Aleksey Chichkin and Benjamin Kindel have signed Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development agreements with the Calgary Hitmen.
A defenseman from Burnaby, BC, Chichkin spent four seasons in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL). He joined the league in 2018/19 with the West Van Academy U15 team, tallying 27 points in 29 games helping West Van capture a U15 CSSHL Western Championship.
He would spend the next three years with BWC Academy, playing one season each for their U15 Prep, U16 Prep and U18 Prep teams. In 70 CSSHL games with BWC Academy, Chichkin would record 32 points while capturing a U18 Prep Western Championship during the 2021/22 season.
Chichkin has spent the 2022/23 season in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the Merritt Centennials tallying 7 points in 31 games.
Selected in the second round, 43rd overall by the Hitmen at the 2022 WHL Draft, Kindel has spent the last three seasons in the CSSHL.
The Coquitlam, BC forward joined BWC Academy for the 2020/21 U15 season, tallying 11 points in 6 games. He would return to BWC Academy for the 2021/22 U15 Prep season, adding 47 points in 22 games, good enough for second in team scoring.
This past season Kindel played for the Yale Hockey Academy U18 Prep team where he finished second in team scoring with 46 points in 29 games.
Kindel made his WHL debut with the Hitmen on Sunday, March 26 against the Edmonton Oil Kings.