Locals getting a taste of junior camps

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Many players are just starting their offseason regimes, but some local players have prolonged their season because of a desire to get noticed by junior clubs.
The Fort McMurray Oil Barons held a spring camp from April 10-12 at the Strathmore Family Centre and the players enjoyed the fast-paced scrimmages.
“It’s a good camp, it’s small, fast-paced, I like it because it keeps the momentum up and keeps the feet moving,” said Wheatland Chiefs forward Kody Hammond.
He noted that the biggest difference between double-A and junior-A is the awareness on the ice with the puck.
“You’ve got to keep your feet moving (and) the puck (moving) at all times and it’s a lot faster than double-A,” said Hammond.
He is hoping to showcase his skills enough in such a short camp that it will earn him an invite to main camp.
“I’m hoping to make it to main camp and if I do, (I’ll) go from there and hopefully play junior A. If not next year, then the year after,” said Hammond. “I like coming in here as a 16-year-old, even for some guys just getting exposed to the league.”
Chiefs forward Jayden Smith was hoping to build off the success of the season and bring that play into the camp.
“I hope I can keep up the good work that we did in our regular season and see if I can bring it into this camp,” said Smith. “So far it’s going alright and (we’ll) see how it goes.”
He noticed the speed has been a lot faster than what he is used to.
“(The speed) is quite a bit faster, but then again you’re playing with guys that played faster hockey all year long,” said Smith. “It’s easy to adjust because they’re always there for the pass.”
Local Oil Barons scout Leonard Desmet offered his perspective on the tempo of the camp and was impressed with many of the players who came in great shape.
“The tempo is really high and we love what we’re seeing out there weekend. We’ve got a lot of skilled players with a lot of speed,” said Desmet. “In the AJHL you’re looking for speed because most of these kids are looking for a scholarship or a college education and I think that’s what we’re looking for, kids that can compete with good hockey sense and skill.”
The Oil Barons only take about 50 kids in this camp, and only select a very few to go to main camp.
“We’ll take maybe 20 from here to our camp in July in Edmonton and then we’ll bring all our vets in and from there, we’ll cut down to 30 guys to go to main camp,” said Desmet.