No, Vancouver Canucks all-star netminder Roberto Luongo has not decided to give up his multi-million dollar paycheque to come to Castlegar. Instead, forward Matthew Luongo (Surrey, B.C.) has signed with the Selkirk College Saints.
The Saints program announced Tuesday the signing of Luongo and goaltender Stephen Wolff (Parksville, B.C.) to attend Selkirk College and compete for the Saints beginning in the 2012/13 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League season.
Luongo is a 5-foot-10 centre who recently completed his junior career
with the PIJHL’s Aldergrove Kodiaks, where he scored nine goals and 33
points in 43 regular season games and added another nine points in 11
playoff contests. His PIJHL totals include 24 goals and 73 points over
three years, while he spent the 2009/10 season playing Junior A with the
MJHL’s Neepawa Natives and SJHL’s Estevan Bruins.
“I’m excited to be coming to Selkirk and have the opportunity to play
college hockey surrounded by top level players and coaches,” says
Luongo, who describes himself as a gritty, high-energy player. “I’m
looking forward to helping the Saints establish a winning tradition and
making a run at a championship.”
Wolff, meanwhile, joins the Saints following a junior career that
included stops with the Oceanside Generals of the VIJHL and the Fernie
Ghostriders of the KIJHL, where he compiled a record of 17 wins and 17
losses while totalling a 2.79 goals-against average and .907
save-percentage. He was a VIJHL All-Star in 2011 and was named the
Generals’ Playoff MVP after leading his team on a postseason run later
that season that saw him collect a 1.84 GAA and .946 SV% over seven
games.
“It’s always been my goal to play college hockey and I’m excited to be
coming to a great school,” says Wolff, who stands 6-foot-3. “I’m going
to work hard to establish myself as a top goaltender in the BCIHL and to
better my game and skill level overall so that I can further pursue my
career in hockey.”
Luongo and Wolff join forwards Thomas Hardy and Cole Thomson and
defenceman Dylan Smith to bring Selkirk’s commitment total for the
2012/13 season to five. Additional player announcements will be made in
the coming weeks.