Alumni Offers Thanks for Scholarship

This past week saw three Spruce Kings alumni commit to taking their on-ice talents to the next level to play collegiate hockey. Two of the three players finished out the season with the Spruce Kings and one was traded early on in the season.

First of all congratulations to both Zac Rasmussen and Brad Bourke who secured their play with CIS schools. Rasmussen will be playing in his hometown of Kamloops with the TRU WolfPack for the start of the 2010-11 season at the Thompson River University. Across the Rockies, Bourke will be suiting up for the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings.

Both of these players joined the Spruce Kings early in the season with Bourke coming in exchange for Andrew Pickering via the Merritt Centennials. In the short time that he spent wearing the crown for the Spruce Kings, it was obvious to see that Pickering had a ton of ability and talent and that made him a sought after commodity. After a tough decision was made to add some experience on the back end, a trade was made with the Merritt Centennials that brought Brad Bourke to the Spruce Kings.

After the trade, Pickering continued to work hard in his new environment and continued to stay in touch with those that he felt were influential to his game. In his opinion, it all led to his recent NCAA Div I scholarship to the University of Alaska Anchorage to play for the Seawolves with another Spruce Kings alumni, Wes McLeod. I had an opportunity to talk to Andrew and congratulate him on his scholarship and also about his junior career with the Spruce Kings and the BCHL.


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Ryan Howse Called to the Big Show

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft heard 211 players called by 30 teams through seven rounds. On Saturday, the Calgary Flames used the 13th spot of the third round to call Prince George minor hockey product Ryan Howse as the 74th overall selection. Following the draft, I sent Ryan a quick text message not expecting to hear much back ... afterall he would be spending time with family and friends in the aftermath of a life changing moment.

A few minutes later my BlackBerry made that all too familiar sound to notify me of a text message, it was from Ryan. The message contained a thank you for me and a thank you for the entire Spruce Kings organization for getting him ready for the Western Hockey League. This was quite unexpected for me so I had to respond seeking permission to use his text message as a quote on the Spruce Kings website. Again he responded quickly and asked if I would also include a thank you to Ed Dempsey for playing him during the RBC Royal Bank Cup.

I just want to say congratulations to Ryan Howse, for all his hard work and determination to work through obstacles to become the latest Prince George minor hockey product and Spruce Kings alumni to go on to the National Hockey League. Of course there is still a process for Ryan to go through before he will play in his first official NHL game with a team that boosts of players that include Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf, Todd Bertuzzi and now Jay Bouwmeester.

I think its safe to say that Calgary believes they got their man; in fact, on the Calgary Flames website the names of Bouwmeester and Howse are used in the same sentence. After acquiring the defenceman from Florida, the Flames also made a deal that saw them move up ten spots in the third round to secure Ryan Howse. The Flames are quite high on their second overall pick, who they describe as a "sniper" with "really good offensive skills."

It was a bit of a bitter sweet day in the draft as the hope of hearing Wes McLeod's name called never came to fruition. I also had a chance to text Wes, who admitted that he was okay with not being drafted. He was prepared for it either way and is just planning on making this next season the best one he can. The good news in all of this is that Wes has chosen to defer going to the University of Alaska-Anchorage to play for the Spruce Kings for one more season. Wes made the decision saying he wants to be better prepared to play hockey at the NCAA level.