Santorelli, who grew up in Burnaby and played for both Burnaby Minor Hockey Association and Burnaby Winter Club, was not a primo puck prospect. But that didn’t stop him from climbing the hockey ladder and eventually playing 406 regular season and four playoff games in the National Hockey League. His story is one of perseverance. Santorelli played two seasons in the BC Hockey League with Langley and Vernon.

His 67 goals and 148 points in two seasons caught the eye of scouts from Northern Michigan University, where he played three seasons scoring 61 goals and 110 points in 121 games. The Nashville Predators took notice of his play, drafting him in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL draft. After joining the Predators organization, Santorelli spent the best part of three seasons playing for the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, where he scored 74 goals and 171 points in 207 games.

Nashville called him up for two games in 2008-09 and another 25 the next season before he settled in as a regular. The Predators traded Santorelli to Florida in the summer of 2010 before he was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets in April 2013. That off-season, he became a free agent signing with his hometown Vancouver Canucks.

He played 49 games for the Canucks scoring 10 goals and 28 points while becoming a fan favourite of Canucks nation before being felled by injury. He then went on to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville again and the Anaheim Ducks. Santorelli scored 64 goals and 138 points in his time in the NHL before finishing his professional playing career in 2016-17 with a six-game stint in Switzerland.

The fifth-year Express franchise went from a team that had never won a first-round playoff series to being crowned the Canadian junior A champions following a resounding 8-2 win over Saskatchewan champions Yorkton Terriers at the Royal Bank Cup in Brampton, Ontario. In its playoff journey, the Express won the Fred Page Cup, emblematic of B.C. Hockey League supremacy, in six games over the Penticton Vees. They then won the Doyle Cup over the Alberta champion Fort McMurray Oil Baron four games to two, including the final game 6-0 at home. At the Royal Bank Cup, Burnaby posted a record of 4-1 to become the 10th BCHL team to win a national junior A title.

Burnaby began its playoff march as the fourth-placed team in the BCHL’s Coastal conference. The Express swept Langley in straight games for its first ever playoff series’ win. They then defeated their playoff nemesis Chilliwack Chiefs in five games for the Mainland Division title before knocking off Coastal champions Victoria Salsa in five games to win their first-ever conference banner.

Team members:

Not in order of apprearance in photo
Front:(L-R) Bryce Luker, Karen Ditchburn, Rob Lambie, Tim Delesalle, Dave Simoes, Pat Delesalle, Brady Cook, Darcy Rota, Peter Merth, Ian Mansfield, Brian Hannigan, John Bellefeuille, Matthew Gordon. Middle (L-R) Tyler McNeely, Steve Cunningham, Mark Santorelli, Billy Reimer, Paul Ng, Kolin Kritmaa, Dave McLellan, Rick Lanz, Ron Viet, Barry Jeboult, Mischa Polzin, Kyle Turris, Jovan Matic, Keith Seabrook, Mark Soares. Back (L-R) Brad Hunt, Jeff Orban , Mike Rempel, Anthony Wild, Mark Currie, Paul Crowder, Max Grassi, Jake Areshenko, Carlo Finucci.

The Lakers, the defending North Shore league and playoff champs, defeated eastern winners Fredericton Capitals in three straight games at the Pacific Coliseum to claim the coveted Hardy Cup in 1980.

The Burnaby team defeated teams from Vernon, Prince Rupert and Port Alberni in separate series to win the provincial Coy Cup championship. They then moved on to beat two Alberta clubs in best-of-five series to take the Western Canadian title as well.

Back: Dave Duck, Doug Tottenham, Jim Pasutti, Gord Girard, Ron Langham, Rick Kranc.
Middle: Ron Clarke (Trainer), Chuck Alpaugh, Gary Forbes (General Manager and Coach), Keith Tucker, Keith Tindle, Derek Williams, Steve Block, Morris Davidson, Craig Butler, Gord Gibson, Sandy Bain, Brian Forbes (Ass’t Coach), Tod Dean (Director of Hockey Operation), Ray Dejulius (Public Relations), Cryl Cave (Equipment Manager).
Front: Pat Thorp, Wally Allinson, Scott Wren, Rob Desveaux, Terry Bingley.

BACK: Al Patterson, coach, Frank Browne, Chris Humber, Steve Adrain, Dave Fabbro, Steve Brnjac, Dale Brisco, Tom Kurucz, Pat Austin, Grant Popowich, Dave Street, John Grisdale, assistant coach, Alex McDonald, assistant coach. FRONT: Drago Adam, Daryl Pretzer, Steve Cairns, Mike Browne, John Hemmerling, Cliff Ronning, Rob Patterson, Shawn Nagurny, Al Wozney, Dave Roach, Jason Patterson, stickboy. IN THE PRESS BOX: Nancy Patterson, statistican.

Don Berry is a graduate of Burnaby South Secondary, he was extremely active in Burnaby minor hockey, coaching the Burnaby Winter Club to the B.C. Peewee title in 1972-73; the Midget AAA team to the provincial title in 1973-74, a team that won the bronze medal at the prestigious Air Canada Championship that year; in 1982-83 coached Abbotsford Flyers to the provincial and Western Canada junior titles; was awarded the BCAHA Coaching Award and then returned to assist with Coaching Program at Burnaby Winter Club.

The late George Wong was a big contributor in the early years of the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association first becoming involved in 1965. He went on to volunteer as an amateur hockey coach, manager and executive member for 30 years.

Wong, who was born in China, became president of Burnaby Minor in 1971 and was named a BMHA honourary life member. In 1984, Wong was elected president of the B.C. Amateur Hockey Association and also served with the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association.

In addition to hockey, George coached lacrosse in Burnaby for eight years. In 1993, the City of Burnaby awarded him its Mohawk Trophy for outstanding achievement as a sports builder.

Wong, who worked at BC Tel for more than 36 years after receiving a degree in electrical engineering from UBC in 1957, passed away in 2008 at the age of 80.

Dave Nonis played his minor hockey with the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association, moving up the ranks and playing on the Association’s top Rep teams as a strong defenseman. In 1982-83 he jumped to the Junior A Burnaby Bluehawks before attending University of Maine where he served two seasons as captain of the hockey team, leading them to back-to-back NCAA championship tournaments.

After playing one year professionally in Denmark he returned to Maine and earned his MBA before joining the Vancouver Canucks in a corporate and administrative capacity. He eventually directed all areas of the Canucks hockey operations before being named the ninth, and youngest ever, general manager of the Canucks in 2004.

He left the Canucks to join the Anaheim Ducks as senior advisor of hockey operations and in January 2013 was named Senior vice-president and general manager of Toronto Maple Leafs.

Stuart Ballantyne, who graduated from both BCIT and Simon Fraser University, is a worldwide major sports and entertainment producer with down-home Burnaby roots.

Ballantyne was the general manager for the Molson Indy, overseeing the design and production of the Vancouver Champ Car series from 1997 to 2003.

In 2006, he put on the record-setting World Junior Hockey Championships in Vancouver, which raised $9 million for amateur hockey programs in Canada.

The following year, he managed the Master Card Memorial Cup junior hockey championships, which drew record crowds and record profits. The national tournament doubled the record net proceeds of past championship tournaments, raising more than $1.8 million. Ballantyne continued his record-setting ways as CEO of the 2009 World Police and Fire Games, the largest and most successful in the event’s 26-year history.

Ballantyne, who was an All-American swimmer and member of Canada’s national team while at SFU, also co-ordinated the Canadian hockey house for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Lynn Mason was a founding family member of the Burnaby Winter Club, and in 2009, was inducted as an honorary member for his many contributions. An accomplished curler, he played a major part in organizing senior hockey at the club, including one of the most amazing tournaments in the world… a tournament for players 75 years and older, first held in 2009.

Organizing this kind of tournament is nothing new to Lynn who has been doing this sort of thing since the early 60s. Today he still looks after the seniors hockey at the club and has about 100 participants that play at different times in age group sessions. The beginning of senior hockey has grown throughout the province and Lynn Mason has played a major role in it.

Larry Hayes has dedicated over his half his life to the game of hockey in the community.

An honourary life member with the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association, Hayes has also coached and managed numerous youth hockey teams to provincial and regional titles, including a trip to the Air Canada Cup in 1985 with Joe Sakic and the BMHA midget AAA Hawks.

Hayes also shared a Lower Mainland championship with the junior B Burnaby Bluehawks and was instrumental in the establishment of a junior A hockey franchise group for Burnaby in 1998 at the new Bill Copeland Sports Centre, he had long advocated for.

Hayes has served Burnaby Minor in various capacities since 1977, while also holding executive positions with the Pacific Coast and B.C. Amateur Hockey Associations, as well as with elite hockey programs. Hayes is also well known for his capacity as chair of BMHA’s annual bantam AAA international hockey tournament each winter.