If it’s true that practice makes perfect, the Prince George Spruce Kings should be practically flawless when they hit the ice for their first league game of the season on April 2nd.
They’ve done nothing but practice while stuck in a holding pattern waiting for the B.C. Hockey League season to begin.
All that prep time on the rink at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena has allowed the Spruce Kings players to improve their skating and puckhandling skills, hone their shooting accuracy and maybe practice their behind-the-net wizardry scoring lacrosse-style with their hockey sticks. But there’s no substitute for game-time intensity and what that does to ramp up fitness levels and they can’t replicate unless they’re playing another team.
That will happen soon now that the province has approved the BCHL’s return-to-play plan. After much haggling back and forth between the league and the provincial health office, the 17 B.C.-based teams in the league will begin playing an 18- or 20-game season with teams sequestered in groups of three or four in five hub locations.
“It’s a long time waiting and obviously this year we’ve had the ups and downs whether there’s going to be a season or not - I’m excited and the team’s excited to get out there on the ice and get after it,” said Kings forward Hunor Torzsok.
“I think the pace of this bubble is going to be way better than what the exhibition showed, but we’ve been practicing pretty hard and we’re ready to go. We’ve had more than enough practice and it’s just helped to work on the little things that I’m not so good at and my overall game. I think just got better over the last couple months.”
Torzsok knows college and university scouts will be watching the games, either in the buildings or on their computer screens, and looks forward to showing those birddogs and the Kings’ coaches what he can do to make his team better.
“We have a very fast, hard-working team and we’re pretty well-structured and we’ve got some good chemistry going,” he said. “I think our depth is something we’ll use to our advantage.”
Aside from an extended Christmas break that lasted about a month and a two-week shutdown when several Kings’ players tested positive for COVID-19 in February, the team has been in practice mode since early-October.
Winger Andrew Seaman, a native of Winnetka, Ill., who joined the Spruce Kings last season, has been in Prince George since the start of September waiting to get started. As the only American on the team he didn’t go home for Christmas like the rest of the players and stayed put due to the possibility he might not get back across the still-closed international border. Anxious is not a strong enough word to describe how he feels about finally getting to play again.
“These 18 or 20 games will be kind of like a playoff atmosphere because all the teams have been waiting, just like us, and the intensity will be much higher than the preseason and we’re all looking forward to it,” said Seaman, who had three goals and seven points and was tied with Buono atop the team scoring lead after seven preseason games.
“A certain points during the year it’s been difficult, with deadlines getting moved back every month and more restrictions being put in place, so to finally have a sign of hope feels really good and makes the wait worth it. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here. I made a commitment to stick with it and it paid off.”
Named an assistant captain, Seaman says he’s used his extended practice time wisely to develop his offensive skills and feels more confident he will be able to produce points regularly. Seaman, who turns 21 on May 4, is destined for Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., to begin his U.S. college career next season and he knows his time in Prince George is just about done.
“It means a little bit more to the older guys because we know we won’t be able to come back next year so we want to leave our mark on the Spruce Kings organization and hopefully bring some sort of championship home this year,” said Seaman.
“We have a pretty experienced group, only a handful of rookies, and I think that experience will come into play during a short season that will be to our benefit.”
Mason Waite, a Winnipeg native who led all Spruce Kings defencemen in 2019-20 with seven goals and 29 points in 51 games, will wear the ‘C’ as captain this season, his last at the junior level before he moves on to St. Lawrence University next season in Canton, N.Y.
Knowing what’s ahead of them next month after they serve a 14-day quarantine that starts Sunday night, the Kings practice sessions the past few days have focused more on game strategies and systems and Waite can’t wait to see how it all shakes out in a real game.
“I haven’t had a game environment since last March - we played a couple exhibition games in November but it’s not the same,” said Waite. “Just that game environment and competing against guys for a full 60-minute game is probably the most exciting part.
“The league kept pushing to get approval and all that waiting was worth it. The guys have been waiting a really long time with patience. It wasn’t the easiest just continuing working hard even though you didn’t know if you were going to play or not.
“I think with all the time we’ve spent here waiting, I mean a lot of teams could say this, but I think we have a really resilient group and I think we’re really close in the room, so we’ll have our backs when we get playing. Even if we’re down a goal or two guys I don’t think guys will give up.”
The Kings have 20-year-olds - forwards Torzsok, Seaman, Buono and defencemen Waite and Tanner Main. Winger Corey Cunningham, the only Prince George-born-and-bred player on the roster, has committed to Merrimack College for next season and first-year left winger Simon Labelle, a 2002-born Colgate University recruit for 2021 could also be heading into the twilight of their junior careers.
Fans are still banned from the rink and that’s one of the down sides of the pandemic, especially for the 20-year-olds, who won’t ever get to hear those Rolling Mix crowds erupt again in cheers when they score or make a big hit or blocked shot.
“It’s unfortunate not being able to have fans, especially us, we’ve got great fan support,” said Waite. “Even though we didn’t have the most success last year the fans always showed up and brought the energy for us.”
Head coach Alex Evin has worked collaboratively with his assistants, Lukas Lomicky and Jason Garneau and skills development coach Nick Drazenovic to keep practices interesting, but there’s only so much they can do to keep the players from getting distracted. That won’t be a problem in the hub they’re headed to, likely in Chilliwack, with games virtually every other day in a condensed five-week schedule which has yet to be released.
“I’m sure they’re all excited and looking forward to playing games, we don’t sign up to practice,” said Evin. “Practice is important but you need games for your team to show what they are and you need games to showcase yourself as an individual through the team game to move on to the next level.
“I’m glad we’re able to give them that opportunity. The people at the league (office) deserve a lot of credit. They’ve stuck with it a year and we’re able to hopefully make it work here soon. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of energy in the games. It’s been challenging for coaches but we’ve found ways to keep our group engaged and still be competitive and we’re looking forward to getting started. This is a good thing for everyone’s mental health.”
Just six players – Cunningham, Seaman, Waite, Carter Cochrane, Kolton Cousins and Amran Bhabra – are back from the team that finished fifth in the Mainland Division with a 15-32-3 record and was swept in the first playoff round by the Trail Smoke Eaters.
But Kings GM Mike Hawes has added several players with junior A experience including forwards Torzsok (Merritt, BCHL), Buono (Merritt, BCHL), Rowen Miller (Powell River, BCHL), Labelle (Rockland, CCHL) and defencemen Main (Wenatchee, BCHL), Josh Wright (Trenton, OJHL) and Zach Gabruch (Salmon Arm, BCHL), who should make the Kings a much more competitive team.
”I think we’ll be a fast group up front, I think we learned a lot from our preseason contests and I really like how our younger players have developed in practice,” said Evin. “Obviously the test will be handling a lot of games in a short time but I think we’ll be a committed group that’s going to play together and that’s a good start.”
Main just returned to the ice after breaking his leg in a fall into the boards in Trail Nov. 15 and it’s uncertain whether he’ll be ready in time for the season. Centre Darwin Lakoduk, who joined the Kings in future considerations trade in June from Penticton and played for the Kings in the preseason, left in December to attend American International College in Massachusetts.
The Kings will have three new goalies, including Aaron Trotter, born in 2001, and Jordan Fairlie and Kobe Grant, both from the 2002 birth year.
