Photo: Second year forward Lane Olson has impressed in this year's training camp and picked up a goal and two assists in last night's BLUE-WHITE intersquad game.
Now that their intensive three-day training camp is complete, the Canmore Eagles can get down to the serious business of fine tuning their starting line-up for their upcoming 2014-15 Alberta Junior Hockey League season.
With close to 70 players in attendance when camp opened on Monday, August 25, the coaching staff and scouting team have now paired the team’s roster number down to 30 players as the club prepares for this weekend’s mini three-game exhibition tournament in Calgary.
“I think our training camp to date has been excellent,” said Eagle's Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “Our practices and inter-squad games were played at a really good pace and we saw some intense battles and commitment from our players.
“I have been impressed with a number of our veteran players over the past few days. Lane Olson and Connor Wilson have been all over the score sheet the past few days. Overall I can't say one returning player has not come to camp in fantastic shape and taken a step forward over the summer months. I am pleased and excited with our returning veterans so far.”
Asked if any rookies have impressed, Milne indicated that a few players have certainly stood out.
“Up front a few players have looked great. Logan Ferguson looks ready to make the jump to Junior A hockey and Matt Forchuk looks like a good fit to add to the overall dynamic of our group.”
With just 30 players remaining in camp, Milne will use this weekend’s exhibition tournament in Calgary to further access his club’s personnel.
“This weekend will give us an excellent opportunity to identify where our players are at,” said Milne. “The pace will certainly pick up and we need to make some decisions fairly quickly. We need to see who can adjust and who can't. We also need to see which players fit into the group.”
NOTEBOOK: This weekend’s exhibition tournament will see the Eagles play the Calgary Mustangs (Friday Sept. 29 at 3:30), Calgary Canucks (Saturday, August 30 at 7 pm) and the Olds Grizzlys (Sunday, August 31 at 1 pm). All games will be played at the Max Bell Arena. . .In last night’s BLUE-WHITE inter-squad game, defenceman Brett Schimmel scored in overtime to give Team White a 5-4 victory over Team Blue. Not seeing action in last night’s BLUE-WHITE game were veterans Simon Philp, Jordan Revie, Jeremy Gordon, Joe Serpico, Nik Kosman, Ashton McLeod, Jakob Lavoie, Ryan Ferguson and newcomer Griffin Mumby. . .. The Eagles only home exhibition game will be played on Tuesday, September 2 at 7 pm against the Calgary Canucks. . . Season ticket holders can pick up this year’s season ticket package prior to Tuesday night’s game. Registration for the Eagle's golf tournament on September 14 at the Brewster Kananaskis Ranch Golf Course is rapidly filling up. If you want to join us, please contact marketing@canmoreeagles.com ASAP.
