I understand that David Pope is expected to return to the lineup this weekend as the Warriors open the new calendar year against Cowichan and Vernon.
It sounds like Pope will be the only scratch ready to return, though Brent Lashuk (lower-body) may be close too. That leaves Lashuk, Brett McKinnon and Adam Plant (concussions), as well as Ambrose Firkus (upper-body) on the shelf for the next week, likely moving Dustin Cave back to a regular shift on the blue-line.
I didn’t even realize this right away, but it deserves a mention. Devon Hascarl has been re-signed to a regular playing card. Hazzy had been an invaluable AP since returning to the Grizzlies a couple of months ago. He’s played as many games with West K this year as with Revelstoke, and he was now at his limit here and still in demand. Hascarl has always been a dependable guy, and he looked terrific with Simmonds and Clark last weekend. So that’s some good news, and one more healthy forward ready to roll.
That also increases the Warriors to a full 22-man roster heading into the Jan. 10th deadline. The Warriors remain in third place heading into this weekend’s games against a pair of last place teams.
And as much as things are starting to get more serious for the Warriors, the playoff picture for the Capitals and Vipers is starting to look very bleak. So, we can expect both of those teams to be hungry as they return from extended Christmas breaks.
As well, with many BCHL teams (including Vernon and Cowichan) just now returning from their Christmas breaks, there is now only a week remaining until the January 10th deadline. The Caps and Warriors have just two games left, while the Vipers have three (although Vernon’s predicament is even more delicate, with the Vipes set to host the RBC next year).
So nomatter which BCHL team you cheer for, it’s a weekend that should be fun to watch and also quite revealing.
P.S. My new player profile with Brennan Clark is now up on that section of the blog.
The General's Report 