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White Rock and South Surrey hockey season opens with Eagles tribute and Whalers’ first game
The Surrey Eagles will honour longtime team member Nicholas Johnston in their home opener, while the White Rock Whalers have begun their PJHL title defence.
Hockey season is under way in White Rock and South Surrey, with the Surrey Eagles preparing for two home games at South Surrey Arena. The BCHL club will face the Coquitlam Express at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, in a game it has dubbed Big Nick Night to honour Nicholas Johnston, a longtime member of the Eagles family known as Big Nick who died earlier this year after more than 15 years with the team.
The Eagles will then celebrate the start of their home season against the Chilliwack Chiefs at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, on South Surrey Arena’s Olympic-sized ice. In a post on X, the club said it would begin the season by honouring Johnston’s legacy and celebrating his contribution to the organization.
Head coach and general manager David Rutherford said Johnston will be missed throughout the season, but that the team has something to rally around. Rutherford, who led the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s White Rock Whalers to a championship final after the 2025-2026 season before joining the Eagles, said junior hockey changes are already affecting player movement, with some players advancing to the Western Hockey League.
Eight former PJHL teams and 14 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League franchises became the 22-team British Columbia Hockey Conference this season. The BC Hockey-sanctioned BCHC will compete with the BCHL, which includes the Eagles. The BCHL left Hockey Canada in 2023, saying the move would provide players with a better path to NCAA teams in the United States.
Rutherford said the Eagles added several players in the off-season and are focused on building a fast, hard-working team. He said the club does not need to be at its best in September, but aims to peak by March.
In PJHL play, the defending-champion Whalers raised their banner before their Sept. 12 home opener at Centennial Arena, then lost 4-3 to Cloverdale in a shootout. Led by former PJHL player and Surrey Knights assistant coach Billy Thompson, White Rock next plays the Abbotsford Pilots at Centennial Arena at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. The PJHL’s eight teams this season are the Abbotsford Pilots, Aldergrove Ironmen, Cloverdale HC, Mission City Outlaws, North Vancouver Wolf Pack, Port Moody Panthers, Surrey Knights and White Rock Whalers.