West Kelowna Warriors teammates Nick Ardanaz and John Evans have committed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) for the 2022-23 season.
Ardanaz and Evans have spent six of the last seven seasons playing together dating back to their time together in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) with Delta Hockey Academy.
In 2015/16 the duo would play for the Delta U15 team. Ardanaz, a defenseman from Surrey, BC, would tally 7 points in 21 games, while Evans, a forward from South Surrey, BC, would finish with 19 points in 23 games. Ardanaz and Evans would help Delta win a U15 CSSHL Championship that season.
The two would join the Delta U15 Prep team the following season, before spending a season at both the U16 Prep and U18 Prep levels.
In four CSSHL season, Evans would tally 204 points in 129 games, leading his team in scoring at the U16 Prep (73 points) and U18 Prep (72 points) levels. Ardanaz would play 118 CSSHL games, finishing with 81 points.
In 2019/20 they would both join the Warriors for their first season in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Both Ardanaz and Evans would be named to the BCHL All-Rookie Team, finishing with 32 points in 58 games, and 50 points in 57 games respectfully.
2020/21 would see the COVID-19 pandemic force the duo to part ways with Evans heading south of the border, while Ardanaz would stay with the Warriors, tallying 10 points in 20 games.
The pair would re-unite for the 2021/22 season with Ardanaz producing 35 points in 53 games and Evans finishing with 48 points in 47 games.
RPI is an NCAA Division I program located in Troy, New York, playing in the ECAC Conference.