Scott McKenzie from the Alberni Valley Times wrote a good article this week highlighting how impressed Bulldogs' head coach and general manager Kevin Willison was with the local contingent at spring camp this weekend.
If you haven't had a chance to see the article, you can find it here: Scott's Article.
The team, however, feels a need to clarify some errors, omissions and misquotes contained in the article.
Local players such as Chase Gaudreault, Keagun Selva, and Logan Savard have certainly improved since last season.
Coach Willison liked the play of Ethan Sundstrum and of midget goalies Ryan Price and Jessie Geddes. After an impressive showing at the recent U16 BC Cup regional tryouts, the Bulldogs also decided to extend a camp invite and provide a positive development opportunity for 1999-born goalie Jaysen MacLean – after a spot opened up earlier in the week making this possible. MacLean spent the 2013/14 playing on AVMHA's top bantam rep team.
Other local players that showed extremely well but weren't mentioned in Scott McKenzie's article were David Friel, Pierce Adams, and Josh Harvey. Harvey recently committed to the Oceanside Generals for the 2014/15 season – congrats! (Harvey's Article)
In addition to the above-mentioned players that the Bulldogs have been tracking and assisting in the development of, there were also a handful of players who, although they didn't reside in the Alberni Valley, have family ties to the Valley, including Ethan Waitzner, Connor Logan, Jacob Malloch, and Jarret Malloch.
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs would also like to recognize Nico Somerville and Ezra Paddock for being selected to the 2014 U16 BC Cup which took place in Salmon Arm, BC, the same weekend as the 'Dogs spring camp in Port Alberni.
The Alberni Valley should be proud of how well these players have developed in recent years. We look forward to seeing a number of these players in junior hockey and major midget next season.
