The Powell River Kings have added another local product to the lineup for this coming season. 2002-born, Nicolas Porchetta has committed to play in his home town.
The 5’8, 167lb Powell River product has spent the last three seasons at the Delta Hockey Academy, where Porchetta scored 35 goals and assisted on 56 others in 92 games over his three year career in Delta.
For Porchetta, the opportunity to play in his hometown jersey in the BCHL weighed heavily in his decision making process.
“It’s always been my dream to play for the Kings since peewee,” said Porchetta. “I’ve always loved the arena, the team, and the town. It’s my home and this really is a dream come true.” Fans would have seen Porchetta suit up last season as an affiliate in 5 regular season games and 5 playoff games. “I had so many nerves going through my system the first time I played in Powell River colours on Powell River ice in almost 4 years, it was crazy, but it’s something I will remember forever.”
Porchetta moved from Powell River to play for the Delta Hockey Academy in his second year of Bantam, “Going from Powell River to Delta really opened more opportunities and experiences to develop as a player and a person. Going to school and training off-ice and on-ice everyday helped me to develop as a player and I plan to implement that same work ethic as a King.”
In addition to the home town cooking, Porchetta adds that working with Kings Head Coach Tyler Kuntz was an attractive opportunity.
“Working hard is my style of game, I like to play a strong 200-foot game, I like to play gritty and get under my opponents skin. I like the fact that Tyler pushes us to get better, challenges us to improve and develop our game,” says Porchetta. “That’s huge for me, I really look to improve my game every day at both ends of the ice and to have Tyler as my coach is going to be good for me.
“In my experience, kids that work hard and are easy to coach and want to get better usually do and Nicolas fits that model,” says General Manager and Head Coach Tyler Kuntz, “I think what the fans are going to see from him next year will be far different from what he’ll be when he’s 19, he’s going to continue to get stronger and better and become more of a leader and role model. He will become a very good player in this league.”
“Last season I thought Nicolas improved throughout the season. Every time we called him up, he was better than he was the time before. I thought in the playoffs he was really helpful, he gets under guy’s skin, he plays hard, and he competes.”
Porchetta is busy training this summer, staying in Delta until the end of July, “I’m focused on getting stronger, faster and more stable on the puck so I can make that official jump to Junior hockey easier,” said Porchetta. Porchetta will join his new teammates in Powell River starting August 19th for Main Camp.
