Sockeyes Strategic Game Plan

September necessarily wasn’t a productive month for the Sockeyes but they are still in the early stages of rebuilding given the overage players lost in the offseason while they round out the roster for the 2026-27 season.

The key to the re-build isn’t necessarily bringing in local talent but also extending their  search which is where the role of the Director of Hockey Operations & General Manager Will Kump works  his magic.

Technically speaking this happens with every team in every league from pro to amateur but mostly in the ranks of Junior hockey which include the Richmond Sockeyes.

Turnovers don’t necessarily build championships but they do add to the growth of all teams as they move forward to future seasons especially if you select some younger players who fit in with the returning veterans.

The evaluation process continues with the Sockeyes as we enter October and if you ask any pro scout they’ll tell you that this sometimes takes until the mid to later part of October.

We often hear parents and fans alike often question coaching decisions but they look in from the outside and while they might question choices the Sockeyes coaching staff have a better feel and understanding what they want.

The Sockeyes coaching staff of Head Coach Brien Gemmel, Bob Delorme, Matthew Stewart, Andrew Wolf and Craig Sherbaty all play key roles with positional play from net front presence to the forward line combinations.

September wasn’t the month that the Sockeyes wanted being outscored 13-9 on home ice but outscoring the opposition 26-25 through the seven games played in September.

Sockeyes took their “new look” roster to Delta’s Sungod Arena in the first Tunnel Series match-up that saw Delta narrowly pulling out a 3-2 win in a game that saw the Sockeyes outshoot Delta by hammering them 50-29.

Sockeye’s Alan Peregrym stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced while Delta’s Lucas Disiewich turned aside 48 of the 50 he faced.

The week off gave the Sockeyes a chance to work on special teams, line combinations as well as possible changes implemented by the coaching staff developing the focus the team needs heading into future games.

The week off  saw them pull out a 4-3 win over the visiting Tsumani again outshooting the visitors 46-39 that saw Devon Mahil notch his second of the early season in the overtime session.

The following night saw them visit the Ridge Meadow Flames that saw them drop the contest by a narrow 4-3 contest while outshooting the home squad 52-34 in a contest that saw them outshoot the home squad through sixty minutes.

Often for all teams having a week off doesn’t play nice to any team and this remained true to the Sockeye the following week when they hosted the Jets who pulled out a 6-2 win that saw them give up six unanswered goals to the Jets.

Again they were forced to play the following night against the Trail Blazers that saw them open the scoring with a pair of markers from Captain Wyke and Dylan Heer while allowing a late goal ending the first twenty minutes with a 2-1 lead.

The second saw no scoring in the period that again saw the Sockeyes dominate the shots outshooting the home squad 25-12 that saw the clubs trade three minors each after forty minutes.

The third was when the special teams put to work with the home squad managing one power play marker while the Sockeyes Jackson Schroeder got his first of the season with a short handed goal which was the eventual winner.

Sockeyes captain Keelan Wyke notched an empty net short handed marker for the eventual 4-2 win sealing the win for Haiden Heide stopping 33 of 36 shots he faced.

Richmond wrapped up September with a trip to Burnaby that saw them dominate the home squad with a 8-2 win in a penalty-filled contest.

Richmond not only won the game they dominated the three stars with Jonathan Zhang (1G/2A) was named first star, Liam O’Neill (1G/1A) and Haden Heide named third turning aside 27 of the 29 he faced.

October kicked-off with the second “tunnel series” contest with the Ice Hawks in town in a series that everyone including the players looked forward to competing in.

In conversation with the coaching staff I’m told that this is one game that motivation isn’t necessarily part of the coaches game plan but rather led by the players themselves which is easy to watch.

Delta managed to pull out a 4-3 win that also saw the Sockeyes dominate the shots outshooting Delta by a 42-35 margin with Delta managing 1 goal on 5 power plays while the Sockeyes were 1 for 2 in  the special team department.

Again less than twenty four hours later the Sockeyes paid a visit to  Po. Coq in a game that saw no scoring in the first twenty only to have the home squad score five unanswered goals with three in the second and a pair in the third.

This game was more aggressive than other games to date that saw Sockeyes lone goal off the stick of Luke Wilson with Kieran Ganga and Joey Brandt setting up Wilson.

Despite the loss this game again saw the Sockeyes dominate the home squad in the shot department by 45-30 a margin.

The Sockeyes upcoming games have them face the Steelers Thursday October 8th followed by a road-trip to Sardis Sunday October 11th.

The schedule doesn’t necessarily get easy for the Sockeyes as they head to the mid part of October with the team focusing on special teams moving up in the standings.

The first part of October sees the Sockeyes with a record of 3 win’s, 5 losses, 1 shootout loss for  7 points managing 30 goals for, 34 against through nine games.

One area of concern we hear about is the lack of parking at the rink and in light of that the Sockeyes are pleased to have a working partnership with the Richmond Center Mall as well as having additional parking at the West Anix at City Hall.

If you visit the Mall and shop you’ll initially pay $5.00 for parking and when you bring your ticket to the rink you’ll receive a $10.00 voucher so realistically it’s a win-win for you without going to Vegas!