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Hannoun, Phillips hope to be next wave of Victoria Royals snipers

When forwards Steven Hodges and Brandon Magee broke into the Western Hockey League together as 16-year-old rookies with the Chilliwack Bruins, they became inseparable in the minds of WHL fans.
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Royals 16-year-olds Dante Hannoun, left, and Matthew Phillips have grown close in the last year.

When forwards Steven Hodges and Brandon Magee broke into the Western Hockey League together as 16-year-old rookies with the Chilliwack Bruins, they became inseparable in the minds of WHL fans.

It was always “Hodges and Magee” or “Magee and Hodges” even as the Bruins franchise moved the following season to become the Victoria Royals.

Things are shaping up much the same for two potential 16-year-old rookie forwards this season for the Royals — Dante Hannoun and Matthew Phillips.

Nobody knows what the future holds. Magee is entering his 20-year-old overage season with the Royals, while Florida Panthers-signed Hodges was traded earlier this month to the Tri-City Americans to break up that partnership. But right now, Hannoun and Phillips is a pairing that will be hard to separate in the public imagination of Royals’ fans. They were taken 1-2 by Victoria in the 2013 bantam draft and are both diminutive but potentially explosive. They take to the ice today as Royals rookie camp opens with sessions running from 10:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

“Dante and I have become great friends,” said the Albertan Phillips, despite that he played Major Midget last season for the Calgary Buffaloes and Delta-raised Hannoun for the Greater Vancouver Canadians.

“We text a lot.”

And why not? They will be part of the emerging new look for the Royals for possibly the next five years. Hannoun and Phillips are both listed as five-foot-six.

“Being strong on your feet matters more [than size],” said Hannoun.

“The league is moving toward quicker players and it really doesn’t matter about size.”

Case in point is Hannoun’s cousin Nicolas Petan from Delta. The five-foot-nine bundle of savvy energy was selected in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Winnipeg Jets and scored 35 goals with 113 points last WHL season for the Portland Winterhawks.

“I can see the ice well, can read plays and can score,” said Hannoun.

That about would fit the bill up front for any team.

Phillips is much in the same mould.

“I use size to my advantage,” said the native of Calgary.

“I use my quickness instead of my body to win battles. A high hockey IQ is what wins those battles. The league has evolved. It’s not about how big you are in stature. It’s different now than it used to be.”

The Royals coaching staff will be keeping close tabs as rookie camp runs today through Saturday before the opening of main camp Monday.

“We have good 16-year-old players coming in who we feel are ready or close to being ready to play in this league,” said Victoria head coach Dave Lowry.

“It’s up to them to make our decisions tough.”

Which is what Hannoun and Phillips plan on doing. As a first-round bantam selection, there is probably more expectation on Hannoun’s shoulders.

“There is kind of pressure when you’re a first-round draft pick,” admitted Hannoun.

“I’m just going to play my game and focus on having a good camp.”

ICE CHIPS: The five Royals’ 2013 bantam draft picks who played in the Under-16 Western Canada Challenge last fall in Calgary will be skating in rookie camp the next three days — Phillips from the champion Alberta squad, Hannoun and defencemen Ralph Jarratt and Carter Stephenson from Team B.C. and forward Jared Dmytriw from Team Saskatchewan.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com

Twitter.com/tc_vicsports