(Photo Courtesy: Columbus Blue Jackets Twitter)
Development camps are well underway across the NHL following last week’s draft in Nashville and the Prince George Spruce Kings have some strong representation.
There are seven confirmed Spruce Kings alumni skating at various team development camps with the possibility of a few more being announced as well.
The current list of Spruce Kings alumni includes:
D Layton Ahac – Vegas Golden Knights
D Dylan Anhorn – Washington Capitals
F Ethan de Jong – Edmonton Oilers
G Logan Neaton – Winnipeg Jets
F Ben Poisson – Columbus Blue Jackets
F Nick Poisson – Columbus Blue Jackets
G Aaron Trotter – Washinton Capitals
Two of the players attending development camps are NHL Draft Picks. Layton Ahac (3rd round, 86th overall) and Logan Neaton (5th round, 144th overall) were both drafted back in the 2019 draft. Ethan de Jong recently signed a contract with the Bakersfield Condors, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers.
Ahac, 22, is coming off of his second full season with the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. In 34 games, the defenceman tallied one goal and three assists. Prior to spending two seasons with the Ohio State Buckeyes of the NCAA, Ahac played two seasons in Prince George (2017-2019).
Defenceman Dylan Anhorn, 24, transferred from Union College to St. Cloud State University for the 2022-23 season. In 23 games, he scored five goals and 20 assists while also posting a plus/minus of 15. He previously attended the Calgary Flames Development Camp in 2022. Anhorn spent two seasons with the Spruce Kings, playing from 2017 to 2019.
Forward Ethan de Jong, 23, is coming off an NCAA National Championship-winning season with the Quinnipiac Bobcats. During the 2022-23 season, de Jong played 41 games, scoring 19 goals and 21 assists (40 points), placing him third on the team in scoring. The North Vancouver product spent two seasons (2016-2018) with the Spruce Kings.
Goaltender Logan Neaton, 24, put forth arguably the greatest single-season performance between the pipes while wearing a Spruce Kings uniform. In 2018-19, Neaton tallied a regular season record of 32-8-5 while posting a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.92 and five shutouts. Come playoffs, he got even better as he backstopped the Spruce Kings to a 16-1 playoff record, ultimately winning the organization’s first Fred Page Cup Championship. Neaton then went on to play two seasons at UMass-Lowell of the NCAA before transferring to Miami University (Ohio).
Forward Ben Poisson, 23, completed his fourth season at the University of Maine. During the 2022-23 season, Poisson played in 36 games and scored nine goals and 17 assists. In 165 regular season games in Prince George (2016-2019), Poisson tallied 114 points (55 goals, 59 assists) while also adding 24 points in the playoffs.
Forward Nick Poisson, 21, completed his third season at Providence College. In 37 games, it was 10 across the board for Poisson as he scored 10 goals, 10 assists, and had a plus/minus of 10. He had previously attended the Vegas Golden Knights Development Camp in 2022. Nick spent two seasons in Prince George, playing from 2018 to 2020.
Coming off of his first season of NCAA hockey, goaltender Aaron Trotter played in 34 games for the University of St. Thomas Tommies. The 22-year-old posted a record of 11-21-2 while putting up a GAA of 2.99, a .905 save percentage (SV%), and securing the door for one shutout. Trotter spent 2020-2022 with the Spruce Kings, posting a regular season career record of 27-14-9 with a 2.09 GAA and a .919 SV%.
