Victoria Grizzlies general manager and head coach Craig Didmon said it was “like a collective roar” when his players were informed Thursday, by team governor and majority-owner Ron Walchuk, that there will be a 2020-21 B.C. Hockey League season.
“They are really excited to play — ecstatic, actually,” said Didmon.
“I’ve never had a chill down my spine like that,” Walchuk said of the players’ reaction. “It sounds corny, but it’s all about the kids. It’s been a long journey to get to this point. I haven’t been this emotional in a long time.”
The provincial health officer has green-lit a season, with each team playing between 20 to 24 games. Details are expected to be released today. Sources say there will be a quarantine period followed by testing before games start being played on or about April 1.
There will be five hubs throughout the province. The Grizzlies, Nanaimo Clippers, Alberni Valley Bulldogs and Cowichan Valley Capitals will play in the Island hub, to be located at Weyerhaeuser Arena in Port Alberni.
“Our players would have travelled to the Yukon to play games,” said Walchuk.
The fifth Island Division team, Powell River Kings, are expected to play in the Coquitlam hub. The other hubs are reported to be in Chilliwack, Penticton and Vernon.
Even a truncated season will at least give the graduating 20-year-old players a last hurrah in junior and also feature the 18-year-olds for the 2021 NHL draft and other players looking for U.S. collegiate NCAA athletic scholarships.
“We have had lots of NHL and NCAA scouts asking when we are going to get started,” said Didmon.
“This will be a great opportunity for the kids.”
The five-team B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League, which includes the Victoria Royals, was earlier OKed for a bubbled and abbreviated 24-game season beginning March 26 in the Kelowna and Kamloops hubs. There will be no fans in either the WHL or BCHL.
The BCHL conducted an extended pre-season in which games were played from September through mid-November until stricter provincial health guidelines restricted team-on-team play across all sports.
The BCHL is a prime producer of talent for the U.S. collegiate ranks and in 2019-20 surpassed its previous best number of players committed to NCAA Div. 1 programs with 166, compared with 151 in 2018-19.
That includes players such as former Grizzlies captain Alex Newhook, selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche, and named 2019-20 NCAA rookie of the year with Boston College, before winning the silver medal with Canada in the 2021 world junior championship.
