A quick visit to the Port Moody Panthers' website reveals the club's philosophy of providing athletes with a "path to advancement."
The local junior 'B' franchise is living true to this mantra as evidenced by recent moves its management and players have made this off-season in hopes of a exciting 2023-24 campaign.
Port Moody has made significant strides last year in contending for a return to the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons.
While their efforts came up short, the Panthers won six of their last 11 games, including four on home ice.
This led to a 17-30-1 record — a large improvement from their three-win 2021-22 season, which was stymied by injuries, and their second-best record since 2010-11 when they finished 22-18-3-3.
Heading south
The small victories on the ice are now coming to fruition in how much the program means to Port Moody's staff.
Goaltender Adam Goody, following his final junior hockey season, has signed with the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota-Crookston, which competes in NCAA Div. 11 hockey.
The 21-year-old credits his commitment to the opportunity the Panthers gave him, which led to a franchise-record 56 starts over two seasons.
This included 12 wins last year with a 4.04 goals-against average (GAA) and an .895 save-percentage (SV%). In 2021-22, he recorded Port Moody's first shut out victory in over a year.
"I look forward to the next chapter of my hockey career and the idea of getting a good education at a great school really helped my decision," said Goody, set to study finance south of the border starting in the fall.
Minnesota-Crookston competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), which gives schools with low athletic budgets the chance to play.
New netminder
Goody's potential replacement is Ty Angus.
The 18-year-old from Surrey is set to bring a wealth of experience after splitting the 2022-23 season between playing in Canada and the United States.
Angus suited up between the pipes for the Bellingham Blazers of the U.S. Premier Hockey League, as well as Port Moody's PJHL Tom Shaw Conference-rivals, the White Rock Whalers.
He tallied a 5-4 record in 11 games with White Rock, culminating in a 3.64 GAA and an .879 SV%.
Angus said he hopes to battle for the puck at every possible chance as he believes that can influence his skaters to work hard on and off the ice.
"I am very excited to play in Port Moody for the Panthers because they have a great team with amazing fans and I can't wait to get the season started," he added.
"In my second year of junior hockey, I want to take more of a leadership role and lead by example both on the ice and off the ice."
Lopez promoted
The Panthers have also take pride in being a launching pad to junior 'A' hockey as it's one step below their tier.
Defenceman Johnny Lopez is the latest example of that development in recently signing with the Lindsay Muskies of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).
The Coquitlam blue-liner is heading east after compiling eight points in 28 games with the Panthers, who acquired him in a trade with the Abbotsford Pilots last November.
He also finished tied for third in game-winning goals with Port Moody and second among all defenders on the team in scoring in 2022-23.
Lopez, who grew up playing with the Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association, is the first player from last season's Panthers roster to sign with a junior 'A' team or higher.
He's also the 12th Cat in eight years to earn a promotion directly from Port Moody.
New recruits
Meanwhile, the 2023-24 Panthers' squad is starting to take shape as three recent signees said they chose the Panthers for their connections to the wider hockey community.
A Tri-Cities-based trio of Matthew Kim (Coquitlam), Wesley Suszezwiez (Port Coquitlam) and Marcus Lindholm (Port Coquitlam) will don the red, black and white in the fall.
Kim and Suszezwiez have previous experience at the junior 'B' level in some capacity. Suszezwiez and Lindholm garnered a provincial championship with the PoCo U18 A1 Pirates.
"I think the most appealing parts about the [Panthers] program for me were the staff and the program’s history," Kim explained.
He split the 2022-23 season with the U17 and U18 AAA Vancouver North East Chiefs, and even got a taste of Panthers' hockey with three games as a call-up.
"For the short time I've known the coaches and other members of the program, they’ve already treated me really well and I think we agree on a lot of things concerning my development and future," Kim added.
"Being surrounded by a new environment, new players, and larger competition gives me the opportunity to get perspective and really understand what works and what doesn't."
Suszezwiez and Lindholm both played for the PoCo Pirates and Terry Fox Secondary Ravens.
Suszezwiez is described as a versatile forward that can adapt to any style of play, while Lindholm claims to be a defensive forward that can win battles in the corners.
The 2023-24 PJHL season schedule has yet to be released, as of this publication.
You can visit the Port Moody Panthers' website for more information.
