Area schools hold steady in high school sports rankings
Two of the Cowichan Valley's 'AA' field hockey teams remain in the top 10 of the official BC School Sports 'AA' field hockey rankings.
Brentwood College School sits seventh on the table, down from third in Week 3. Shawnigan Lake School fell to eighth from fifth. Queen Margaret's School had been ninth on the table through two weeks but has since dropped off the top 10.
Quw'utsun entered the 'AAA' field hockey rankings for the first time this season, at 10th in Week 4.
Duncan Christian School opened the year sitting ninth in the 'A' boys provincial volleyball rankings, but dropped out of the top 10 for Week 2, while the DCS girls were not ranked in the first week, but had climbed to seventh in Week 2, remaining in there Week 3.
Shawnigan Lake School forwards to play for provincial hockey squads
Eden Hamel, 17, has been selected to play with Team BC at the U18 Women’s National Championship at Mount Pearl and Conception Bay South, Newfoundland Nov. 2 to 8. The team has played to bronze the last two years.
Hamel, a product of Port Moody, is playing her second season on Shawnigan Lake School's U18 female team after transferring from the Delta Hockey Academy for the 2024-25 season. In 30 games last season the forward and 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 30 games.
Zoe Cramer, a forward in her third year with the U18 female team at Shawnigan, is also expected to make Team Manitoba. Committed to Mercyhurst, for her post-secondary career, Cramer was most recently invited to Hockey Canada's 2025-26 National Women's U18 Summer Selection Camp.
Local players on elite hockey rosters
The British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) season kicked off Sept. 13, and one Cowichan Valley athlete has already made an impact.
Ladysmith product Seren Elkiw is a member of the U18-AAA Vancouver Island Seals.
The Seals struggled in their first two games, suffering losses Sept. 20 and 21 to the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers on home ice in Port Alberni. In the opening game, the Seals fell 6-4, though Elkiw scored in the second period to tie the game 3-3. The team was shut out 5-0 in the second matchup.
Joining Elkiw on the squad for the second straight year is forward Karlee Poznecov, a product of Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey.
The Seals went 1-3 in four games played Sept. 26-28 during the BCEHL Showcase in South Surrey. Elkiw scored once in a 5-4 win against the Northern Capitals, helping the team secure its first victory of the season.
The Seals don’t play again until Oct. 17-19, when they visit the Fraser Valley Rush for a three-game series in Langley.
KPMHA seeking board members
Officials with the Kerry Park Minor Hockey Association are looking for some new members of their hockey community. There are current openings within the KPMHA board of directors for a treasurer, and intermediate director and female program director (non-voting). Those who are interested in those positions can email [email protected] for more information.
Passmore lands in Surrey
Former Cowichan Valley Capitals general manager and head coach Brian Passmore has been hired as the general manager and head coach of the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL.
Passmore, 45, spent close to 10 years in the Cowichan Valley, beginning as an assistant coach with the CSSHL U15 and U18 teams at Shawnigan Lake School before being hired by the Capitals for the 2017-18 season.
He then did a two-year stint with the South Island Royals U18 AAA team, and took on a mid-season fill-in job as head coach of the Kerry Park Islanders.
Passmore returned to the Capitals for another two and a half seasons. He spent the 2023-24 season as the head coach of the Merritt Centennials in the BCHL before that team joined the KIJHL.
