Burnaby Winter Club (BWC) Hockey Academy defenceman Max Daerendinger has committed to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for the 2015-16 season.

“We’re incredibly happy for Max,” said BWC Hockey Academy Director and Prep team head coach, Maco Balkovec. “He has tremendous potential to continue on his trajectory. His skating, his strength, his shot all improved immensely over the past two years here and he has yet to even scratch the surface on what he can do. We’re excited to see how far he can take himself and can’t wait to see him play for a great organization like Alberni Valley that has proven they can find and develop top quality defenseman like this year’s BCHL 1st All-Star, Kurt Gosselin.

Daerendinger, 17, has spent the past two seasons in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) with the BWC Hockey Academy. During the 2013-14 season, he posted four points (3-1-4) in 24 games in the Elite 15s Division, while this past season, the Vancouver, BC product netted nine points (1-8-9) in 21 Prep Division games.

“This is another great tribute to the CSSHL development model and to our coaching staff at BWC Hockey Academy,” added Balkovec. “Both Leland Mack and Jordie Armon-Jones, our Elite 15 coaches and our assistant coaches on the Prep team, Josh Bonar and Guido Lamberti-Charles worked very closely with Max and hopefully have helped prepare him to take the next step next year. It’s fun for all of us, especially Max and his family and we wish him nothing but the best as he continues his journey in hockey.”

The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder appeared in six games during the 2014-15 season with the Bulldogs.

"I am very proud to play for such a great team in a supporting community,” said Daerendinger. “I look forward to becoming a member of the team for next season."