Cleve Dheensaw / Times Colonist
JANUARY 26, 2019 10:17 PM
Victoria Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon is in his happy hunting ground this weekend scouting in the Toronto area. The eastern portion of North America has proved bountiful for the Grizzlies. Forward Alex Newhook, ranked for the first round of the 2019 NHL draft, is from St. John’s, N.L, and forward Alex Campbell, ranked for the second round of the NHL draft, and draft-projected blueliner Jeremie Bucheler are both from Montreal.
The Chicago area has also provided a pipeline of talent to Victoria in the recent past, while Grizzlies forward Riley Hughes, selected in the 2018 NHL draft by the New York Rangers, is from Maine.
“[Recruits] have heard about our four NHL-draft ranked players this year [the other is defenceman Carter Berger] and they want to come to Victoria,” Didmon said.
“They know the names — Alex Newhook is having success and Alex Campbell has moved up the draft rankings — and that gives us a lot of traction. It’s not so much recruiting now as picking and choosing.”
Didmon also said potential defence recruits are intrigued by the Grizzlies’ blueline ethic, which has helped in the development of players such as Bucheler and Berger.
“Our defencemen get to experiment,” said Didmon, about what he stresses in his pitch.
Recruiting is the lifeblood of Junior A, which is a free-agent brand of junior hockey. That is compared with major-junior, which builds its roster base through the bantam draft.
“There are a lot of players out there looking for a place to play a season or two of junior before they go off to play in the [U.S. collegiate] NCAA,” Didmon said.
On the ice today in B.C. Hockey League action, the Didmon-less Grizzlies (29-15-2) meet the Vernon Vipers (19-17-10) at 2 p.m. in The Q Centre.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
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