The Clippers are a veteran group with high expectations for the 2019-20 BCHL season. (Gary Dorland)
AIMING HIGH

Clippers see window open for championship run

Sep 12, 2019 | 6:23 PM

NANAIMO – The Clippers are anticipating a banner BCHL season this year.

The team brings back a lot of veteran talent and the coaches remain excited about new acquisitions during the offseason.

Head coach Darren Naylor isn’t shy about his expectations for the club.

“We want to win the Island Division and be one of the top teams in the league when it’s all said and done.”

Josh Bourne is the longest serving Clipper, now entering his third year.

He was named one of the assistant captains and likes what he’s seen so far.

“We have a lot of skill and a really deep lineup. We want to work hard and we want to make sure we really wear teams down on our forecheck.”

Nanaimo has a veteran laden group with the most returnees (11) of any team in the Island Division.

They also have an average age of 18.8, just behind the Cowichan Valley Capitals who sit at 18.9.

The last two BCHL champions the Prince George Spruce Kings (2019) and the Wenatchee Wild (2018) had very experienced rosters and the Clippers are following a similar model.

There are only four players in the top 50 in BCHL scoring last year who are back in the Island Division this year, with two being Ethan Scardina and Tyler Williams of the Clippers.

Scardina was 24th overall in the league in 2018-19, while Williams finished 28th.

Both of those players will get top line minutes this year, when healthy.

Scardina missed the season opener due to a short term injury and Williams is just getting back after being sidelined for Nanaimo’s exhibition games.

Williams said it wasn’t easy to jump into the pressure of a BCHL regular season game.

“The first period there was a few bounces and I was still thinking about my injury. Once the second and third period came I stopped worrying and just started playing my game.”

Williams, Scardina, and Bourne are expected to be the catalysts for Nanaimo’s offence and their individual success will go a long way to determining where the team finishes in the standings.

A season opening loss to the Cowichan Valley Capitals is a minor set back but the month of September does shape up well with Nanaimo playing five of seven games at home with just two short trips to Alberni Valley.

October is when the team will be tested.

Eight of the first nine games in October are on the road as the Clippers will participate in the BCHL Showcase on Oct. 2 and Oct 3., and make trips as far east as Trail and as far north as Prince George.

For Nanaimo to win the Island Division they’ll have to make improvements to their divisional record.

Last season Nanaimo was 15-16-1. It usually takes between 22 to 24 wins to capture a division title.

Nobody from the Clippers organization was a part of the last Island Division championship in 2015-16 but there’s a belief within the group that they can win the island and battle for a league title in 2020.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77