There’s a new pair of brothers ready to suit up for the Penticton Vees.
Growing up in Windsor, Ont., twins Ryan and Connor MacPherson did just about everything together when it came to hockey — from teaming up at the outdoor rink to playing for the Lemington Flyers in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL).
The forwards are set to be side-by-side once again, this time on the other side of the country while getting ready to help defend the BCHL’s Fred Page Cup for the Penticton Vees.
“To actually be here in the moment is kind of a surreal feeling,” Ryan said, adding that he and his brother had never been to the Okanagan before coming to Penticton in late August.
“We definitely watched a lot of their games last year…they brought in a ton of players that want to win and we’re looking forward to hopefully making it three (Fred Page Cups) in a row.”
Winning is something the Ontario twins, 18, are already no stranger to.
While Connor was named the MVP of the GOJHL’s Western Conference, Ryan received defensive forward of the year honours during Lemington’s
The twins combined for 124 points in 43 games last season, numbers reminiscent of Bradly and Josh Nadeau, the brothers who helped the Vees win Fred Page Cup titles in 2022 and 2023.
“We’ll hopefully follow in their footsteps,” Ryan said about Bradly and Josh’s run of offensive prowess in Penticton.
“It would be awesome to do that,” Connor added. “If we get the point totals they did, so be it, but for now, we just want to do the best we can and help our team win.”
The Nadeau brothers and MacPherson twins aren’t the lone sets of siblings in recent memory to choose Penticton as their pre-college destination.
Ahead of the Vees’ record-breaking
Mike has gone on to play eight NHL seasons and will suit up for the Florida Panthers this fall.
“Penticton has seen some great brother combinations over the years,” said Fred Harbinson, the Vees’ head coach, president and general manager. “The MacPherson twins fit that mold and play the game with the passion that is required to win championships.”
The city’s newest set of hockey siblings say they’re well aware of the Vees’ storied history, especially in recent years.
Walking through the doors of the South Okanagan Events for the first time only reinforced what they already knew.
“It’s very professional and when you first walk in you can feel it,” Connor said. “All the posters on the wall with the accomplishments, the championships..when you look at that, you know it’s something you want to be a part of.”
If the Vees do in fact win their third consecutive Fred Page Cup this season — a feat not conquered in Penticton since the early 1980s — it would come with an almost entirely different roster from the year before.
The MacPherson twins are among the more than 15 new Vees, as the team enters the
“There’s a lot of great hockey players here and I don’t think it will take long for us to get the chemistry going,” Ryan said.
“Everyone’s here for a reason, so I don’t see it being too much of an issue,” Connor added.
The twins, who are expected to head to the University of New Hampshire after this year, will make their regular season and BCHL debuts with the Vees on Sept. 22, when the team kicks off their Fred Page Cup-defence against the West Kelowna Warriors.
READ MORE: Penticton Vees’ Peaches Cup set to return
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