Thursday, August 20, 2009

Neutral Site Game

Well it is official and there seems to be a lot of interest in the exhibition game slated for Wednesday September 2nd in Smithers. This will be the first time the Spruce Kings have ever played in the city that has turned out no less than eleven alumni, thirteen if you count Houston and Telkwa.

The most recent graduate of the Spruce Kings to come from Smithers is of course Zach Davies. The four year vet and last year's team captain is now off to Quinnipiac University on a four year scholarship and will be missed for sure. But that is life in junior hockey, there is always going to be a little turnover giving new players a chance to show what they are capable of bringing to the game.

That is what can be expected for the fans in Smithers that are expected to fill the Civic Centre at the base of Hudson Bay Mountain for the game. The desire to win and be competitive is always there whether it be a playoff game or a preseason test for new players. Those trying to find a spot on the roster will want to show that they have what it takes to play at this level.

The competitive factor will be behind the bench as well with the coaches of both squads. Knowing Ed Dempsey and Glen Watson, I can tell you that neither is looking at making the trip and not coming home with something to show for it. For two seasons, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, Glen Watson was the man behind the bench of the Spruce Kings.

Smithers is no stranger to the game of hockey as evident by the number of players that come out of that area. The interesting thing that I noticed while going through the list of alumni from Smithers is that they are almost all defencemen. Of the eleven players that called Smithers home while playing in the BCHL for the Spruce Kings, only two were forwards. Including Telkwa into the equation and there is a goaltender that can be added to the list.

I'm not sure how many of those players still call Smithers home, but it would sure be nice to be able to catch up to at least a few of them. Perhaps that can be a future blog looking at some of the record holders on the all-time Spruce Kings list to come from Smithers. In the meantime I'm just looking forward to the chance to get out on the road and call a hockey game.

Like I was able to do in Dawson Creek last year and Grande Prairie the year before that, I will be using the exhibition season to work out some kinks in the game broadcast. The full slate of exhibition season games will be heard on 93.1 CFIS-FM and available online from the Spruce Kings website as well as the radio station's website.

The full exhibition season schedule is available from the Spruce Kings website along with the regular season schedule.

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