Page A12 The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, September 13, 1995 [FIND IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS CASTLEGAR FIGURE SKATING CLUB _ Can Skate, Can Power, Private and Competitive Levels REGISTRATION Thursday, September 14, 1995 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Castlegar Complex Lobby For more info.: Lori 365-0185 * Corinne 365-7074 Professional Coaches: Jennifer Chant & Jennifer Zandvliet STOP THE VIOLENCE STOPCTRECVIGLENCE IT’S TIME TO « ANSWER THE CALL” - say YES to Your CAMPAIGN REPRESENTATIVE IN YOUR AREA: YOUR SUPPORT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE - A SOCIAL TEEN VIOLENCE AWARENESS PROGRAM STV CAMPAIGN OFFICE 1-800-444-1550 STV - STOP THE VIOLENCE/ FACE THE MUSIC SOCIETY A REGISTERED NON-PROFIT SOCIETY Is that Jesse Oldham with the hook on Vince Antignani? No, actually it's Kevin MacGillvray with a hook on Derek Read who is attempting to score on Mike Kooznetsoff. All three are returning Rebel veterans. = Rebs Intersquad Price's biggest problem now is defence- men. The Sunday cuts left him with 18 for- wards, three goalies and only five defencemen. However, he anticipates many hanges to be made th shout the year and has no doubts that he'll have something good to look at throught the Rebels exhibi- tion schedule General Bryan Bucci exp to see more defencemen in camp but he’s done looking yet “It's a wait and see type situation right now,” said Bucci. “We haven't got the defence we anticipated but we'll find them.” In fact, Bucci has already found two new prosp who rep d to camp Monday. One is from Penticton while the other made the long trip from Fort McMurray. He also expects more as people start to become interested in the new system the Rebels are putting in place “We're carrying a lot of players right now and picking up where we can,” said Bucci. “People are liking our plan and we're getting calls from all over the country from kids who want to play here.” SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert Bucci also announced Sunday that the Rebels have made an addition to their coaching staff. Former Rebel head coach Gary Sauer has been added to the staff as an assistant and is expected to fill a scouting role for the club. Sauer led the Rebels to the KIJHL finals the last two season before retiring at the end of last season. He signed on this year to help at training camp where Bucci say his experi- ence and interpersonal style made him as asset to the club. As for Sauer, he’s happy to be with the club and believes the problems that saw him retire have been resolved. “Last year there was some family commit- ments I had to fulfill,” said Sauer. “Bryan [Bucci] has worked things out so I can make those commitments and still coach.” Sauer likes the looks of the new Rebels organization and this year’s training camp. “With the new ownership it’s a lot more easy going and the players respect what is being done here,” he said. “There's some good young kids out there and we're gonna work with them. Our outlook is gonna be all positive stuff and hopefully we can lead these guys in a good direction.” Both MacGillvray and Grant returned to the team mainly because of the new outlook Bucci and Price have brought to the organization. “There’s lot of opportunity for me here,” said MacGillvray. “New owners, new coach, a more strict season and a better chance at a championship.” For Grant it’s an opportunity to start fresh. No veterans, no rookies, and everyone on the same wavelength. “It's going to be a lot stricter,” said Grant. “It'll keep everyone in tune and everybody will be more focussed on the game.” The Rebels first exhibition game takes place this Sunday in Spokane when the Rebels play the Braves in the new Spokane arena prior to the NHL exhibition tilt between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. It may be an opportunity to evaluate talent, but Price is also taking the game seriously. “T look to win every game,” said Price. ““We go out to win every game every night, period.” mazDa “Financing, Rates apply on all new '95 626 Cronos, B-Series Trucks, Protege ’S' and MX-3 Pecidia modets. 0. annum equats $230 for 48 months and C0 B 1s $1,040 for a total of $11,040. Offer may not be AC. Example for $1 with any other for 24 NO LIMIT FINAN Mazda Blue Key Days! 5 for 36 months. &. for 48 months. 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Supply and stock may vary by dealer B-SERIES TRUCKS * AM/FM stereo radio © Driver-side air bag Castlegar Mazda - 71 3 - 17th Street, 365-7241 OL 7956 PROFILE T he Castlegar Sun WEDNESDAY, September 13, 1995 Di DE | in the BC Junior Hockey sk any Junior ‘A’ coach and he'll tell you good hockey players are hard to find. But it has become increasingly apparent lately that the perfect player | may actually be in Castlegar. If you talk to coaches they will all talk about talent but in the same breath you will usually hear the words *dedication’ and ‘hard-working’. The BCJHL exhibi- tion game at the Cominco Arena in Trail last Saturday night featured the Trail Smoke Eaters versus the Pen- ticton Panthers but it also showcased the talents of three young Castlegar players who all possess the attributes that coaches are looking for. Jay Morency, Mike Myhra and Grady Moore are all good hockey players and they are also all from Castlegar. They hope to make their respective BCJHL clubs because of the prestige of playing at a high level but also because of the educational opportunities the league can offer. A top quality hockey player in the BCJHL can easily find himself in a U.S. college program with a full scholarship and a bright future. That’s the approach many young players are now taking and it has proven to be a path to success for at least one Castlegar native - Dane Jackson. Jackson was a great player through the Castlegar Minor Hockey system and then went on to play with the Castlegar Rebels of the Junior ‘B* KITHL. From there he went to the Vernon Lakers of the BCJHL and finally to college in North Dakota. He received a degree and, after three years in the Vancouver Canucks system, recently signed a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Grady Moore is attempting to fill those big foot- Steps. Moore is a seventeen-year-old Castlegar defence- man who is attempting to make the Penticton Pan- thers. Last season he played for the Castlegar Rebels in his first year out of minor hockey and reached all- star status as an alternate on the KHL South Divi- sion team The opportunity to play with the Panthers is all Moore ever hoped for at this stage of his career. “It’s what I wanted to do,” he said. “I'm hoping to go to college after and a two-year career in this league is a good stepping stone for it.” Moore is one of four 17-year-olds attempting to make the club. He still has another three years left in the BCJHL, if he chooses to stay, and his coach, Enio Sacilotto, likes the looks of his young defenceman. “He's an excellent young defenceman with a tremendous amount of potential,” said Sacilotto. “I think down the road he'll be not only the best on our team but also one of the best in the league League “He just has to get a little stronger and keep devel- oping the stuff he already does well.” Now all Moore has to do is make the team. But that is never a foregone conclusion, even for old veterans. “I'm not sure yet,” said Moore, when asked if he made the team. “I didn't play very good tonight. But it's not looking too bad. “IT moved the puck well and moved it up. I’m just making the stupid mistakes that I hopefully can work out before the season starts.” The jump from Junior “B’ to Junior ‘A’ was a big- ger one than Moore expected. The BCJHL is a lot faster to watch but it’s even faster on the ice as well The jump was a little easier for Mike Myhra, who played for the Trail Smoke Eaters last year in the Junior ‘A’ Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. The RMJHL isa Junior ‘A’ league but it is considered slightly below the BCJHL in terms of quality. Like Moore, Myhra also played for the Castlegar Rebels and is now looking to become a bright star in the BCJHL. Unlike Moore though, he has established himself as a club veteran. He did it through hard work and dedication and if he had one piece of advice to give to Moore, that would be it. “My advice and what I've always learned is to always work hard,” said the 18-year-old forward. “With me I've noticed the harder I work and the moge dedicated I am, the more the coaches notice me “There's a lot of good players out there but it’s hard to find players like that.” Myhra’s coach, Dan Bradford, certainly agrees. “When choosing players I've always looked for who wants to be on the team, who's got a great work attitude and who's got a great work ethic,” said Brad- ford. “I've* seen a lot of talented kids who just didn’t have the attitude or work ethic to go on.” In his mind, Myhra is certainly not one of those kids. “He's a fella I’ve watched over the years,” said Bradford, “and I thought he had a strong season last year. He's a big strong kid and the kind of player that will demand a lot of space on the ice.” This year Bradford plans to play Myhra on the right side of one of the team’s best lines. He'll be teamed up with two BCJHL veterans, who came over with the sale of the Bellingham Ice Hawks. One of those veterans is the team captain, lan Lampshire. Myhra is expecting to score some points this year but he'll have to fight it out with another Castlegar player named Jay Morency. Morency is a highly talented forward who joined the Smokies for a second season after a fairly successful training camp with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. Morency chose to leave the Blazers camp after Story and photos by Jeff Gabert ARNG *1 a ine Jay Morency was stick-handling through the Penticton defence last Saturday night but he hopes to stick it out for a U.S. college scholarship in the future. the team asked him to play in exhibition games without any assurances of a spot on the team. If any young player plays in any game with a major junior franchise, he loses his college eligibility for a year and that was something Morency was not willing to do. Although Morency wasn’t born and bred in Castle- gar, he’s aware of the amount of talent in the area and is glad his family moved here from Saskatchewan “This is the hockey hotbed of B.C.,” said Morency. “This place is known for good hockey players.” He also sees the benefit of playing in the BCJHL “It’s a level of hockey where I can play right now and improve,” said Morency, who will also be in his second season with the Smoke Eaters. “And I really don’t think there’s a great deal of difference from BCJHL to WHL, other than the players are bigger.” Bradford likes what he sees in Morency and says he will remain committed to area players on the Smoke Eaters. He’s coached in the area for many years and has seen the talent that has come out of the Kootenays and Castlegar. “If you look around the NHL and look at how many are from B.C and the Kootenays, it’s just amaz- ing,” said Bradford, pointing out players like Steve Yzerman (Cranbrook), Ray Ferraro (Trail) and Travis Green (Castlegar), just to name a few. So the obvious question is why? Just why do so many great players come from this area? “I think it’s our minor hockey systems and espe- cially those coaches who get up early every morning and go down to those rinks,” said Bradford. Myhra wholeheartedly agreed but stressed the ice factor as well “The ice time has something to do with it,” said Myhra. “Players here [in Castlegar] get the ice time they need and theyll move on because there isn’t such a struggle for ice time like on the coast. Also the coaching is well established.” Currently there are seven Castlegar players in thé BCJHL. Apart from the three already mentioned there is also Gary “Teddy” Hunter (Cowichan Vatiey). Shawn Horcoff (Chilliwack), Bryan Yackel (Chilli- wack) and Craig Swanson. Swanson is the miost pro- lific, scoring 75 points last season with the Victoria Salsa. His-rights are currently owned by the Trail Smoke Eaters. The Smokies traded for his rights hoping he would want to play closer to home. Swanson has yet to make his decision but playing in the league will soon be a lot easier for local players. Now, with the BCJHL breaking into the Kootenays in Trail and possibly Castlegar in the future, the chance to play at an even higher level and make U.S. college or Major Junior teams is closer than ever before. If people thought the Kootenay region was a hockey factory before, just wait a few years. And Castlegar is right in the middle. Grady Moore (left, foreground) roamed the blueline for the Castlegar Rebels last year, now he hopes to catch the eyes of the Panthers. Mike Mhyra (above, centre) is going into his second season with the Trail Smoke Eaters and his first in the BCJHL. He is also a former Castlegar Rebel and a Castlegar native.