Ference calls in the army
Soldiers lead Oilers prospects on trek to test their fortitude
Jasper — Andrew Ference has sat through enough speeches in his day to know there had to be a better way of delivering a message that would last through the seasons to come.
So the Edmonton Oilers captain put in a call to Staff Sgt. Lucas Carr, a U.S. army Ranger, and the two began planning an overnight trek for the 30 prospects attending the NHL club’s orientation camp.
The intent of the expedition was to test the players’ fortitude.
“I’m not really much for having a chat. I don’t know how much you really get out of it. I just wanted to do something a little more productive and we are trying to trend the team toward a tougher attitude,” Ference said Sunday afternoon, before the group headed out with a tank commander and a soldier with the reconnaissance unit in the Canadian Army, as well as Carr.
They were going to run the players through the same kind of procedures that they’ve had to do in the field, from foot patrols to setting up a base camp to finding food and water. All of it was endorsed by the Oilers’ management team, even though it went well beyond the scope of the initial request.
General manager Craig MacTavish had just asked Ference if he’d talk to the players during the development camp.
“It’s pretty much the full meal deal. It’s not a little camping trip,” said Ference, who visited the Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Ga., with Carr as well as a sniper school, but was also new to Sunday’s experience.
“If guys are going to complain after one night, well, every one of these guys has done six to nine months straight, with people actually shooting at them,” Ference continued.
“If you can’t handle one night of it, what are you going to do in the playoffs when the plane is delayed and you’re only getting four hours of sleep? Or if you’re in the last minute (of a game) and you’re down by a couple of goals? It’s always about pressure. And the pressures we have to deal with are pretty small.”
The trek was circled on several players’ lists as a can’tmiss experience, if not somewhat trepidatiously.
The group headed out with sleeping bags, but without tents. They did have some rations, but foraging was involved. Watchmen were required for shifts throughout the night.
The overnight expedition also came on the heels of a two-hour, on-ice testing session. “It’s about working as a team under duress,” said Carr. “You need skill and intestinal fortitude to play in the NHL.”
Throughout the course of the orientation camp, there has been less focus on intense on-ice drills and more focus on teaching and team building. The players have been bunking in cabins that have no TVs and no Internet access. Mountain bikes have been their mode of transportation.
The Oilers hosted a golf tournament for the group at the Jasper Park Lodge. Those players who didn’t golf visited a seniors’ lodge and toured the new Glacier Skywalk off the Icefields Parkway. There was a 90-minute bike ride up mountain trails with a local guide, as well as Ference’s outing wrapped around the video and on-ice sessions.
The camp concludes with an intrasquad game Monday night.
“It’s just about getting them out of their comfort zones. They have to go back and perform (Monday) night, so we’re throwing a curveball. How do they deal with it?” said Ference.
Carr has served in the Middle East, mostly Iraq, so running into a bear was not much of a concern for him. The group did have bear bangers and the military experts spent Saturday night constructing practice bombs out of their MRE packs (military meals ready to eat).
They were exercises to stretcher people out, hockey bags were loaded up with 50 pounds of gear that required hauling, and the players were pushed to exhibit some leadership skills.
The terrain mapped out was not physically taxing. Mentally? That was another story, although most players left with a sense of humour.
“I guess somebody is coming with a gun, so that’s going to give us some peace of mind,” winger Mitch Moroz said before they headed out with no real sense of what was about to unfold, since the players were kept in the dark about most of the details.
“I think there was a butter knife in my room,” defenceman Darnell Nurse said. “I’m going to bring that and try to hunt for some food see if I can start a fire.
“This is way beyond my comfort zone. I think I slept in a tent one night when I was younger.”