Having recruited players since January, Battlefords AAA Stars head coach Norm Johnston had a good idea of what to expect when the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League team held their spring camp.
Following three days of action at the Civic Centre over the weekend, he has a better idea of what the squad will look like when the 2018-19 campaign gets underway.
“It was a good camp,” Johnston said. “We had a lot of players in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 age groups and they all competed hard.
“We know what our backend is going to look like but the forwards spots aren’t filled yet, and I expect to see some good battles at our main camp in August as their wasn’t much separating the group.”
The Stars stand to lose their top four scorers from last year’s squad, which missed out on the playoffs.
Adam Beckman, who led the SMAAHL in points, is expected to crack the roster of the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs, while Ty Mosimann, Damon McKenzie and Matt Flodell will all age out of the midget ranks.
“This is no disrespect to the guys that are here, but when you lose two high-end guys like Beckman and Mosimann who could score almost any time they stepped on the ice, it’s quite a difference,” Johnston said.
“As a result, it’s a pretty even group of forwards that we had out here. They are all at a similar level and it makes for a pretty good battle when they are out on the ice.”
On the blueline, Tyson Tuck and Brayden Serhyenko will both return for the second year with the Stars and will be joined by four newcomers.
“We’ve signed Logan Holm out of Saskatoon, Ethan Grabowski from Warman, Eric Robbie from Rosetown and Cole Youngman out of Saskatoon,” Johnston said.
“We’re pretty happy to get those guys signed and I’m quite pleased with the group we have.”
Grabowski and Robbie both suited for the North Stars last season, as Grabowski played in nine games and Robbie found the back of the net during an eight-game stint.
Holm, meanwhile, was an eighth round pick of the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.
The goaltending is also set in stone for the upcoming campaign, with Joseph Young slated to return for his third year with the Stars and Carter Serhyenko coming back for his sophomore season.
“At the present time that’s what we have but you never know when September rolls around,” Johnston said.
“Both guys are listed by SJHL [Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League] and WHL teams, so we have to wait and see on both of them.”
The Stars will be holding their main training camp on Aug. 18 and 19 at the Civic Centre.
