Reaney to Niagara

Technically this is outside of my jurisdiction, but the leading scorer in the BCHL this year, Les Reaney finally committed to a college for next year, and the school he picked was..........Niagara?

Reaney's story was an interesting one. As the leading scorer in the league that provides the most college recruits of any Canadian league, one would think he'd have his pick of schools. But because of concerns, primarily about his age (Reaney is an '84 birthdate, making this his last year of junior hockey), a lot of schools backed off. His first choice of schools was North Dakota, but with Jonathan Toews deciding to play college hockey rather than in the WHL, there was no room left for him. Thus, Niagara was the best offer left for Reaney, who didn't have to the option of waiting another year in juniors.

This is a good step for Niagara and the CHA in general to get a big name player like this. Yes, Reaney is older and probably won't be a star, but Kyle Greentree and Curtus Fraser of Alaska-Fairbanks were in similar situations and they've turned out to be solid players. Niagara loses leading scorer Barrett Ehgoetz next year and will need someone to fill that void.