Six players -- three of them with local connections -- have decided to skate for the Prince George Spruce Kings next B.C. Hockey League season.
The Kings announced on Tuesday that Jared Crossan, Sean Landrey and Michael Klonarakis have committed to the club. Crossan and Landrey are P.G. products, while Klonarakis hails from Kitimat but played two seasons of minor hockey here.
Also, twin brothers Scott and Spencer McHaffie will be Spruce Kings next season, and will be joined by Cody Bardock on the roster.
"Having local players on our team is important to us and to the community," said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "Jared is a great puck-moving defenceman who sees the ice very well and possesses a tremendous shot. Sean is a big, strong power forward who will be an imposing force for us next season and beyond.
"We look for big things from both Jared and Sean in the coming years."
As for Klonarakis, a forward, Hawes said he was a standout player at the team's spring prospect camp, held at the Coliseum on the weekend.
"Our coaches and scouts fell in love with Michael's work ethic, speed and skill," Hawes said.
"I am very familiar with Michael and his family and am very pleased that he has joined the Spruce Kings organization."
Crossan, five-foot-11 and 185 pounds, played for the Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League this past season and was a league all-star. He also got a taste of the BCHL when he appeared in four games with the Kings as an affiliate player.
Landrey, a hulking six-foot-four and 210 pounds, was a member of the Coast Inn of the North midget Tier 1 Cougars this season and also suited up for the Kings seven times as an AP. In those seven contests, he had one goal and one assist.
Crossan and Landrey both committed to the Kings prior to the weekend camp.
Klonarakis, five-foot-nine and 160 pounds, skated for Prince George rep teams for part of his peewee Tier 1 season and all of his bantam Tier 1 year. He spent the 2010-11 season at Kelowna's Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy.
At the spring camp, the McHaffie boys sparkled. Both are five-foot-nine, 175-pound forwards with offensive flair. This season, they were part of the midget Tier 1 B.C. champions, the Surrey Thunder.
"We are very fortunate that Scott and Spencer have committed to the Spruce Kings," Hawes said. "They are very dynamic players that possess tremendous speed and skill. These two will be fan favourites."
Bardock, like Landrey, is six-foot-four and 210 pounds. Bardock is a Lethbridge product who filled a blueline spot for his hometown midget triple-A Hurricanes this season. He was also on the ice at the weekend camp and impressed observers with his physical play and instincts.
"He is a smart player who makes the right plays in his own end and is a great open-ice hitter," Hawes said. "He will be an imposing force for us on defence for the next few years."
The past couple weeks have been productive ones for the Kings. Last Thursday, they announced the promotion of Dave Dupas from interim head coach to head coach and Hawes's new role as general manager after he had been assistant GM and director of player personnel the previous three seasons.
Dupas signed a three-year contract and Hawes inked a two-year agreement.
The Kings are looking to take major steps forward next season, after a 2010-11 campaign that saw them stumble to a last-overall record of 13-40-1-6.
