Border Bruins announce Dr. Mark Szynkaruk as new owner

  The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has approved the sale of the Grand Forks Border Bruins to local physician Dr. Mark Szynkaruk, who assumes ownership of the club from the community-owned Grand Forks Border Bruins Association. “We’re very pleased to welcome Dr. Szynkaruk to the KIJHL and excited by his plans for the franchise,” […]

Rockies alum Beston-Will helps guide Steelers to English championship

  Carter Beston-Will played 60 games in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League with the Columbia Valley Rockies from 2016-17 and 2018-19. The Calgary native is now an assistant coach in the Elite Ice Hockey League with the Sheffield Steelers. The Steelers recently lost the Elite Series Championship to the Nottingham Panthers. We connected with […]

KIJHLers in the BCHL

  Our final Kootenay International Junior Hockey League in BCHL report covers games from May 7 to May 11.  Lukas Jirousek (Summerland Steam) opened the scoring for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in their 5-3 shootout win over the Nanaimo Clippers to close out their season. The goal was Jirousek’s 10th of the season as he […]

Carter family embraces Levi’s experience with Vees

  In 1990-91, Shawn Carter debuted for his hometown Penticton Panthers in their inaugural season in the B.C. Junior Hockey League. Thirty years later, his son Levi, 18, made his B.C. Hockey League debut as an affiliate player with the Penticton Vees. This comes after starting the season with the Osoyoos Coyotes in the Kootenay […]

Grizzlies Speerbrecker joins Manhattanville College Valiants

  The Manhattanvile College Valiants program checked off a lot of boxes for Revelstoke Grizzlies captain Raymond Speerbrecker. First is the school itself, which he says is very well regarded and gives people opportunity for employment after hockey. Among them are more than 12,500 internship opportunities, more than 3,500 employer connections and in 2018, 89 […]

Rebman honoured to take over as Chiefs’ head coach

  A year after joining the Kelowna Chiefs as an assistant coach, Travers Rebman takes over for Ken Law as head coach. Law, a six-time Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) divisional Coach of the Year and two-time Overall Coach of the Year (2010-11, 18-19), becomes the Chiefs’ new general manager. It’s part of a […]

Posse alum Michael Garteig loving game abroad

  Michael Garteig is an alum of the Princeton Posse program, having played there in the 2008-09 season. He moved onto the B.C. Hockey League playing for the Powell River Kings and won a Junior A national championship with the Penticton Vees in 2011-12. The KIJHL connected with him over Zoom to talk about playing […]

Leafs’ Byrne wants to contribute to Anna Maria’s “foundation”

  A desire to be near the sports hub of Boston factored into Nelson Leaf Matt Byrne signing to play with the Anna Maria College Athletic Team Sports (AMCATS) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III. “Ever since I first talked to the coaches, they were awesome to me,” says Byrne, a Penticton, B.C. […]

Chiefs announce key organizational changes

  There is some exciting news Straight Outta Rutland! The Kelowna Chiefs have made some organizational moves to make them stronger in the front office and on the ice. Ken Law will be moving into a full-time general manager role and Travers Rebman, has been promoted from assistant coach last year to become the head […]

Storm’s Ewert taking next step with Ice Wolves

  Harrison Ewert says he could have made the jump to Junior A this season. However, the Kamloops product chose to stay and play with his hometown Kamloops Storm in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. After putting up nine goals and 23 points in 30 games last season, which was cut short by a […]