Red Deer Rebels GM/coach Jesse Wallin predicted — and was hoping — that this year’s training camp would be a highly-competitive affair.
He wasn’t disappointed.
“Outside of the first day, I thought the camp met our expectations,” Wallin said Tuesday, after whittling the list of 73 players — rookie and main camp combined — to 48 for a late-day scrimmage that served as somewhat of a preview of tonight’s McDonald’s Black and White intrasquad game at 7 p.m.
“The fitness testing and the nerves of the first day made a lot of players quite tentative,” the Rebels boss continued. “But yesterday was a real good day and today was much more of the same. The scrimmages were intense and played at a pretty good pace.
“There’s certainly some competition out there. The younger returning guys have shown improvement and look bigger, stronger and faster, and there are some young new faces like Brooks Maxwell and Joel Hamilton as well as some free agent guys who have stood out as well.”
Of the 25 players cut, the vast majority were from rookie camp. Released outright from main camp were defencemen David Heath and Danys Chartrand, forward Kyle Oleniuk and goaltender Stephen Klein.
Wallin was impressed with a rather large handful of rookie camp performers, including defencemen Haydn Fleury, 15, Cole Nicholson, Kevin Pochuk and Kayle Doetzel, all 16, forwards Cory Millette, 16, and Conner Bleackley, 15, and goaltenders Will Heseltine, 16, and Grant Naherniak, 15.
All will play in the Black and White game and some will be reassigned following the contest.
“A couple of guys we expected to stand out, Doetzel and Bleackley (the club’s first-round draft picks in 2010 and this year, respectively) got better after a slow first day and Fleury (a second-round pick this year) was impressive,” said Wallin. “He’s a big boy who skates very well.
“The guys who you would certainly expect to stand out did that.”
• As was the case with teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins last year, defenceman Mathew Dumba sat out training camp and will watch the intrasquad game from the stands or press box.
“Like Ryan, Mathew played hockey all of August. After returning from overseas (with the Canadian national under-18 team), he flew to Toronto (for a NHL developmental/orientation camp),” said Wallin. “We’ll give him a week off to catch his breath and get him skating Friday.”
Josh Cowen will also miss the intrasquad game following the death of his grandmother Tuesday. Wallin will also scratch fellow veterans John Persson, Byron Froese, Justin Weller, Aaron Borejko and Alex Petrovic.
• Millette netted the shootout winner as Team Silver slipped past Team Burgundy 5-4 in Tuesday’s Black and White preview contest.
Millette also scored in regulation time, with Froese, Bleackley and Dexter Bricker also connecting for Team Silver. Adam Kambeitz sniped two goals for Team Burgundy, which got singles from Persson and Marc McCoy.
• Following are the lineups for the Black and White game (x-rookie camp player):
Team White
Goal — Dawson Guhle; x-Will Heseltine; x-Grant Naherniak.
Defence — Davin Stener; Cody Thiel; Stephen Hak; Lucas Grayson; x-Vukie Mpufo; x-Kayle Doetzel; x-Dallas Bergstrom.
Forward — Turner Elson; Daulton Siwak; Chase McMurphy; Josh Hamilton; Chad Robinson; Trace Elson; Tad Kozun; Marc McCoy; x-Chase Thudium; x-Earl Webb; x-Scott Feser.
Team Black
Goal — Patrik Bartosak; Bolton Pouliot.
Defence — Matt Pufahl; Brett Blatz; Brad Deagle; x-Kevin Pochuk; x-Haydn Fleury; x-Jake McLachlan; x-Cole Nicholson.
Forward — Tyson Ness; Adam Kambeitz; x-Cory Millette; Colten Mayor; Brooks Maxwell; Locke Muller; x-Dexter Bricker; x-Conner Bleackley; Mason Burr; x-Rod Southam; x-Scot Ferguson.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com