Greater Vancouver Canadians have signed 13 players for the upcoming B.C. Major Midget Hockey League season, including seven returnees and the top local player selected in last spring’s WHL Bantam Draft.
The club held its evaluation camp last weekend, putting over 60 prospects through the paces in a tournament environment at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
The league requires each team to commit to 10 players following the initial tryout process and the remainder of the roster to be filled in the coming weeks.
Returning head coach Phil Alalouf went beyond the requirement by signing veteran forwards Owen Seidel, Ryan Wilkinson, Blake Hayward, Gary Dhaliwal, Kyle Uy and Gunner Wegleitner, along with goaltender Tyler Shugrue. The Canadians have also added Sam Atkins, Matt Kroeker, Ante Mustapic, EJ Shaw, Henry Rhyu and former Seafair standout Jordan Sandhu.
Shugrue had an outstanding season in goal, posting a 2.98 goals against average. He will be attending the Vancouver Giants training camp next week. Among the returning forwards, Seidel had a solid rookie campaign with 36 points, including 10 goals, to finish third in team scoring. He will be trying to crack the Swift Current Broncos roster.
“Of all our players going to junior camps, he probably has the best shot,” said Alalouf, who has agreed to a three-year extension with the club after replacing longtime coach Leland Mack last season. “It’s still going to be tough for a 16-year-old to make that big of jump but Owen has the skills.
“We’re very excited to have Tyler back. He was identified as one of the top 1998 goalies in the league last season and will be ever better.”
Sandhu was selected by the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL Bantam Draft after an outstanding campaign with Seafair. He had plenty of interest from Lower Mainland hockey academies should he had chosen to go that route. Instead, it was about following his older brother Tyler’s footsteps who is now enjoying an impressive major junior career with the Everett Silvertips.
“He told me this is where his brother played and his good friend (Portland Winterhawk sniper) Nic Petan. He wants to be a Canadian too,” said Alalouf. “He had lots of interest from other programs but this is where his heart is. That really impressed me.”
Sandhu has also been shortlisted for the provincial U16 team that will be finalized this fall.
Among the other newcomers signed, Henry Rhyu and Ante Mustapic both played for the Burnaby Winter Club Bantam A1 team last season. Rhyu was the team captain. Shaw is a product of the Delta Wild Hockey Academy, while Kroeker was with the Vancouver Thunderbirds.
The Canadians still have 38 players in camp and have at least seven roster spots to fill.
