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Pandemic prompts change of scenery for Spruce Kings d-man Main

Like everybody else in this raging pandemic world, Tanner Main is concerned about his health and staying safe from the virus that’s been killing people for nearly a year.
15 Spruce Kings dman Tanner Main
As expected, Tanner Main has emerged as one of the Spruce Kings top defencemen, but he will be sidelined for at least the next six weeks after suffering a broken leg during Sunday's BCHL exhibition game in Trail. The 20-year-old from Welland, Ont., joined the Kings in September in a trade from the Wenatchee Wild.

Like everybody else in this raging pandemic world, Tanner Main is concerned about his health and staying safe from the virus that’s been killing people for nearly a year.

When he left his Wenatchee Wild teammates last March after the season was cancelled and returned to his home in Welland, Ont., Main did not think getting back to Washington state where the Wild play to resume his B.C. Hockey League career would be the ordeal it now is.

But the virus has kept the Canada-United States border closed and rather than risk jeopardizing his college hockey future he asked to be traded. Fortunately for the Spruce Kings, Prince George ranked high on the 20-year-old defenceman’s list. On Sept. 28 the Kings announced they’d acquired Main’s rights in a trade from the Wild for future considerations and he reported to training camp last week.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen with Wenatchee this year, being the only American team,” said Main. “I had a great time there last year. They’re a great organization and I wasn’t trying to leave but we’re in a weird time right now. Being one of  the only Canadians I kind of took it into my own hands.

“All summer I was kind of wondering what was going to happen at the border and things weren’t looking great, so me and my family and my advisor and also the school I’m going to next year thought it would be best for me to play somewhere in Canada.”

He’s spent just a couple weeks in Prince George but Main likes the team’s prospects for success this coming season and is convinced he will thrive in his new surroundings with the Spruce Kings.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about it but ever since I got here it’s been everything  I could ask for,” said Main.

“The billets are awesome, the team is looking real good and the coaches are awesome, so it’s been a good start so far. I knew it was pretty far north in B.C. and we came here once last year for an away game. The team went all the way to (Fred Page) Cup two seasons ago and it’s a winning organization. The coaches know how to win and it’s good to come into that going into my last year.”

He signed a college commitment just before the COVID outbreak in March and will attend Bentley University after he finishes his junior career with the Spruce Kings. He’ll be joining his former Wild teammate Drew Bavaro, a rookie forward this season at Bentley. Former Spruce Kings forward Lucas Vanroboys also plays for the Waltham, Mass.-based Falcons.

Main emerged as one of the key cogs on the Wild defence in his rookie BCHL season last year, after two seasons in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League with St. Catharines.

Heading into his fourth junior season, Main carries a reputation as a dependable puckhandler with above-average skating ability and with his junior experience he ranks high on the Kings’ depth chart and will be looked upon as a stabilizing influence on the blueline.

"We're really excited to have Tanner in our program, I really liked his game last year when we played Wenatchee at the beginning of the year and later in the year and he got better,” said Kings head coach Alex Evin. “He stood out to me. He's got a very good offensive side to his game, he's a very mobile defenceman.

"Tanner and Mason Waite are older and obviously have experience and scholarships and they will be relied upon to be our consistent everyday guys (on defence)."

Main, a lefthanded shot, scored two goals and had 17 assists in 54 regular season games last season and picked up three assists in the Wild’s five-game first-round series loss to Vernon.

“I like to use my speed,” he said. “I’m maybe a little more offensive, I like to make plays in the o-zone and d-zone. I’m a little bit smaller defenceman (he stands five-foot-10 and weighs 160 pounds) so I can make plays with my feet and my hockey IQ.

Main is among 15 Spruce Kings on a 22-man roster who have at least one full season in the BCHL behind them. That was one element the team lacked last year  after losing most of the players from the 2018-19 edition that won its first Fred Page Cup/Doyle Cup championships.

“This league is such a big jump from anywhere basically so having experience in the lineup is huge,” said Main.

“At the start of (last season) it was definitely a big jump and I kind of felt out of place but it was good. Throughout the year we developed a lot and I think  I improved quite a bit from the start of the year to the end, making plays and seeing the ice and learning stuff from my coaches too. Last year in the BCHL was probably my favourite year in hockey so far.”

LOOSE PUCKS: The Spruce Kings open their exhibition season Saturday night in Merritt against the Centennials. The Cents will be in Prince George to face the Kings on Sunday, Oct. 25, two days after the teams meet in Merritt… After city council voted Monday to open Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, city staff this week fired up the ice plant compressor at the Kings’ home rink and the ice should be in place in time for the team to practice a couple days before their first home exhibition game…. No fans will be allowed in BCHL buildings during the preseason to reduce the risk of spreading COVID but there is a way to see the games. All eight Spruce Kings exhibition games will be webcast on Hockey TV…Three BCHL players were picked Wednesday in the NHL draft. Buffalo selected Penticton Vees forward Matteo Costantini in the fifth round (13st overall). The 18-year-old from St. Catharines joined the Vees this season, with Penticton set to host the 2021 Centennial Cup national junior A championship tournament. Two members of the Chlliwack Chiefs also saw their names on the virtual draft list. Detroit picked forward Kienan Draper (son of former NHL forward Kris) in the seventh round (187th overall) and Chilliwack native Ethan Bowen, also a Chiefs forward, went in the seventh round, 207th overall, to Anaheim. Former Wild forward Lucas Sveskovsky, who played for the Wenatchee team that won the 2018 BCHL championship, was picked by Pittsburgh in the fourth round, the 108th player selected.