The Victoria Royals’ defenceman of the future, Keaton Verhoeff, is going the Olympics. It’s only the Youth Winter Olympics for 15-to-18 year-olds — Jan. 19 to Feb. 1 in Gangwon, South Korea — but it is IOC-sanctioned just the same, with all the pomp and circumstance that entails.
Maybe one day Verhoeff’s talent will carry him to the real Winter Games. Lisa Weagle, Canadian chef de mission to the Gangwon Youth Olympics, said: “These young athletes are the future of Canadian hockey. My message to each of the athletes is to play with heart, seize the moment and represent Canada with pride.”
The six-foot-three Verhoeff, who this month completed his five allowed regular-season Western Hockey League games for Victoria as a 15-year-old, is from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., and plays for the Rink Hockey Academy Under-18 team in Kelowna.
Verhoeff is coached in Kelowna by former Calgary Flames NHL great Jarome Iginla, who, when it comes to the Olympics, recorded the greatest assist in Canadian hockey history to Sidney Crosby in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Verhoeff will be coached in Victoria by another NHL veteran and Olympian, James Patrick. Between them, Patrick (1,280) and Iginla (1,554) have played a combined 2,834 regular-season NHL games. Verhoeff considers himself fortunate to be receiving that sort of mentorship as he advances in his career.
“Obviously, Jarome [Iginla] knows a lot about hockey. Just the little details that he has and imparts have been an incredible help to me and my teammates in Kelowna, and we are grateful for that,” said Verhoeff.
“The same goes for James [Patrick]. He has so much experience and knowledge. Just being around that kind of presence is really good for me.”
Verhoeff showed poise beyond his years and didn’t look out of place during his five games with the Royals this month, finishing with an even plus-minus rating, against players up to five years older.
“It felt pretty good. I just tried to play the way I can,” he said. “It’s good to see what it’s like to play at this level. Just getting the experience here was good.”
The Royals realize what they have over the next five years on the blueline.
“Talk about throwing a kid to the wolves right off the bat,” Patrick said during Verhoeff’s recent stint as a Royals call-up. “Keaton’s hockey sense and poise was really noticeable. The way he played was very impressive for a 15-year-old defenceman because it is a very difficult position to play.
“You can see his size. And he has the skill in every area. His puck handling and vision are very good. He made some outlet passes in which he paused, looked one way and bought some time, and passed it another way. That is something you want to work on with young defencemen and he has that already.”
Patrick wants to bring his prodigy along slowly and in the right way.
“I want him to have fun playing. I don’t want to put a lot on his shoulders,” said Patrick.
“Next year is going to be an awesome learning and growing year for him [as a Royals rookie]. And there’s always growing pains with young defencemen and I’ve seen it. But when I look at the overall package, it’s something to get really excited about.”
Finishing so low in the standings the past few seasons has paid one dividend for the Royals in that they were able to select Verhoeff fourth overall in this year’s WHL prospects draft after taking forward Cole Reschny third overall in 2022. Reschny is having a standout rookie season for the Royals to show why he is ranked for the second round of the 2025 NHL draft by Elite Prospects. Reschny and Verhoeff, the latter likely to go high in the 2026 NHL draft, are the cornerstones of the Royals’ future.
“It’s good to see what this place could look like in a couple of years,” said Verhoeff.
The prodigy will be eligible to return to the Royals later this season, and for the WHL playoffs, but only after his Kelowna U-18 team is eliminated from further play.
