AAA midget players were strutting their stuff in an attempt to catch the notice of Yorkton Harvest coaching staff at the annual spring camp at the Gallagher Centre, Farrell Agencies Arena over the weekend.
Yorkton Harvest head coach Jeff Odgers says the camp had a great turnout with 110 players turning out for the spring camp. "That includes the veteran guys from last year," he notes. The camp was very competitive which made for some tough decisions for Harvest staff, Odgers states.
The spring camp, basically an identification process, will possibly see two or three players signed and guaranteed a place on the team. In addition a number of players who show promise will be invited back to the fall camp for another chance to win a place with the Harvest.
The three day camp saw six teams do some skills like skating backwards, scoring, shooting, four on four drills, to give coaches some idea of player skill levels Friday. Saturday followed with a round robin tournament with each team playing two games. Sunday saw three championship games, A, B and C side played, Odgers reports.
A couple of apparently high spirited players chose to drop the gloves during the weekend. While the Harvest doesn't promote fighting, Odgers suggests there was nothing wrong with it. The boys ages 15 to 17 years, who have lots of energy and 'go', may have wanted to prove a point and get noticed. "That's part of the game," Odgers says.
The fall camp is usually around the second weekend in August. Players in the fall will be identified at the spring camp. As well players who may be released from other teams around the league and/or returning veterans will be evaluated at the fall camp.
The Harvest has five openings for defensemen and a minimum of four on forwards, Odgers reports. Additionally three or four players attending junior camps are questionable returnees. "The challenging part of AAA Midget hockey is the Western Hockey League and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League all get first choices at your players," he points out. The league develops young players. "You want to see them go on. That's what they come to AAA midget for but at the same point it makes it hard with us being able to sign only 20 guys. It makes decisions in the fall pretty tough," Odgers closes.
