Since its inception in 1987, the Vancouver Canucks Alumni Scholarship initiative – with the BCHL joining the effort starting in the early 1990s – has awarded more than $440,000 to deserving student-athletes heading to college hockey programs.
That continues this season with 2016 graduates Jake LeBrun (Prince George Spruce Kings and West Kelowna Warriors) and Daniell Lange (Coquitlam Express) being the latest recipients.
“It’s been a long-term commitment from both sides,” said Canucks Alumni Scholarship committee chairman Gerry O’Flaherty. “This year was special too because Jake LeBrun’s grandfather Al LeBrun played for the Western Hockey League Vancouver Canucks in the 1960s.”
In 2015-16 there were many applications to sort through. With the help of committee members Darcy Rota, Dean Malkoc, Harold Snepsts, Rick Lanz and Jack McIlhargey, O’Flaherty was able to identify the two deserving candidates.
“The BCHL and the Canucks Alumni should be very proud of this scholarship family,” said O’Flaherty. “From our standpoint this year, we’re really proud to support two kids going to local schools in Jake LeBrun to UBC and Daniell Lange to SFU.”
The scholarship initiative gets equal financial backing from the BCHL and the Canucks Alumni. To date, 57 individuals have benefitted from the program.
