Major-junior is facing challenges from other levels of North American junior hockey, but especially from the U.S. collegiate NCAA, yet it is still probably the most direct route to pro hockey.
An indication of that is that all 22 Western Hockey League teams, including the Victoria Royals, have players invited to NHL rookie and training camps beginning this week. A total of 110 players eligible for the 2022-23 WHL season have been invited to NHL rookie camps. They range from the defending WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings’ 11 players to two each from the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Medicine Hat Tigers. The Seattle Thunderbirds are second among WHL clubs with 10 NHL camp invitees and the Kamloops Blazers and Moose Jaw Warriors have nine players each.
Three Royals players have been invited to NHL rookie camps but Victoria captain Gannon Laroque, a blue-liner signed by San Jose, will miss Sharks camp due to injury. Royals forward Brayden Schuurman is in the camp of the Boston Bruins and defenceman Wyatt Wilson is with the Winnipeg Jets.
As the 58th rated North American skater in the midway rankings for the 2022 NHL draft, Schuurman was expected to selected in the fourth-round range, but was overlooked in the draft. He skated in the Edmonton Oilers rookie summer camp as a free-agent invitee and now the Bruins have decided they want a look at the native of Abbotsford, who played for Canada in the 2022 IIHF U-18 world championship in Germany.
“I felt really good about my pace at the pro level,” said Schuurman, after the Oilers’ summer camp.
“It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions. But when one thing falls through, new opportunities open up. I was a bit upset about not being drafted. I thought I would be, and deserved it. But the draft is not the be-all and end-all and sometimes you’ve got to create your own opportunities. It’s a business up there and everybody wants a spot.”
Schuurman gets his chance with the Bruins rookies when they meet the rookies of the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators today through Monday in the 2022 Prospects Challenge tournament at the LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York.
Of the Royals trio, Wilson is probably the biggest surprise as he will suit up with the Jets rookies against the rookie teams of the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in the Young Stars Classic from Friday to Monday at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.
The six-foot-three, 205-pound Wilson had three goals and 11 points in 51 games last season on the Victoria blue line and has stealthily gained notice among pro scouts. But he’s been no secret to Royals GM and head coach Dan Price.
“Wyatt Wilson has size, speed and physicality and is highly mobile,” said Price.
“He has a big frame but can skate.”
Also in the Penticton rookie tournament will be Parker Bell of Campbell River, a 2022 fifth-round NHL draft pick of the Calgary Flames out of the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. The former Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League player from the hometown Campbell River Storm is a six-foot-four forward with a pro-style game.
Former Royals forward Brayden Tracey, as one of five Anaheim Ducks first-round selections gathered at FivePoint Arena in Irvine, California, and last season’s Victoria captain Tarun Fizer with the Colorado Avalanche, are also in NHL rookie camps.
But the most intriguing Island rookie camp storyline is that of goaltender Dylan Garand of Langford, who backstopped Canada to the 2022 world junior championship gold medal. The Juan de Fuca Minor Hockey Association product is signed by the New York Rangers, who will decide whether the touted 20-year-old begins his pro career in the AHL, or is returned to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL as an over-ager. It normally would be an obvious decision by the Rangers to start Garand’s pro career immediately in the AHL, but the Blazers are hosting the Memorial Cup national major-junior championship tournament this season. That may or may not influence the Rangers’ decision, but all current indications are that Garand is ready for the pro game, and the Blazers appear to be preparing to move on with Dylan Ernst as their starter in the crease.
Meanwhile, the Royals concluded the preseason Wednesday night at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops by topping the host Blazers by a 3-2 score. Carter Dereniwski’s goal a 3:32 of the third period stood up as the winning goal for the Royals. Marcus Almquist and Teague Patton had the other Victoria goals. The Royals finish the WHL preseason with a 3-1 record.
The WHL regular-season openers for Victoria are on Sept. 23-24 at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre against the Spokane Chiefs.
