Brett Zarowny exudes confidence in his off-ice demeanour.
"I'm a younger guy, but, I think, I'm just as good, maybe better than those guys," said the 16-year-old about vying with a pair of 17-year-olds for the backup goaltending job with the 2011-12 edition of the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars.
"I can be the future of this team and with the combination with a 20-year-old I'd get a lot of experience from a vet, which would help me out a lot."
Zaronwny, the Cougars third-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft and the highest goalie they ever selected, along with 2009 pick Devon Fordyce and Tyler Santos - acquired in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades last summer for defenceman Marek Viedensky - are campaigning to backup Drew Owsley in the Prince George net.
The competition for the backup job - likely playing about 25 per cent or less of the games - intensified in early August when the Cougars acquired Owsley from the Tri Cities Americans for Ty Rimmer. Last season, Owsley posted a 36-17-1-1 record for the Americans with a 2.77 goals against average and a .912 save percentage, leading Tri Cities to the WHL semifinal before bowing out to Portland.
Zarowny said he believes he'll learn more from backing up Owsley, then he will from going back to Edmonton and playing AAA hockey in the Alberta Midget Hockey League for the Knights of Columbus Pats.
"When you're a backup, I tend to push more, get more competitive," said the product of Edson, Alta. "[As] a starter, yeah, you get extra games, but, I don't think, the development would be as great for me, because [midget] is a slower pace, a slower level."
Zarowny and Santos shared net duties on a mediocre Pats team last season. Zarowny posted a 6-8-1 record with a 3.79 goals against average and an .886 save percentage, while Santos, 17, was 3-15-1 with a 3.97 GAA and a .900 save percentage.
"We were basically like brothers," said Zaronwny, who won a bronze medal with Team Alberta's men's hockey team at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, playing the backup role. "Sometimes we got along really well, sometimes - since there's a competitive nature - not as well, but most of the time it was good and I really enjoyed having him as a goalie partner."
Santos, at his third WHL camp, second in Prince George, said working side by side with Zaronwny was an asset in coming into camp to battle for a role on the Cougars team.
"I think it's been good for both of us because it pushes both of us and you can see what the other one is doing," said Santos, drafted in the 10th round of the 2009 bantam class by the Blades.
The product of Sherwood Park, Alta., said he has approached camp with a different attitude than in previous years mostly because he feels he's ready to move away from home now.
"I feel I've matured a lot over the last year and I'm really determined to make the team," said Santos. "I work harder than anyone else does, that's guaranteed. I always make it that, if I wasn't the best in training then that wasn't good enough."
Devon Fordyce, a Cougars bantam pick [sixth round] in 2009, is determined to see his rivals remain teammates in Edmonton. Saturday Fordyce played 30 minutes of shutout hockey, during a scrimmage at camp..
Last year, Fordyce, a product of Cochrane, Alta., played for the AMHL UFA Bisons, where he had a 9-7-5 record, a 3.29 GAA and a .900 save percentage. Fordyce has a quiet demenour off the ice, but, he said, he's not afraid to chat on the ice or in the dressing room.
"On the ice, I'm usually very vocal and very loud and I play the puck," said Fordyce. "I try to let the guys know what needs to be done to help me out during a game."
The only other goalie left in camp is Ty Edmonds, a product of Winnipeg, drafted in the 11th round of last spring's bantam draft.
