The ice at the Rod Brind’Amour Arena is being prepped, and the Campbell River Storm is getting ready to defend its VIJHL title.
The team is gearing up for training camp this weekend, with a large number of players putting on their skates to impress coach Lee Stone and company.
“I’m really excited about the group we have coming in,” coach Lee Stone said.
The success on ice, plus the fact, the Storm are hosting this year’s Cyclone Taylor Cup, pitting the top Junior B teams in B.C. against each other, have all likely played a role in spurring interest among aspiring players. Over the summer, the team has lined up commitments from players in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and even as far away as California.
“We’ve been busy. We’ve been recruiting kind of all over,” Stone said. “We’re really excited about the group we have coming in.”
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The coach expects about 55 players to come out to the camp this weekend.
“It’s the biggest camp we’ve had in the last couple of years,” he said.
Intersquad games start in the afternoon on Saturday, Aug. 25, at 1:15 p.m., with games running to 9:45 p.m., except for a break between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, the intersquad games start at 11 a.m. and run through most of the day, except for fitness testing and an afternoon break. The camp finishes on Monday, with final games from 11:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
“Fans are more than welcome to come down,” he said.
The team expects to make cuts following this weekend’s camp, and with so many coming to try out, it’s hard to know exactly how the team is going to take shape. However, the coach has identified his core group of captain Cole Slaney and alternates Reid Wheeldon, Damon Porter and Logan Cursley.
“We’re really excited about our leadership group this year,” Stone said. “It makes all the difference.”
The exhibition season will begin with the Storm playing host to Oceanside on Wednesday, Aug. 29. The main pre-season attraction though will be a two-game tilt at home with the Pacific Junior Hockey League champs, the Delta Ice Hawks, over the Labour Day weekend. Delta beat the Storm in the semis at last season’s Cyclone Taylor Cup.
“We really want the challenge the Campbell River fans to come out and show the Delta Ice Hawks just how good our fans are,” Stone said. “It know it’s exhibition and I know it’s the long weekend, but it’s a chance to show the mainland folks just how much we support junior hockey in Campbell River.”
The Sept. 1 game is also the annual tailgate barbecue, which doubles as the team’s season ticket drive. Stone promises he will be working the grill and reminds fans the burger is free for those that get their season ticket packages, or admission is $5 for those not purchasing season tickets.
“It’s a great opportunity for everyone to meet the players. It’s just kind of the kick-start to the season really,” Stone said.
The barbecue starts at 5 p.m. and runs until warm-up for the game. Face-off is at 7:30.