The Prince George Spruce Kings are inviting their fans and the public to the Coliseum's lobby Friday morning for a "major announcement."
Kings general manager Mike Hawes wouldn't reveal Tuesday what the announcement is, but it's expected the B.C. Hockey League club will unveil its new head coach for the 2015-16 season at the 9 a.m. event
The Kings have had a vacancy behind their bench since Dave Dupas resigned on March 20 to return to Kelowna where his family lives. Dupas spent four-and-a-half seasons as the Kings' head coach, consistently guided the team to winning records and never missed the playoffs.
In 2014-15, the Kings won a playoff round for the first time in 10 seasons when they defeated the Langley Rivermen. Their playoff drive ended March 19 when they were swept by the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Following the departure of Dupas, Hawes said there was a lot of interest in the job but that he was in no hurry to have the position filled by the team's annual Spring Prospects Camp, which happens this weekend.
Following Friday's media conference, registration for more than 100 prospects will take place at 10 a.m. for the team's camp.
The players will be divided into six teams. They'll practice Friday afternoon and compete against each other in a series of games Friday night and all day Saturday.
The players will then be whittled down to the top 40 prospects and will compete in a prospects game Sunday at 2 p.m.
The camp is open to the public.
"(The games) are free admission and will all be really good games and very competitive," said Hawes Tuesday. "These players want to play in the BCHL and kids are coming from all corners of North America. It's going to be extremely competitive and we have some key openings to fill."
Those positions include a goaltender, a pair of defencemen and seven forwards.
The Kings will have a goaltender, four defencemen and five forwards eligible to return for 2015-16. They are goalie Alex Brooks-Potts, defencemen Cole McCaskill, Ryan Fritz, Alex Stoley and Matt Stief and forwards Jake LeBrun, Braiden Epp, Cole Todd, Nick Guerra, Daniel Nachbaur and Riley Hawes.
Forward Brogan O'Brien was slated to return to the ice in a Kings uniform but he signed a standard WHL player agreement with the Prince George Cougars last week.
Seven other players won't return next season because they've earned NCAA hockey scholarships to U.S. universities for the 2015-16 season. They include forwards Chad Staley (Alaska-Anchorage), Jeremiah Luedtke (Alaska-Fairbanks), Michael Buonincontri (St. Cloud State), defenceman Viktor Dombrovskiy (Harvard) and goaltender Jesse Jenks (Alaska-Fairbanks). Defenceman Karan Toor, who was sidelined for the entire year due to a groin injury, is off to Dartmouth, while forward Justin Rai, who only appeared in 25 games after suffering a season-ending concussion, will go to school at the University of Maine.
Forward Marco Ballarin and defenceman Adam Clements were eligible to return but were dealt on the weekend to the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. They were the future considerations in the deal Hawes made in December for defenceman Tyler Kunz, who was later traded.
The BCHL playoff championship series starts Friday in Penticton, with the Vees hosting the Nanaimo Clippers in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series. Game 2 will be played Saturday, also in Penticton.
