Smart Hockey.
The BCHL’s slogan is `Smart Hockey’, but how smart is the Island Division?Looking strictly at confirmed college commitments, the division compares very favorably to the rest of the league. There are 16 players in the division that have officially committed to the NCAA, while nine players from the Mainland have committed.
It’s hard to measure against the Interior, but if you measure conference to conference the Interior does have more at 32-25.
In terms of successful programs for moving teams to the NCAA, Penticton is at the forefront with 12 commitments, though two of those are from players (Mellor and Laleggia) who are actually on the team’s AP list. The Clippers and Grizzlies are at the head of the Island with six and five commitments respectively. Alberni Valley has three and Cowichan two.
Some teams don’t get all the credit they deserve for helping players move to the next level. A couple examples are the Vernon Vipers’ James Kerr, who actually got his scholarship to Princeton while in Alberni Valley, and Cam Reid, who committed to New Hampshire when he was in Victoria but is now a Westside Warrior.
On a side note, the Island is an older division this year. Surprisingly, the only team playing any 16-year old players is Victoria. For a team going to the Royal Bank Cup you might expect them to have exclusively mature players on their squad.
I also thought we might see a change in Alberni Valley, with the Bulldogs going to a youth movement. With five 88’s, eight 89’s, eight 90’s and three 91’s and on the roster they are a more veteran group than I thought we’d see after the deadline. The question is, can their improved play in the second half of the season be a springboard for next season?
All of the Island teams have roughly 10 games left and everyone is playing well. As of the 25th of January every team in the division was over .500 in their previous 10 games, making it the most competitive in the BCHL over that span.
Dan Marshall, the radio voice of the Nanaimo Clippers, will be blogging the BCHL's Island Division during the 2008/09 season. Check back often for Dan's insights and the latest news from Vancouver Island.
