PHOTO GALLERY: Rivermen participate in annual Fort Langley May Day parade

For a second year in a row the Langley Rivermen participated in the annual May Day Parade in historic Fort Langley on Monday. James Barr, Evan Anderson, Viktor Dombrovskiy, Marcus Vela, Fraser the Riverman among others took the time to walk the parade route and meet and greet a rambunctious crowd.

Standing room only at every corner

One of our bus driver’s Larry chats and walks with the boys

Evan Anderson making the walk

New recruit Marcus Vela out with the team for the first time

The Rivermen bus taking part for the first time

James Barr greets a young fan

Fraser pulling a groin..

 

 

Rivermen sign high scoring forward for next season

Grigull has the ability to put the puck in the net

Official release from the Langley Rivermen:

The Langley Rivermen Junior “A” Hockey club is pleased to announce the commitment of forward Spencer Grigull (1995 born) for the 2013-2014 season. Grigull played for Lake Forest Academy last season in the state of Illinois and led the team in scoring with 41 goals and 15 assists and was named to the MPHL all-star team for his efforts.

“I have been following the Rivermen closely over the past year and was lucky enough to come try out at prospects camp in April and could not be more excited to sign with them,” said Grigull.

The Newmarket, Ontario native that stands at 6 foot 2, 205 pounds came into the three day prospects camp not quite sure what to expect, but he sure enjoyed his time from the moment he stepped foot in the rink,

“The camp was an overall great experience and I definitely learned a lot when I was there and was happy with my play. I was very impressed with the amazing facility in Langley and had a chance to hang out with some of the guys that were on the team last year and had a great time with them as well,” continued Grigull.

Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson described Grigull as a type of player who can do it all,

“Spencer can pretty much play anywhere in our line-up and showed great versatility when we saw him play. He has good wheels and a nice set of hands and has a knack for scoring goals on a consistent basis and we see him fitting in very well with us next year,” said Henderson.

Grigull will come to Langley knowing at least one player in the dressing room in Matt Ustaski. Lake Forest Academy is located 40 minutes north of Chicago and was Ustaski’s club team in 2011-2012. Grigull got to know him very well during the camp and mentioned he is training with him through the off-season in Illinois.

The 17 year old has done his homework on both the Rivermen and the BCHL  and really believes he is coming to the best Junior “A” league in Canada,

“The BCHL is the most reputable league in Canada in my opinion. Players consistently move on to the next level year in and year out and especially guys from the Rivermen in the past couple of seasons, which is what it is all about.”

As for what we can expect from him in his rookie year, the soft spoken forward explained he would do pretty much anything that is asked of him,

“I am going to go out every night and play hard and hopefully be a force. I want to be able to help my team every shift I am out on the ice and hopefully be as consistent as possible. I have a very good feeling about next year’s team,” Grigull finished.

Rivermen lend a hand at McHappy Day

Members of the Langley Rivermen took part in the annual McHappy Day fundraiser on Wednesday. All the money raised went directly to Ronald McDonald house. James Barr, Austen Bietenbeck, Jakob Reichert, and Mark Whiteley were the participants and did a great job all day long. The players were spread out at two different locations throughout the day (Logan Creek, Walnut Grove).

 

Rivermen bring in Jon Calvano to solidify coaching staff

 

Calvano has been one of the league’s best recruiters in the past 3 years

Official press release from the Langley Rivermen:

The Langley Rivermen Junior “A” Hockey Club is pleased to announce the hiring of Jon Calvano as Associate Coach and Assistant General Manager. Calvano comes to the Rivermen after being in the Coquitlam Express organization where he served as Head Coach for three years.

“It is the start of a new chapter in my life and I am really excited to join the Rivermen organization,” said Calvano, “the team is coming off a good year making the playoffs for the first time and I hope to come in and help the franchise in any way I can. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for the Henderson family and what they do and I am glad to get this opportunity to work with them.”

Calvano amassed a record of 92-87-3-4 in his three years as bench boss of the Express and made the playoffs twice. When asked how he would describe himself as a coach, he pointed out a few things that fans of the game always like to hear,

“I like to coach players that are skilled. Looking at the teams I have had in the past they always had a good combination of skill and speed and were excellent off the transition. I feel what I bring to the table combined with what Bobby and Kurt bring will make a solid staff,” Calvano continued.

Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson has known Jon for quite some time now and believes he will be a tremendous asset to the coaching staff,

“We are excited to have Jon on board with us in the Rivermen organization,” said Rivermen Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson, “it was an opportunity that presented itself and we felt as an organization we wanted to make it happen as we believe he can help our Hockey Club in many ways.”

Calvano has a strong track record of recruiting high end players to the BCHL and Coach Henderson is happy to have him on his side rather than competing against him,

“Jon has established himself as one of the top recruiters in our league in the past couple of years. Looking at some of the players he has had on his teams in the past, it speaks for itself and he is not only good at getting them there, but also developing and moving them on to the next level.”

With a good amount of impact players returning next season for the ‘Men and a strong recruiting class coming in, Coach Calvano is not only excited for that, but also getting the chance to team up with two coaches he has a lot of respect for,

“Bobby has been around the BCHL for a long time and was passionate when he was playing and still brings that same passion to the bench, which is great. He knows the game and is well-connected in the Hockey world and with Kurt, I had a chance to coach him for one season when he was with the Grandview Steelers and enjoyed being around him. He understands the game and has a good knowledge for it and I look forward to coaching with him at this level,” Calvano finished.

Rivermen welcome Tony Bretzman to the fold for 2013-2014

Bretzman is a dynamic point producing defenseman

Official release from http://www.langleyrivermen.com:

The Langley Rivermen Junior “A” Hockey Club is pleased to announce the commitment of defenseman Tony Bretzman (1994 born) for next season. Bretzman hails from Mendota Heights, Minnesota and played in a high school league for the St. Thomas Academy Cadets. In 31 games he racked up 5 goals and 24 assists.

“I am extremely excited to join the Rivermen organization next season. I did a lot of research about the Rivermen program and it really seems like it will be a great fit for me and my style of play,” said Bretzman.

Bretzman is not going to be the biggest guy on the ice at 5 foot 10, 165 pounds, but by all accounts he will be very exciting as he describes himself as an offensive defenseman,

“I am a mobile defenseman that likes to jump up in the play and create offense. I also pride myself in taking care of my own zone and making that good first pass out of the zone,” Bretzman continued, “I really like to watch Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators and mold my game after him.”

Bretzman has already been to Langley as he took part in Prospects Camp in early April. Rivermen Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson was in touch with Bretzman before he came into camp and clearly did enough to impress the second year bench boss,

“Tony is going to bring a special offensive dynamic to the table for us next season. He is a great skater with a fantastic skill set and on the defensive side of things he has a good active stick and a great compete level, “said Coach Henderson about his newest recruit.

The St. Thomas Academy program is nothing short of a dynasty in the Minnesota area as Bretzman and his Cadets have won three straight Class “A” state championships in a row,

“Tony has proven he is a winner and those are the type of guys we want on our team. We don’t expect him to have to long of a transition process at all as we feel the BCHL suits his style of play tremendously,” Henderson finished.

Bretzman’s senior year was a special one to say the least going out on top as a champion. However, the cherry on top of it all came in early March when as he was announced as a finalist for the Reed Larson award which is a brand new piece of hardware given out to the top senior high school defenseman in the state of Minnesota.

The smooth skating blue-liner is very excited to come north of the border to play for the Rivermen and hopes to have another banner year,

“I want to come into Langley and be an impact player right off the get go. I want to succeed not only on an individual level, but on a team level as well and obviously the main goal is to win a championship,” Bretzman finished.

 

 

 

Western Canada Cup update

The Inagural Western Canada Cup is well underway from Nanaimo. It is getting down to the wire as the top 2 teams will advance to the RBC Cup in PEI. Below is the games that have happened so far in the tournament. Surrey is 2-1, while Nanaimo is 1-2.

RR	Sat, Apr. 27 Game #1	2:00P	Brooks Bandits (AJHL)	4	Surrey Eagles (BCHL)	2	Frank Crane Arena
RR	Sat, Apr. 27 Game #2	7:00P	Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)	4	Nanaimo Clippers (Host)	3	Frank Crane Arena
RR	Sun, Apr. 28 Game #3	2:00P	Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)	2	Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)	3	Frank Crane Arena
RR	Sun, Apr. 28 Game #4	7:00P	Nanaimo Clippers (Host)	7	Brooks Bandits (AJHL)	2	Frank Crane Arena
RR	Mon, Apr. 29 Game #5	7:00P	Surrey Eagles (BCHL)	5	Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)	3	Frank Crane Arena
RR	Tue, Apr. 30 Game #6	2:00P	Brooks Bandits (AJHL)	2 OT	Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)	1	Frank Crane Arena
RR	Tue, Apr. 30 Game #7	7:00P	Surrey Eagles (BCHL)	4	Nanaimo Clippers (Host)	0	Frank Crane Arena

Here is the upcoming schedule for the remainder of the tournament:

	DATE	TIME	AWAY		HOME		LOC
RR	Wed, May. 1 Game #8	7:00P	Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)		Brooks Bandits (AJHL)		Frank Crane Arena
RR	Thu, May. 2 Game #9	2:00P	Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)		Surrey Eagles (BCHL)		Frank Crane Arena
RR	Thu, May. 2 Game #10	7:00P	Nanaimo Clippers (Host)		Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)		Frank Crane Arena
G#11 Winner plays G#12 Loser in G#13
RR	Sat, May. 4 Game #11	2:00P	4th Place		3rd Place		Frank Crane Arena
Winner Qualifies for 2013 RBC Cup
RR	Sat, May. 4 Game #12	7:00P	2nd Place		1st Place		Frank Crane Arena
Winner Qualifies for 2013 RBC Cup
RR	Sun, May. 5 Game #13	4:00P	Game ##11 Winner		Game #12 Loser		Frank Crane Arena

Puskarich in running for Top Forward award in the CJHL

Puskarich has had plenty to celebrate about in 2012/2013

The accolades continue for Puskarich…

Official press release from the CJHL:

CALGARY, Alberta – The Canadian Junior Hockey League is pleased to announce the five finalists for the 2013 CJHL Top Forward Award. The recipient will be the first CJHL player to receive the national award, which will be presented to the most outstanding forward in the CJHL based on individual performance in the regular season.

A candidate from each of the 10 leagues in the CJHL was nominated for the Top Forward Award. The first stage of the selection process saw representatives from all 10 Junior A leagues rank their top five players from among the 10 national nominees. Rankings were then assigned a point value and the five players with the highest point total moved on as finalists to the final round of voting. The five finalists for the 2013 Top Forward Award include players from the BCHL, CCHL, MJHL, OJHL and LHJAAAQ. A brief summary of the award nomination for each finalist is outlined below.

Joakim Arsenault, Sainte-Agathe Montagnards, LHJAAAQ (52 GP, 41 G, 80 A, 121 PTS)
Joakim Arsenault was the leading scorer and set-up man in the Canadian Junior Hockey League this season with 41 goals, 80 assists and 121 points in 52 games. He competed for the LHJAAAQ at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge and was selected to the LHJAAAQ All-Star Team.

Tyler Gjurich, Buffalo Jr. Sabres, OJHL (53 GP, 53 G, 44 A, 97 PTS)
Tyler Gjurich was the only OJHL player to reach the 50-goal mark, while also leading the league with 97 points. Gjurich was member of the OJHL West Division All-Stars that competed at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge and he was named an OJHL 1st Team All-Star, as well as winning the OJHL Top Scorer and Rookie of the Year Awards. Gjurich has committed to University of Maine Black Bears.

Michael Pontarelli, Cornwall Colts, CCHL (53 GP, 52 G, 55 A, 107 PTS)
Michael Pontarelli had an outstanding inaugural year of junior hockey as an Associate Captain of the Cornwall Colts. Pontarelli was the 2012-2013 scoring champion with 107 points, including tallying 50 goals and 50 assists in 50 games. He was a unanimous choice for CCHL MVP and the CCHL Sportsmanship and Ability Award. Pontarelli has committed to Union College.

Mario Puskarich, Langley Rivermen, BCHL (55 GP, 41 G, 48 A, 89 PTS)
Puskarich led the BCHL in scoring with 41 goals and 48 assists for 89 points and was selected as a League 1st Team All-Star. During the season, he had 27 multi-point games and twice registered 6 points in a game. Puskarich tallied 40 points in the final 22 games of the season including a 10-game point streak. Puskarich has committed to the University of Vermont.

Jesse Sinatynski, Dauphin Kings, MJHL (59 GP, 43 G, 50 A, 93 PTS)
Jesse Sinatynski was the top scorer in the MJHL with 93 points on 43 goals and 50 assists. He was the league’s top scorer for the second consecutive year, winning in 2011-2012 with a total of 90 points. His per game point average of 1.6 was also tops in the league.

Congratulations to the following honourable mentions for the CJHL Top Forward Award:

• Mike Dietrich, Minnesota Wilderness, SIJHL
• Darcy Haines, Sudbury Nickel Barons, NOJHL
• Cam Maclise, Brooks Bandits, AJHL
• Ian McNulty, Melville Millionaire, SJHL
• Kyle Morrison, Truro Bearcats, MHL

On February 6, 2013, the Canadian Junior Hockey League announced that it will recognize the best Junior A talent from across all 10 Junior A leagues with a new suite of national awards. The new CJHL awards include Most Valuable Player, Top Forward, Top Defenceman, Top Goaltender and Rookie of the Year. Every Junior A league in the CJHL has submitted a nominee for each award and the winner will be chosen from among those 10 national nominees. The selection panel consists of representatives from each of the CJHL’s 10 Junior A leagues and the award winners will be chosen based on a weighted-voting system.

The Top 5 finalists for the CJHL player awards will be announced during the week of April 22nd-26th, followed by the announcements of the award winners over the week of May 6th-10th.