The son of former National Hockey Leaguer Mike Peca is joining the Chilliwack Chiefs.
The team has signed Trevor Peca, a 2000-born forward who hails from Clarence, New York, a town a little ways northeast of Buffalo.
Peca spent last season with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, posting 12 goals, 48 points and 76 penalty minutes in 50 games.
He went to training camp this season with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers, but an ankle injury held him back.
“I got a call from Mike (Peca), who’s heard a lot of good things about Chilliwack and the direction we’re taking things now,” said Chiefs head coach/general manager Brian Maloney. “He called me on behalf of his kid to see if we could make something work.”
Maloney and his staff did their homework.
“What came back is that he’s a great kid and everyone we talked to about him talked about his character, which is very important to us,” Maloney said. “Then they got into his skill-set, and he’s going to bring a lot of speed and a pretty hard shot.
“I feel we’ve got some pretty darn talented kids on our team but we’ve been lacking that Kaden Pickering-like speed that we had last year and Trevor will add that.”
Peca comes to Chilliwack with an NCAA scholarship in hand. He’s committed to the University of Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, but Maloney’s not certain when the teenager will make that jump.
“Him being a 2000-born player gets us a little younger again, and him being a dual-citizen helps as well,” Maloney said.
The Chiefs can fit Peca on the roster right now without making a corresponding move because goalie Daniel Chenard is on injured reserve.