The ice is in and hockey season is just around the corner.
Midget and bantam aged players hit the ice on the weekend for the Battlefords Midget Stars' training camp and new head coach Lorne Nielsen was excited with what he saw.
"It was a very competitive camp," said Nielsen. "We should have good depth in goal and on the backend."
One of the key pieces for the 2011-12 season will be veteran Blair Mahon. Mahon played 25 games last season splitting time with Regan Santoro and now will be competing with Nigel Rempel, the 1996-born goaltender.
After the goalie sessions with former NHLer Corey Schwab, Nielsen said all the goalies looked good, but Rempel simply appeared more in control in his net and with him being a first-year midget goalie that was a bonus as well.
Rempel's team lost in the black and white intrasquad game 3-2, but he faced 17 shots allowing just one goal in just over 30 minutes played. Mahon, started in net for the black team and made 13 saves while allowing two goals, as his team held on for the win.
With four returning defencemen to the Stars' roster, that appears to be the strength of the team heading into the season. Veteran 1994-born defencemen Garrett Zelinski and Reece Fenrich along with 1995-born defencemen Eric Pfeifer and Robin Yew will anchor the backend. Also signing with the team after camp was Brock Weston, a 1995-born defenceman from Maidstone.
Returning forwards include Ryne Keller, Blake Young, Zachary Klebaum and Regan Yew all of which played well in the intrasqaud game and impressed their new coach with their conditioning. Yew, who scored in the black and white game looked to be one of the better forwards on the ice all weekend, and Nielsen commented on how him and his twin brother Robin had increased their strength from spring camp when he first evaluated the players.
Joining the four returning veterans up front will be Carter Danczak, who played in Prince Albert last season with the Mintos, but is moved home to play with the Stars this season. Also signing with the team was Brody Tatchell who played five games as an affiliated player last season.
Other rookie forwards, Tyson Empey, Austin Duzan and Ashton Clark have also signed with the Stars.
Colby Cave, the Stars' leading point producer last season also signed with the team, but it is highly unlikely he will be passed up by the WHL and SJHL and made available for the Stars and for that reason he never played in the intrasquad game Sunday.
The Stars will practice twice this week and are scheduled to practice two more times next week, as players prepare for their junior camps near the end of August.
The exhibition season for the Stars begins Sept. 8 in Saskatoon with the regular season set to start Sept. 24 in Notre Dame against the Argos.
So begins the season of optimism and clean slate for the Stars who were 10-32-1-1 last season and in 11th place in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.
