Vees hosting bantam camp this weekend

While the focus is on providing an education on what the B.C. Hockey League is all about, the Penticton Vees have procured some top-end talent from their annual Bantam Exposure Showcase.

Some 70-75 players — mainly born in 2003, but with a handful of 2004s and even one 2005 — will be divided into four teams for the seventh annual camp this Saturday and Sunday at the OHS Training Centre rink at the South Okanagan Events Centre. NHL first-round draft picks Tyson Jost and Dante Fabbro, and current Vees forwards Massimo Rizzo and Cole Shepard attended the camp in recent years.

“It’s not just about us, it’s about our league and what we offer in terms of the opportunity to earn scholarships to NCAA Division 1 programs,” said Vees president, GM and head coach Fred Harbinson. “A lot of these young players have gone on to play with us and other teams in our league.”

Harbinson said while none of the players are eligible to suit up for the Vees in 2018-19, they could be signed on as affiliated players and be called up for games in the event of injury or other absences.

He added many of the players — just as Jost, Fabbro, Rizzo and Shepard were — will be selected in the Western Hockey League’s Bantam Draft in May.

Harbinson said the camp will also give college scouts an opportunity to see some of the young players in game action.

The four teams have been named in honour of former Vees Jost, Fabbro, Troy Stecher and Mike Reilly — the latter two of who played for the Penticton team that won the RBC Cup national championship in May of 2012.

There are four games set for Saturday with Team Reilly playing Team Fabbro at 9 a.m., Team Jost versus Team Stecher at 10:30 a.m., Reilly vs. Jost at 1 p.m. and Stecher vs. Fabbro at 2:30 p.m.

The last game will be followed by a seminar focused on life with the Vees, development path, recruitment and alumni video, and a college hockey question-and-answer session.

On Sunday, Fabbro plays Jost at 9 a.m., and Stecher takes on Reilly in the last game at 10:30 a.m. One-on-one interviews follow each game.