Ron Gallo's View from the Press Box
Recently I overheard a conversation that called into question the level of skill of players in the British Columbia Hockey League. Of course that got me going and I couldn't help but see a very impressive list of player mug shots flash through my mind's eye like a well produced television commercial. The BCHL has reason to get their back up when the level of hockey being played in the league is called into question; for many years the calibre of play has been improving to a level that has put more and more players on scouting radars.
From major junior signings to Canadian and American universities and NHL teams, BCHL players are proving to be a valuable commodity for any team looking to find a player that is able and willing to compete at the highest levels of hockey. Averaging over seventy college commitments a year, the BCHL has also watched its stock rise in the annual NHL Entry Draft with an increasing amount of players being selected (and selected earlier) to play in the big show. The parity with the BCHL and other Junior A leagues as well as the major junior circuit appears to be especially close in recent years.
Perhaps the best example of this comes from the amount of Western Hockey League teams staking claims to players that have shown their worth playing in the BCHL. Some of those players include the likes of Pittsburgh Penquins 2007 draft pick Casey Pierro-Zabotel as well as Brian Matte and Nathan Lieuwen and a few former Spruce Kings as well in Grant Toulmin, Damien Ketlo and Brandon Manning. Having watched these players last season, and now witnessing them in their new roles at the start of this season, leaves me with a sense of pride.
The BCHL has been doing a good job promoting itself and the teams themselves deserve a ton of credit for raising the bar every year by recruiting teenagers with raw talent and developing them into highly skilled and competitive players. Attrition rates in the BCHL are high, but again that is a result of the high demand for the product it puts on the ice year after year. Seeing the new stock of players that are pushing the height of the bar again this year will no doubt lead to more comparisons of hockey at the Junior A level and above.
A couple of new college commitments were confirmed recently that prove that hard work will be recognized no matter where it first shows itself. Congratulations to Jeff Malcolm, goaltender for the Quesnel Millionaires, for his scholarship to Yale and also to third year Spruce Kings defenceman Zach Davies who confirmed his scholarship to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. After the first month of the 2008/09 season, the list of committed players has already reached 29 with expectations that there will be more coming in the month of October and of course through to the end of the season.
At every arena around the BCHL, scouts can be spotted in the stands clutching their notebooks and scanning lineup sheets for that next player with the ability to impact the game. Ask any of those scouts and they will tell you that the level of skill at the BCHL ranks among the highest anywhere in the country no matter the league or level of play. From a broadcaster's perspective, I can't help but be amazed by the abilities of players performing night in and night out for the love of the game and the chance to be recognized and perhaps the chance to move on to the next level.
