It all starts Friday for the Prince George Cougars.
CN Centre will be a hub of activity on the ice this weekend as the Cougars open training camp for the 2013-14 season, starting with player registration at 1:30 p.m.
All players born in 1997 or 1998 (15 and 16 year olds) will be grouped on three training camp squads named after Cougars alumni players -- Team Chara, Team Byfuglien and Team Drazenovic. The returning veterans will be split into two groups -- Team Hunter and Team Mason.
This year's camp will give Cats' fans their first look at Josh Anderson, a six-foot-one, 202 pound defenceman the team selected third overall in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. Anderson played a starring role in bantam hockey last season for the Cowichan Valley tier 1 Capitals of the Vancouver Island Hockey Association.
Also skating for the first time on CN Centre ice will be 15-year-old forwards Kody McDonald (picked 24th overall) and Kolby Johnson (the 52nd overall pick).
This year's camp also marks the return of Cougars forward Alex Forsberg, 18, who left the team midway through last season and returned to his home in Saskatchewan. The Cougars picked Forsberg first overall in the 2010 bantam draft.
Team Drazenovic will hit the ice first Friday at 3:30 p.m., followed by the Team Chara-Team Byfuglien scrimmage at 5 p.m., and the Team Hunter-Team Mason scrimmage at 6:45 p.m.
Scrimmages last 45 minutes each and will continue through to 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Following Saturday's scrimmages the 1997- and 1998-born players will be grouped on two teams -- Team Setoguchi and Team Tyrell -- for a morning scrimmage Sunday at 9. The top 40 players will compete in the Young Guns game Sunday at 7 p.m., for the right to hoist the Rob Charley Cup.
Mark Holick's first training camp as head coach of the Cougars concludes Monday with an intra-squad game at CN Centre at 7 p.m. Admission for that game is $2 for adults and free for children under age 12. All of the other training camp events are open to the public and free of charge.
Cougars season tickets are now available through Ticketmaster outlets. Call 250-564-5585.
