Victoria Royals forward Alex Edwards has been suspended for 25 games, which is more than one-third of the 68-game Western Hockey League season, for hit from behind on Everett Silvertips defenceman Dexter Whittle and match penalty for intent to injure in a 5-3 Victoria loss to the Silvertips on Saturday night in Washington state.
The hit sent Whittle to hospital and the five-foot-nine rearguard from Virden, Man., was released on Tuesday. The Silvertips issued a statement on the condition of Whittle, who is in his third season with the Everett club: “He will be out indefinitely with no set timetable to return. Our thoughts are with Dexter and his family during this difficult time.”
The hit occurred at 1:41 of the second period as the fore-checking Edwards drove Whittle from behind into the left corner boards in the Everett zone.
“In addition to the severity of Edwards’ actions, other key factors considered in the decision include the severe injury to the opponent on the play and the fact Edwards is a repeat offender, having been suspended twice previously last season,” the WHL said in a statement.
Edwards, 19, is from Grand Forks and had one goal in four games this season. The six-foot-one winger had four goals and seven points in 49 games last season for Victoria and no points in seven games with the club in 2021-22. Edwards will be eligible to return for a game in Kamloops against the Blazers on Dec. 1, 2023.
The Royals will not challenge or appeal the suspension.
“The Victoria Royals understand and respect this decision,” the club said in a statement.
“The entire Royals organization continues to have Dexter Whittle in our thoughts and we wish him a full recovery.”
The Times Colonist reached out for further comment from Royals vice-president of hockey operations Joey Poljanowski and head coach Dan Price but the club referred the request back to its released statement.
It is the longest suspension in Royals team history, surpassing the 12 games forward Brandon Magee received to start the 2014-15 regular season after checking Portland Winterhawks forward Nic Petan from behind in the last game of the 2014 playoffs.
The Royals have lost their first two games of the season and play their home openers Friday and Saturday nights against the Prince George Cougars at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
