Bruins ink first rounder

Published: July 16, 2008 6:00 PM

Chilliwack Progress

The Chilliwack Bruins have inked top prospect Mitch Topping to a WHL contract and he will be on the ice when the team kicks off training camp in late August.

Topping was selected eighth overall in the 2008 bantam draft, which was held April 30 in Calgary.

The Bruins were pleased to nab the six-foot-one 175 pound blueliner where they did. Scouting director Garry Pochipinski described the Red Deer native as the complete package in his post-draft assessment.

“He’s an outstanding skater with tremendous vision,” he said. “He reads the play very well and has a great shot. We believe that he is a complete player both on and off the ice.”

Topping played last season for the Red Deer bantam AAA team. In 33 games he had 14 goals, 26 assists for 40 points and 100 penalty minutes.

In five games at the Alberta Cup, Topping had three goals and one assist for four points and 34 penalty minutes for Team Central. Topping captained both teams.

“We are very pleased that Mitch and his family have chosen the Chilliwack Bruins and the Western Hockey League to pursue his hockey career,” said Bruins general manager Darrell May. “He is a very impressive young man, both on and off the ice and we look forward to seeing him in a Bruins uniform for years to come.”

Topping is excited to get started. He said he and his family briefly considered following the junior A path to an NCAA scholarship, but in the end the lure of playing at a higher level made it an easy decision.

“I had lunch with Gary, had some lunch and got it done,” Topping said. “Right from draft day we had a pretty good idea what we wanted to do and I’m confident it’s the right decision.”

The Bruins have given him a training plan to follow and he’s been working the last months to add the kind of strength necessary to succeed in major junior.

“My first goal is to make it out of rookie camp and into the main camp,” Topping said. “I’d like to familiarize myself with the rink and start getting used to things. I want to be on my game from day one and get ready to play as a 16 year old.”

Topping was in B.C. a couple weeks ago on a camping trip to Fernie, but he has yet to see Chilliwack.

He hears good things.

“It’s apparently a city the size of Red Deer, so the transition should be pretty easy,” he noted. “I hear it’s near mountains, so that will be nice. I’ve never been on a team that hasn’t been based out of Red Deer, so the experience will be different.”