The Peninsula Panthers and Oceanside Generals players will be wearing the No. 26 on their helmets in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League final in continuation of a league-wide tribute that began in January following the death of Panthers forward Grant Gilbertson.
The Panthers have dedicated their run to the 2022 VIJHL final, their first appearance in over a decade, to their late teammate.
The Panthers, in their first final since 2011 when they won, open the best-of-seven series tonight at Howie Meeker Arena at Oceanside Place in Parksville against another upstart club. The Oceanside Generals swept the regular-season champion Campbell River Storm in the semifinals and now look for their first league title since 2009. Game 2 is Friday night at the Panorama Recreation Centre, Game 3 Sunday in Oceanside and Game 4 Monday at Panorama.
Gilbertson was on his way from Sooke to a practice at Panorama in January when he died in an automobile accident in icy conditions on Humpback Road.
“Grant’s mom Darcie and dad Ken have come out to a lot of the games and that has given our team strength,” said Panthers owner Pete Zubersky.
“This has been important to the family.”
And important in return to the Panthers players. Dedicating the season and playoffs to their late teammate is fitting for a player, who despite only being 18, was described as an emerging team leader.
“Grant was such a great guy. We have a very tight team and Grant was part of our leadership group,” said Zubersky.
The Grant Gilbertson Memorial-Friendship Award has been established and will go annually to the Panthers player who is the “glue guy” in the dressing room.
The Panthers reached the final by beating the Kerry Park Islanders 4-2 in their semifinal series after the Islanders shocked the South Division-champion Victoria Cougars in an opening-round sweep. Peninsula beat the Westshore Wolves 4-2 in the opening round, and key to its playoff run, has been the trade-deadline deal to acquire 20-year-old forward Kyle Brown from the Saanich Predators. Saanich missed the playoffs, so the trade allowed Brown to extend his junior career into the post-season. Brown has seven goals and 17 points in the playoffs.
“Kyle came into a very difficult situation, to a team that was grieving and undergoing counselling, and it took a while for him to get going for us, but he did get going and has played so well for us,” said Zubersky.
The VIJHL alumni list includes current and former NHLers Jamie Benn, Jordie Benn, Adam Cracknell, Matt Irwin, Ryan O’Byrne, and numerous eventual WHL/BCHL juniors, NCAA collegians and AHL/ECHL pros. But few of them experienced a VIJHL post-season as bracket-busting as this one. It included the expansion Port Alberni Bombers, who finished 41 points behind the Storm, taking the annual powerhouse Campbell River club to seven gruelling games in the first round. The Storm had gone 40-4-2 to win the Andy Hebenton Trophy, named after the former NHL Ironman record holder and Victoria pro-hockey great, as regular-season champion. But the Bombers series likely sapped the Storm, as they were swept by the Generals in the semifinal round. Kerry Park’s first-round upset sweep of the league No. 2 Cougars, meanwhile, was also one for the books as the Islanders were 22-26-2 in the regular season to the Cougars 35-11-3.
“I’ve never seen anything like this post-season in the league. Some of these upsets just blew me away” said Zubersky, who has been involved with the Panthers since 1999.
The VIJHL Jamie Benn MVP Award and Clayton Stoner Award for top defenceman, both named after NHLers, went to Panthers players Riley Braun and Matthew Seale respectively. Braun leads playoff scorers with 24 points with Peninsula teammate Logan Speirs on 10 goals and 23 points.
Before sweeping the Storm in the semifinals, Oceanside had outlasted the feisty Comox Valley Glacier Kings in a seven-game opening-round series. Carter Johnson of the Generals leads all playoff goal scorers with 11 and is tied for second with Speirs in points with 23.
The winner of the Peninsula-Oceanside championship series will hoist the Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy and advance to represent the VIJHL against the champions of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Pacific Junior Hockey League, and host Delta Ice Hawks, in the 2022 Fred Cyclone Taylor Cup sa国际传媒 Junior B championship tournament April 7-10 in Ladner.
The last Cyclone Taylor Cup was hosted by the Storm in 2019 at Rod Brind’Amour Arena in Campbell River, with the Revelstoke Grizzlies of the KIJHL the defending champions. The 2020 and 2021 Cup tournaments were cancelled due to the pandemic.
