Bolton Pouliot and Aspen Sterzer have been teammates with the Kamloops Blazers for about one month.
The two expect to be teammates for life.
Pouliot, 19, is engaged to marry Sterzer’s sister Sierra, a 20-year-old student at the University of Calgary.
Sterzer and his family moved to Calgary, Alberta, in 2006 after a car accident left his mother a quadriplegic. Sterzer and Calgary native Pouliot both played for the city’s Southwest Royals bantam team. Sierra and Pouliot started dating after the Royals’ 2007-08 season.
“I’ve worked on him over the years,” Sterzer told Mark Hunter of the Kamloops Daily News. “He used to wear his hat sideways and do the gangster thing. My dad and I got him into shape a bit, and he no longer does that.”
Pouliot joined Sterzer in Kamloops when the Red Deer Rebels traded him on Sept. 9.
“It’s a first-class operation and a bonus to play with (Sterzer) at the same time,” Pouliot said.
Nell sparks Rebels
Red Deer reached the top of its division Saturday with the addition of a player who may help the Rebels stay there.
Meyer Nell, a 16-year-old forward just called up from the Notre Dame Argos of Saskatchewan’s Midget AAA league, earned his first WHL point by assisting on Red Deer’s first goal during a 4-2 win at Brandon. Red Deer took over first place in the Central Division.
“He’s smart, he has good skills, he can skate and he has good size,” Red Deer general manager/head coach Brent Sutter told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate.
The Rebels plan to keep Nell with the team the rest of the season. He made his home debut Tuesday against Everett.
The Wheat Kings played without captain Ryan Pulock, who suffered an undisclosed injury on Friday.
Around the league
Saskatoon center Nathan Burns scored four goals and another in the shootout, but his Blades lost to the host Regina Pats 5-4 on Sunday. Boston Leier, making his home-ice debut with Regina, accounted for two goals and one assist. The Pats acquired the veteran forward last week from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a 2016 second-round bantam pick. … Goalie Zach Sawchenko, who won’t turn 16 until Dec. 30, won his first career start on Saturday as the Moose Jaw Warriors held off the Vancouver Giants 2-1. At the game, the Warriors honored Chris Chelios as part of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the junior team for which he played, the Moose Jaw Canucks. Chelios, who had a 26-year career in the NHL, will be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 11. … Nick Merkley, a 16-year-old rookie forward for Kelowna, was named WHL player of the week ending Sunday after recording six points during three Rockets wins.
