No moves expected by roster deadline

Having already made a series of moves in the last few months, the Penticton Vees aren’t expected to do anything ahead of the first junior hockey roster deadline on Thursday.

Teams in the BCHL — and other CJHL member teams across the country — must declare a roster of players and open cards adding up to a maximum of 25 by the deadline.

“We got the jump by making a lot of moves since September,” said Vees president, GM and head coach Fred Harbinson. “We’re happy with where we are at right now.”

The Vees will declare 22 players on their current roster and will have three open cards to make any moves — should they decide to do so — before the final roster deadline on Jan. 10.

Harbinson noted Interior rivals such as Salmon Arm, Vernon and West Kelowna have been busy making moves in recent weeks as they look to close the gap on a 23-4-0 Vees team that has opened up a 15-point lead atop the division.

Harbinson said a move or two before Jan. 10 isn’t out of the question.

“We’re always looking, thinking, listening,” said Harbinson. “There aren’t a lot of proven 40-goal scorers out there.”

The coach said the Vees have a deep lineup up front and on defence with quality goaltending.

“It looks like we’ll have to win a lot of tight, low-scoring games, much like two years ago,” said Harbinson. “We’re holding teams to an average of two goals a game, so if we could just get the power play going it would give us a bit more leeway. We’ve got a lot of potential to improve individually and collectively going forward.”

The Vees have added defencemen James Miller and Kenny Johnson, plus forwards Duncan Campbell, Matt Gosiewski and Jamie Armstrong in deals since the season started. The Vees also have the maximum of six 20-year-old players on their roster.