Regional Western Hockey League scouts will be out in force as the 2016 Rick Lapointe Memorial Bantam Triple-A Showcase takes to the ice at the Ian Stewart Complex, Pearkes Arena and Naden Arena over the next four days.
The host Victoria Racquet Club Kings will join the Alaska Oilers, Hollyburn Huskies and Vancouver Thunderbirds in the Courtnall Division of the tournament.
The O鈥橞yrne Division includes the Abbotsford Hawks, Calgary Northstars, Juan de Fuca Grizzlies and Langley Eagles and the Central Zone Rockets, Cloverdale Colts, Nanaimo Clippers and Seafair Islanders form the Pettinger Division of the 12-team event.
Teams are divided among the three divisions, named after Matt Pettinger, Russ and Geoff Courtnall, and Ryan O鈥橞yrne, all former Racquet Club players who went on to the NHL.
鈥淛eff Kerr, our assistant coach who is in charge of drawing the teams, has done a good job of getting a good quality group of teams,鈥� said Kings head coach Rob Milliken. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a team from Calgary and one from Alaska. I think that鈥檚 good for local scouts. Those are two teams they normally wouldn鈥檛 see.鈥�
Action begins today with the Colts facing the Rockets at 7 a.m. at the Ian Stewart Complex with playoffs kicking in Saturday. Semifinals are slated for 5 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Ian Stewart, with the championship game set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at the UVic facility.
The host Kings face the Vancouver T-Birds today at 9:30 a.m. before tackling Alaska later tonight at 7:30. On Friday, the Kings play Hollyburn at noon with all the VRC games played at Ian Stewart.
The Lapointe tournament is named in honour of the late NHL defenceman, from Victoria, who was drafted fifth overall in 1975 by the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL and 11th overall by the Toronto Toros of the WHA, also in 1975.
The defenceman passed away in 1999. He played a total of 664 games in the NHL recording 44 goals and 176 assists for 220 points and 831 penalty minutes. The former Victoria Cougar had stints with the Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques and Los Angeles Kings. Lapointe closed out his career in 1985-86 with the L.A. Kings, where he played his last two seasons.
The Racquet Club has also produced the likes of Mel Bridgeman, Jeff Batters, Tom Martin and Kent Manderville.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a long-standing tournament. I even played in it as a kid for Racquet Club,鈥� said Milliken. 鈥淲e certainly weren鈥檛 the first group to come through either. It鈥檚 funny, last year I brought my all-star jersey from when I played to show the boys that this is how long this has been going on. That part was neat.鈥�
The Kings are hoping to continue the success they experienced at the Tim Jardine tournament in South Delta last month where they defeated the Chilliwack Bruins 3-2 in the gold-medal final.
