Hockey season is on and the Prince George Cougars are wasting no time with the start of their six-day training camp today at CN Centre.
Sixty-five players are expected to register today at the rink and those on the younger end of the junior age spectrum (15-17) will get their first chance to try to impress their new bosses when they suit up for the Young Guns game at 6 p.m.
The Cougars' listed prospects and free-agent players invited to camp will play for either Team Hamhuis or Team Brewer in a two-hour game at CN Centre.
"They're playing against their own age, so you can get a good gauge there, and it should be a real fun game," said Cougars general manager Mark Lamb, hired in June to replace Todd Harkins.
"For me, it's about seeing all these players with their own age group, then seeing them mixed in with the veterans and the older players. It's all about getting a good gauge on them to see where they're all at."
Lamb joined the Cougars after serving as head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League in 2016-17, after a seven-year stint as head coach and GM of the Swift Current Broncos.
"There's always some unknowns in camp and that's what's exciting about it," said Lamb. "Some of these kids grow two or three inches, some come in real good shape, some come in not so good of shape. Some take a step forward and some take a step back.
"I don't know the players - I'm getting to know them but it's a clean slate for everyone."
Lamb and the Cougars coaching staff (Richard Matvichuk, Steve O'Rourke and newly-hired goalie coach Taylor Dakers) will get their first look at 17-year-old Czech forward Matej Toman, picked fifth overall by the Cougars in the Canadian Hockey League import draft in June. Toman played for the Czech Republic at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup two weeks ago in Edmonton and Red Deer.
"Some of our scouts have seen him and he's got a pretty good skill set but it's so new for him," said Lamb. "Coming over from Europe, it's a new city, a new everything and we'll take our time with him. But he's a real good player and he'll fit in."
Also suiting up for the Young Guns game will be 15-year-olds Craig Armstrong of Airdrie, Alta., (a centre picked ninth overall in the WHL bantam draft) and Winnipeg goalie Ty Brennan (selected 21st overall).
Another player to watch is 16-year-old forward Tyson Phare of Maple Ridge, picked 18th overall by the Cats from the 2017 bantam crop. He had 20 goals and 39 points in 27 games last season for the Yale Academy midget prep team.
"I just know the stats, but that means nothing to me - I haven't seen him play," said Lamb. "I've made a point not to comment on any of the players until I do see them. That's what training camp is for and that's why I'm looking forward to it - to see all these kids and make a decision on them with the staff."
Practices and team workout sessions start at 8 a.m. Saturday. The players will then be grouped into four training camp squads (Team Chara, Team Byfuglien, Team Connolly and Team Bourke) for a series of 90-minute scrimmages in a mini-tournament that starts Saturday at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 and 6 p.m.
Scrimmages resume Monday and Tuesday and the camp ends Wednesday with the Black-White intrasquad game, starting at 6 p.m. The first round of cuts will be made after that game.
