FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11th, 2020
WEST KELOWNA B.C. – The West Kelowna Junior ‘A’ Hockey Club is excited to announce forward Matthew Stienburg(‘00) will join the Warriors until the Cornell season restarts. The commitment comes with the news that NCAA Ivy League will not be running their hockey programs until after the first semester. Matt is still enrolled in Cornell and will be attending classes online during his short time with the Warriors.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native was drafted 63rd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft before playing his freshman season with Cornell University(NCAA). “We are thrilled to have Matthew join the Warriors,” said Warriors Head Coach Simon Ferguson. “There was a reason why NHL teams were so high on Matthew, he plays fast, he plays mean and he is relentless on loose pucks”.
The 6’2, 195 pound forward is disappointed about the cancellation of Ivy league play but looks forward to returning to Junior for one more year. “I think we have another special group of guys here at Cornell” said Stienburg. “With that said I’m trying to take some positives out of this situation and make the most out of my short opportunity here in West Kelowna. I came here to win and develop my game further and I think Coach Ferguson and the management team here will give me a great opportunity to do that.”
Stienburg is close with Warriors new recruit Wyllum Deveaux, the pair spent their childhood playing hockey against one another in Nova Scotia. “I’m really excited to be playing with Wyllum he’s a guy that I met through hockey but never played with besides the odd tournament. He’s a guy that I will be friends with for the rest of my life.”
After the commitment news of Stienburg, the Warriors have dealt forward Brendan Pigeon to the La Ronge Ice Wolves(SJHL) in exchange for future considerations. Pigeon, 19, pulled together a great season scoring 9 goals and 18 assists in 63 games played for the Warriors during the 2019-20 season.
The Warriors would like to welcome Matthew and his family to the City of West Kelowna and the Warriors organization and want to wish Brendan Pigeon all the best moving forward with the LaRonge Ice Wolves.
