Join us tonight at the den for our home opener against the Richmond Sockeyes!
This is your first chance to meet our new staff and players and see what our team can do.
All sales from the night (tickets, concession, 50/50) will benefit Daniel DelBianco, who will be in attendance to drop the puck! Tonight’s game is at 7:00 p.m. Get tickets with the link below:
Richmond Sockeyes
OVERVIEW
Record: 1-0-0-0
Road Record: 0-0-0-0
Home Record: 1-0-0-0
Last Game: An 8-2 victory over Port Coquitlam Trailblazers on Thursday.
Goals For/Goals Against: 8 GF/2 GA (+6)
Power Play: ¼ (25%)
Penalty Kill: 6/6
Leading Scorers: Callum Lind (1GP–1G–2A–3PTS), Gavin Bains (1GP– 0G–2A–2PTS), Kai McComb (1GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS)
A SOAR TASTE
Jonathan Soares is on the Sockeyes, thanks to a trade made by the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack traded 2004-born defenceman Jonathan Soares to the Surrey Knights for 2004-born defenceman Caleb Cruz. Richmond then made a trade with Surrey to land Soares on their team.
Cruz, who the Wolf Pack acquired for Soares, made his PJHL debut with the White Rock Whalers during the 2021-22 regular season. He amassed 28 points (9-19) in 74 regular season games and eight points (3-5) in 24 playoff games with White Rock. Cruz was dealt to the Surrey Knights in the offseason.
Soares arrived in North Vancouver from the VIJHL’s Kerry Park Islanders when the Wolf Pack dealt forward David Coyle back in October. The right-shot defenceman had points in his first seven games in grey and blue, including a five-assist night in his second game with Surrey providing the opposition.
The native of Surrey, BC, had eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points in 31 regular season games. Soares was held without a point against Grandview in the Survivor Series.
SOCKEYES NOTES
- Richmond is the first team in the PJHL to play POCO and the first team to beat them.
- Jonathan Soares debuted in the PJHL with the Wolf Pack last season but found himself in Richmond this year. Soares was dealt to Surrey and acquired from Richmond for Dawson Toledo, Lachlan Freer, and Brayden Nager.
NORTH VANCOUVER WOLF PACK
OVERVIEW
General Manager: Matt Samson
Head Coach: Mike Borrelli
Record: 0-0-0-0
Home Record: 0-0-0-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 8 GF/2 GA (+6)
Power Play: ¼ (25%)
Penalty Kill: 6/6
Leading Scorers (22-23): JJ Pickell (45GP – 42G – 32A – 74PTS), Ryan Hunter (39GP – 10G – 36A – 46PTS), Trevor Baron (46GP – 11G – 29A – 40PTS)
A NEW LEADER
There will be a new pack leader this season, as 2003-born forward JJ Pickell has been selected to wear the historic ‘C’ in North Vancouver.
The native of Calgary, Alberta, put up 55 points (28-27) in 43 games in his first regular-season campaign and an additional five points (2-3) in six post-season games against the White Rock Whalers. He followed up his first season by producing 74 points (42-32) in 45 regular-season contests to go along with three points (1-2) from the Survivor Series against the Grandview Steelers. So far, Pickell has played a total of 97 games and has racked up 137 points and 116 penalty minutes.
Pickell’s 74 points (42-32) from this past regular season earned him a spot in the 60-point club, which only seven other players from franchise history have made it into. His 42 goals from the regular season were good enough to tie Dominic Davis (2019-2020) for the most in franchise history.
‘AS’ GOOD AS IT GETS
Elias helped the Wolf Pack win the PJHL Championship during the 2014-2015 season before taking some time away for his family in 2018.
Born in 1981, Godoy comes with a high-level playing background, having played NCAA Div 1 for UMass Lowell in Hockey East, where he was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. After University, Elias attended the Vancouver Canucks development camp and played five years professionally, including two overseas.
Elias brings all-around knowledge of the game, emphasizing offense and high-level skill and creating new systems for special teams’ play. He will work primarily with the forwards.
A SPECIAL PERSON
Daniel DelBianco played for the Delta Ice Hawks, Port Moody Panthers, and your North Vancouver Wolf Pack. He put up 33 points in 34 regular season games during the 2014-15 season with the Wolf Pack and helped the team win its first PJHL Championship.
Daniel also spent time in the BCHL with Chilliwack and Alberni. Daniel would win another championship with North Vancouver as a coach during the 2018-19 season. Daniel was also an assistant coach last season with the Richmond Sockeyes.
For the past 12 years, Daniel has dealt with epilepsy and was officially diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy three years ago. Tonight, we are pleased to share all of our sales with Daniel as he tries to raise money in an attempt for treatment. If you want to learn more about Daniel and contribute to his fundraiser, you can do so through his gofundme.
Join us as we raise awareness and support Daniel with his medical conditions.
NOTES
- JJ Pickell is in his final season of junior hockey and was given the ‘C’ this summer. Pickell was an alternate since he started playing for the Wolf Pack two seasons ago.
- Corson Penman (10), Carniel (15), JJ Maros (17), and Jason Scott (19) all changed jersey numbers in the off-season.
- Trevor Baron is an alternate captain with the Wolf Pack this season; Baron was acquired from Aldergrove and made his Wolf Pack debut on December 3, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
- Matt Samson is back on the Wolf Pack bench this season after spending the past year with the North West Hawks.
- This is the first time JJ Maros is starting the season with North Vancouver instead of Richmond, the team he had played on for the past two years.
Final Words
North Vancouver goes to Delta on Thursday before returning to the den two days later to host the Ridge Meadows Flames. The Wolf Pack were 0-3 against Delta last season and hope a new year will bring different results. The Sockeyes also have a game next Thursday as they will host the Grandview Steelers, who had a 2-2 record against them.
