Playing in the northernmost outpost in the B.C. Hockey League, the Prince George Spruce Kings spend an inordinate amount of time riding the bus.
Their closest road destination is Merritt, five hours away in good driving conditions, but they only play there once a season. As part of the Mainland Division, most of their 29 road games are played in Greater Vancouver, a full day's drive from home.
Long bus trips are nothing new to 20-year-old defenceman Rylan Bechtel, the newest member of the Spruce Kings, who joined the team this week having reconsidered his decision to quit hockey a month ago after he was traded from the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
Acquired in a deal that sent 19-year-old defenceman Mitch Meek to Cowichan, Bechtel is a veteran of 173 BCHL games in four seasons and was a regular in the Caps' lineup the past three years. Shortly after the trade, Bechtel told the Kings he was done with hockey and wanted to focus more on school and planned to enter the workforce as a powerline technician. But last week he informed the team he'd changed his mind and wants to finish out his junior career in hopes of getting a college scholarship.
"I was just missing the game, missed being in the room with the guys, and I'm excited to be here," Bechtel said. "I'm only 20 years old, I'm young, so I might as well play out my hockey career.
"I think I'm a two-way player - I like to play both ends of the ice, I like to be a shutdown D-man when the team needs me and I also like to jump into the play and move the puck up the ice and get a lot of shots on net."
Bechtel, the son of an RCMP officer, lived in Whitehorse, Yukon, and played minor hockey there for five years, where his closest rep team opponents were 16 hours away in Dawson Creek. The native of Regina also spent his first seven years in Meadow Lake, Sask., where he played on outdoor rinks. He says he won't have any trouble adjusting to the remote geography of Prince George and its cold winter climate.
Bechtel, whose father Andrew and uncle Brad Sayers also played in the league for Cowichan, was seven when he moved to Whitehorse, and his minor hockey teammates were David Stephens and Brett Roulston, who both ended up in Prince George with the Cariboo Cougars. Now based in Chilliwack, Bechtel played one full season of major midget with the Fraser Valley Bruins and he's familiar with the Kings' home at the Coliseum, having skated there with the Capitals.
"Prince George is an awesome town and this is a good barn to play in, the fans are always yelling and into the game," said Bechtel. "I just want to be a leader for the young guys and work my butt off and help the team get out of its slump."
Bechtel's new teammates gave him a warm reception when he arrived for practice on Wednesday, knowing what he means to the team's bottom line this season.
"He'll be a huge help for us - obviously he's a good player, he's been here for four years and knows what it's like to play in this league," said Kings captain Jake LeBrun. "I think we have a pretty inexperienced D-corps right now with a lot of guys from different leagues still trying to get used to the speed and I think he'll be a good veteran presence back there."
Last season, playing with former King Skylar Pacheco as his defence partner, Bechtel generated five goals and 42 points, which ranked him fourth in team scoring and the Kings are counting on his proven track record and point production to lead their 0-4 team out of troubled waters.
"He brings maturity and a lot of experience," said Kings head coach Chad van Diemen. "This is his fourth (full) year and he knows our league and we needed that on the back end, we needed a guy who can play minutes in all situations and he's done that with another team in our league and we're excited to have him back.
"We're going to need him to come up here and help offensively but also be a stable guy back there who can calm things down for us. (Wednesday) was probably our best practice of the year. I don't know if that's a mixture of him coming in and maybe seeing some change in guys who realize we need to be better."
In their four losses this season the Kings have been outscored 22-2 and their special teams have been woeful. They have just one power-play goal in 24 chances and have killed off just 20 of 29 of their own penalties without getting scored upon.
Van Diemen has no doubts Bechtel will help turn the team's fortunes and he's liked what he's seen from 20-year-old goalie Sam Tanguay, who played his first BCHL games last weekend in Langley and Surrey after getting picked up in a trade from Aurora of the OJHL, a deal that sent overage goalie Alex Brooks-Potts back to Ontario.
"They're starting to learn that what we're teaching can be very effective and is what we need to be successful," said van Diemen. "It's no fun losing in the fashion we've been losing and that's motivation in itself to come to the rink every day and work that much harder.
"Hopefully we can see some results starting this weekend."
The Kings will be in Chilliwack at the BCHL Showcase for games against Trail on Saturday and Victoriia on Sunday.
