California dreams: Underwood wants to stay with Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
In a sea of black helmets, Brandon Underwood’s gold lid stands out like Michael Phelps at a pool party.
Underwood, though, would like nothing better than to trade it in on a black model in the not-too-distant future.
A 6-foot-3, 205-pound defenceman from the hockey hotbed of San Diego, Underwood’s plan is to land a roster spot with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, whose training camp continues at Interior Savings Centre.
And if the early returns mean anything, he just may be here when the Blazers open the regular season against the visiting Everett Silvertips on Sept. 19.
“He’s done well,” Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner said Sunday evening. “I really like him.”
The pace picked up Sunday after the team cut its camp roster to 58 players — enough to fill three teams for scrimmage purposes.
“Rookie camp was younger guys, so it wasn’t as fast-paced,” Underwood said. “You got a lot of veterans out here now and guys want to get a job. Guys are working hard and it’s really physical.”
Which is right up Underwood’s alley.
“I think I’ve been pretty good.” he said. “I’m just trying to play my game . . . be physical and not try to do too much. I’m trying to earn a spot.
“I plan to play here this season.”
Last season, Underwood played for the midget AAA Los Angeles Jr. Kings, who are coached by Jack Bowkus and managed by Helen Alex, whose son, Ray Macias, was a Blazers defenceman of recent vintage.
In fact, Underwood said it was a phone call from Alex to Gord Loiselle, then the Blazers’ director of player personnel, that resulted in him ending up here.
Underwood said Loiselle “talked to me and I got listed.” As well, Blazers scout Warren Renden watched Underwood in state playoffs and at a state selection camp.
Underwood’s interest in hockey comes through his father, Tom, a realtor who was born in Vancouver and moved to Toronto at the age of 10.
In fact, Underwood admits to being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
“I used to have Maple Leafs blankets,” he said with a chuckle, “but they’re in the closet right now.”
His mother, Jacquie, is a manager with Sears, and he has two sisters — Cindy, 22, who attended the U of Western Ontario, and Megan, 18, who is in college in San Diego.
Living in San Diego, Underwood was almost two hours from Los Angeles, which meant a lot of time spent in the family car.
“There aren’t too many teams (in San Diego), so I’ve been driving up there since I was 10,” he said. “We’d leave right after school, go to practice, get home about 11:30 at night and then do it all over again . . . five days a week.”
Asked to describe himself as a player, Underwood said he’s a defenceman who can play “both ways.”
“I like to rush the puck and join the rush but at the same time . . . I like to play physical,” he said.
He showed all of that in Sunday evening’s first scrimmage. He made a nifty play along the defensive right boards and sent a terrific pass to a busting forward that led to Team White’s first goal. Later, after centre Brendan Ranford almost beat him, Underwood answered by stapling the Blazers’ first pick in the 2007 bantam draft to the end boards.
“Matt Recchi told me if I want to make the team I have to play physical every shift,” Underwood said, referring to the Blazers’ director of player personnel. “Putting guys into the glass . . . that’s how I usually play so I’m not going to change that.”
As for an overview of training camp, Underwood said he has been impressed with Barry Smith, the Blazers’ new head coach.
“He is a pretty intense guy. He’s pushing us . . . he’s an attention-to-detail guy,” Underwood said. “One bad pass and you have to restart the whole drill. He’ll keep going until you get it right.”
JUST NOTES: There is at least one other player from San Diego in a WHL camp this week. RW Jon Parker, a 1991-born player, is with the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Blazers had 58 players listed on scrimmage rosters last night — 14 of them are 1993-born players. . . . RW Tyler Shattock leaves Sept. 11 for Las Vegas, where he will play for the San Jose Sharks in a rookie tournament. Shattock, who missed a chunk of last season with a broken ankle, said his leg was tired when camp started but is feeling better after getting some good on-ice time. . . . D Jordan Principalli, 19, who is in the Blazers’ camp, was involved in a trade Friday. His BCHL rights ended up moving as part of a transaction that involved at least seven players, future considerations and four teams. Principalli began the day with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and ended it with the Quesnel Regency Millionaires. . . . Regency Millionaires? Yes, the junior A team has signed a sponsorship deal with Regency Chrysler, a local dealership. . . . Principalli, from Calgary, had 13 points and 59 penalty minutes in 55 games with the Bulldogs last season. . . . . There are practice sessions set for this morning at 9, 10:15 and 11:30, with scrimmages this evening at 5, 6:15 and 7:30. The annual Blue-White game goes Tuesday, 7 p.m.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca