Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Magee’s return a huge boost for Victoria Royals

It’s a good time to be a team dressed in blue and named the Royals. But this isn’t Kansas City and it isn’t yet the playoffs in the Western Hockey League.
VKA-RoyTig01372.jpg
Veteran Brandon Magee leads the Royals into Portland to face the Winterhawks on Wednesday.

It’s a good time to be a team dressed in blue and named the Royals.

But this isn’t Kansas City and it isn’t yet the playoffs in the Western Hockey League. So, the Victoria Royals have the leeway to adjust their palette this weekend at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for the two-game set against the Vancouver Giants (6-5).

The Royals will unveil their black-themed third jersey tonight while Saturday is Pink in the Rink Night to raise funds for breast cancer research. But whatever colours the Royals come out in, it will be the same old Brandon Magee making his season home debut.

“The Victoria fans have always been awesome and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Magee.

The 20-year-old forward, and team leader with his non-stop engine on the ice, sat out the first 12 games of this season because of his high hit from behind on Portland’s unsuspecting Nic Petan in the final playoff game last spring. There are consequences to every action and Magee paid a price. Lesson learned.

“It was really frustrating [sitting out] and watching from the stands the highs and lows the team went through [in starting 6-6-1 after a franchise-record 48 wins last season],” said Magee.

“It was definitely tough.”

>>> GET MORE VICTORIA ROYALS COVERAGE

Game No. 13 of the season finally arrived last weekend in Cranbrook and Magee responded in his return with two assists within 15 seconds that turned the tide in a 4-0 Royals victory over the Kootenay Ice.

“I had the jitters a bit and it took awhile to adjust to the speed of game pace from practice pace. But then the legs started feeling better in the second and third periods,” said Magee.

Magee is in his fifth season with the Royals, his fourth in Victoria after a rookie season when the franchise was located in Chilliwack and known as the Bruins, and is in many ways the face of the franchise. The undrafted native of Edmonton was invited to the NHL rookie camp of the Calgary Flames this fall as a free agent after skating in the pro camp of a team in the Czech Republic. He hopes to catch on in the pro game somewhere next year, but said his priority this season is the Royals.

“I want to be part of a winning team here this season and believe we have special players who can do special things,” said Magee, noting the club’s 4-2 record on the recent road swing.

The return of Magee, the team’s defending scoring champion, restores the Royals to a semblance of normalcy after an uneven start to the season.

“Any time you get a veteran player back, and one as reliable as Brandon, it solidifies your lineup,” said Victoria head coach Dave Lowry.

“We are [finally] up to four balanced lines. There is also the rejuvenation factor when you get a veteran back like this.”

Meanwhile, if it wasn’t obvious before that Coleman Vollrath will be carrying almost the full load in goal this season for the Royals, it is now. With injured backup Evan Smith out for at least three weeks, 18-year-old Jayden Sittler practised for the first time Thursday with the Royals since being acquired the day before from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League via the Kootenay Ice, who held his WHL rights.

“There was no hesitation … I knew I had to take advantage when this opportunity came up,” said Sittler, who grew up playing youth hockey in Red Deer with Royals forward Logan Fisher.

“I recorded a shutout in my last game with Fort McMurray and hopefully that will carry over,” added the Albertan.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com

Twitter.com/tc_vicsports