It’s now official, Prince George Spruce Kings right winger Nick Rheaume is a star.
That was confirmed earlier week when the B.C. Hockey League selected the 19-year-old native of Sherbrooke, Que., as the league’s third star of the month for October.
Now playing in his second season with the Spruce Kings, Rheaume is a big part of the reason the team is off to a great start. Through 10 games, Rheaume has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points and ranks fourth in the BCHL scoring race, one point behind teammate John Herrington.
Although he went without a point Wednesday in the Kings’ 3-2 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Rheaume had points in seven of his first nine games, including three three-point games. A week ago, the UMass-Lowell NCAA recruit picked up his first BCHL hat trick with a three-goal effort in a 7-1 win over the Penticton Vees.
Playing on line with Simon Labelle and Rowan Miller, Rheaume been especially deadly on the power play with six points and has scored two game-winning goals.
Rheaume and the Kings (7-3-0-0-0, fourth in Interior Conference) will be back in action Friday when they host the Trail Smoke Eaters (5-3-1-0-0, sixth in Interior) in a two-game set at RMCA.
The weekend games mark the return of left winger Corey Cunningham. Cunningham, a five-year BCHL veteran, spent the first four years of his junior career playing for his hometown Spruce Kings and was part of their 2019 Fred Page Cup/Doyle Cup championship team. Recruited to Merrimack University for next year, Cunningham asked for the Oct. 1 trade that sent him to Trail.
Victoria Grizzlies fright winger Matthew Wood was picked as the first star of the month. The 16-year-old from Nanaimo has a league-leading 11 goals and has 17 points rank him second in the BCHL. Five of those points came in a 7-3 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Oct. 16. Wood played in the league last season as a 15-year-old and tallied five goals and eight assists in 18 games in the Island pod. He’s signed a college scholarship commitment at the University of Connecticut for the 2023-24 season.
Left winger Connor Eddy of the Grizzlies was selected second star of the month. Through 10 games, the 19-year-old Victoria native has averaged 1.8 points per game. His 18 points and 12 assists are tops in the BCHL this season. Two of his six goals came while shorthanded and he’s tied for the lead in that category.
Herrington, the Spruce Kings’ top scorer with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, earned honourable mention in the player-of-the-month selection process. Two former Spruce Kings - Sean Donaldson of the Nanaimo Clippers (8-2-10) and Tyler Schleppe of the Langley Rivermen (8-4-12), were also on the honourable mention list.
