THE WEDNESDAY THRILLER … WITH PHIL ANDREWS

Voice of the Pats Phil Andrews

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend. Would have liked a little better weather but I was able to get a couple of rounds of golf in so I wont complain. Lets get right to it:

The Regina Pats will open their 2014 Spring Training Camp on Friday at the Cooperators Centre. The Pats’ 2013 and 2014 draft class will be in attendance as well as a few list players. There will be a total of 20 kids from the 1998 and 99 age group at the camp this weekend and they’ll take part in three on ice sessions.

As Senior VP and GM Chad Lang puts it, it’s not all about seeing the kids on the ice. “The biggest thing, it’s an opportunity for our staff to interact not only with the players but with the parents of those that we’ve selected in the previous two drafts or listed in the meantime.  It’s a real laid back environment, it’s a good opportunity for us to get to know these players a little more on a personal level and show them what our program’s all about.  It’s a real exciting weekend, I know its one the staff enjoys and I know speaking with players who previously attended, they really enjoyed it.”

That being said, Lang says it will be good to see the progression of the players.

“I think for us it’s an opportunity to see the growth and development of those guys coming in to their second spring camp and then the opportunity to finally bring in our draft picks that we just selected in the last Bantam Draft.  It’s an opportunity for those two age groups of players to build relationships and see how they stack up against their peer group.  It gives us an early indication which players may have the potential to compete for a roster spot come fall camp.”

One prospect will not be in attendance, defenseman Liam Schioler, who is unable to make the trip up Shattuck St. Mary’s. Lang says that he has some other commitments.

“Liam indicated early that Spring Camp wasn’t going to be an option, once we declared the weekend, because he is in the midst of writing exams. We respect that and we respect the process. We fully expect him to be at fall camp and we think he is one of the prospects that will have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot this year.”

Schioler has not signed with the Pats as of yet but Lang says he isn’t losing sleep over it.

“We’re not too concerned.  We’ve had really good dialogue with the player and the parents.  They have wanted to go at it a little slower than maybe some previous prospects but all the conversations have been good and we fully expect him at fall camp.  We believe the Western Hockey League is the best route for him and I think he realizes that as well.  We will get him to fall camp and if we feel he’s ready, which all indications are that he is, we are hoping to get him signed and hopefully he will be on our roster going into this upcoming season.”

Sam Steel and Liam Schioler are the top prospects coming into their 16 year old season but Lang says he is excited to see some of the other 1997/98 born players coming in.

“You know what, those kids all in that age group have taken a stride. With Rykr Cole, he had an opportunity to play a game with us this year.  Jake Elmer has taken huge strides.  I know when we drafted him he was about a 5’9″ kid but he’s well over 6’1″ now.  So we like his upside and how he has progressed.  Players like Jared McAmmond, another player that took huge strides, and Luc Smith out of Alberta. We really like how our kids have progressed and how they have developed and it’s a credit to our scouting staff.  They have identified not only good players but quality individuals and we are real excited to get going here on Friday.”

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SLAPSHOTS

– Sad news this weekend that Access 7 employee Chris Workman passed away in hospital.  Chris was the audio technician for every episode of Pats TV last year.  Rest in peace and my condolences to his family and friends.  A good guy no doubt.

– On a much happier note, congrats to the Yorkton Terriers on winning the RBC Cup on Sunday. What a comeback and what a season!  Trent Cassan and his staff have done an unbelievable job with that team and it was good to see a Saskatchewan club win the national championship.

– No playoff hockey Tuesday night?  Not used to this lack of games in the NHL.  I miss the first round when there were three games a night.

Tough luck for the Montreal Canadiens losing Carey Price.  I’m the furthest thing from a Habs fan but you never want to see a team lose because of an injury.  The Rangers might have been gifted a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. I do not subscribe to the notion that Chris Kreider hurt Price on purpose.  It looked pretty obvious to me that it was an accident.  I know I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the way.  I was surprised however that Montreal made it public that Price would not play for the rest of the series. I would have kept that a secret for sure but in the end it doesn’t matter.

– The Kings trail a series, what else is new, but it seems they don’t start playing until they face elimination.  However Chicago is a different beast in my opinion and will be facing the Rangers for the Cup.

– The MasterCard Memorial Cup continues in London Ontario.  It’s been a tough go so far for the host Knights who lost their first two games and will take on the Guelph Storm Wednesday night. Guelph has already secured their spot in the final on Sunday and are the team that eliminated London from the OHL Playoffs a month prior to the tournament.  A must win for the Knights to get a spot in a tie breaker game against Edmonton.

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That’s it for today, have a good week.


Phil
@PhilTheThrill18


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