2022-23 BCEHL SEASON PREVIEW
For Immediate Release
September 22, 2022
Saanichton, B.C. - The 2022-23 British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) season kicks-off this Friday with 23 teams across all four leagues taking the ice this weekend throughout the province.
Teams in the Female U18 AAA league will play 32 games during the regular season, while teams in the U18 AAA and U17 AAA leagues will each play 36 regular season games. Teams in the U15 AAA league will compete in 30 contests before the playoffs begin.
Female U18 AAA
The Fraser Valley Rush will look to keep things rolling into the 2022-23 season after a 2021-22 campaign that featured a BCEHL Championship, a Pacific Regional Championship and a silver medal at the 2022 ESSO Cup. Reigning Player of the Year and leading scorer Aynsley D’Ottavio returns to the Rush lineup, along with BCEHL All Stars Vienna Rubin and Clara Juca, providing Fraser Valley with an experienced core of 16 returning players.
The Northern Capitals will hope to have another strong season as they welcome back nine returning skaters from their 2021-22 team that came up just short in last year’s Championship Final.
The Female U18 league will host their first of two showcases during the league's second week, Sept. 30th - Oct. 2nd. This showcase will be hosted in Surrey at the Surrey Sport & Leisure Centre with all five of the league's teams in action.
The full schedule for the 2022-23 Female U18 AAA league season can be found here.
U18 AAA
Fresh off a 2022 BCEHL Championship banner and an appearance at the TELUS Cup, the U18 Vancouver NE Chiefs will have plenty of opportunities for incoming players to make an impact, with the majority of their 2021-22 roster aging out or advancing to junior hockey. Levi Green, who led the U17 AAA league in scoring with 63 points (23g-40a) in 34 games last season, will make the jump to the U18 Chiefs.
After a Championship Final appearance, the Vancouver NW Hawks roster will ice seven returning skaters from the 2021-22 team, along with 10 players moving up from the U17 team. Among the new players on the roster are Rylan Oatman (17g-34a) and Deacon Drummond (12g-35a), who were the top two scorers for the championship winning U17 Hawks last season.
The Thompson Blazers’ lineup will receive a jolt with the addition of a pair of 2022 WHL Draft selections. Sawyer Mayes, the 44th-overall selection by the Calgary Hitmen, and Kieran Thibault, the 138th-overall selection by the Prince George Cougars, will look to add some firepower to a Blazers squad planning to make some noise this season.
The nine-team league kicks off Saturday, Sept. 24th, with eight teams in action. The first of two U18 showcases will take place Dec. 16th - 18th, in North Vancouver at Karen Magnussen Community Recreation Centre.
The full schedule for the 2022-23 U18 AAA league season can be found here.
U17 AAA
All nine of the other U17 teams will be aiming to dethrone the Vancouver NW Hawks as BCEHL Champions this season.
The Okanagan Rockets will strive to take a step forward receiving several reinforcements from the U15 team, including Clayton Gillmore (156th-overall), Elijan Henson (197th-overall) and Kaden Woodcox (253rd-overall), all selections in the 2022 WHL Draft.
Nathan Niedermeiser and Cohen Poulin, standouts from the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds U15 team, will make the step to the U17 squad and look to provide a boost with All Star forwards Justin Brar and Marco Oliviero making the leap to the U18 T-Birds.
The South Island Royals will welcome 10 skaters from last season’s U15 Royals team, including Ben Wetterberg, who registered 33 points (16g-17a) in 30 contests.
The North Island Silvertips and South Island Royals will get the league underway on Sept. 24th before all 10 teams take the ice on Oct. 1st. The first of two U17 showcases will be hosted in Richmond at the Richmond Ice Centre from Nov. 25th - 27th.
The full schedule for the 2022-23 U17 AAA league season can be found here.
U15 AAA
The U15 league will feature a new crop of talented players, along with a number of newly appointed coaches stepping behind the bench.
There will be five teams that will be guided by new coaches, including Derek Wood (Cariboo Cougars), Riley Emmerson (Fraser Valley Thunderbirds), Dave Boehm (North Island Silvertips), Nate Fleming (Valley West Giants) and Darrel Stanwood (Vancouver NW Hawks).
The U15 AAA league gets underway on Sept. 23rd, hosting their first of two showcases for the year at Langley Twin Rinks in Langley. All nine of the league’s teams will be in action throughout the three-day showcase, with each team playing four games.
The full schedule for the 2022-23 U15 AAA league season can be found here.
If you can’t make it out the games you can stream all BCEHL games live at: www.playfullscreen.com.
To stay up to date on everything going on in the BCEHL visit the website to view schedules, standings, stats, and scores: BCEHL.net, follow @BCEHL on Twitter, @BCEHL_AAA on Instagram, and join the conversation by using #BCEHLAAAHOCKEY.