Luke Buss and Connor DeTurris have made their mark on the Clippers after only three games. (Gary Dorland)

By Dan Marshall

Faces of Change

VIDEO: New Clippers making immediate impact on the scoresheet

Nov 1, 2023 | 9:47 AM

NANAIMO — The Clippers top ranked offense got a boost at the recent BCHL Showcase with the additions of Connor DeTurris and Luke Buss to the roster.

DeTurris was a summer recruit who had been injured since the start of the season. He has now played three games with the Clippers and has been extremely productive with three goals and an assist.

Buss was acquired in a trade with the Vernon Vipers on Oct. 21 and likewise has four points in his first three contests with Nanaimo, all assists.

His performances earned recognition by the BCHL as an honourable mention for the three stars of the week. Buss said he’s enjoying his time in Nanaimo so far.

“It’s been good coming to a new team with twenty new guys. It’s been a good switch so far and the guys have been great to me.”

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Now in his third year of junior hockey, Buss believes he can not only provide offense but take on a leadership role as well.

“This team is offensive and has a lot of skill up front with the forwards and I hope I can add to that and be part of the scoring in Nanaimo. I bring a lot of speed, energy and compete and hopefully some scoring as well.”

DeTurris hasn’t played since last season and he’s grateful for the chance to be back on the ice playing junior hockey again.

The Naperville, IL product spent much of last year in the NAHL with Janesville.

“It goes to show you how well the training staff and the coaching staff have done to get me to the point where I am right now. In the last month it’s been really helpful getting me back into the lineup and it feels like I’ve never been out of it.”

So far DeTurris has been a goal scoring threat with one goal in each of his first three appearances.

“Scoring in my first game and then it fell over to my second and my third was good for my game and my confidence. There’s a lot of room for improvement in my game. The first three games have been hard in the sense of my endurance, but I think once I step into more time more, more games and more experience I think my game can come back to 100 per cent of where I want to be.”

The Clippers are entering into an island rivalry week with a Wednesday, Nov. 1 game at 11 a.m. versus Alberni Valley.

Students from area schools are expected to make up the majority of the crowd.

Then on Saturday, Nov. 4 Nanaimo will host the Cowichan Valley Capitals at 7 p.m.

CLIP NOTES:

Nanaimo Clippers dominated the honourable mention list for the BCHL three stars of the week. Connor Haynes, Willyam Gendron and Andrew each had five points while Luke Buss recorded four.

The Clippers are the highest scoring team in the BCHL with 58 goals in 13 games.

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