On August 21, the Tumbler Ridge Junior A Steel Kings took their next step towards officially becoming a real hockey team by signing their first player, Saskatchewan-based Kyler Ross.
The 18-year-old right hand forward played last season for the U18 AA Parlkand Elks in Shelbrooke, Saskatchewan.
Ross joined the Slave Lake Icedogs at the end of last season and played one game with the team before moving on to Tumbler Ridge. He scored four goals and had six assists in 16 games with the Elks.
Ross is from Ile-A-La-Crosse, Saskatchewan.
On August 25, the team announced its second player, also coming to Tumbler Ridge from the Slave Lake Icedogs. Lane Plume is also a forward, but shoots left. He hails from Standoff, AB, and played seven games with the Icedogs last season, earning one assist, after moving to the team from the Kainai Junior Braves in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League. He played 20 games last season, getting two assists in regular season play and one goal in post-season play.
The team is fast coming together, but there is much work yet to do. One of the biggest issues will be finding billets for the team members. Anyone billeting a player will get $500/month in renumeration.
The Steel Kings had an event the day after the paper went to press (and the day before it hits the stands), so expect new announcements to start coming out fast and furious.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
