Early last season, Brandon Egli was adrift, not sure where his hockey career was going. Playing with the Trail Smoke Eaters, Egli was unhappy with his role.
After discussing it with his family, Egli chose to leave the Smokies and the B.C. Hockey League, come home to Colwood, and play Junior B hockey with the Victoria Cougars.
What a difference a year makes.
These days, Egli is a top defenceman with the Junior A Victoria Grizzlies, and looking forward to to his NCAA Division 1 scholarship at the University of Massachusetts. He was on the ice Saturday night, as the Grizzlies (24-9-3-2) took over first place in the BCHL, with a 5-1 victory over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (10-21-2-4) at Bear Mountain Arena.
It was a commanding performance by Egli and the Grizzlies, who had a somewhat haphazard effort in a 5-3 win over the Trail Smoke Eaters Friday night at Bear Mountain.
“We didn’t deserve a win last night, and we got it. Tonight, we deserved every inch we got,” said Victoria assistant coach Scott Hawthorne, who was standing in for Mexico-bound head coach Craig Didmon. It was Hawthorne’s first BCHL game as bench boss. “The team presented me with the puck.”
Egli said the team wanted to make sure they didn’t do a holiday check-out Saturday, but they did take a while to check in. Bulldog Mitch Makin beat Victoria goaltender Alec Dillon with a power-play goal at 10:26 of the first period to start things. The Grizzlies were set back on their heels, but only momentarily.
Myles Fitzgerald, the only Fitzgerald triplet playing, set up a pretty passing sequence — Fitzgerald to Jesse Schwartz to Shawn McBride — that got the Grizzlies on the board at 15:35. Nineteen seconds later, Schwartz scored, and Victoria captain Mark McLellan buried the puck on a breakaway at 18:07, giving the Grizzlies a 3-1 lead at the first break. Starting Bulldogs goaltender Tyger Howat was replaced by Connor LaCouvee. In the second, Cole Pickup scored a beauty on a penalty shot, and Fitzgerald had the team up 5-1 by the beginning of the third period.
For Egli, the transformation that started with joining the Cougars continued through the off-season, when he worked hard for a shot at making the Grizzlies.
“I didn’t know where I’d fit on the roster, I knew I’d have to prove myself,” said Egli, a longtime Grizz fan. “It was a special moment the first time I put on a Grizzlies jersey.”
A Belmont grad, who played with the South Island Thunderbirds, Egli was in the Hockey Academy at Spencer Middle School, which is directed by Didmon. With the Grizzlies, Didmon has allowed Egli to develop the offensive side of his defensive game, something he didn’t get to do in Trail.
“I owe Dids quite a bit for that,” said Egli, who was fourth in team scoring, with five goals and 14 assists, heading into Saturday night’s game. “He’s been a mentor for me.”
At five-foot-10 and 190 pounds, the 19-year-old Egli has made the most of his time with the Grizzlies. As Didmon said, hockey players don’t get many second chances, but Egli ran with his opportunity.
“He’s a complete defenceman … When he checks, he knocks guys off the puck,” said Didmon.
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