The Nanaimo Clippers continue their off-season recruiting, landing 2002 born forward Shaun Mahoney. This Québec native already has an NCAA Division 1 commitment with Cornell University, the #1 ranked program in the United States for the 2019-2020 season. Mahoney is now the 4th Clipper from the Cornell University program to commit to playing for the Clippers in the upcoming season, showing that the Clippers will be a very strong contender for the league championship again.
Mahony played for Stanstead College in the 2019-2020 season, a high level Canadian prep school. He was drafted 73rd overall in the 2018 Major Junior entry draft but has chosen college as his preferred route to fulfil his pro-aspirations. Previous to Stanstead College, Mahoney played in the Québec midget program. In his last year of midget, he accumulated 20 goals and 30 assists for 50 points in 42 games. In the 2017-2018 season, he was as key part of the silver medalists team for the Telus Cup, Canada’s national under-18 ice hockey championship.
Coach Birkas, Associate Coach for the Clippers, was instrumental in bringing Mahoney to the program. He commented that “Shaun is a fast, highly skilled offensive forward who has the speed to dominate in the BCHL. He’s going to provide an offensive push that we sometimes lacked last year. I can’t say enough good things about Stanstead College’s development program so I’m very optimistic Shaun will be a big force on the team.”
Darren Naylor, Head Coach and Vice President of the Clippers, stated; “With Shaun, we have acquired a smart play making forward with a high offensive IQ. Shaun was acquired as we feel he’s going to boost our offensive output this year and be a key part of our team. I’m very pleased with this recruit.”