Kyle St. Denis made a stellar debut with the Victoria Grizzlies on the weekend.
The Trail native had been hoping the Trail Smoke Eaters could swing a deal with Victoria so he could finish off his junior hockey career in his hometown.
However, Victoria’s asking price proved too high before the Jan. 10 roster deadline.
St. Denis eventually agreed to go to Victoria and played his first games on the weekend.
He made enough of a first impression to be selected as the second star in Friday’s 2-1 win over Surrey then stepped into a starring role Saturday in Nanaimo.
St. Denis scored twice and added an assist to earn first-star kudos despite Victoria’s 5-4 loss to the Nanaimo Clippers.
St. Denis put the Grizz ahead 2-1 after the first period and gave them a 4-3 lead early in the third. However, Nanaimo rallied with two unanswered goals for the victory.