[{"id":1006,"date":"2026-07-22T17:09:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2026-07-22T17:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:09:28","slug":"katz-excited-for-opportunity-with-vees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/katz-excited-for-opportunity-with-vees","title":{"rendered":"Katz Excited For Opportunity With Vees"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Gavin Katz is ready to roll with the Penticton Vees this season and will have some familiar faces beside him as he makes the jump to the WHL.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following a 30 goal, 57 point year in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers, Katz says when it came to getting himself set up for the next steps in his hockey career, joining the Vees was the perfect situation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think when it comes to preparing myself for the college game, the coaching staff in Penticton and the change in leagues will help me prepare myself the best I can,\u201d said Katz. \u201cI think taking this year in Penticton is the best path for that, and I think that of all the organizations out there, this one is world class.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that playing for Fred (Harbinson) will be good for my development and with the team coming in this year, we should be really good, and it should be a great experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As mentioned, Katz will be suiting up alongside some familiar faces in Penticton. He played with Sean Burick and incoming forwards Graham Jones and Roberts Naudins at Shattuck St. Mary\u2019s with the U18 prep team during the 2024-25 season.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t be more excited,\u201d he said. Playing with Graham, Sean Burick and Roberts again, it will be a great experience. We can bring some of those connections back. They are all great guys on and off the ice and even better players. I think we will all gel well in the locker room and it\u2019s nice to have some familiarity with some of the guys.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically with Jones, Katz says their friendship goes well beyond the rink.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my best friend and we had a ton of success together,\u201d explained Katz. \u201cThings just click when we are out there together. I think that we read off each other really well. Our skill sets mesh well together and I think taking that into the Western Hockey League could be super beneficial for our team. If we get the chance to play together it will be just like the old days.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Although there have been many changes to the locker-room this offseason, Katz thinks the group Fred Harbinson and his staff has assembled could be one to be reckoned with this upcoming season.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to it, I think we have a chance to not only have a successful season but go all the way,\u201d he said. \u201cThe guys we have in our locker-room and the talent on the team is second to none.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Vees fans that aren\u2019t familiar with Katz\u2019 game, the Dellwood, MN native says when he is at his best, he is making an impact at both ends of the ice.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like to play a 200-foot game,\u201d he explained. \u201cI have a team first mentality and I like to go to the net and find soft areas to score goals especially down by the goal line and in the crease area. That is kind of where I find a lot of my success with goal scoring.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI just want to be a reliable guy that the coaching staff and teammates can rely on, while doing the thing I think I do best, which is putting the puck in the net.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>With just over a month until training camp, Katz says he can\u2019t wait to get in front of the SOEC faithful.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was still making my decision to come to Penticton, watching those playoff games against Prince George and Everett, it just looked like an unbelievable atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cIt looks like a great experienceand I couldn\u2019t be more excited to get going.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Gavin Katz is ready to roll with the Penticton Vees this season and will have some familiar faces beside him as he makes the jump to the WHL.\u00a0\u00a0 Following a 30 goal, 57 point year in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers, Katz says when it came to getting himself set up for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":1007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/22170821\/Screenshot-2026-07-22-at-4.02.52-PM-e1784765355143.png",787,496,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1008,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions\/1008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":1003,"date":"2026-07-22T10:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2026-07-22T10:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:02:11","slug":"vees-announce-changes-to-scouting-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-announce-changes-to-scouting-department","title":{"rendered":"Vees Announce Changes To Scouting Department"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today that director of scouting Adam Sergerie has stepped away from his role with Jeff Urekar taking over as director of scouting for the Vees.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re extremely excited to welcome Jeff Urekar to the Penticton Vees as our Director of Scouting,\u201d said Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson. \u201cJeff has built a tremendous reputation throughout the hockey world for his ability to identify talent, build strong relationships, and evaluate players with an exceptional level of detail. He\u2019s someone who shares our vision, our values, and our commitment to building a championship-caliber organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

“As we continue to establish ourselves in the Western Hockey League, recruiting and identifying the right people is just as important as identifying the right players. Jeff\u2019s experience, work ethic, and passion for the game make him the ideal person to lead our scouting department. We\u2019re confident he\u2019ll build a first-class scouting network that will have a lasting impact on the future of the Penticton Vees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore I\u2019d like to thank Adam for the professionalism, dedication, and passion he brought to the Penticton Vees during his time with our organization. While we\u2019re disappointed to see him leave, we\u2019re incredibly proud to see him earn this opportunity with the Vancouver Canucks. We wish Adam and his family nothing but success in the next chapter of his career.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Urekar joins the Vees from OHA where he has been a head coach with their U15 programs for the past four seasons. He also held the role of scout for the Wenatchee Wild.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to his time with OHA and Wenatchee, Urekar was an assistant general manager and assistant head coach with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL and spent five seasons with the Vancouver North East Chiefs U18 AAA program. <\/span><\/p>\n



[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today that director of scouting Adam Sergerie has stepped away from his role with Jeff Urekar taking over as director of scouting for the Vees.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re extremely excited to welcome Jeff Urekar to the Penticton Vees as our Director of Scouting,\u201d said Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":1004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/22094641\/Jeff_Urekar_OHA-300x300.jpg.gif",300,300,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1003"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1005,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions\/1005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":999,"date":"2026-07-21T17:16:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T00:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=999"},"modified":"2026-07-21T19:21:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T02:21:29","slug":"vees-announce-key-partnership-with-greyback-construction-continuing-free-child-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-announce-key-partnership-with-greyback-construction-continuing-free-child-program","title":{"rendered":"VEES ANNOUNCE KEY PARTNERSHIP WITH GREYBACK CONSTRUCTION CONTINUING FREE CHILD PROGRAM"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today a new partnership with Greyback Construction who will help provide free tickets to Vees games for local children 12 and under for the upcoming season, taking over from Peters Bros Construction who supported the program for 11 seasons.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This program will now be known as the \u201cGreyback\u2019s Kids First Program.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a crucial program for our community. We are extremely grateful for Greyback stepping up and continuing this one-of-a-kind tradition. Vees games are a family-friendly event, and this really helps us maintain affordability for entire families to attend,\u201d said Vees Senior Vice President Chris Laurie. \u201cWe are the only team in the WHL that offers free child tickets, and we are considerably proud of this partnership.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greyback has been a valued member of the Penticton community for over 40 years with brothers Doug and Larry Kenyon establishing the company back in 1983.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re super happy to be a part of this as the fourth generation of Greyback Construction,\u201d said Greyback Construction owner and president Matt Kenyon. \u201cWe want to keep kids on the right track, and it\u2019s the right thing for this community. It represents the values we are looking to achieve as a family first company.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The Vees would like to thank Peters Brothers for their 11 seasons of support and welcome Greyback into this new partnership ensuring that children 12 and under continue to attend Vees games at no cost to the family.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n



[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today a new partnership with Greyback Construction who will help provide free tickets to Vees games for local children 12 and under for the upcoming season, taking over from Peters Bros Construction who supported the program for 11 seasons.\u00a0\u00a0 This program will now be known as the \u201cGreyback\u2019s Kids First…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":1000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/21171628\/Kidsfirst.jpg",1254,1254,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=999"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1002,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions\/1002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":996,"date":"2026-07-16T15:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T22:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=996"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T22:41:14","slug":"pantelas-trade-brings-him-closer-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/pantelas-trade-brings-him-closer-to-home","title":{"rendered":"Pantelas Trade Brings Him Closer To Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Following a blockbuster trade on Wednesday, Gio Pantelas is a Penticton Vee.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The 18-year-old defenceman comes to Penticton following a move that saw the Vees give up the player rights to Carter Morris, a 2028 3rd round pick, a 2029 1st round pick and a conditional 2030 1st round pick to the Brandon Wheat Kings in return.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Pantelas\u2019 move out west will get him closer to his family, with his brother playing hockey as well, right next door.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI\u2019ll get to live with my family and my little brother, who is going to attend OHA,\u201d he explained. \u201cI get to be close to my family, it\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been able to play near them so being able to be in Penticton for another year, I think I\u2019ll really enjoy it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The 6-FOOT-2 defenceman played one season with OHA himself coming up through the youth ranks and has great things to say about the city of Penticton.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful city,\u201d Pantelas said. \u201cBeing around it so much I got to experience the Vees facilities and tour quite a bit. It was wonderful being there and I really enjoyed every bit of it. All the people in Penticton are really nice. It really shows the true beauty of British Columbia.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson and his staff have been working hard to revamp the roster heading into the 2026-27 season and Pantelas is looking forward to joining a group he thinks has a chance to be very competitive.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know too many guys but I\u2019ve played with Cameron Norrie and Cal Stone and really enjoyed their presence,\u201d said Patenlas. \u201cLast year the Vees had a historical year, they did amazing, especially as a first-year expansion team, they were really hard to play against when I was in Brandon.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAs of now it\u2019s looking to be equally as good or even better, and I think that if we can push past and become better than last year, I think it will be a huge accomplishment, and I think we can really show how good the Vees can be.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Pantelas was drafted in the fifth round by the LA Kings in this past NHL Entry Draft and cherished the opportunity to hear his name called.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt was a great experience, I am so honoured to be selected by the Kings,\u201d he said. \u201cI got to go there for development camp and loved every minute; it\u2019s a great spot. Hearing my name called was once in a lifetime. It wasn\u2019t just cheering for me though; it was cheering for my teammates and past friends. Just listening to everyone’s name get called, it was a really exciting day and I had a great time.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The Laval, QC native is a large presence on the ice with his 6-FOOT-2, 214 lbs frame. He says he wants to add some more offensive touch to his already stout defensive game.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve always brought big defensive responsibility and the ability to play big D-man minutes,\u201d explained Pantelas. \u201cI love to play as well as I can in my zone and keep the puck out of our net as well as possible. This year I want to bring some more offensive aspects to my game and try to be more of a difference maker all over the ice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to try and be a winning player. Someone who teams look at and say, we have to shut him down or it\u2019s going to be a hard night for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Following a blockbuster trade on Wednesday, Gio Pantelas is a Penticton Vee.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The 18-year-old defenceman comes to Penticton following a move that saw the Vees give up the player rights to Carter Morris, a 2028 3rd round pick, a 2029 1st round pick and a conditional 2030 1st round pick to the Brandon Wheat…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/16154023\/gio-e1784241660329.jpg",2469,1510,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":998,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions\/998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":992,"date":"2026-07-15T14:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=992"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:14:27","slug":"vees-acquire-gio-pantelas-from-the-wheat-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-acquire-gio-pantelas-from-the-wheat-kings","title":{"rendered":"Vees Acquire Gio Pantelas From The Wheat Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the acquisition of 2008-born defenceman Gio Pantelas from the Brandon Wheat Kings. In return, the Vees send Brandon the player rights of 2010-born forward Carter Morris along with a 2028 3rd round draft pick and a 2029 1st round draft pick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pantelas was a 5th round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2026 draft. He registered six goals and 37 points for the Wheat Kings this past season. In total the native of Laval, QC skated in 130 regular season games for Brandon along with nine playoff contests.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a youth, Pantelas played for Okanagan Hockey Academy and Rink Kelowna of the CSSHL at the U15, U16 and U18 levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGio is an elite defenceman that will be one of the top shut defenders in the WHL this season,\u201d said Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson. \u201cHis ability to kill plays along with his smooth skating ability will enhance our transition game, leading to more offensive opportunities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pantelas stands at 6-FOOT-2 and 214 lbs. He has represented Canada at the U17 level and was a member of the Canadian 2025-26 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup team, winning a bronze medal. <\/span><\/p>\n



[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the acquisition of 2008-born defenceman Gio Pantelas from the Brandon Wheat Kings. In return, the Vees send Brandon the player rights of 2010-born forward Carter Morris along with a 2028 3rd round draft pick and a 2029 1st round draft pick.\u00a0 Pantelas was a 5th round pick of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/15135503\/TRADE-1920X1080_PEN-EDM-6.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":995,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":989,"date":"2026-07-13T18:53:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=989"},"modified":"2026-07-13T18:53:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:53:26","slug":"vees-sign-dominik-drabek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-sign-dominik-drabek","title":{"rendered":"Vees Sign Dominik Drabek"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the signing of 2009-born Czech forward Dominik Drabek to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drabek is a native of Olomouc, Czechia and most recently played for HC Dynamo Pardubice U17 where he put up 35 points in 24 games. He also suited up in one game for the U20 team this past season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over three seasons with HC Dynamo Pardubice\u2019s U17 team, Drabek registered 36 goals and 75 points in 80 regular season games played.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdding a player like Dominik reflects the type of compete and character we\u2019re prioritizing within our organization,\u201d said Vees director of scouting Adam Sergerie. \u201cHe\u2019s a responsible, high-energy forward who plays hard in all three zones and is a very cerebral hockey player with the puck on his stick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe has demonstrated he can produce against top U17 competition in Czechia. We\u2019re excited to bring him into our development environment and help him navigate the transition to North American hockey as he works toward becoming a consistent, impactful contributor for the Vees.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Drabek stands at 5-FOOT-10 and 185 lbs. The Vees selected him in the 2nd Round of the CHL Import Draft, with their 119th overall selection. He has represented Czechia internationally at the U16 and U17 level. <\/span><\/p>\n



[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the signing of 2009-born Czech forward Dominik Drabek to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Drabek is a native of Olomouc, Czechia and most recently played for HC Dynamo Pardubice U17 where he put up 35 points in 24 games. He also suited up in one game…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/13185110\/Screenshot-2026-07-13-at-11.28.02-AM-e1783993917592.png",1280,1070,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":991,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/989\/revisions\/991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":986,"date":"2026-07-07T09:12:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=986"},"modified":"2026-07-07T09:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:12:54","slug":"vees-sign-noel-pakarinen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-sign-noel-pakarinen","title":{"rendered":"Vees Sign Noel Pakarinen"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the signing of 2008-born Finnish forward Noel Pakarinen to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pakarinen was born in Palo Alto, CA but grew up in Espoo, Finland where he played his youth hockey. Last season, in 31 games with Kiekko-Espoo U20, Pakarien registered 13 goals and 17 assists as a 17-year-old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Previous to joining the Kiekko-Espoo U20 program Pakarinen notched 25 goals and 33 assists in 41 games played with the U18 program. Internationally Pakarinen has represented Finland at the U16, U17 and U18 level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNoel is a player we felt strongly about because of how much he impacts the game away from the puck,\u201d said Vees director of scouting Adam Sergerie. \u201cHe competes hard for inside ice, finishes his checks, and takes real pride in his defensive detail. What stood out to us is that he doesn\u2019t just kill plays, he can turn those stops into quick transitions and extend possession.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is very skilled with the puck on his stick and inside puck protection. His ability to make plays under pressure is outstanding. We see him as a very important player to build around and Vees fans should be excited to watch him next season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pakariene stands at 6-FOOT-2 and 198 lbs. The Vees selected him in the 2nd Round of the CHL Import Draft, with their 88th overall selection. He was also drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 7th Round back on June 27. <\/span><\/p>\n



[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the signing of 2008-born Finnish forward Noel Pakarinen to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. Pakarinen was born in Palo Alto, CA but grew up in Espoo, Finland where he played his youth hockey. Last season, in 31 games with Kiekko-Espoo U20, Pakarien registered 13 goals and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/07091211\/Noel-e1783440753248.jpg",1200,980,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=986"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":988,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986\/revisions\/988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":976,"date":"2026-07-02T12:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=976"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:02:29","slug":"vees-announce-2026-27-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-announce-2026-27-schedule","title":{"rendered":"Vees Announce 2026-27 Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees have announced today their 68-game schedule for the 2026-27 regular season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vees will begin the season on the road, with two dates against the Cougars in Prince George on Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Home Opener<\/b><\/p>\n

The Vees kick off the home schedule against the Kelowna Rockets at the South Okanagan Events Centre for the second straight season, on Friday, Sept. 25. Penticton went 5-2-1 against their new Okanagan Rival in their inaugural season in 2025-26. Get your season tickets at pentictonvees.com to be part of the action!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Home Start Times<\/b><\/p>\n

The WHL regular season schedule features 34 home games. Start times for all Vees\u2019 home games, sorted by day of the week, are listed below:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Monday through Thursday Games: 6:35 pm<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Friday Games: 7:05 pm<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Saturday Games: 6:05 pm<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Sunday Games: 4:05 pm<\/span><\/li>\n
  • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Exceptions to the above are the following two holiday games:<\/b><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Friday, Jan. 1 vs Victoria 4:00 pm (New Year\u2019s Day)<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Monday, Feb. 15 vs Prince George 2:00 pm (Family Day)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Schedule Breakdown<\/b><\/p>\n

      Of the Vees\u2019 34 regular season home games, 27 will be played between Friday and Sunday or holidays. The Vees will head to Alberta for the first time this season to play Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat and will welcome Regina, Brandon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Swift Current and Saskatoon to the SOEC for the first time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Within the B.C. Division<\/b>, the Vees will play each of Kelowna, Victoria, Prince George, Kamloops and Vancouver eight times each (four home, four away).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Penticton plays the U.S. Division teams as follows:<\/b> Tri-City four times (two home, two away), Spokane three times (one home, two away), Portland three times (two home, one away), Wenatchee three times (one home, two away), Everett twice (one home, one away), Seattle twice (one home, one away).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Penticton will have two, four game home-stands that will be tied for their longest of the season. The first one is Oct. 2-9, with the second being Jan. 1-15.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Schedule Notes<\/b><\/p>\n

        \n
      • The 2025-26 regular season will pause for the WHL\u2019s annual Christmas break. The Vees will not play games between Dec. 19-26.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Penticton\u2019s final regular season home game is Friday, March 26th, against the Rockets. The Vees final regular season game is the following night, Saturday, March 27th, in Kelowna.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Games by Month<\/b><\/p>\n

          \n
        • September:<\/b> 4 (1 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n
        • October:<\/b> 12 (7 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n
        • November: <\/b>10 (4 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n
        • December: <\/b>10 (6 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n
        • January:<\/b> 10 (5 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n
        • February:<\/b> 11 (5 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n
        • March:<\/b> 11 (6 Home)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees have announced today their 68-game schedule for the 2026-27 regular season. The Vees will begin the season on the road, with two dates against the Cougars in Prince George on Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19.\u00a0   Home Opener The Vees kick off the home schedule against the Kelowna Rockets…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/07\/02120152\/Cover-Schedule-e1783018938247.jpg",1080,776,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":978,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions\/978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":972,"date":"2026-06-30T15:18:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=972"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:18:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:18:49","slug":"vees-sign-whitaker-rewertz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-sign-whitaker-rewertz","title":{"rendered":"Vees Sign Whitaker Rewertz"},"content":{"rendered":"

          [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the signing of 2009-born American defenceman Whitaker Rewertz to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

          The Hibbing, MN native played 48 games split between Team TBS Transportation of the UMHSEHL and Hibbing\/Chisholm High last season picking up a total of 27 goals and 63 points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          In two seasons at Hibbing\/Chisholm High, Rewertz has registered 73 points in 60 games played. He will return to his high school program once their season begins and then re-join the Vees following the high school season’s conclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u201cWhitaker Rewertz is an explosive, dynamic skater and a heady puck mover who can break pucks out with his feet or tape-to-tape with a pass,\u201d said Vees director of scouting Adam Sergerie. \u201cHe\u2019s excellent at staying connected to the play with and without the puck, kills rushes early with his forward skating, and has a good defensive stick. We\u2019re excited to have him in our organization, and Vees fans are going to really enjoy watching him play.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

          Rewertz stands at 5-FOOT-10 and 161 lbs. The 16-year-old played in the USA S16 Tournament last year for Team Grey alongside fellow Penticton Vee Brooks DeMars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n



          [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees announced today the signing of 2009-born American defenceman Whitaker Rewertz to a Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. The Hibbing, MN native played 48 games split between Team TBS Transportation of the UMHSEHL and Hibbing\/Chisholm High last season picking up a total of 27 goals and 63 points.\u00a0 In two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/06\/30151754\/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-3.10.20-PM-1-e1782857910828.png",820,820,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":975,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions\/975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":969,"date":"2026-06-30T11:50:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/?p=969"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:50:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:50:55","slug":"vees-add-two-in-chl-import-draft-announce-roster-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/article\/vees-add-two-in-chl-import-draft-announce-roster-moves","title":{"rendered":"Vees Add Two In CHL Import Draft, Announce Roster Moves"},"content":{"rendered":"

          [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees made two selections in the 2026 CHL Import Draft on Tuesday morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          At pick #88 they selected Finished forward Noel Pakarinen of Kiekko-Espoo U20. Pakarinen played 31 games for Kiekko-Espoo U20 this season registering 13 goals and 17 assists at just 17-years-old. He also played nine games in Ligga, the top league in Finland, for Kiekko-Espoo picking up one assist. The 6-FOOT-2 198 Lbs. forward was drafted in the 7th round, 207th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in this past draft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          With the 119th pick the Vees nabbed forward Dominik Drabek from Czechia. Drabak skated in 24 games for HC Dynamo Pardubice U17 this season, potting 17 goals and adding 18 assists adding seven points in nine games during the playoffs. The 2009-born forward played one game for HC Dynamo Pardubrice at the U20 level as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson spoke about the new additions to the Vees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u201cWe\u2019re really excited obviously,\u201d Harbinson explained. \u201cI think they are two different types of players, both with a lot of talent and high ceilings. Pakarinen just got picked by Vegas in the NHL draft and is having a really good development camp from what we\u2019ve been told and Drebek is a player that will be with us for a couple of years hopefully, it looks like. He\u2019s a very responsible player that plays with a lot of energy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u201cBoth players are going to be great additions to the team.”<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          The Vees have also announced a couple of roster moves recently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          20-year-old forward Chase Vaillant was placed on veteran waivers and will not return to the Vees for his final junior year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u201cHe is still going to continue playing junior hockey somewhere this year,\u201d said Harbinson. \u201cI told him we wish him the best of luck and will try to help him out any way we can. He\u2019s got his development money from playing in the league and was a great kid for us. He played whatever role was asked of him. He will play another year of junior and then go on to college somewhere and obviously he will always be a Penticton Vee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          In another move the Vees have announced they have released 2008-born forward Booker Toninato from their Protected Player List.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          The Vees wish Chase and Booker the best in their hockey futures. <\/span><\/p>\n



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          [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The Penticton Vees made two selections in the 2026 CHL Import Draft on Tuesday morning.\u00a0 At pick #88 they selected Finished forward Noel Pakarinen of Kiekko-Espoo U20. Pakarinen played 31 games for Kiekko-Espoo U20 this season registering 13 goals and 17 assists at just 17-years-old. He also played nine games in Ligga, the top…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-2","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/73\/2026\/06\/30115037\/DSC_0665-scaled.jpg",2560,1763,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":971,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-vees\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]