Next Generation: Penticton Vees
From the BCHL
Presented by Chevrolet.
In the weeks leading up to the start of the 2024-25 season, we will go team-by-team to profile new players entering the league, as well as offseason acquisitions through trades. We speak with the coach/GM of each team to get their thoughts on the new crop of players.
Next up are the Penticton Vees.
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Last season, the Penticton Vees finished first in the Interior Conference and second overall in the league with a record of 38-10-3-3. They swept the Prince George Spruce Kings in Round 1, defeated the Vernon Vipers in the second round in five games and outlasted the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the Conference Final in seven games to reach the league championship series for the third year in a row. The Vees ultimately lost to the Surrey Eagles in six games.
With a large group of returning players, Penticton added to their existing group with a crop of new recruits. We caught up with head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson to get the scouting report on the new talent.
New recruits
Michael Fisher (2004, D)
Hometown: Westborough, Mass.- Previous team: Northeastern University (NCAA)
- College commitment: Northeastern University
- NHL Draft: San Jose Sharks (3rd round – 2022)
Fisher played his freshman year with Northeastern last season and contributed a goal and an assist in 29 games, but decided to return to junior before going back to college next year. He was drafted 76th overall by San Jose in the 2022 NHL Draft after a huge year in prep school where he put up 50 points in 28 games from the back end.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He had an injury the year before going to college, which limited his games and felt that maybe he went to school a little early. He’ll be able to play in all situations. He’s an elite skater. We think he’s going to be able to really move the puck. He’s got a good shot and, with his experience, he knows what it takes to win. We’re going to have to lean on him a lot. We will have a lot of veterans back on our defence corps and he’ll be one of the key ones.”
Eli McKamey (2009, F)
Hometown: Cowichan Bay, B.C.- Previous team: Shawnigan Lake School Prep (CSSHL U18)
At just 15 years old, McKamey is the first player to receive exceptional status under the league’s new policy. He is coming off a year where he notched 23 goals, 25 assists and 48 points in 28 games with Shawnigan’s under-18 team, despite playing half the year as a 14-year-old.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“There’s been a lot of fanfare with this player. Eli is very mature for his age. Always being able to play at a level above and and being a year ahead in school – that tells me a lot about the type of person he is. I’m sure it will take some time to adjust to the junior game, but we feel he will have the ability to create offence. What I like about him is that he plays on the inside of the ice. He’s not a perimeter-style player. He has a very team-first attitude when you talk to him too.”
Ben Merrill (2005, F)
Hometown: Hingham, Mass.- Previous team: St. Sebastian’s School (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: Harvard University
- NHL Draft: Montreal Canadiens (6th Round – 2024)
Merrill played the past three years at St. Sebastian’s and totaled 18 goals, 19 assists and 37 points in 25 games last season. His strong play caught the attention of NHL scouts as he was selected 166th overall by Montreal in this summer’s draft.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He’s a player with range and good size and possesses a very good shot. You can’t have enough size through the middle and he’s going to be a guy that’s obviously going to be able to add that for us at 6-foot-4. He can play in a lot of different ways.”
Zach Nyman (2008, D)
Hometown: Toronto, Ont.- Previous team: Vaughan Kings AAA (GTHL U16)
- College commitment: University of Michigan
Nyman put up 80 points for the Kings last year in 99 games across all competition and just recently secured his commitment to the University of Michigan.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He’s an elite skater and would have been a high pick in the Ontario Hockey League draft, if he decided to go that direction. He’ll be one of the top 16-year-olds in the country. He can break the puck out with his feet and he can create offence. He’s a very smart kid both on and off the ice.”
Matthew Cataldo (2005, F)
Hometown: Norfolk, Mass.- Previous team: St. Sebastian’s School (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: Brown University
A teammate of Merrill’s at St. Sebastian’s, Cataldo led the team with 22 goals and 49 points in 27 contests in his third year with the club in 2023-24.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He’s a very good character player with high energy. He skated with us last year for about a week and you can just tell he’s a player that’s going to be really good on the forecheck. He’s tenacious on the puck. He’s an older rookie and, physically, he’s he’s in a really good spot.”
Luke Posthumus (2005, F)
Hometown: Ottawa, Ont.- Previous team: Tri-City Storm (USHL)
- College commitment: Northeastern University
Posthumus had 13 points in 38 games in the USHL last year. The year prior, he played for the Nepean Raiders of the Central Canada Hockey League and led them in scoring with 48 points in 54 games.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He’s got good size. Luke is a solid player with a lot of junior experience, which I think goes a long way when you’re building your team. It’s always good to add guys with that kind of experience. I think he had a bit of a slower season offensively a year ago, but I believe he’ll come in and and contribute in all areas of our game up front and he should get back his scoring touch because he’s he’s shown a track record of doing it in the past.”
Caton Ryan (2006, F)
Hometown: San Francisco, Calif.- Previous team: Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)
- College commitment: Clarkson University
Ryan was Carleton’s leading scorer in 2023-24 with 59 points in 55 games on 24 goals and 35 assists.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“Caton is a strong two-way centerman. He has a very high hockey IQ. He put in his time, put up good numbers again last year and plays on both sides of the puck. He’s played a number of years of junior hockey already and should be able to jump in right away.”
Landon Wright (2006, F)
Hometown: Belleville, Ont.- Previous team: Collingwood Blues (OJHL)
- College commitment: University of Maine
Wright won an Ontario Junior Hockey League title last year with Collingwood, as well as a national championship. He finished his regular season with 41 points in 50 games and had eight goals and seven assists in 19 postseason contests.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“Landon really hounds the puck. He’s a smart player, but a player that that is always playing with energy and puts up good numbers. When you look at our group, we’ve added a number of players that have played junior hockey which is crucial to go along with, the 10 or 12 guys we have coming back. He’s going to be a player that should be able to play in the upper part of our lineup.”
Julien Wasmer (2005, D)
Hometown: Montreal, Que.- Previous team: Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)
- College commitment: University of Maine
Wasmer played the past two seasons with Smiths Falls in the CCHL. In 2023-24, his 33 points led all Bears defencemen.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He’s got very good size and he’s just gotten better every year. He unfortunately got injured in the playoffs, but before that, he was on fire, scoring a hat trick in his first playoff game. He’s someone that I had a lot of excitement about. He can skate and has experience in junior hockey.”
Jack Potulny (2005, F)
Hometown: Maple Grove, Minn.- Previous team: Shattuck St. Mary’s 18U (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: University of St. Thomas
The son of former Northern Michigan University head coach and current assistant in the American Hockey League Grant Potulny, Jack is coming off his third year at Shattuck St. Mary’s where he had 30 goals, 30 assists and 60 points in 57 games and helped the team to a national championship.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“He can play centre and wing. Jack brings a lot of size and will fill out during his time here in Penticton before he goes off to college. We’ve had a very good run of of college coach’s sons that have come through our program over the last handful of years and Jack will be one of the next ones.”
Casey Brown (2006, F)
Hometown: Regina, Sask.- Previous team: Regina Pat Canadians U18 (SMAAAHL)
- College commitment: Arizona State University
Brown was the captain of his under-18 team last year and finished second in goals with 34 and points with 56 in 44 games.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“We’ve had a lot of success getting players out of the Regina Pats program – Nolan Stevenson, that was with us last year, the Sillinger Brothers, and so on. He is a player that has produced offensively at the under-18 level. He was captain of his team, which is something important. He’s a player that has taken his time playing three years at the under-18 level and should be ready to go when he gets here in September.”
Callum Stone (2007, D)
Hometown: Kelowna, B.C.- Previous team: RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna (CSSHL U18)
Stone had six goals and 20 assists for 26 points in 28 games last year, just one point off the team lead in defenceman scoring.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“What I’ve always loved about Cal is his work ethic and just his overall demeanor on the ice. He’s very intense. His intensity reminds me a lot of what we had with Troy Stecher at a young age, how he’s very determined. I think our defence corps is going to be one of the strengths of our team and Cal’s going to be a very good piece of that.”
Acquired via trade
Ryden Evers (2005, F)
Hometown: Burnaby, B.C.- Previous team: Surrey Eagles (BCHL)
- College commitment: University of Nebraska-Omaha
Evers averaged exactly a point per game with Surrey last year with 53 in 53 contests and was awarded the league’s Most Sportsmanlike Player award at year’s end. After dealing with an injury that kept him out of the entire second round of the playoffs and the majority of the Conference Finals last year, he returned to help the Eagles win a league championship.
Harbinson’s scouting report:
“Ryden brings championship experience, size and has proven to be an elite BCHL centreman. He will be heavily relied upon to help us compete at the top of the league.”
Photo credits: CSSHL (McKamey, Stone), Dan Hickling (Merrill, Nyman, Cataldo, Potulny), USHL (Posthumus), Island Images (Evers)