POWELL RIVER, BC – The Powell River Kings announced Wednesday that they have signed defenceman Jackson Van de Leest, on loan from the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Van de Leest joins the club immediately and will be with the team until December 20th.
The 6’7, 235 lb Kelowna native has appeared in 174 games for the Hitmen over the past four seasons. Van de Leest tallied 28 points (3G, 25A) and recorded 71 penalty minutes during the 2019-20 season, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played his U18 AAA hockey with Okanagan Hockey Academy.
“We are pleased to add Jackson to our defensive group. He brings plenty of size, leadership and experience to our team,” stated head coach and director of hockey operations Brock Sawyer. “We are fortunate enough that the Hitmen were on board with loaning Jackson to us. We expect him to play a vital role in helping mentor our younger defencemen.”
The Kings travel to Duncan this weekend to open their exhibition schedule against the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Puck drop is Sunday, November 8 at 2:00PM and the game will be broadcast live on 95.7 Coast FM and on HockeyTV.
Photo: Candice Ward / HitmenHockey.com
