The Burns Lake Timbermen (BLT) signed on Liam Toews as the latest addition to the team this month.
The 16-year-old Burns Lake local said he is excited to be playing on the junior hockey team.
Toews said that having a hockey team in Burns Lake is great for the community as nothing very exciting happens in the area.
“There’s a lot of people that are excited to come down and I’m excited for people to come down and watch me,” Toews said.
A player from Fraser Lake and Toews are the only local recruits so far on BLT which has signed most of its players from out of province. In August, they signed their first player, goalie Raden Nishikawa, out of Alberta.
The selection process which was to be held in Prince George earlier this year was cancelled due to inadequate registrations. As a result BLT resorted to signing on players from previous exposure camps across western Canada, as well as watching virtual demos of the players, said Kevin Filipowski, director of player development
Each of the players signed on to the team, including Toews also had to pay a $10,000 fee.
“I understand how the $10,000 is more than what they might pay with regular minor hockey but if we compare it to a lot of the academies that are out there with a Canadian sports school hockey league is for one where their fees for some of the teams are $40,000 Plus,” Filipowski said
In addition, the players will be provided with four to five practices a week, off ice training, video sessions, plus academic support and tutoring, he added.