Gill leaves Vipers for Steel
Sahir Gill, formerly of the Vernon Vipers, has chosen to play the upcoming season with the Chicago Steel of the U.S. Hockey League.
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It’s official – Vernon Viper twins Connor and Kellen Jones will be setting up a new linemate in the 2009-10 B.C. Hockey League season.
Sahir Gill, 17, who earned the plum assignment of playing on the top line with the Jones boys as a rookie last season, has opted to play with the Chicago Steel of the U.S. Hockey League.
Gill was selected by the Steel in the fifth round (56th overall) in the 2009 USHL Draft.
Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner was somewhat bewildered by Gill’s decision.
“I feel like we treat our players pretty good here. Here’s a young player, 16-years-old, playing on the top line, the top powerplay unit, and he goes and makes a lateral move to another league.
“He had offers from big (NCAA) schools and he had NHL teams looking at him. There will be lots of teams who will question Sahir for making this decision.
“He’s a good, young player and he’s a good kid, but he’s getting influenced from other areas.”
Gill, 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, recorded 18 goals for 39 points and four penalty minutes in 54 BCHL games. He added 8-9-17 in 17 playoff appearances, and helped the Vipers claim the Royal Bank Cup national Junior A championship in May.
With potentially nine returning Viper forwards, plus two highly-touted prospects, Ferner isn’t overly concerned about filling Gill’s roster spot for the coming season.
“We’ll move forward, and we’ll be fine this year,” said Ferner.
The Steel finished second-to-last in the USHL’s Eastern Division at 31-37-2, missing the playoffs.
Gill did not return phone calls from the Morning Star.
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