Following a tenure with the Parkland U18 Rangers program, Riley Zdan of Alonsa started his junior career off with a bang.
Heading out west to start things off in the 2021-22 season, Zdan scored three times and added seven assists in 34 games with the North Okanagan Knights. Zdan returned to the Knights the following season and played just three games before he was dealt to the Chase Heat, of the same Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. In two games with the Heat, Zdan notched one assist. With the feeling that the west coast lifestyle wasn't the perfect fit for him, Riley moved back home and joined the Lundar Falcons of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League.
Zdan was highly effective in his 13 regular season games with the Falcons last year, scoring three times while adding three assists. As the Falcons made the second round of the playoffs, Riley posted another two goals and one assist in seven games, but the team's season came to an end at the hands of the Selkirk Fishermen, who went on to beat St. Malo in five games in the league final.
Riley is now back with Lundar this year and the team opened their season last weekend and it resulted in a convincing 7-1 win against Arborg.
"It feels great to be back with Lundar, we picked up some new guys this year," said Zdan. "We have a lot of skill and things are looking very good after our first game."
Just as he started off his time with North Okanagan a few years prior, it could not have been much of a better start for Riley in his second year with the Falcons. In the team's 7-1 win, Zdan scored a pair of goals and had two assists as he leads the league with four points heading into the second week of the regular season.
"I had a lot of help from my teammates, I couldn't have done it without them," offered Zdan. "I feel really good about my game right now and I'm thrilled that I was able to help out the team."
This year's team also includes Ryan Benson of McCreary and he got off to a solid start as well, with one goal and two assists in the 7-1 win. With a population of just more than 1000, Zdan is also very thankful that he gets an opportunity to represent his hometown of Alonsa.
"There's very few people here in Alonsa so it means a lot that I have this opportunity to play with Lundar," ended Zdan. "I work as hard as I can everyday to set a good example for the young kids in the town. Just because you live in a small place, doesn't mean you can't make it to high levels if you push youself and I like to think that I do."
Riley and the rest of the Falcons will look to open their season with two straight wins when they head to Beasujour on Sunday to play the Comets. As of posting, Beasujour has yet to play a game this season with their first coming on Saturday in St. Malo.
