Brothers Brady and Austin Daniels are back in action in B.C. but this time they’re at opposite ends of the province.
Brady Daniels is in his freshman year at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, where he’s majoring in sport and recreation management, after spending three seasons in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) with the Castlegar Rebels and Kimberley Dynamiters. He didn’t play hockey anywhere last season because of the pandemic but managed to crack the Mariners’ roster for this season.
“I wanted to go school in either B.C. or Alberta,” he said. “I put in applications for schools in Alberta but no dice there.”
A chance conversation with Noah Danforth, one of his old teammates from Kimberley, saw the 22-year-old throw his name into the hat at VIU.
“Noah got in and told me to apply there and I was accepted,” he said. “It’s funny because I’m living with two of my former teammates in Kimberley.”
The Mariners play in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) and they’re one of four teams in the loop this season. It’s a short regular season — just 12 games in total — and it’s a much shorter grind than junior hockey.
That was something Brady, a centre, said he had to get used to.
“It’s a big adjustment from junior, where you’re playing 40 or 50 games a season,” he said. “Here, you’re playing each of the other teams four times.”
The Mariners returned to the ice on Jan. 22 against the University of Victoria (UVic) after a two-month layoff. That game ended in a 6-0 win.
The Christmas break included first semester final exams in December, something that can bring extra stress for athletes, Brady acknowledged.
“Hockey might not be on your mind when you’re studying for finals but you get back to normal once that’s out of the way,” he said.
The BCIHL is a step up from the hockey Brady said he played in the KIJHL and he always wanted to play at that level. He got his first taste of it while in Castlegar.
“Selkirk College plays in the BCIHL and they play games at the arena in Castlegar, so I got to watch some of that during my first year there,” he said. “I was thinking it would be cool to play that type of hockey one day. It’s a convergence of guys from Canada, the U.S., Junior A, NCAA — it’s a real diverse group of players.”
The Mariners will begin a busy final month of the season on Feb. 4. They will start on the road as they visit UVic, followed by a pair of contests against the Okanagan College Lakers in Kelowna on Feb. 11 and 12 and finishing the regular season at home versus Simon Fraser University on Feb. 19.
“It’ll be good to roll into the playoffs with some confidence,” said Brady. “You know all the teams by then and you’re picking up steam.”
‘Much better situation’
Austin, meanwhile, is back in Kimberley and is having a fine season stats-wise. As of press time, the right-winger is averaging nearly a point per game — 27 in 31 — and is tied for the team lead in goals with 17. The Dynamiters as a unit sit atop the Eddie Mountain Division with 50 points, one ahead of the Columbia Valley Rockies.
It’s a much different story than last season, when Austin managed to suit up for three games with the Dynamiters before the KIJHL cancelled the season because of Covid-19.
“That was tough,” Austin admitted. “We’ve had good luck this season. The league has postponed some games (because of the pandemic) but none of ours. We’ve been lucky with no stoppages so far.”
Austin is no stranger to Kimberley, having spent parts of three seasons with the team. Both brothers played together in Kimberley for the 2019-2020 season but were traded to 100 Mile House part-way through that campaign. They chose to return home to Yellowknife instead of reporting to 100 Mile House.
It’s a much better situation this time around, said Austin.
“I’m just happy to be contributing but I’m more proud of our record so far,” he said. “A lot of the guys are back from last season and we got some good rookie pickups. Everyone’s contributed in some way and hopefully that means we’ll have a deep run when the playoffs start.”
Because Austin is 20 years old, this will be his final year of junior hockey, and he said he’d love to go out as a champion.
“That would seal my junior career,” he said. “Everyone wants to go out on top and it’s definitely something I want to do and I think we can this season.”
The Dynamiters are in the eastern portion of the province and are only playing teams within their conference. That means they won’t be seeing the likes of the Osoyoos Coyotes, the club sitting first overall in the KIJHL with 57 points, unless they meet in the final.
“You cant really gauge how good those other teams are because of the no-crossover,” said Austin. “We know Revelstoke’s a good team and so is Osoyoos and Columbia Valley. There’s a lot of talent out there but we’ll be ready, no matter who we’re playing.”
Once his junior days are done, Austin has plans to go to school but he doesn’t know where yet.
“I haven’t narrowed it down,” he said. “I want to keep active and playing hockey so I’m hoping to get an offer and play in college or university.”