(Release courtesy Cooper Douglas, WestCentral Online)
The Kindersley Jr. Klippers and Red Deer Polytechnic Kings have a solid pipeline going.
The team announced on Thursday that outgoing 20-year-old and team captain this past year, Wil Christian, has committed to the RDP Kings hockey program for 2026-27 where he will continue his career at the post-secondary level in his hometown.
Christian came to Kindersley in 2024-25 after spending time with the Drumheller Dragons, Drayton Valley Thunder, and Sherwood Park Crusaders.
During his two seasons in the SJHL the Red Deer native logged 96 games with the Klippers where he collected 57 points. Christian had 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 50 games in his first season in Kindersley, and then injuries this year limited the captain to 46 games where he had 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists).
After arriving in Kindersley and playing under head coach and GM Clayton Jardine, coming into this season Christian must have made an impression on first-year head coach Kyle Schneider. Christian was given the “C” despite starting the season on the injury list, getting back in the lineup where he helped the Klippers to an early season stretch where they led their division and made noise within the CJHL power rankings.
Christian will join Klippers teammate Jacob Dennis in Red Deer, the Alberta duo just the latest Klippers to join the Kings hockey program. The two Klippers commits will also join a roster also featuring former Klippers Mason Bueckert, Alex Mack, Shayne Tibbles, and Nathan DeGraves, the local connections not ending there with Kindersley native and SJHL alum Carter Cormier also on the Kings.
The Klippers two other commitments so far see defenseman Russ Demo headed to the University of Calgary, and forward Braydon Vandenbilche now part of Concordia University in Edmonton.
