If you saw Brandon Peacock play goal for the Summerland Steam, you got the feeling he may not last too long in the KIJHL. He’s big, he’s mobile, and he’s always in position, giving him all the attributes BCHL and other Junior A teams look for in a goaltender. All it was going to take was an injury or a stumble out of the gate for Brandon to get his shot, and that came this week when he signed with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks. The ‘Backs have struggled to a 5-6 start out of the gate, and sit second to last in a very tight Interior Divison through 11 games.
“We always knew there was a strong possibility that Brandon wasn’t going to be with us all season,” Said Steam GM Mike Rigby, “He’s a very good young goaltender who was close to being in Junior A to start the season, and it just didn’t work out that way. We were very lucky to have him here even for a short period of time, and we wish him the best as he moves on to join Salmon Arm.”
When asked about the KIJHL and it’s knack for moving players to the next level, that being either higher levels of junior hockey or into the collegiate ranks, Rigby added that “This is what we’re here for. We want to help these young men become better hockey players and better citizens and I think our organization and the KIJHL as a whole have done a great job of that, particularly over the last four or five years.”
Having a vacant opening at the goaltending position after the departure of Peacock to Salmon Arm, Rigby swung a deal with the Castlegar Rebels, acquiring 1999 born goaltender Owen Petten in exchange for Future Considerations.
“Owen was at our prospects camp in April so we kind of knew about him a little bit and how he likes to play,” Said Rigby, “We like what he brings to the table and we’re excited to have him join our team.”
Petten will be in the lineup this weekend, presumably backing up Matt Huber when the Steam face North Okanagan on Friday at home, and travel to Osoyoos on Saturday to play the Coyotes.
After acquiring Petten, Rigby completed one more trade, again with the Castlegar Rebels. The Summerland Steam acquired 18-year old forward Brady Olson from the Rebels in exchange for the playing rights of 19-year old forward Calvin Rout. Olson, from Redwater, AB, spent the past two seasons with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers Midget AA team, collecting 7 goals, 17 assists, and 137 PIM in 61 games.
Rout spent the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons with the Steam, collecting 10 goals and 6 assists in 68 career KIJHL games.
Summerland will hit the ice again tomorrow night, Friday, October 13th when the North Okanagan Knights pay their first visit of the season. The Steam will see a couple of familiar faces, as former Affiliate Players Brett and Sean Wilson, twins from Summerland, BC, signed with the Knights full time for the 2017/18 season.
Trolley Talk 