Day 1 of the Estevan Bruins' 2014 training camp is in the books, with the first two scrimmages of camp being played today.
In the early game, Grey beat Green 9-7, while in the late game, Orange hammered Pink 9-2.
I thought the early game was fairly spirited for the first game of camp. There's bound to be some rust on the first day, but I thought they were competitive and very well-matched teams.
The second game was a different story. Orange was by far the better team, beginning with the fact they had Nolan Nicholas, Josh Rieger and Cody Durdle together on the back end, and Brett Lewchuk in goal. Pink's forwards got virtually nothing going against those guys.
Team Pink only had one returning guy, Lynnden Pastachak. A lot of times their forwards just seemed to lack communication and teamwork.
1995 born goalie Bobby Palzer, a friend of the late Nick Egan, was given a chance to come in and battle Lewchuk for the starter's job. He made some good saves, but it was a tough night for him as he let in a couple of weak goals and faced a ton of rubber.
Lewchuk wasn't tested much but looked very good.
There were two scraps today, both in the second game. The first one included 95 Americans Richard Yusa and Christian O'Dowd. Yusa (forward) had been wanting to go for a while, with O'Dowd (defenceman) wanting nothing to do with it. Finally they went at it. Wasn't much of a fight but I'd give the edge to Yusa.
Later, Josh Rieger fought Adam Canepa, a 95 American forward. Rieger definitely got the best of that one.
In the early game, I was very impressed with Wyatt Garagan. He apparently had a monster summer in the gym and he's looking like he's added a couple of steps to his game. He's going to get a chance to earn some serious ice time this year and I think he can put up some numbers.
Chaseton Sare, who's only 16, was also impressive. He made things happen out there. I can't see him making the team because of the massive logjam of forwards, but I know the team is open to keeping him this year.
1996 forward Braydon Delorme of Moose Jaw was also very noticeable in that game and made plays happen.
Youngsters Tyler Gutenberg and Curtis Meger both looked good in that game. Gutenberg (96) is likely going to be the team's backup. Meger (98) is a couple years away, but he backed up Matt Gibney for a few games last year when Lewchuk was injured.
Here's a list of players who stood out to me today. Keep in mind, just about everyone did some good things. If your name's not on this list, it doesn't mean you didn't have a good game. It's just one guy's opinion. And tomorrow will be the real test, moreso than today.
Green: Jake Tesarowski, Kyle Eberle, Jason Duret, Chaseton Sare, Braydon Delorme, Tyler Gutenberg
Gray: Jake Heerspink, RT Rice, Brandon Schaber, Carter Cowlthorp, Wyatt Garagan
Orange: Nolan Nicholas, Josh Rieger, Cody Durdle, Brady Long, Keegan Hull, Chase McKersie, Richard Yusa, Brett Lewchuk
Pink: Mason Benning, Brad Arabia, Lynnden Pastachak, Adam Canepa
Training camp rosters are here:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwO0xEtIYAAok8T.jpg
However, I believe some changes will be made for tomorrow's games.
