Nelson native and fan favourite Nolan Percival is no longer a Leaf.
In a strange twist of fate, an ailing Beaver Valley Nitehawk team acquired Percival less than 24 hours after beating the Nelson Leafs 3-2 in overtime Friday in what would be Percival’s final game for the green and white.
“Nolan’s a guy we’ve always watched and like how he plays, and the opportunity came for us to get him and we jumped at it,” said Hawks coach and GM Terry Jones. “He’s a really bright young prospect and we feel his best hockey is in front of him.”
The 18-year-old, five-foot-eight, 170-pound forward joined the Leafs as a 16-year-old and played in 125 games scoring 14 goals and adding 26 assists. A character player with speed and skill, Percival will help a Nitehawks team that has been riddled with injury over the past month.
The Hawks endured a month without goaltender Drake Poirier who returned to action in Friday’s overtime win over Nelson, and have been without top forwards Braden Fuller, who returned Friday, Sam Swanson, and now Kyle Hope, and are also missing character defenceman and captain Lyle Frank.
Percival is expected to join the team this week and play his first game as a Nitehawk on Friday in Creston against the ThunderCats.