Competition was intense all weekend during the Prince George Spruce Kings annual spring camp, leaving some players elated and others disappointed.
Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes said the calibre of the play during the three-day camp made for some tough decisions when it came to narrowing down the 150 players to the top 42 for Sunday's top prospects game.
"It was probably the best camp that we've ever had as far as the level of competition went," said Hawes. "The kids came in here and played extremely hard and did everything they could to try and earn a spot on our club.
"It's not an exact science that's for sure, there's probably some kids who maybe should've been in there and some that shouldn't have, but we do the best we can in identifying 42," he added.
Among the players to earn a spot in the prospects game were seven from Prince George - defenceman Nicholas Headrick and forwards Donovan Law, Derek Bulmer, Tre Potskin, Brogan O'Brien, Riley Hawes and Logan Styler.
There were also six American players who earned a roster spot in the final game, three defencemen, Alexander Stoley (Calif.), Caleb Thompson (Oklahoma) and Charlie Reed (Ohio) and three forwards, Brandon Wolfe (Indiana), Preston McConnell (Montana) and Joey Palumbo (New York).
Spruce Kings head coach Dave Dupas conducted exit meetings with the final 42 players after Team White's come-from-behind 3-2 win over Team Blue, inviting some players to the B.C. Hockey League's main camp in August while letting some players know they should look elsewhere to further their hockey careers.
Connor Burk, a 17-year-old, five-foot-five forward from Coquitlam, will be on the ice at the Coliseum in August trying to crack the Spruce Kings 2013-14 roster.
"He's a dynamic player, not the biggest kid in the world, but he's a real hardworking guy that is good offensively," said Hawes. "He's definitely got a bright future in the game. He's going to be a very good player in this league. We'll give him every opportunity to make the team."
Burk played with the BCMML Vancouver northeast Chiefs last season where he put up 43 points.
In the prospects game Alec Dawdyiak, Riley Hawes - Mike's son - and Bulmer helped Team White erase a 2-0 deficit for the win. Bulmer potted the winner on a nice feed from former Cariboo Cougar Brett Harris.
Hawes took of his GM cap for a moment to express his pleasure at his son's performance.
"He had a good camp and I'm proud of him," said Hawes. "First and foremost I'm a dad and I'm the GM second. We'll see what happens with him. If he's good enough to be on our team and he's going to help us have success then he's going to be here, if he's not quite good enough to do that then he's not going to be here. He knows that."
Riley was captain of the Prince George midget triple-A team that finished third at the provincial tournament last season.
Jesse Jenks, of Duncan, stopped 35 shots in the Team Blue net in an impressive showing as he attempts to fill the roster spot left open by graduating goalie Kirk Thompson. Luke Grassi, of Lashburn, Sask., wasn't as busy in the Team White net, facing just 24 shots. Jenks, Grassi and Surrey's Tate Sproxton are all 1995-born goalies, while the fourth masked man in the elite game was Kamloops Bailey DePalma, a 1997-born player.
Hawes said he was happy with work and effort all 22 goaltenders in camp put out and he'd like to see them, and the returning Liam McLeod, battle for the two spots.
"The four that rolled over into the prospect game were very good and are potentially the goaltenders we'll look at bringing back to our main camp in August and seeing what they're capable of at that time," said Hawes.
Other players outside of B.C. that earned a chance to skate in the prospects game were forwards Jonathan Brumwell, of Calgary, who played 11 games with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs last season, and Brandon Switzer, of Brandon, Man., who earned an assist on Dawdyiak's rebound goal.
