PHOTO: Rookie forward Nolan Kurylo (Blue #12) had two goals in this year’s Blue-White game to lead Team Blue to a 4-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Canmore Recreation Centre. (photo courtesy of Noel Rogers)
Now that their intensive four-day training camp is complete, the Canmore Eagles can get down to the serious business of fine tuning their starting lineup for the upcoming 2015-16 Alberta Junior Hockey League season.
With over 60 players in attendance when training camp opened on Thursday August 27, the coaching staff and scouting team have now reduced the team’s roster down to approximately 40 players as the club prepares for this week’s three exhibition games.
The Eagles will play a home and away split squad series with the Olds Grizzlys on Tuesday Sept. 1 and will follow that up with an away game against the Calgary Canucks on Thursday, Sept .3 and a re-match at home against the Canucks on Friday, Sept. 4. (Please note that Friday’s home game against Calgary has been re-scheduled from Thursday, Sept. 3)
In Sunday’s annual Blue-White Intra-squad game at the Canmore Recreation Centre, rookie forward Nolan Kurylo scored two goals to lead Team Blue to a 4-2 victory over Team White. Nicholas Wihak and Sawyer Hunt had the other goals for Team Blue, while Kurt Hildebrand and Troy Feldbusch replied for Team White.
“It’s been a very hectic four days for both our players and our scouting staff, but we’re generally very pleased with what we’ve seen thus far,” said Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne. “The players scored very well on their fitness testing and played a lot of hockey over the last four days. They put forth great effort and forced our scouting staff to make a lot of very difficult decisions to reduce our roster down to a more manageable number.”
Asked if any rookies stood out in their training camp performances, Milne indicated that a few newcomers certainly left a good first impression.
“Nolan Kurylo (Calgary Flames AAA), Braden Saretsky (Kimberley), Daylan Marchi (Lethbridge Hurricanes) and Adamu Tanaka (Calgary Buffaloes) all had very solid camps,” said Milne. “But now, the competition will get a lot harder as we start battling other AJHL teams. Everyone is battling for a spot on their respective rosters, so the games are just going to get more intense going forward. That will be a true test of how everyone performs under pressure.”
NOTEBOOK: The Eagles have three additional players currently attending Western Hockey League camps as Noah Philp (Kootenay Ice) Adam Tisdale (Portland Winterhawks) and Jacob Ashton (Lethbridge Hurricanes) all missed participating in the Blue White game. . . Season ticket holders can pick up their season ticket packages at either Tuesday night or Friday night’s home exhibition games. Both games start at 7 PM . . . The Eagles are pleased to welcome Noel Rogers from Bow Valley Photography as our new photographer this season . . . The Eagles will open their regular season at home on September 11 when the Brooks Bandits pay a visit to Canmore.