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Butler pleased with start of U18 camp

North Bay Battalion head coach Stan Butler cracked a smile as he watched Canada’s under-18 team practice in Calgary on Saturday evening. PHOTO BY LUCAS PUNKARI. Lucas Punkari Baytoday.

North Bay Battalion head coach Stan Butler cracked a smile as he watched Canada’s under-18 team practice in Calgary on Saturday evening.  PHOTO BY LUCAS PUNKARI.

Lucas Punkari
Baytoday.ca

Through two days of practice in Calgary for Canada’s men’s Under-18 team selection camp, North Bay Battalion head coach Stan Butler is thrilled with what he has seen.

“I really like their work ethic and their enthusiasm of the players so far,” Butler said. “Obviously we’re looking forward to getting started with the games on Sunday so we can start to evaluate the players more and make decisions on the guys that we will be coming to the Czech Republic with us..

The camp, which will determine the roster Canada will have at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup from Aug. 10-15, began on Friday at Markin MacPhail Centre with 43 players on hand.

“In these early practices you want to see the players work the rust off as much as possible as there are some guys who haven’t been on the ice as much as other players during the summer,” Butler said.

“We just want them to get comfortable in their surroundings here in Calgary so that they feel pretty good with what they are doing when that first game comes around.”

Butler has also already started to implement some of the systems that the team will be using once it is officially chosen on Tuesday.

“We don’t have a lot of time together before we head over as we have just one team practice on Wednesday and then we are gearing up for our flights,” Butler said.

“Even though this is just a selection camp we are trying to teach as well as we move forward.”

Butler has previously coached the men’s Under-18 team on two occasions. He was the head coach for the gold medal winning team at the 1999 Four Nations tournament and also won a silver medal as an a assistant coach at the 1998 Three Nations tournament.

He’s also coached the national junior team on two occasions. He won a silver medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2002 and a bronze medal in 2001, along with a silver he received as an assistant in 1999.

“As a coach I think you try to adjust to the times as you go forward,” Butler said. “It doesn’t matter if your coaching in the Ontario Hockey League or here, if you don’t adjust to the kids your not going to be successful. What you were doing 10 or 15 years ago may not work now with the group of players that you have.

“A lot is different on the U18 side of things as well since I was last involved. Hockey Canada is always professional but when you take a look at the facility here in Calgary, they’ve taken it one step farther for making it the best place possible to develop for the players, the coaches and everyone involved.”

The first scrimmage between teams Red and White will get take place on Sunday at 7 p.m. (9 p.m. in North Bay).
Both teams will square off again on Monday at 1 p.m. (3 p.m. in North Bay) and at 11:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. in Calgary).

North Bay Battalion forward Zach Poirier and 2014 third round pick Cameron Morrison are both on Team White. Morrison, who played for the OJHL’s Aurora Tigers last season, has committed to the University of Notre Dame for the 2016-17 season.

One notable absentee from the camp is Sarnia Sting defenceman Jakob Chychrun.

Chychrun, who is expected to be the the first blueliner taken in next year’s National Hockey League draft, is still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.