Vees back in action tonight

When you are in charge of one of the very best junior hockey programs in a country where hockey is played and watched with near religious passion, the pressure to win is immense, but Fred Harbinson wouldn't want it any other way.

Raising banners and winning championships is the ultimate goal for every junior hockey program in Canada, but few teams have come close to the success the Penticton Vees have enjoyed for decades.

Heading into his 18th season as head coach, Harbinson says winning hockey games and hopefully the BCHL championship is always the goal.

“The way I look at it is there are so many teams that can put a banner up every year,” said Harbinson. “I always kind of look at it that way. It’s extremely hard to win a league championship, so it’s not a failure if you don’t win the championship. I think, for us, we always want to try and hang banners.”

“Of course, we want to try and win the championship every year, but that's just not going to happen. There's a lot of other teams trying to do the same thing. I think we’re in the best league in junior hockey in Canada. We always have that mindset of trying to win games and hopefully winning our division. Of course, the long term goal of hoisting that championship trophy is always there.”

Since Harbinson became head coach, the Vees have gone on a remarkable run and become one of the model franchises in Canadian junior A hockey.

With the Vees set to kick off the 2024-25 British Columbia Hockey League regular season tonight in Spruce Grove, Alta. at 6 p.m. (PT), Harbinson, his staff and support team are looking forward to another season of success.

Through his tenure, the Calgary native has compiled a remarkable record of 693 regular season wins, 184 losses, 15 ties, 42 overtime losses and 10 shootout losses.

Under Harbinson, the Vees have won six Fred Page Cup championships, eight BCHL Interior Division championships, one Doyle Cup championship, one Western Canada Cup championship and the RBC Cup National Championship in 2012-2013.

During the 2023-24 season, Harbinson guided the Vees to a 38-10-3-3 record, as they finished first in the Interior Division.

In the BCHL playoffs, the Vees made it to their third consecutive BCHL Fred Cup Final, losing in six games to the Surrey Eagles.

Harbinson has been awarded the BCHL’s coach of the year award four times in his career, most recently in the 2021-22 season.

After watching his squad perform during training camp and through the exhibition season, Harbinson knows he has another solid club and is confident another division title is well within reach.

Because the season is so long and drawn out, with training camp starting in late August and playoffs usually not wrapping up until late April or early May, Harbinson says he tries to relax in the off season, but isn’t always successful.

“At this level, it's hard to get away from hockey," he said. “The recruiting is ongoing and being president of the team, I've got to ensure the business staff is being supported the way they need to move forward to the following year.
“Usually, I take some time in July to maybe not come down to the office every day. But I enjoy it. You get into your routine when you've been somewhere so long like I have here with the Vees. I’ll still putz around the office an hour or two every day, but I still get time to enjoy summer.”

With another season opener tonight, Harbinson said he stills gets excited and filled with adrenaline when the games count and points are on the line.

“This program matters a lot to me, so it doesn’t matter if it’s my first year or my 18th year with the Vees and 30th year overall in coaching, you always get that great feeling of anticipation and worry about how the guys will perform.”
The addition of five teams who joined from the Alberta Junior Hockey League to join the BCHL late last season is going to add a new and exciting dynamic for the Vees and all BCHL squads this year, said Harbinson.

"Adding the five Alberta teams is like playing in a whole new league,” he said. “They will add a lot of new challenges. I played in the Alberta league for a few years a long, long time ago. I have a lot of family and good friends in Alberta, so it will be nice to meet them when we start out on the road Friday night.”

Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park, Brooks, Okotoks and Blackfalds near Red Deer, are the five teams joining the BCHL for the 2024-2025 season.

The only other Junior A program in Canada to match the Vees success has been the Brooks Bandits and battling them numerous times each season is going to be exciting, said Harbinson.

“We’ve had some great games in exhibition games in the past and battled them in the Western Cup and national championships in the past,” he said. “Now we play in the same division and it's very exciting. I'm one of those guys who wants the very best competition possible and I just think adding Brooks and the four other teams has really helped the depth and talent in our league."

Having a core of 10 returning players from a team that came within two games of winning its third consecutive BCHL championship breeds confidence, said Harbinson.

Returning players include forwards Jackson Potulny, Ryan Caton, Max Heise, Ben Merrill, Conyr Hellyer, Simon Meier, Anselmo Rego, defencemen Brock Reinhart, Matthew Biotti and Michael Fisher and goaltenders Will Ingemann and Andrew Ness.

They also added Ryden Evers, one of the top scorers on the Surrey Eagles squad that beat the Vees in the BCHL championship series in six games.

"We've got a lot of guys back who have been around and played a lot of junior games and having veterans return is always important," he said.

One player sure to raise a great deal of attention is 15-year-old rookie Eli McKamey, the first Vees player to ever earn exceptional status to play for them in the BCHL.

McKamey comes highly touted as an offensive wizard and his talent was undeniable in the pre-season as he scored four goals in four games, including a hat trick against Salmon Arm over the weekend to wrap up the exhibition schedule.

"He's something special obviously," said Harbinson. "He scored four goals in the pre-season and the hat trick and he also had a bunch of other chances to score. He plays on both sides of the puck as well. He looks well ahead of his birth certificate, that's for sure. Things will get harder for him as we enter the regular season and the opposition won't treat him like he's 15, so he's got a lot to learn. But his talent is undeniable."

He likes the balance of skill, toughness and size, especially on the defensive corps, that you need to win over a grinding 58-game regular season and long playoff run, said Harbinson.

"I think we have a little bit of everything," he said. "I think we have the type of team that has a good mentality and at the end of the year, we'll be one of the teams in a good place to fight for that championship."

Coming up two games short of another BCHL championship still stings, but provides extra incentive for his returning players, the rookies and the entire organization, he said.

"Our whole organization is hungry after things ended the way they did," he said. "You can tell the players have put in a whole lot of work. When you get that close to a championship, it's hard. Probably harder than getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Our expectations are always high here and this year is no different."

The biggest weakness on last year's team was struggling to score at times, but that's hopefully been addressed heading into the season opener Friday, he said.

"I think we have a little bit more offensive power this year to hopefully break some games open," he said. "We have a big, tough defense with a bunch of veterans returning and two good goalies back, so defensively I expect we'll be very solid."

Opening the season with two long road trips to Alberta will be great for team bonding and having the home opener on Oct. 4 is also good news as summer will be over and the hometown fans will be ready for hockey, he said.

“Opening in early October against Okotoks, a team no one else here has seen before, is exciting and I know our great fans will be excited about getting out and supporting the boys and see the new team.”

Working for a team owned by the Fraser family has been a wonderful experience from the day he signed up with the Vees as head coach, said Harbinson.

“One of the biggest consistencies is working with Graham Fraser, who has been with me since my second year,” he said.

“He’s the best owner in junior hockey. He ensures it's a real family atmosphere for everyone working with the franchise. It doesn't feel like you're working for him, but with him.”

Fans can follow tonight’s game on FloHockey TV, or they can listen live to Bounce 800 AM.

This story is republished under the Local Journalism Initiative