Curtis Toneff was thrust into a difficult position last year. He took over as the Glacier Kings bench boss and GM well after the 2024-25 VIJHL season had begun. It’s a situation that he is used to however. This is the 4th time that Toneff has taken over as head coach of a team mid-season. He loves the challenge and is excited about his first full season behind the bench in Comox Valley. His motto after taking over last year was to give the players on the current roster first chance at staying on the club but was forced to make some hard decisions to better the team. He was able to bring back some key players such as Austin Montgomery-Parsons, Brigham Nye and Mason Windsor after the Elliot Lake Vikings were forced to take a leave of absence from the NOJHL because of ongoing issues of their hockey rink. (The Vikings never had a single game or practice at home because of Rogers Arena being closed. They played all 27 games on the road until they were forced to drop out of the league during the Christmas break.) Former GKings coach Mike Nesbitt, now head coach & GM of the Westshore Wolves, had originally brought the threesome over to Ontario when he became the head coach/GM of the Vikings. Despite bringing the 3 players back to Comox after Christmas, December would the Comox Valley’s best month going 4-2-0. Curtis would also acquire a big defenceman at the deadline in Dylan Lamberto from Nanaimo.
During the off-season, Toneff spent a lot of time all over the province between recruiting and hosting/attending hockey camps. However, he did also take a break from hockey to recharge his batteries. Curtis said, “For the first time in a long time, I took a little time away from the game. Hopefully it will pay off in the Dog Days of the Season. In the last few years, basically spent the whole summer doing hockey camps every week. This year I made sure to take at least a couple weeks where I don’t think too much about hockey. For me as a coach, that was important to refresh and be ready to go.” Hopefully that pays off in the long season that lasts at least 8 months including tryout camp, pre-season, regular season and playoffs.
The pre-season is over and the much anticipated schedule for the upcoming VIJHL season has already begun. Here is what it looks like for the Glacier Kings.
Total Games: 48 Home Games: 24 Road Games: 24
Games Against North Division Campbell River: 6 (3 Home/3 Away) Oceanside: 6 (3 Home/3 Away) Nanaimo: 6 (3 Home/3 Away) Lake Cowichan: 6 (3 Home/3 Away) Port Alberni: 4 (2 Home/2 Away)
Games Against South Division Victoria: 4 (2 Home/2 Away) Peninsula: 4 (2 Home/2 Away) Kerry Park: 4 (2 Home/2 Away) Westshore: 4 (2 Home/2 Away) Saanich: 4 (2 Home/2 Away)
Other Notes * There are 186 days between the GKings final playoff game last season and their regular season opener this season Just 1 afternoon game this season. It’s February 16th at Nanaimo which is a 12:30 PM faceoff * Play 5 consecutive Games at home between December 20th and January 9th *Play 4 consecutive games on the road between January 10th and January 30 * Play 3 games in 3 days September 26-28 * Only have 1 home and home series. It’s November 28th in Campbell River and November 29th at home to the Storm *22 of their home games are 6:30 PM starts. the other 2 (both Sunday games) are 5:30 PM starts * No home games on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday * 12 days off for Christmas (Dec. 22-Jan. 2)
Hello and welcome back to many of you. My name is Darryl Skender and this is my brand new blog. The difference between this one and the last one is basically the name. My last blog was called “Above The Pond” while this one is “Above The Frozen Pond”. They are both blogs pertaining to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. This is the only one that will be updated as the other one hasn’t been used in a few years. I was the play by play voice of the Glacier Kings for 6 years but have moved away but still stay current with all their happenings. Hopefully you will all enjoy it!
Darryl Skender
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Darryl Skender – Former Play by Play Broadcaster of the Comox Valley Glacier Kings
