Grizzlies starting to come out of Hibernation

Times Colonist

So, to say Grizzlies fans might be getting a little antsy might be an understatement. It’s getting towards the end of May and we are wondering the following, who's coaching, what's going on with the ownership and where do we stand with players coming in for the new season.

Well it does look like things are progressing with ownership, after what was reported in the Times Colonist on Tuesday, with Ron Walchuk looking to buy out Len Barrie and potentially one or two of the other owners as well. Walchuk, is no stranger in Victoria hockey circles after being part of the former management team for the successful South Island Thunderbirds of the Major Midget League latley. From the Thunderbirds the Grizzles have seen in recent years, Wade Murphy, Wes Myron, Nolan DeJong and Ron's son, the promising David Walchuk show there talents at Bear Mtn Arena. In Ron Walchuk the Grizzlies would have in place a successful businessman who knows how to handle the Junior Hockey world. With the ownership rumoured to be in place soon, the other chips will start to fall into place.

You then would assume the Coaching would be announced soon after and then player signings along with the futures coming to the club at that point from the numerous trades.
Speaking of those futures, Penticton, Vernon (Jared Soleway and Turner Lawson rumoured to be in from the Vipers), Prince George and MJHL's Dauphin Kings owing numerous futures to the Grizzlies at this time. With this comes expectations as commented on by the Grizzlies management team at the end of last season, with the players coming in expected to make the Grizzlies an automatic contender.

The wildcard in amongst this deck of cards during the 2012 Grizzlies off season, is Wade Murphy. Murphy, after his trade to Penticton didn't skip a beat, becoming one of their go to guys and a major reason the Vees where as successful as they were in the post season and the RBC Cup. Now, with Wade being regarded as one of the best players in Junior A across the country and a player who is expected to be drafted in this year’s NHL draft in Pittsburgh, you have to think the sky's the limit for Murph right now. One scenario could be a similar outcome as to what Jamie Benn experienced. With Benn entering his 2nd season with the Grizzlies in 2007 and fresh off of being drafted by the Dallas Stars, the Stars encouraged Benn to take his Junior game to the next level and before you knew it; Jamie spent the next two seasons ripping up the scoring charts with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and representing Team Canada at the world Juniors.

With Murphy’s rights held being held(I believe) by the WHL's, Victoria Royals and also recently being drafted by the Major Junior equivalent league in the states, the USHL ,courtesy of the Green bay Gamblers. Wade has some options before heading off to the NCAA’s Merrimack University in 2013. But, for the black and gold, a return to Grizzlies colours would be a dream come true and gives the Grizzlies the best offensive player since Tyler Bozak (my opinion). on the roster for opening day. In what was set up as part of the originally Wade Murphy trade to Penticton, Murphy was rumoured to becoming back to the Grizzlies for this upcoming season. We will have to wait and see how this scenario plays out.

Whatever happens in the next couple of weeks, we can be sure it will be steps in the right direction for this organization. A new stable ownership, a fresh coaching team and a number of futures and prospects to complement the likes of Gonzales, Hansen, McLellan, Lawson, Powell, DeJong, Kaiser and Bilious to name a few, you can’t help but think………we’ve got ourselves a team. Bring on the 2012/13 season.