Just for kicks, I thought I would venture to the "Great White North" and take a gander at some good hockey. What I found was not only good hockey but great hockey. My first stop was to the Great Pacific Forum Rinks in Delta where they were getting started with tiering games for the spring "Ultimate Hockey Challenge" season. I watched a couple of Bantam games, then a couple of Midget games. Unfortunately I think a couple of the Midget teams would have given the Wranglers a run for their money. Wow, these kids are good. What I so enjoyed was this... passing, cycling the puck, and using the points. Simple things that the Wranglers never mastered all season long. As I wandered around, I heard that the BCHL Jr. A Surrey Eagles were having an open evaluation camp over in south Surrey.Surrey must cover an area the size of Rhode Island. It took me a good hour or more to find the rink. But once there I saw some incredible hockey. BCHL Jr. A hockey I would classify as Jr. A Tier I hockey which is way, way, WAY above Wrangler hockey at Jr. A Tier III. In fact as I talked with parents, scouts, and coaches I found that many of them were very familiar with NorPac, but did not think it was Jr. A Tier III, rather they classified it as Jr. B hockey. After watching a few games I couldn't agree more. One scout I talked to was a former NHL'er.
The Surrey Eagles organized their evaluation camp by creating 8 teams by color, e.g., orange, yellow, teal, red, maroon, navy, blue, and green. Each team had 3 goalies, 5-6 defensemen, and 10-12 forwards. Teams played a round robin format of 4 games over three days. Each game was three 22 minute no-clock-stop periods with two linesmen to keep it fair. The few penalties (only blatant ones) that were called resulted in a penalty shot. I would estimate that there were about 150 boys turning out for about 4-6 open spots. It was great, all-out Junior hockey. There were even a few fights - ugh.
The Surrey Eagles had the rosters for each team posted on the wall near the Surrey Eagle team office. I saw a few NorPac player names on the rosters, as well as several midget players from Seattle area hockey associations. What really surprised me was that I saw a couple of Wrangler players names on the rosters! This had me really interested. So I made it a point to watch their games. I was impressed in that they fit right in with the play, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if perhaps one of them got an invite to the main Surrey Eagles camp in August. Being honest they weren't the best players, but I would say both were in the top 25%. I heard some very positive talk amongst Jr. B coaches and scouts about the two Wranglers. Now, you're probably hoping that I'll spill the names. That wouldn't be fair and they asked me to keep their names private, so I'll respect that. (You can guess though)
In talking to them though, they were definitely enjoying themselves and felt that they were fitting in. Yes, the play was tough and demanding. Both commented that it was definitely faster and tougher than any game they played last season. When I asked them about their plans, being a Wrangler was still an option, they were just working to see what other options may come. I wish them the best of luck.
I heard that next weekend is the Mainland Tournament. This is a big tournament with kids from all around BC. Many scouts and coaches attend to look at prospective talent. So I may have to return to Canada to get my hockey fix. If I'm lucky I might see another Wrangler, or maybe future Wrangler.
