach, you get excited to do those things, now definitely sitting back and evaluating and seeing who steps up.” Comox Valley’s first game will be on the road on Saturday in Nanaimo.
Darryl Skender
The Comox Valley Glacier Kings still are awaiting to see what their final roster is going to look like. They have a number of players that are still not with the club as they continue to either tryout for other Junior ‘A’ teams or have committed to other teams in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and down in the USA.
This last off-season, LW Rolan Amin committed to the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL. Amin averaged over a point a game with the Glacier Kings last season amassing 10 goals and 22 assists in just 28 games. For Humboldt this pre-season, he has a goal in his 2 games that he’s suited up for.
Sheldon Alexander is still with the Humboldt Broncos as well. In fact, he was playing on the same line as Rolan Amin. Alexander had 12 goals and 31 points in 43 games last season which was split between the Glacier Kings and the Campbell River Storm. He has been held pointless in 3 pre-season games with Humboldt.
Ryan Harris has committed to the Neepawa Titans of the MJHL. Harris was tied for the team lead in goals last season with 13. He hasn’t played a pre-season game with the Titans yet. Neepawa hasn’t been able to play at home yet as their ice wasn’t ready until September 5th. The Titans had played one road pre-season game at the time of this post.
Defenceman Gavin Mowat is in the same situation as Sheldon Alexander as he is battling for a Junior ‘A’ job. Mowat has played for 3 teams in the VIJHL including Peninsula, Campbell River and Comox Valley. The 6’0″ 171 pound rearguard had 8 points in 26 games for the Yeti last season and tallied an assist in his only pre-season game this year.
Defenceman Kyle Mayenburg is in a battle for a roster spot with the Powell River Kings. Powell River has not played yet but their pre-season does start Saturday. The 6’1″ 175lb. blueliner collected 2 goals and 9 assists in 33 games last season.
Another big blow to the defensive corps is Dylan Lamberto who has left to play in the NCDC for the Northern Cyclones. For those not familiar with the NCDC, it is the National Collegiate Development Conference which is the top-level, tuition-free junior hockey league within the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The Northern Cyclones play in Hudson, New Hampshire. You might remember that Comox Valley was desperate for a defenceman at the trade deadline last season and traded goaltender Aaron Pichette to get him. The 6’3″ 200 pounder only ended up playing 4 games in a Glacier Kings uniform.
Darryl Skender
The pre-season is over and another year of Glacier Kings hockey is upon us. The first of 48 regular season games begins on Saturday when the Yeti are in Nanaimo to take on the Bucs. Comox finished the pre-season 0-4-1 but it was a lot more positive than that. We should first consider that all 5 losses were by 1 goal (lost by 2 in Lake Cowichan because of an empty net goal). Every game was very competitive and could have gone either way. Also, the Glacier Kings really only dressed 7 or 8 regulars per game due to players trying out for Junior ‘A’ teams and a rash of injuries. Head coach & GM Curtis Toneff said that a coach envisions what the team is going to look like in June and July so it was frustrating not having anything close to his projected line up. He did say it was a wonderful opportunity for players fighting for roster spots to showcase their talent and for others that will be future Glacier Kings that will be going back to their minor league teams. Assuming the guys can get healthy sooner than later and that they get some key personnel back from tryouts, we should see wins on the horizon. Keep in mind that other teams will also be getting key players back after tryouts in other leagues. All in all, we start a new slate on Saturday.
Darryl Skender
