Connor Zary stepped onto the ice at Sandman Centre for what was likely the final time in his WHL career to lift the RE/MAX Cup as the Kamloops Blazers were officially crowned B.C. Division champions for the second successive season.
“It was different for sure just to get dressed while the guys were still playing,” Zary said, on the Blazers post-game show last night.
“It sucked that I wasn’t able to play what was most likely my final junior game but I think just to be around and have one last game and just to be out there with the guys was kind of special.”
The Blazers finished with an 18-4 record and 36 points in their 22 games, good for an 0.818 points-per-game (PPG) percentage. The Kelowna Rockets finished in second place with a 10-5-1 record and 21 points in their 16 games, good for a 0.656 PPG percentage.
While Kamloops, Vancouver, Prince George, and Victoria will each played 22 games this season, Kelowna only played 16 because of their two week long COVID-19 shutdown last month.
“It was awesome getting that chance to go and grab that trophy,” Zary added. “It’s just a division title, but if there was playoffs, we would have wanted a lot more. But that was our goal, to win that trophy and to finish off the season by lifting that trophy. It’s a cool little thing to have.”
No team in the B.C. Division scored more than the Blazers last season as the team racked up 87 goals while letting in just 51 goals, the fewest goals allowed.
Last season, the Kamloops Blazers were the only WHL team to clinch a Division Title with a record of 41-18-3-1 (86 points) before play was halted across the Canadian Hockey League on March 12 due to COVID-19.
“We feel we got, I don’t want to say we stiffed, but last year, we felt we had a championship caliber team and to wait basically a year to get this, the guys should feel good about themselves,” Assistant Coach Cory Clouston said. “This is all we could play for, and we won it, so they should be proud of themselves.”
Kamloops beat every other team in the division at three times, including a six game sweep over the Victoria Royals. They were led by Josh Pillar who finished as the top scorer with 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists) in 22 games.
Zary, a Calgary Flames prospect, put up 24 points (six goals and 18 assists) in just 15 games before he was injured during a game against Prince George on April 28. He missed the final seven games of the season as a result.
Logan Stankoven, a Kamloops native, had 10 points (seven goals and three assists) in six games before leaving to play for Team Canada at the 2021 Under-18 World Championships, where he won a gold medal.
All season long, the Blazers kept Kyrell Sopotyk front and centre, and that was the case when it came to post-game team photos last night. Sopotyk, the 18-year-old forward, was paralyzed in January in a snowboarding accident.
“Beyond thankful to be apart of this tremendous organization full of great teammates and staff,” he said on twitter. “Congrats on winning the BC Division, wish I was there to celebrate with you guys.”
In their final game of the 2020-21 WHL season last night, the Blazers shut out the Prince George Cougars 4-0 with goals from Josh Pillar, Logan Bairos (the first of his career), Ethan Brandwood, and Orrin Centazzo.
“Its pretty emotional, it was my last game here, and hasn’t really hit me yet,” Centazzo said. “I looked at the clock and saw there was only six minutes left and I knew I only had about two or three shifts left [in my WHL career] so I tried to put it out on the line and tried and make something memorable from those last shifts.”
“This was the first time we lifted a trophy this year. I think the team deserved it, and I’m grateful to have been a part of that.”
All three graduating Blazers on the ice – Montana Onyebuchi, Sean Strange, and Orrin Centazzo – had a point last night. Fellow overage player Brodi Stuart, who served as an assistant coach because of injury, also took the ice for the pre-game warm-up.
Speaking post-game, Strange, a tenth round bantam pick of the Blazers in 2015, reflected back on his 201 game long WHL career that spanned four seasons.
“I had a lot of good memories, a lot of quality teammates, good coaches, and great staff here. My time here has been amazing,” Strange, a Saanich, B.C. native, said. “I have to give credit to the all the guys who found me and I’m pretty happy right now.
“Kamloops is a great city, my billets have been amazing, this place will always be a second home to me.”
Meanwhile, his fellow defensive partner, Onyebuchi announced on the post-game show that he signed a pro-contract with the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda. The Dugald, Manitoba native leaves today to join his new teammates in California.
“It is going to be a good experience, to get some pro games under my belt and try to get to the big leagues,” Onyebuchi said, as he called time on his 258 game long WHL career. “I worked really hard in the summer, I didn’t even go home for Christmas, I wanted it so bad, so this feels awesome.”
In the Blazers goal last night, Dylan Garand stopped all 28 shots for his third shutout of the season to finish with a 15-3 record. The 18-year-old New York Rangers prospect ended the 2020-21 season with a 2.15 goals against average, and a 0.921 save percentage.
“The WHL was very fortunate to have the opportunity to deliver a season during this pandemic and we appreciate the support we received from the BC Government and BC health authorities to make this happen,” WHL Commissioner Ron Robison said, in a statement.
“In such a unique and challenging season as this, it is important to recognize the accomplishments of our teams and we are pleased to present the Kamloops Blazers with the RE/MAX Cup.”
– with files from Jon Keen
(Photo via Kamloops Blazers)
WATCH: the @blazerhockey claim the RE/MAX Cup as B.C. Division Champions!#REMAXHub pic.twitter.com/FhbSk7ObPH
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 13, 2021
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
cc: @kyrellsopotyk 🙏 pic.twitter.com/8KZmJhVWLH— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) May 13, 2021