The Burns Lake Timbermen signed their first player from out of Alberta last month.
Rayden Nishikawa, the 16-year-old goalie from Calgary, Alberta, has been signed on as the first player to be recruited for newest the Junior A Hockey club.
“I have been playing hockey all my life and I will be going to the nearest high school to do my Grade 12 year,” said Nishikawa. “The signing was great and I can not wait to meet the rest of my teammates and coaching staff and hopefully win something for the community.”
Nishikawa played last season with McKnight U18 A team, where he posted an impressive .920 SV% and 2.20 GAA with a 24-13-3 record, according to the club.
“We would like to welcome Rayden and his family to the Burns Lake Timbermen organization,” said the club in a social media post.
“I will be moving to Burns Lake for the season and I am excited to do so as the community looks great and I have always wanted to live closer to the mountains,” said the young Nishikawa.
Just recently, the Burns Lake Timbermen unveiled their inaugural jersey, which is a black jersey with a unique stropping and yoke of red plaid, synonymous according to the organizers, to the burly, courageous timbermen of B.C.
“I would like to say that I can not wait to join the community and hopefully we can have a great season and make the community proud of our new team,” said Nishikawa.
The team will be hosting tryouts on Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. and on Aug. 19 at 4 p.m. at the Tom Forsythe Memorial Arena. The tryouts will be open to any U18 players who want to try for the Burns Lake team. There will also be a fee of $50 to participate.
Kevin Filipowski, the director of player development for the team said that on the team front they are now looking to get set up in the community, looking to find and build relationships with sponsors, sell season tickets, find billet families for the players, and find volunteers to help the team and be part of the Burns Lake Timbermen.
“We are also looking for more players to join the team. Having been a scout for the past decade, it is a continuous process that never ends. Scouts don’t have an off season. We are hosting a conditioning / ID camp in Prince George on August 27 and 28,” said Filipowski.