The Prince George Spruce Kings have added some scoring punch.
The B.C. Hockey League team has acquired the junior A rights to 20-year-old forward Quintin Loon-Stewardson from the Battlefords North Stars of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
In 53 games last season with the Stars, the five-foot-10, 168-pound native of Sioux Lookout, Ont., collected 30 goals and 25 assists for 55 points.
He also played for the Stars in 2018-19 and after a 28-point season Loon-Stewardson caught fire in the playoffs with 10 goals and nine assists in 16 games.
In other Kings news, 20-year-old right winger Nolan Welsh has signed a scholarship agreement to join the Long Island University Sharks in the fall for their inaugural NCAA Division 1 season.
“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone in the Spruce Kings organization,” said Welsh. “I couldn’t say enough good things about how this program supported and treated me the last three years. That being said, I am very excited about this opportunity at LIU and I can’t wait to get the next chapter of my life started.”
Welsh, a native of Whistler, played 143 of his 199 BCHL games with the Spruce Kings and last season was the team captain. The Burnaby Winter Club alumni joined the Kings in 2017, after one season with the Victoria Grizzlies. He helped the Kings win the Fred Page Cup and Doyle Cup championships in 2019. In 46 games last season he had 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points.
“I am incredibly happy for Nolan that he has secured this NCAA Division 1 Scholarship. There isn’t a more deserving player,” said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “Nolan was with us for three seasons and he epitomizes what it means to be a Spruce King. He played hard every shift in every game and was a huge part of our organization’s accomplishments in recent years. I wish him nothing but success in this next chapter.”
In his career, Welsh played 61 playoff games which ranks fifth in BCHL history.
“Nolan has been a huge part of the Spruce Kings success over the past three seasons - he leaves Prince George as an outstanding teammate, leader, hockey player, and person,” said head coach Alex Evin. “It is very rewarding to see our players reach their goals of playing college hockey and getting an opportunity to further their education. We are very proud of Nolan and look forward to tracking his success at LIU.”
