Competitive spirit and young talent were the magic ingredients at the Oil Capitals’ 2018 Comfort Inn fall training camp in Virden last weekend.
About 57 players tried to impress head coach and general manager Troy Leslie and the Oil Caps staff to earn a spot for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League season – or for the future. Players in camp ranged in age from recently-drafted 15-year-old prospects to 20-year-old junior hockey veterans.
“It was a competitive camp,” Leslie said. “I was impressed by our young prospects. They showed well.”
He was also pleased with the effort players put in before camp.
“There was a lot of improvement – definitely in size and strength. That is going to happen when kids get older.
“You can also tell that a lot of guys who came into camp had prepared themselves this summer and did a lot of work to get themselves ready. That was real impressive.”
The camp ran Friday through Sunday at Tundra Oil & Gas Place. It featured practices, games, skill sessions, and an information session where players and parents learned more about the Oil Capitals’ program.
After camp broke, the Virden team had just more than 30 players remaining. Some of those are youngsters whose time will come later. But many are looking to help the Oil Capitals compete while retooling after it lost several players at the end of the 2017-18 season.
Garry Cup
On Sunday night, the Red Team won the annual Garry Cup intrasquad game. With most of the team’s 20 and 19 year olds sitting out, some young returnees and prospects waged battle in what Leslie called “a spirited game.”
The annual game is named after the team’s dressing room attendant Garry Remple, who watched the game unfold from inside the Red Team players box.
Preseason
The Oil Capitals host a trio of exhibition games at Tundra Oil & Gas Place next week. The Portage Terriers are in town on Tuesday. The Dauphin Kings visit on Thursday and the Oil Capitals wrap up the preseason playing Swan Valley on Saturday.
Leslie planned to use some 16 and 17 year olds in some of the first few of the team’s six preseason tilts. Closer to the start of the regular season, veterans will see the ice more often.
“By the time you get into your final exhibition game, you’re looking at playing a team that’s going to be very similar to the team you put on the ice on the opening weekend,” Leslie said.
On the road
This week the Virden team is playing three preseason games on the road. They were slated to play in Portage on Tuesday and in Waywayseecappo on Wednesday after the Empire-Advance deadline.
These two contests are rookie games and Leslie expected to use some 15-year-old prospects. The head coach said these games can be used to introduce players to the MJHL and evaluate prospects not only for the season ahead but also the future. The Oil Caps travel to Dauphin on Saturday.
