Victoria Grizzlies goalie Kurtis Chapman joined the team midway through the 2017-18 season and immediately became a standout goalie in the BCHL. He entered the record books after his first season, posting the 10th-best save percentage all-time with a mark of .930. He managed to bump himself out of the top-10 by finishing with even better numbers this year, ending the regular season with a .933 save percentage, tying him for third-best in BCHL history. At 21-years-old and coming off the best statistical season of his hockey career, he is moving on to the next phase where he will be playing for the Mount Royal University Cougars next season.
The Airdrie, Alta. native wraps up his BCHL career with 38 wins in 58 regular-season games, a .932 save percentage, a 2.60 goals-against average and six shutouts. Chapman also enjoyed playoff success in his two seasons in Victoria, reaching the Island Division finals last year and the league semifinals this year, keeping up his solid numbers by posting a .930 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average over both runs.
It was a long journey for Chapman to get to Victoria. He started his junior career in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) with the Olds Grizzlies in 2015-16, then moved on to play a pair of games for the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and 14 games for the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) in 2016-17. He started the 2017-18 season back in the AJHL with the Calgary Mustangs before finding a home in Victoria later that year. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound goaltender also made a couple of stops in the Western Hockey League (WHL), playing a handful of games for the Regina Pats and Kootenay Ice.
Mount Royal University is a Canadian USports program, playing in the Canada West conference along with the Alberta, University of British Columbia (UBC), Calgary, Lethbridge, Manitoba, Regina and Saskatchewan. The Cougars finished fifth in the conference in 2018-19 and lost to Saskatchewan in the Canada West semifinal.
Last year’s Cougars roster included several former BCHL players including former Coquitlan Express defenceman Taylor Green, Vernon Vipers grads Hunter Zandee and Austin Adamson and Penticton Vees alum Chris Gerrie.
Chapman is the only current BCHLer committed to Mount Royal and is the second player heading to a USports program, joining Penticton Vees forward Brendan Harrogate who is committed to Western University in 2019-20.
