Chad Staley has been everything the Prince George Spruce Kings expected he would be when they named him team captain this season.
He's a 20-year-old in his third B.C. Hockey League season and next year the native of Kennewick, Wash., will jump to the NCAA to play for the Division 1 University of Alaska-Fairbanks Seawolves.
For nearly three months, Staley was a top-10 scorer in the league and he still ranks third in team scoring with 13 goals and 30 points in 25 games. But lately he hasn't done much at all.
For the past eight games he's had to sit in the stands and watch his team play without him and wait for his sprained ankle to heal. Tonight in Langley that month-long wait could come to an end. After a week of practice, Staley has pronounced himself ready to play again and he will try to return to the Spruce Kings' lineup when they play face off against the Rivermen, the start of a three-game-in-three-nights tour of the Mainland Division. These are the final games of 2014 for the injury-hobbled Kings, who also play Friday in Surrey and Saturday in Coquitlam.
The Rivermen (18-11-14) are second in the Mainland standings, four points ahead of the third-place Spruce Kings (17-13-0-3).
"It's definitely a tough trip and it's been tough sledding for us the last while, but through it all the guys have played hard and it's been a learning experience for everybody," said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "We've learned a lot about the players who have been in the lineup, some guys have been able to step up and some guys we were hoping would step up haven't done as well as we hoped."
Defenceman Alex Stoley could also be back after missing four games with a shoulder injury but that leaves the Kings still without three regulars on the blueline including Adam Clements (concussion), Karan Toor (groin) and Viktor Dombovskiy (playing for Canada West and the World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Sask.). Clements is the Kings' most productive defenceman, with five goals and 20 points in 29 games.
The Kings will still be without forwards Justin Rai (concussion), Jarryd Leung (broken hand) and Riley Hawes (suffered a concussion in a car accident, Oct. 10).
To help fill those lineup spots, Kings general manager Mike Hawes has called up four junior B players. Two are defencemen -- Kyle Lohmann of the Kamloops Storm (Kootenay International Junior Hockey League) and Trevor Pereverzoff (Princeton Posse, KIJHL). Forwards Dexter Robinson and Brayden Dale have also been called up from the Storm.
"What's happening is these guys, especially the veteran guys sitting in the stands watching the struggles of their teammates and friends on the ice because they're so short-staffed, it's only human nature to do everything you can to get back in the lineup," said the GM Hawes.
Canada West played Canada East Wednesday in a quarterfinal playoff. Dombrovskiy had an assist for Canada West in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Russia. His team lost 3-2 to Denmark in its preliminary-round opener Sunday .
