Royals, Grizzlies send 15 to NHL camps; Victoria duo gets USA call
Published 7:30 am Saturday, July 4, 2026
Summer vacation will have to wait for a myriad of current and former members of the Victoria Royals and Victoria Grizzlies.
In total, 15 players between the two clubs attended NHL Development Camps.
These camps take place in the summer following the draft, introducing newly drafted players, prospects and free-agent invitees to professional standards through skill sessions, fitness testing and scrimmages.
The WHL’s Royals sent eight players to camps across the league.
CHL Draft import Vladimir Proskurin is with the St. Louis Blues, while Keaton Verhoeff and Nate Misskey are with the San Jose Sharks.
Cameron Schmidt (Dallas Stars), Timmy Runtso (Montreal Canadiens), Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames), Justin Kipkie (Minnesota Wild) and Johnny Hicks (Edmonton Oilers) round out the group.
The BCHL’s Grizzlies, based in Colwood, are contributing seven players to the pro sessions.
Mikus Vecvanags, drafted by Montreal in 2024, is the only current Grizzly attending. He recently announced that he will be returning to the Grizzlies for 2026-27.
He is joined by six of the Grizzlies alumni: Richard Baran and Tobias Pitka (Toronto Maple Leafs), Oliver Auyeung-Ashton (Calgary Flames), Reegan Hiscock (Florida Panthers), Ellis Rickwood (Dallas Stars) and Hoyt Stanley (Ottawa Senators).
“Our mission has always been to help young men reach their full potential, both as hockey players and as people,” Grizzlies president David Michaud said.
“Seeing seven Grizzlies represented at NHL Development Camps this summer is something our entire organization is proud of. It’s a credit to the players, our coaching staff, our support staff and everyone who contributes to creating an environment where players can continue to grow and earn opportunities.”
Canadiens camp is just the start of a busy summer for Runtso.
A week after being selected by the Canadiens in the second round of the draft and attending development camp, the defenceman was also invited to USA Hockey’s 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase.
Runtso will be joined by Odin Vauhkonen, his regular defensive partner with Victoria during the 2025-26 season.
The duo is among 47 players invited to the tournament.
The American roster will split into two teams to compete against Canada, Sweden and Finland from July 26 through Aug. 1 in Windsor, Ont.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source vancouverislandfreedaily.com ’
