LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western University men's hockey defenceman Elijah Vilio (Aldergrove, BC) will be earning his first professional experience in Kazakhstan, as the fourth-year Spartan has signed a contract with Barys Nur-Sultan of the Kontinental Hockey League's (KHL).
 
Vilio has spent the last three seasons as a vital component of the Spartans, as the defenceman helped deliver two BCIHL championships in 2018 and 2019.
 
Vilio enjoyed an impressive 2019-20 campaign before it was cut short due to the pandemic, leading all BCIHL defensemen in scoring, with 27 points through 22 games en route to securing a spot on the league's second all-star team.
 
Barys Nur-Sultan recently concluded another successful 2020-21 season by finishing third in the Chernyshev division in the regular season before a first round playoff exit. Their regular season efforts were enough to make the playoffs for their third consecutive season.
 
Vilio joins fellow Spartans Silas Matthys ('18, Wollerau, Switzerland) and Dustin Deugau ('20, Calgary) on the pro scene. In 2020-21, Matthys played with EHC Olten while Deugau spent the year with Smedjebacken HC.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
 
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