Nanaimo, B.C. (July 30, 2024) — The Nanaimo Clippers have acquired 2004-born forward Luke Lavery (Nanaimo, B.C.) in a trade with the Coquitlam Express, the team announced today.
Lavery, 19, rejoins the Clippers after leading the Cowichan Valley Capitals in scoring last season with 46 points (22 goals, 24 assists) in 54 games, ranking 14th in the entire BCHL in goal scoring.
“Luke is a very talented player who will score a lot of goals for us,” said Clippers general manager and head coach Colin Birkas. “He’s a player who’s very tough to contain physically as well.
“I’ve known and worked with Luke since he was a kid, and know that he bleeds orange as a Nanaimo product; we’re happy for him that he will get to play his final year of junior hockey at home. Our fans will absolutely love him.”
Lavery debuted with the Clippers in the pod season of 2020-21, scoring 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 20 games as a 16-year old rookie, after being recruited from the North Island Silvertips. He subsequently moved to Vernon in 2021-22, then moved from the Vipers to Cowichan in 2022-23, scoring 19 goals in his 18-year old season.
In total, the 6’2″, 210lb forward has dressed in 167 BCHL games, tallying 99 points (48 goals, 51 assists), and is committed to attend and play for Providence College in the NCAA’s Division I Hockey East conference.
In exchange for Lavery, the Clippers traded 2005-born defenceman Cooper Wilson (North Vancouver, BC), the BCHL playing rights of 2006-born defenceman Matt Lahey (Victoria, BC), and cash considerations to Coquitlam.
“Cooper is a player I didn’t want to move, but it was an insistence of Coquitlam to get the deal done,” Birkas noted. “He was an amazing teammate and we’re sorry to see him go; we’re confident he will be a good college player in the near future.”
Lahey will be playing in the United States Hockey League prior to his departure for the NCAA.
The Clippers will kick off their 52nd season in franchise history in just over a month! Season tickets are available now and provide the best value to catch all 26 regular season home games; with more weekend games than ever before! Secure yours now at tickets.nanaimoclippers.com!
