IceDogs open camp with 75 hopefuls
It’s the day they have been waiting for all summer.
Seventy-five players hit the ice for the Niagara IceDogs at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines with a chance to prove themselves on the first day of training camp.
“Every year we have players that play their way onto the team,” said Billy Burke, the IceDogs second-year head coach. “We had Andrew Bruder do that last year. He had a great camp, and ended up being a nice piece for us.
“There are spots available. No one on this team should be comfortable. It’s an incredibly competitive league, and we have to make sure no one is taking anything for granted.”
The IceDogs will spend the next three days continually scrimmaging with the players split into four squads.
The scrimmage portion of training camp culminates in the Black and White game Thursday at 7 p.m. at Meridian Centre.
Thursday also marks the first cut-down day. The staff makes most of the cuts in the morning, with a few more after another look in the Black and White game.
“We go straight to scrimmaging,” Burke said. “It allows us the see how these guys perform in games. Right off the bat, we want to see how they play with other players and in different situations.
“It’s not quite the speed of the regular season, but they are out there with the vets right away. Some teams will break it up into rookies and vets. We don’t do that. Everyone is out on the ice together.”
Friday, the IceDogs will open the exhibition season with a game in Thorold against the Barrie Colts at 7 p.m.
The team bus leaves Meridian Centre at 4 p.m. Players not dressing for the game will practise at 10 a.m. after the morning skate and will make the trip in civilian clothes.
The IceDogs have exit meetings with everyone cut from the team, Burke said. The days of posting a list of players who survived the cut on the bulletin board are long gone.
“If we release a guy, we tell him face-to-face,” Burke said. “We have notes on everyone by the time the first 48 hours are over.
“That way we can give them something to take away after the cuts. It is something they can work on, so they have a little more confidence after having been in an OHL camp.
“It’s about giving these players the respect they deserve. Someone in the organization has identified every player as having the potential to be an IceDog.”
The team has off-days Saturday and Sunday. Less than 30 players begin the second week of camp. That’s a manageable number for the coaches. That’s when the hardcore practice and instruction begins.
“You want to make sure you aren’t sending someone elsewhere too early,” Burke said. “You want to give those final cuts a real chance as the tempo continues to rise.”
In mid-September, NHL teams open training camps and seven IceDogs will fan out across North America with Ben Jones off to Las Vegas, Kirill Maksimov to Edmonton, Ivan Lodnia to Minnesota, Daniel Bukac to Boston, Akil Thomas to Los Angeles, Drew Hunter to Toronto and Stephen Dhillon to Montreal.
“The teams that typically win the league are the ones that have more than six or seven NHL draft picks,” said Joey Burke, the general manager. “We are headed in the right direction in that area. With the depth we have up front, and on the back end, we should be exciting.”