Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Kings Swap Defensemen

The Powell River Kings have traded defenseman Klay Kachur(91) to the Melville Millionaires of the SJHL for defenseman Jordan Paddock(93).

Kachur completed his second season with the Kings and will have a chance to play closer to his Lanigan, Saskatchewan home. Paddock is an 18 year-old left shot D-man who had 11 points in 52 games will the Mills.

I would like to wish Klay all the best this season as he was a class act with Powell River. I don't think you can meet a nicer kid than him. Also I had the opportunity to meet his parents and you can see why Klay is such a pleasure to be around.

More to follow.

You can go to the Kings website for complete details on the trade.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Big changes for the BCHL

The British Columbia Hockey League has announced several significant changes with regards to its schedule, playoffs and team roster rules that are aimed at improving cost efficiency and player development for member clubs. The changes come about as a result of a recent meeting of the BCHL board of governors.

With respect to playoffs, the following changes are being made:

- There will be eight teams that qualify for playoffs, four from each conference. This will accommodate the conclusion of the season being later and ensure a team is available when the Doyle Cup begins.
- There will be just three rounds of playoffs as one round is being eliminated. This is meant to promote competitiveness in opening rounds though this change is on a trial basis and will be reviewed after the end of next season.

With respect to the schedule, the following changes are being made so BCHL games are more accessible for fans and teams can trim travel costs:

- The 2011-12 season will begin later. Games will commence Sept. 23 and will conclude March 11 to coincide with the more traditional hockey season. Teams will be given an option to hold training camp starting in August as usual or push it back to September.
- The league will be going back to a half-interlock schedule that will see each team play every other team but not necessarily visit all buildings. Regional rivalry games will be given more attention.
- The BCHL office will be producing the schedule for the coming season. This will allow weekend dates to be maximized and may see occasional earlier start times on Saturdays to promote attendance by families. It will also ensure reduced travel for clubs with double-headers (i.e. playing the same opponent in their building Friday and Saturday) being incorporated.

With respect to team rosters, the following changes will be implemented for the coming season:

- Roster will be reduced to 21 players from 23 as in past years. This will promote player development and ensure more players dress for more games.
- Each team must carry at least one 16-year-old and one 17-year-old player. This is an effort to develop homegrown B.C. players as with the reduced roster size, these younger players are guaranteed to dress for games.
- An October selection of affiliate players will be held. It is not a true draft and is meant to simply introduce 15-year-old players to the BCHL and keep them on affiliate rosters for the season. At the conclusion of the season, teams will not keep rights to these players.

“We’re confident these ideas will be embraced by our member clubs as we continue to work through our strategic plan,” said league commissioner John Grisdale. “The BCHL looks forward to implementing these changes and improving the product we put on the ice next season.”

Monday, May 2, 2011

A new identity for Langley

The Langley Rivermen (formerly Chiefs) unveiled their logo today via twitter.

Here's the link

Personally, I give it a big thumbs up. I like the simplicity with the colour scheme and how they incorporated the history of Langley / Fort Langley. Also you may notice that blue is the new black in hockey. Look at all the third jersey's recently in the NHL: Pittsburgh, Florida, Nashville and Columbus have gone to a similar colour scheme in the past two seasons.

Can't wait to see the logo applied to the jerseys, well done Rivermen.