Yesterday, we posted the Interior Conference Round 1 Playoff Preview and today it is the Coastal Conference’s turn in the spotlight. We breakdown all four Coastal series below.
#1 Chilliwack Chiefs vs. #8 Prince George Spruce Kings
Head-to-Head:
Chilliwack won the season series 6-0-1 with two wins coming in the shootout.
Top Performers:
Chilliwack – F Mateo Mrsic (70 points), F Brady Milburn (52 points), F Caleb Elfering (49 points), G Quentin Miller (.923 SV%), G Sebastian Gatto (2.87 GAA)
Prince George – F Brock Cummings (45 points), F Kazumo Sasaki (38 points), F Will Moore (31 points), D Trent LeDrew (24 points), G Charles-Edward Gravel (.930 SV%)
Breakdown:
The Chiefs led the Coastal Conference for most of the year and clinched first place in the conference nearly two weeks before the end of the regular season. Chilliwack scored the most goals in the BCHL this season, averaging 4.7 per game. The offence was led by team captain and fourth-year Chief Mateo Mrsic who ended his year with 70 points, fourth most in the league, and 33 goals, third most in the BCHL. The team also boasts a dynamic duo in net. Sebastian Gatto has been a mainstay in the crease all season long, but the addition of Quentin Miller midseason has taken the Chiefs play in the crease to another level. Miller has an 8-2-0 record since first suiting up for Chilliwack with a .923 save percentage, 2.29 goals-against average and one shutout.
Prince George made the postseason in the most dramatic way possible. Heading into the final weekend, the Spruce Kings needed to win both of their games and have Langley gain no more than one point, and that is exactly what happened. After Langley only got one point in two games and the Spruce Kings won their Saturday matchup, the stage was set for them to win their final game of the year on the final day of the season and they came through, beating the Powell River Kings 5-0. Going farther back, Prince George gained nine of a possible 10 points in their final five games of the season to get in. They hope to ride that positive momentum into a tough first-round matchup against the top seed in the conference. Just like the Chiefs, the Spruce Kings also made a notable addition to the goaltending position midseason when they added Charles-Edward Gravel in February. Since joining the team, he has a 10-3-2 record with a 9.30 save percentage, 1.98 goals-against average and one shutout.
#2 Surrey Eagles vs. #7 Alberni Valley Bulldogs
Head-to-Head:
Surrey won the season series 3-1.
Top Performers:
Surrey – F Sihwan Kim (52 points), F Gavin Rocha (43 points), F Ryan Evenhuis (43 points), D Yuchan Kong (36 points), G Aidan Fischer (.914 SV%)
Alberni Valley – F Grayson Badger (57 points), F Jacob Terpstra (43 points), F Brady McIsaac (42 points), D Wyatt Davis (38 points), G Colin Winn (.902 SV%)
Breakdown:
Surrey is the defending champion after topping the Penticton Vees in six games of the 2024 Fred Page Cup Final. With only a few returners from last year’s team, the Eagles may have surprised some teams early on by continuing their winning ways, but they were quickly recognized across the league as a contender. Surrey finished second in a tightly contested conference that saw the number-two and number-six seeds separated by only five points. Sihwan Kim has been the Eagles most notable skater in 2024-25, coming over from South Korea and taking the league by storm with 52 points in 47 games in his first season in North America. With several injuries in the crease throughout the year, Aidan Fischer emerged as the team’s starting goaltender and thrived in that role. He finished with a .914 save percentage, second best among active qualified netminders.
Alberni Valley’s Grayson Badger stepped into a leading role this season, finishing first on the team with 57 points in his second year in the league, putting him into the top-20 in league scoring. Returning forward Jacob Terpstra also emerged as a go-to option on offence for the Bulldogs, tying for the team lead with 22 goals. In net, Colin Winn carried on the tradition of workhorse Alberni Valley goaltenders over recent years, finishing with the most minutes played of any of his peers. The 2004-born netminder had a record of 19-17-3 with a .902 save percentage in 39 appearances.
This is the third year in a row these teams will faceoff in the playoffs with Surrey winning in the Coastal Conference Final last year and Alberni Valley winning in the second round in 2023. Both series went seven games.
#3 Cowichan Valley Capitals vs. #6 Nanaimo Clippers
Head-to-Head:
Nanaimo won the season series 5-2 with one win coming in overtime.
Top Performers:
Cowichan Valley – F Hayden Russell (56 points), F Camden Bajzer (52 points), F Luca Primerano (50 points), F Jordan Bax (41 points), D Camden Charron (31 points),
Nanaimo – F Dylan Kinch (67 points), F Cole Lonsdale (67 points), F Luke Lavery (46 points), D Garin Ludwig (31 points), G Vladimir Nikitin (.924 SV%), G Chazz Nixon (.911 SV%)
Breakdown:
Cowichan Valley is by far the most improved team from last year, gaining 30 more points in the standings in 2024-25 and finishing third in the Coastal Conference. The Caps resurgence comes under a new regime behind the bench with reigning BCHL Coach of the Year and 2024 Fred Page Cup champion Cam Keith joining the team from Surrey in the offseason. On the ice, the addition of the Russell twins has been a big boost for the team. Hayden Russell led the team in scoring with 56 points, while his brother James was the team’s second-highest scoring defenceman with 27 points. Newcomers Camden Bajzer and Luca Primerano have also paid huge dividends with each eclipsing the 50-point mark on the season.
If Cowichan Valley is the most improved team in the BCHL, then Nanaimo has been one of the hottest. After a very slow start, the Clippers have found their game since the Christmas break, going 19-5-3 since Dec. 28. Veteran forwards Dylan Kinch and Cole Lonsdale have put the offence on their backs, each finishing the season with identical stat lines – 27 goals, 40 assists and 67 points, tying for sixth in BCHL scoring. Chazz Nixon, who has been a mainstay in the Clippers crease since last season, finished 2024-25 with a .911 save percentage. Nanaimo also added Kazakhstan native and Ottawa Senators draft pick Vladimir Nikitin midseason and the 2005-born goaltender owns an 11-2-0 record with a .924 save percentage, 2.35 goals-against average and two shutouts this year.
#4 Victoria Grizzlies vs. #5 Coquitlam Express
Head-to-Head:
The two teams tied the season series 2-2 with one Victoria win coming in a shootout and Coquitlam’s wins coming in overtime and the shootout.
Top Performers:
Victoria – F Chase Pirtle (64 points), F Reegan Hiscock (52 points), F Thomas Molson (49 points), F Will Schumacher (45 points), G Oliver Auyeung-Ashton (.909 SV%)
Coquitlam – F Mason Kesselring (53 points), F Thomas Zocco (53 points), F James Shannon (46 points), D Sam Frandina (34 points), G Andrew Ness (.911 SV%)
Breakdown:
This series is setting up to be a tight one considering the teams were separated by just two points in the standings and the season series between the two teams could not have been closer with each team winning twice and three of four going past regulation.
The Grizzlies relied on a strong group of returning players for their success this season. For the second year in a row, Victoria’s offence was led by Chase Pirtle, who finished ninth in league scoring with 64 points in 54 games, a 12-point improvement from his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2023-24. The team’s goal-scoring leader was Reegan Hiscock who put up 27 in his third season in the league. In net, goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, also a former BCHL Rookie of the Year, posted a .909 save percentage and 15 wins in his third campaign with the Grizzlies.
In Coquitlam, the November addition of goaltender Andrew Ness proved to be a key moment in the season as the 2004-born netminder became the team’s starter, going 13-7-2 after joining the team and posting a .911 save percentage on the season. Mason Kesselring, another midseason pickup for the Express, ended the season in a tie for most points on the team with 53 and also led the Express in goals with 25. He was tied with first-year forward Thomas Zocco who made an immediate impact in his first season of junior hockey, wrapping up his rookie campaign with 19 goals and 34 assists.
+++
Click here to view the Rogers BCHL Playoffs tracker.
