Although the Panthers are in the midst of a two week Christmas break, jolly old Saint Nick in his red suit and white beard still found time in his busy schedule to gift wrap and place a familiar package under the club’s Christmas tree. Trevor Yee, 20, was re-obtained from the Kerry Park Islanders in a deal completed just before Christmas, bringing back the local product into the den to finish off his junior career. The Panthers also received future considerations in the deal, but gave up 20-year-old Cole Peterson and his younger brother 18-year-old Kyle Peterson. Yee originally signed with the Panthers as a 16-year-old, but later spent time with the Saanich Braves and more recently with the Islanders.
“Cole Peterson wanted to finish off his Junior playing days in Kerry Park,” said Panthers co-owner Pete Zubersky. “His brother wanted to join Cole and the Islanders organization wanted to acquire the two players. We were very interested in Trevor. He is a top six forward and is fantastic in the dressing room and community. This is the type of player we want to have in our organization. Our coach Rob Armstrong spoke with Trevor after the deal was completed and he said that Trevor was really excited to be coming back to the Peninsula.”
It doesn’t look like the Panthers are done shuffling the deck.
“We want to add to what we have right now,” said Zubersky. “We feel we can be competitive with what we have at this point, but if we have a chance to make an addition we will do that. I don’t necessarily want to see any of our kids moved out – I actually quite like the group we have – but if there is an opportunity to make an addition that will strengthen our core, we would not hesitate to do that.”
Fans can next see Yee in action on Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. when they host the Victoria Cougars at Panorama Recreation Centre. And if Santa will have dropped off a couple of other late gifts under the tree by that time, the Panthers wouldn’t mind.
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