The Return of Braxton Bilious

Article by Mike Mellings on the return from injury of 17 year old Grizzlies phenom defender Braxton Bilious in his home town of Langley.

This weekend’s road trip to Vancouver is a homecoming for many of the Victoria Grizzlies players. The Grizzlies game on Sunday in Surrey will be played close to home for Surrey natives Stefan Gonzales, Nick Taylor and the pneumonia-stricken Mark McLellan and also for streaking Delta native Coltyn Hansen who has goals in his last 3 games and a 7 game point streak. The 19 year old Hansen has really stepped up his offensive game since the departures of the Grizzlies leading scorers at the trade deadline and is using his blazing speed to generate offense and now has 11 goals in 42 games on the year. With Vancouver natives Cam Lawson, Kevin Smith and Michael Sandor also on the team the Grizzlies have about half of their roster from the Vancouver area. 

Braxton Bilious and Mike Mellings

For 17 year old Grizzlies assistant captain Braxton Bilous this weekend’s road trip is not only a return home but a return to the ice from injury. The 6’1” 192 pound defenceman is looking forward to playing in his hometown of Langley, “It’s always fun with all my friends and family coming out and getting to see them after the game, it’s always fun playing at home.” The Langley product expects to have a good support section at the Saturday night game in Langley, “ I’ll probably have about 20 people there in total with friends and family,” says Bilous.
The Merrimack commit brings an effective two-way game and a solid physical presence to the Grizzlies backend as evidenced by his 10 points and 41 PIM in 37 games this year. Bilous also knows as an assistant captain on the suddenly young and undermanned Grizzlies team he needs to step up and be a leader, “ I definitely have to step up in the leadership department and be more of a leader, I try to lead by example on the ice and hopefully that helps out the team.” The Grizzlies who only played with four defenceman on Saturday against Merritt will welcome Bilous back with open arms for the 3 games in 3 days road trip, “ The extra ice-time gets a little tiring but it’s great for opportunities, the people watching get to see you in many different roles on the ice and you’re not going to sit on the bench much throughout the game, you’re going to play a lot. It’s a good thing to get the extra ice time but it can also get a little tiring by the end of the night too,” explains Bilous