Photo Credit: Garrett James
There aren’t many 16 year olds that have an NCAA College commitment and nearly 50 BCHL games under their belt, but Marcus Vela is in a special group.
The Burnaby native and University of New Hampshire commitment has quickly established himself as a power forward and elite prospect in the league, now with 9 goals and 19 points in his first 47 games. The 6’2″ 190 pound centre has also garnered plenty of other attention, most notably from Rogers Sportsnet as he was the centrepiece of a recent feature.
Vela leads the BCHL in 1997-born scoring and is now getting comfortable playing in a league with players far older than he. With several forwards out of the Rivermen lineup recently, Vela has been one of those who has stepped up to help fill the void, logging more minutes and doing so in an effective manner. He scored his most recent goal on the power play in Cowichan two weekends ago, a critical goal in a hard-fought battle that saw the Riv earn a 2-2 tie.
It’s been a very good start for Vela in the BCHL and the skill and poise he has shown, combined with his physical presence lends to the belief he will be a top-end player in this league.
Langley Rivermen Junior "A" Hockey Blog 