The Victoria Royals paid a final tribute to fired head coach Dan Price with a 3-2 Western Hockey League victory over the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday night before 2,820 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The result moved the Royals to a 9-7-1 record that is pretty much all Price’s doing.
Not lost in the accounting, however, was that the Royals missed the playoffs the last two seasons under Price and placed last in the bubble season before that. Price remained a gentleman through all the losing but it wasn’t enough to save him as assistant coach Morgan Klimchuk was behind the bench Tuesday.
Watching from press box was new Victoria head coach and former NHLer James Patrick, who will take over when the Royals play the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night at the Memorial Centre.
Patrick had to like what he saw of Norwegian-import Casper Evensen Haugen, whose two first-period goals keyed the Royals’ victory. Haugen said his parents were up in the wee hours watching the game back home and were obviously pleased.
Teydon Trembecky scored the other Victoria goal in the 3-0 Victoria first period. Then it was the Braden Holt show as the Royals’ 20-year-old goaltender faced 40 shots and allowed in only two by Kai Uchacz and Jhett Larson late in the third period.
Haugen and Holt, not to mention the Royals’ coaching drama, upstaged Rebels forward Ollie Josephson’s hometown return to the Memorial Centre, where he skated for the South Island Royals in U-18 hockey and where his dad Mike Josephson played pro in the ECHL for the Victoria Salmon Kings.
“It’s kind of full circle,” said the younger Josephson.
The Memorial Centre was also where Josephson grew up inspired by watching his two favourite Royals players, Tyler Soy and Matthew Phillips. He must have taken good mental notes as Josephson was selected fifth overall by Red Deer in the first round of the 2021 WHL prospects draft out of the Spectrum hockey academy and Langford-based Pacific Coast Hockey Academy Sea Devils. Josephson is ranked by Central Scouting for the second to third rounds of the 2024 NHL draft after winning gold with Canada over the summer in the 2023 U-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Asked about how many family and friends were in the stands Tuesday, Josephson replied: “Quite a few.” There was also a little more sightseeing than normal on the road as Josephson showed his Rebels teammates around his hometown during their three days on the Island since Sunday. But the six-foot, 17-year-old didn’t let any of that distract him.
“I don’t feel any pressure,” said Josephson, before the game.
“It’s just normal game but in front of more family and friends than usual.”
The Islander is treating his NHL draft rating the same way.
“It’s just a ranking,” he said
“It doesn’t mean that much with so much hockey yet to be played. I don’t look at that too much. I just go out and play hockey.”
Josephson has two goals and eight points in 16 games in his sophomore WHL season with the Rebels (6-8-2).
