Trio of Leafs selected to KIJHL Prospects Game
By The Nelson Daily Sports
A trio of Nelson Leafs will be in Kelowna during the New Year to compete in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Prospects Game.
Nelson defenceman Dash Thompson and forward Colum Mcgauley and Ryan Piva join players from other Kootenay Conference teams in a contest against the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference to showcase the league’s elite junior talent.
The game is scheduled for January 14 at the Rutland Arena in Kelowna.
As 16-year-olds, both Piva and Mcgualey have not looked out of place as the pairs transition from minor hockey to the junior game.
Piva, from Trail, has nine goals and five assists for 14 points in 30 games while Mcgauley, a native of Nelson who came to the Leafs from Notre Dame Hounds Midget AAA program had six goals and five assists for 11 points in 25 games.
Piva played for the Delta Hockey Academy last season.
Thompson a 6’1″, 175-pound defenceman from Langley in his second season with the Leafs, has been plagued with injuries this season but has been a key cog in the Nelson blueline.
Thompson has one goal and five assists in 21 games as Nelson’s shutdown defenceman.
The Leafs, winners of six of seven games, are currently tied for third spot in the Murdoch Division with the Castlegar Rebels.
The team is idle through the holiday break before returning to the ice December 30 in Grand Forks against the Bruins.
New Year’s Eve, Nelson hosts Beaver Valley Nitehawks at 2 p.m. in the NDCC Arena. The game begins a 10-game homestand for the Green and White.
The last time the KIJHL held at Prospects Game was January 2011 in Fernie.
