If playing under the gaze of NCAA and NHL scouts made them anxious or nervous, the Victoria Grizzlies players didn’t display it in showcasing themselves well in the Showcase.
The Grizzlies (9-2) edged the West Kelowna Warriors 3-2 Tuesday afternoon in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League Showcase at the Seattle Kraken NHL training facility in Seattle.
The BCHL Showcase is a pretty big deal for the aspiring junior players as all 17 teams will play two games each in what is a one-stop shopping mart for collegiate and pro scouts.
“There are so many scouts watching here. But the more eyeballs, NCAA or pro, on you the better,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Rylan Ferster.
“This [Showcase] is special because it’s different from the day-to-day regular-season grind.”
The BCHL Showcase has been held in Chilliwack in previous seasons.
“This is an event that brings together members of the amateur, collegiate and professional hockey community as we showcase the talent of tomorrow,” Kraken chief operations officer Rob Lampman said in a statement, when the Showcase move to Seattle was announced.
There were 411 BCHL alumni on U.S. collegiate NCAA rosters last season, which accounted for nearly one-quarter of all the players in Div. 1. A total of 104 former BCHL players skated in the 2023 NCAA Div. 1 tournament, including 14 on the champion Quinnipiac team.
There are 19 BCHL alumni in the NHL this season.
The BCHL showcase seems tailor-made for the likes of Grizzlies goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, in his second standout season for Victoria, but still without an NCAA commitment unlike 11 of his teammates who have one. Auyeung-Ashton again gave the scouts something to consider with a 23-save performance against West Kelowna to be named the game’s first star.
Patrick Murphy, NCAA committed to Brown University of the Ivy League, Oliver Genest, committed to NCAA Colgate University, and Cam Smith scored for the Grizzlies. Defenceman Nathan King, committed to Merrimack of the NCAA, added two assists for Victoria.
The Grizzlies continued following their pathway to early-season success by playing it tight and smothering the Warriors (8-3-1), a very good team that has 15 players committed to the NCAA.
“Our players know exactly what we are and that’s defence first,” said Ferster.
“They know the expectations, and are playing right, and doing the little things to win games. We played exactly to our identity today.”
The Grizzlies are playing two Interior Conference teams in the BCHL Showcase. The win over West Kelowna counted as a Warriors home game. The game today at 1:50 p.m. against the Merritt Centennials (4-6-1) will count as a Grizzlies home game.
The Cowichan Valley Capitals (1-9-1) got things started for Island teams in the Showcase in 6-5 and 4-1 losses to the Chilliwack Chiefs and defending league-champion Penticton Vees on Sunday and Monday.
The defending Coastal Conference-champion Alberni Valley Bulldogs (6-4) meet the Cranbrook Bucks (3-7-1) today and the Trail Smoke Eaters (4-3-3) on Thursday. The Nanaimo Clippers (5-4-1) play the Smoke Eaters today in the Showcase and the Prince George Spruce Kings (2-3-3) on Thursday.
