Nanaimo, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies hit the ice tonight for the first time in the 2025 BCHL Pre-season at the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo at 7:00 P.M. PST.
It seems like not too long ago the 2024-25 Grizzlies squad was playing in a BCHL Coastal Conference Final against the Chilliwack Chiefs, but 120 days have gone by since, and a whole lot has changed. Much of that change has to do with the fact that Main camp opened up on Tuesday morning, and just seven of the 40+ in attendance were returning personnel. Those seven included Evan Stastny (D), Dan D’Alessandro (D), Denny Monahan (D), Alex Hebblethwaite (F), Sam Ward (D), Max Silver (F), and newly named 2025-26 team captain Landon Mackie (F).
Although there is much change, that change also bring along the excitement of new and intriguing faces to the provinces capital. An almost entirely new group while grace the ice of the Q Centre in Colwood when the regular season starts late in September and this evening will be the first look at some of those fresh faces. It is certainly an exciting night when new and highly anticipated players hit the ice for the first time in Grizzlies colors, and you can be sure that there will be some nerves to get out as well on the players’ side of things.
Nanaimo is in a much different spot than Victoria, as their announced Main camp roster had 10 returnees to go along with their own slew of newbies. Their returnees carry the names of Callas Pierce (F), Carson Lesiuk (F), Mitch Patrick (F), Justin Collins (F), Tanner Bruender (F), Elliot Perreault (F), Jack Rimmer (F), Nathan Larioza (D), Will Subject (D), and Hudson Gill (D). You can be sure that their newly signed men will also be looking to make a good first impression in their first preseason game of the year.
The Grizzlies are coming off a very impressive season where they finished 4th in the Coastal Conference with a 28-17-9 record. They would go on to defeat the Coquitlam Express in six games during the first round of the playoffs and then finished off the Cowichan Valley Capitals in much of the same fashion at four games to two. They wouldn’t be able to make it past the Chilliwack Chiefs in the Conference Final, who finished their season in five games.
Nanaimo disappointingly started the season with a 10-14-3 record at the Christmas break, but certainly flipped a switch in the second half. January to March saw them go 19-7-1 to finish the year at 6th in the Conference with a 29-21-4 record. They would, however, run out of steam in the first round and crash out in five games to the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
Victoria went 4-2-1 against their island rival Clippers last season, including a hot start that saw them take the first three games of the year by a combined score of 15-6. Nanaimo, much like their season record, fared much better in the second half of the year against the Grizzlies. They were 3-0-1 against Victoria from January on.
Tonight’s game is available to watch for purchase or with a paid subscription on floHockey, or you can listen free of charge on the Grizzlies Audio Streaming Network on MixLR with Tom Wilke.
2024-25 Team Ranks (BCHL)
| Victoria Grizzlies | Nanaimo Clippers | |
| Record | 28-17-9 (9th) | 29-21-4 (T-11th) |
| Goals Per Game | 3.79 (8th) | 3.67 (9th) |
| Goal Against Per Game | 3.53 (11th) | 3.40 (9th) |
| Power Play Percentage | 25.0% (4th) | 28.5% (2nd) |
| Penalty Kill Percentage | 83.3% (3rd) | 80.9% (6th) |
| Penalty Minutes Per Game | 11.39 (13th) | 10.16 (18th) |
| Home Record | 15-8-4 (9th) | 15-11-1 (12th) |
| Away Record | 13-9-5 (T-7th) | 14-10-3 (T-7th) |
| Head To Head | 4-2-1 | 3-3-1 |
