The Prince George Spruce Kings know now that they're here to stay.
The roster deadline Sunday has come and gone and it will be a much different team when the Spruce Kings step onto the ice tonight (7 p.m.) at the Coliseum to play the Trail Smoke Eaters - the Kings' first home game in more than a month.
Gone are veterans Adam Brubacher, Corey Hoffman, Bryan Basilico and homebrew Jake LeBrun, all traded to playoff-bound B.C. Hockey League teams in exchange for younger players and future prospects who figure in the Spruce Kings' long-term future.
One of those bright lights is 18-year-old forward Tanner Campbell. The five-foot-eight, 160-pound native of Kelowna gave his new Spruce Kings teammates a glimpse of his own capabilities when he scored six goals in three road games after joining the Kings Thursday in a trade from the West Kelowna Warriors.
Campbell arrived along with future considerations for the 20-year-old Basilico and injured 20-year-old LeBrun.
The other new Spruce King, 18-year-old defenceman Colton Sandberg, acquired in the deal that sent Brubacher to Powell River, is still nursing a shoulder injury which has kept him out of the lineup since before the Christmas break.
Sandberg, a six-foot-three, 195-pound native of Delta, had three assists in 17 games with Powell River this season.
The Spruce Kings are not officially out of this year's playoff race but it will take a major miracle for that to happen. Ranked fifth in the Mainland Division standings with a 10-29-2-1 record, Prince George is 18 points behind the fourth-place Coquitlam Express with only 16 games left in the season. Coquitlam (18-18-4-1) has played one fewer game than the Kings.
The Kings picked up their first win of 2016 on Saturday in Coquitlam, a 4-3 victory over the Express. That came after they tied 2-2 in Surrey and the trip ended Sunday in Chilliwack with a 7-3 loss to the Chiefs. They host the Victoria Grizzlies Friday night at the Coliseum.
The Smoke Eaters and Grizzlies are in the thick of the hunt for playoff berths. Trail (18-22-1-0) is currently tied with the Vernon Vipers (17-23-3-0) for fourth place in the Interior Division, each with 35 points. The Smokies have two games in hand over the Vipers. Victoria (17-20-4-0) is five points ahead of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for the fourth and final Island Division playoff spot.
Trail forward Nick Halloran, a Colorado College recruit for 2017-18, leads the team with 35 points, including 20 goals. Ross Armour (9-21-30) and Kienen Scott (20-9-29) aren't far off Halloran's pace. Another Trail player to watch is Illinois native Jake Kauppila. The 20-year-old Bentley NCAA Division 1 recruit for 2016-17 has nine goals and 25 points in 41 games.
Rookie forward Kyle Johnson, who moved up to the Spruce Kings this season after winning the major midget provincial championship last spring with the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs, has moved to the head of the class in team scoring.
Now that the Kings have parted with their top scorers, including Hoffman, who was traded to Cowichan Valley for futures, Johnson leads the team with 25 points, six of which are goals. Defenceman Matthew Stief (4-21-25) is second in Kings' scoring, followed by Campbell (10-10-20).
Forward Braiden Epp could be back in the lineup for his first game action since mid-December. The 20-year-old from Prince George has missed 10 games with a knee injury. D Ryan Fritz hurt his arm in a scrap on the road and won't play tonight. The Kings are awaiting a doctor's diagnosis to determine how long Sandberg will be sidelined.
