It鈥檚 3,587 kilometres from Lake Forest Academy in Illinois to The Q Centre, but the route has become a bit of a pipeline for the Victoria Grizzlies.
Veteran Cody Van Lierop will be joined by rookies Jake Stevens and Joseph Visconti this 2015-16 sa国际传媒 Hockey League season as Grizzlies head coach and general manager Craig Didmon continues to recruit from the prep school north of Chicago.
鈥淐ertainly, I knew it was a competitive program. Some of my sources back East had kids going there from Ontario,鈥� Didmon said.
鈥淚 like the fact that it鈥檚 a competitive program and I like the way the coach brings along the players. They have a tough schedule and it鈥檚 a school that has a high demand on education. Those are the types of kids we want to bring in because they are set in their ways and what they are looking for.
鈥淥ften, you recruit the players from the schools and the players put in a good word. It鈥檚 helped our program. They鈥檙e good kids who have boarded in homes and they鈥檙e conditioned for hard work,鈥� added Didmon, who also had goaltender Sean Cleary play last season with Van Lierop.
Cleary has since gone on to the University of Massachusetts Lowell. At one time, all four were teammates at Lake Forest.
鈥淲e knew when we saw them a couple of years ago that we wanted to see them in our lineup this year,鈥� Didmon said.
Stevens, 18, the only American, is from Naperville, Illinois. He was the Lake Forest captain last year, taking over that role from Van Lierop, who is from Sutton West, Ont.
鈥淐ody is a great leader. He has that confidence and I expect him to be one of the best 200-foot defenceman in the league,鈥� Didmon said. 鈥淗e does everything well, offensively and defensively, and on top of that he鈥檚 a great influence in the room.鈥�
Van Lierop, 19, will help Stevens and Visconti adjust to the BCHL and will take on a bigger role with the Grizzlies in Year 2.
鈥淚 should step up on the defensive side,鈥� said Van Lierop, who drove to the Island from Ontario with Visconti. 鈥淲e lost a lot of defencemen so it will be a big step up for me, but I鈥檓 excited for it.
鈥淚鈥檓 more comfortable in that role than I was last year as a rookie. I like to be in a leadership role, it fits me personality wise. I鈥檓 optimistic of what we have going here. I don鈥檛 know everyone coming in, but I鈥檓 really excited about this year.鈥�
Visconti, 18, is from Markham, Ont. 鈥淰isconti scores lots of goals. He always has,鈥� Didmon said. 鈥淗e has good speed, a great shot and good vision. He鈥檒l show us how he can battle against bigger, stronger players. As he adapts to that, he鈥檒l be effective for us.鈥�
Didmon also expects Stevens to be steady on the back end.
鈥淗e鈥檚 much in the same mould as Cody. He was ready to step in last year, but education is extremely important to him and his family. He鈥檚 more than ready to step in and I鈥檓 excited about that.鈥�
鈥� Hockey fans have heard the hype and seen what Connor McDavid is capable of doing. A pair of Victoria Grizzlies know it first hand from their minor hockey days.
Van Lierop and fellow defenceman Brett Stirling both played with not only McDavid, the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in June, but Sam Bennett, the fourth overall selection of the Calgary Flames last season. 鈥淚 played four years with them and we won four straight [minor hockey league] championships. From minor atom to major pee wee,鈥� Van Lierop recalled.
鈥淵ou knew he was going somewhere right from the first time you played with him,鈥� he said of McDavid. 鈥淗is dad was our coach and, even then, he had that calm, cool collection about him. He could do anything on the ice and you were astonished, even when you saw him every day.
鈥淪ame with Bennett,鈥� said Van Lierop. 鈥淭hey played together [as forwards] and you didn鈥檛 want to be a defenceman on the other team.鈥�
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