Life comes at you fast when you’re an NHL prospect taking an unorthodox development route.
The 17-year-old has already had to make critical decisions regarding his future despite losing last year due to the pandemic.
A factor in all Steele’s decisions is that he is a scouted NHL prospect, as I wrote about here: https://wp.me/p2gDti-1hq
On November 10, the Chilliwack Chiefs released a press statement announcing that Liam Steele had committed to the club for the 2022-23 campaign.
So what do we know about the Chilliwack Chiefs?
Chilliwack is situated approximately 30km northeast of Abbotsford, BC.
They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), and their home is the Chilliwack Colisseum, a 5000 seat multi-purpose arena.
The Mainland Division is composed of eighteen teams, with the regular season 54 games in length.
Brian Maloney holds both the roles of General Manager and Head Coach of the Chiefs, positions he has held since 2018.
The Alberta native played for Chilliwack before going the NCAA route as Steele plans to do.
Maloney went on to play in the AHL, Switzerland and Germany during an eleven-year professional career.
The Cobham native will not be the first British player to compete in the BCHL.
Sam Cooper, Brandon Whistle, Mike Connolly and Scott Conway have all suited up in the Canadian Junior A-League.
It is still Steele’s intention to play for Cornell in the NCAA from 2023.
However, there is much water to pass under the bridge before then.
The next exciting step in the defenseman’s career will be his first appearance in a World Championships.
Steele will represent Great Britain at the U20 level next month and is part of a strong roster that has an excellent shot of winning gold.
UK Hockey Blog 