The Vancouver Canucks’ woeful powerplay is getting all the headlines, but the Grandview Steelers’ management feels their pain.
Despite holding the Pacific Junior B Hockey League’s third-best record, the Steelers’ powerplay fall well short when the extra-man opportunity arises.
And Grandview general manager Aldo Bruno, unlike Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins, believes some new blood could be the answer.
Bruno acquired 20-year-old centre Keito Lee from Port Moody on Tuesday, sending 19-year-old forward Christian Bettiol the other way.
Lee stands fourth overall in league scoring, with 16 goals and 26 assists in his third year with the Panthers -- numbers which put him atop Grandview's scoring race.
“(Lee) was their leading scorer and we hope he can bring some offence with him,” said Bruno. “He’ll bring some speed and he’s pretty smart.”
More importantly, his saavy puckhandling skills should be an asset on the powerplay, where Grandview has the third-worst success rate, with just 19 goals on 151 opportunities.
“We really need to get (the powerplay) going, and we think he can be an impact there,” noted Bruno. “It’s been really weak and its the one area where we need to improve to get where we want to be.”
Converting just 12.58 per cent of their chances, the Steelers could use a boost in production, as their 20-8-2-5 record isn’t reflected in their sixth-best offensive total.
They continue to chase Delta, who sit in first place in the Tom Shaw Conference, just one-point ahead. Three points back of Grandview sits Richmond.
The Steelers doubled-up on Port Moody last Sunday, thanks to a two-goal effort from Malcolm Huemmert, giving him six on the year. Also scoring were defenceman Brett Cox and forward Jacob Siebenga, with his 14th.
The Steelers, who host Richmond on Sunday (4 p.m. at the Burnaby Winter Club), is also presenting the PJHL All-Star game on Monday, 7:15 p.m. at BWC.
The team will be represented by goalie Matteo Paler-Chow, defencemen Liam Cumberbirch and Lucas Mercer, and forwards Nico Bruno and Adam Rota.
