Heading into his third season in Nanaimo forward will become the Clippers captain. The 18-year-old is looking forward to is excited for the opportunity to wear the 'C'.  (Gary Dorland)

By Dan Marshall

Kovich Named Captain

Clippers name Kyler Kovich team captain for 2020-21 season

Mar 23, 2020 | 5:35 PM

NANAIMO – The Clippers have unveiled their captain for the next BCHL season.

18-year-old Kyler Kovich will wear the ‘C’ in his third campaign in Nanaimo.

Kovich will be one of a handful of Clippers to be entering his third year but nobody else can boast the same hockey resume as the Coquitlam native.

He has 53 points in 101 career games and set career highs with 18 goals and 21 assists in 2019-20.

“I can’t the thank the teammates I’ve spent the last two years with enough. Being the captain is an honour and I’m really excited to see how it goes this year.”

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Coach Darren Naylor brought Kovich to the BCHL from the BC Major Midget League and called the decision to make Kovich team captain an easy one.

“Kyler is a natural leader and leads by example every time he touches the ice. He is a player who takes his game seriously, always looking to improve his game.”

In the recently shutdown season Kovich finished fourth in team scoring.

He earned a commitment to Cornell University for the 2021-22 campaign and also got the call to compete for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in December.

Early in the season he was tabbed by NHL Central Scouting on their watch list and in the latest rankings Kovich was ranked 164th among North American skaters for the upcoming NHL Draft.

He was also the only member of the Clippers picked to play in the CJHL Prospects Game this past January.

Kovich was honoured by all of the individual accolades he received but said his focus never wavered from the team.

“There’s nothing more special than the team I played on this year. The best moment was winning that first playoff series and we could have gone so much further. It’s disappointing the way it had to end. It meant a lot to me every time I got to suit up and put that Clippers jersey on.”

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77