Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League's (VIJHL) Campbell River Storm has partnered with the Canada West Elite program to help identify talent for future Storm sides.
The Canada West Elite 08 team travelled to Foxborough, Mass. to play in the Chowder Cup, a prestigious summer hockey tournament, wearing the Campbell River Storm's logo and colours for the tournament. The team won the tournament for the 08 (players born in 2008) category.
"The people who run it are extremely connected in college hockey in the United States," says Lou Gravel, the general manager of the Storm and Canada West Elite Hockey. "The Chowder Cup has always been the number one top prospect tournament in the off-season. So anybody that's played at a high level of hockey, whether it's college or pro hockey, most of them have played in the Chowder Cup at a certain point."
Tournament organizers opened the competition to Canadian teams years ago, and Gravel, who is not only the manager of the Canada West Elite program but also the owner, started submitting the team to the tournament. Gravel was named the general manager of the Storm at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
"I wanted to help the Storm name across Canada and into the U.S., so we incorporated the Storm name into our Canada West program," he says. "So the team that played last week in Boston was called the Canada West Elite Storm, and we were wearing Storm colours. Those are 08 players who are potential Storm players, whether it's this year, the next year, or the year after. Those are kids that we really like. So, it's more of a recruitment program."
Gravel said the tournament was very intense. No Campbell River-born kids were on the team, but it featured kids from BC, throughout Canada, the United States and some international players.
Three other teams from the Canada West Elite program participated in the Chowder Cup, combining for a record of 10-1-1 in round-robin play. All four teams also qualified for the playoff round. Three players were selected for the Jr. A All-Tournament team: Jacob Kulas, Jean-Felix Faupel and Kieran Ronan. They were not on the 08 team and are older. Those three players and another, Theo Landry, have committed to the Campbell River Storm for the 2024-25 season while in Boston.
