Justin Kipkie had himself a fabulous prospect camp; here's more on the North Vancouver, BC native.
Over the last couple of weeks, we've been going over some standouts from Utah Hockey Club prospect camp.
These included the likes of Cole Beaudoin, Tij Iginla, Dmitry Simashev, and even one Daniil But, who was named the prospect camp's Most Valuable Player.
We've also been highlighting some of the under-the-radar names that people may have missed, and we have another one today in defenceman Justin Kipkie.
By now, you know Utah's prospect pool is deep at defence and showing plenty of talent on the forward lines, anchored by the 2024 first-round picks of Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin, among others.
Kipkie, who celebrates his 19th birthday next Sunday, adds to that pool as one of the rising two-way stars on the blue line.
The North Vancouver, British Columbia, native is currently in the WHL (the same league that Dylan Guenther and Tij Iginla played) with the Victoria Royals after beginning his youth career with the West Coast Selects and the Calgary Flames AAA program.
Since joining Victoria, he's increasingly gotten better, putting up a career-best 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points in 67 appearances this past season.
He put those offensive skills on full display, snagging a couple of assists in the open scrimmage at Delta Center.
It's amazing to see how much Kipkie has improved the last two years, and I would argue another season like he had in Victoria will put him in the running for Most Improved Player if he finds himself re-invited to camp next July.