The Montreal Canadiens have added a former member of the Vernon Vipers to its National Hockey League roster.
The Habs drafted defenceman Cooper Cleaves, 20, a native of Riverside, CT, from Dartmouth College in the third round of the 2026 National Hockey League Entry Draft Saturday, June 27, in Buffalo.
Cleaves was selected 93rd overall.
He played 10 games in the B.C. Hockey League with the Snakes in 23-24 alongside older brother Hank, who is a junior at Dartmouth. He scored one goal.
In 2024-25, the six-foot-three Cleaves started the year with the Vipers, collecting two goals and 15 points in 25 games played, before leaving the club to join the Green Bay Gamblers of the U.S. Hockey League.
Canadiens director of player personnel and amateur scouting Martin Lapointe told the media after Cleaves’ selection that the club liked several factors about Cleaves’ game.
“We saw a good progression,” said Lapointe on the habseyeontheprize website. “He’s a big player who plays simple. He makes a good first pass, he’s able to play physically. He can skate with the puck. We love his upside, what he’s going to bring in the future.
“He’s a big body who is capable of moving with the puck. That’s what we loved and that’s what we wanted.”
While in Vernon, Cleaves was a billet with current team billet coordinators Cathy and Paul Davies, who were ecstatic for their former bunkie.
“Proud billet parent moment,” said the Davies on social media after Cleaves was picked by Montreal. “We are beyond proud of you Coop!”
Cleaves, along with his older brother, helped Dartmouth win the ECHC Championship in 2025-26. He scored four times and added six assists for 10 points in 30 games played.
LIVSICS RETURNS TO EUROPE
Latvian forward Davids Livsics has signed a professional hockey deal with EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel (Kitzbühel Eagles) in Kitzbühel, Austria.
The Eagles are part of the 13-team Alps Hockey League, which includes teams in Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Livsics, 21, played in 52 games for the Vipers in 2025-26, scoring 11 goals and finishing with 27 points. He was named the team’s Unsung Hero and Most Sportsmanlike Player at the team’s year-end awards celebration.
Kitzbühel was sixth in the Alps League’s preliminary round schedule, finishing with 13 wins, 14 losses, seven overtime wins, and two OT losses.
The club went 1-3 in the post-season.
VIPERS HOST WARRIORS IN HOME OPENER
The defending regular-season champion West Kelowna Warriors will be the dance partner at Kal Tire Place Saturday, Sept. 26, for the Snakes’ 2026-27 BCHL home opener.
Game time will be 6 p.m. at KTP.
“It’s always nice to have your home opener against a division rival like West Kelowna,” said Vipers executive vice-president Todd Miller. “We look forward to welcoming all of our great fans back to Kal Tire Place.”
While Vernon finished with a 2-5 record against West Kelowna last season, every matchup was tightly contested and featured plenty of offence. The Vipers’ most recent victory over the Warriors came on Feb. 27, when Vernon earned an exciting 6-4 win.
The Warriors were eliminated in the first round of the BCHL playoffs in five games by the Cranbrook Bucks.
More information regarding the full 2026-27 BCHL schedule is expected to be announced within the next week.