With puck drop on the 2025-26 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season coming on Sept. 19, kijhl.ca is providing fans with a preview on all 21 teams. Next in the Quick Shift series are the Princeton Posse.
The Posse won the Bill Ohlhausen division regular season championship last season with a record of 33-7-3-1. They lost in the second round to the Revelstoke Grizzlies in six games.
They head into the season with Colin Minardi as their new head coach-general manager. The Summerland native was an assistant coach the last three seasons with the BCHL’s Cranbrook Bucks. Minardi feels the returning players get a “fresh slate.”
“It’s a fresh start for some of the players,” said Minardi. “It could mean a new opportunity. I think some see that, especially early on in camp, to impress me.”
Returning Players: F- Bryton Morrow (40-15-32-47), Justice Loewen (41-18-22-40), Will Bell (38-15-18-33), Brayden Sumner (34-7-20-27), Carson Hebert (40-12-7-19), Jackson Gush (40-6-10-16), Jace Shuttleworth (33-6-8-14), Jalen McRae (42-4-9-13), Alex Westlund (29-4-6-10), Caleb Leischner (9-0-0-0), D- Kayne Van Metre (28-2-13-15), Paul Vanden Elzen (41-0-8-8), Ben Dods (23-1-5-6), Cole Hough (9-1-2-3), G-Gibson Horne (18-11-5-1 | 2.37 GAA | .926 SP).
Acquisitions: None.
Rookies: F- Simon Cecconi – OHA U18 (17-11-8-19 ), Reid Fraser – Prairie Hockey Academy U18 (35-10-6-16)
Team Outlook: “The core group of returning guys is pretty high end, not only on the ice, but off it. They’re pretty good character guys,” said Minardi. “I think the group of incoming players so far have been good. They fit in really well and I’m excited to see them grow a little bit. For a handful that we do have, their growth will be pretty fast.”
Minardi said their veteran defencemen have been really impressive as they can all skate and move the puck, which is an asset to their group. He wants his team to play fast and use that speed to their advantage. He likes an uptempo style with creativity – a fun brand of hockey that Posse fans will enjoy.
