The Arctic Ice Centre hosted the Slave Lake Wolves Junior ‘B’ hockey training camp try-outs over the weekend.
Over scrimmages and core exercises through Saturday and Sunday, coach Scotty Sinclair put the boys through their paces to see who would make the grade.
Sinclair, himself an ex Junior “A” player, is coaching the Wolves for the second year now.
“I’m going to get ‘em out there and bang them up a bit right now,” he said, as the skaters prepared to hit the ice for the first time this year.
Team Manager Wayne Sarginson, watched intensely through the glass.
“Scotty’s good,” says Sarginson. “He can skate with the best of these guys. And he’s not much older, so the guys really respect him.”
He went on to say, “These guys aren’t in great shape yet.
“They’re not looking bad, but they are rusty,” he said.
“Last year, they placed last out of eight teams, but that’s no big deal.
“We try to get as many local guys as possible. It’s just what we’re about. If we got some guys from Edmonton or somewhere else, local guys wouldn’t be able to play. That’s not right.”
And so, they sacrifice some standings. But it makes for a better game, and a tighter team.
The first game is Sat., Sept 29 at the Fort St. John arena, where they play the Huskies on their home ice.
The Huskies were the number one ‘B’ team last year, with 57 goals overall.
After a disappointing 2006 season for the Wolves, playing last year’s top team first might be just what the team needs to get moving.
Like the saying goes, if you fall off the horse, jump right back on it.
The camp hosted players as young as 15 and old as 21, though 16-20 is the legal limit for game play.

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