Lots of prospects at Trappers Camp

The ice was packed with more than 50 kids during a pair of ice sessions for day two of the North Bay Trappers camp.

New Trappers head coach John Couch watched the two scrimmage ice sessions at Pete Palangio arena as part of day 2 of the Midget AAA team’s main training camp.

“We’ve had a lot of kids come back from the high schools and kids from last year’s team,” said Couch prior to the first ice session Tuesday night.

Veteran presence

Returning forwards Dylan Staples and Scott Pawson stuck out during the scrimmage action. Staples scored 11 goals and 22 assist for 33 points in 34 games last season as an underage. The young sniper was considering playing in Toronto at a private school this fall but appears to have had a change of heart and will play his minor midget year and OHL draft year, with the North Bay Trappers.

“It’s nice to have a player of his caliber coming back wanting to wear a Trapper uniform,” said Couch.

“It’s going to be exciting, I don’t know him that well but it will be exciting to coach him for sure.”

Other returnees at camp included blueliners Dakota Barnhardt, Casey Restoule and Michel Bedard, while up front Pawson and Staples will be joined by Tyler Field and Anthony Trozzo.

Incumbent forward Roch Pellerin may join the club this fall but that won't happen soon. Pellerin suffered a serious foot injury sustained in a car accident earlier this summer in his hometown of Verner.

Some of the key players eligible to return that have not been seen at the rink are forward Mitchell Davis and defenceman Pascal Seguin.

“We are still hoping more kids from last year would come back – there’s 3 or 4 of them that haven’t shown up yet but hopefully they will have a change of heart and come back and try out for the club but all in all the kids that are out there are working their butts off,” said Couch.

Another notable underage player at camp is 13-year-old Brett Hargrave. The forward played as an underage with the Bantam AAA Blades last season and is looking to crack the Trappers lineup this fall.

The goalie battle

The nets were filled with 10 goalies vying for the 2 spots. Incumbent Tanner Davis was on the ice but he is hoping to join the North Bay Skyhawks this season. His partner Patrick Rochefort is eligible to return but he is playing for a Private School in Lake Placid, NY this fall.

Couch believes the four pre-season games will be a key component in the goalie selection process.

Making the cut

The Trappers coaching staff will run another ice session on Wednesday and make their first set of cuts after that session. On Thursday the team will begin a dryland training session.

The Midget AAA team will play a pair of pre-season games this weekend. On Saturday they visit the Nickel City Sons in Val Caron. Game time is 2 p.m. The Trappers will be on home ice on Sunday when the host the Nickel City Sons at Memorial Gardens. Game time is 1:30 p.m.

New Site

The North Bay Trappers recently launched their new website. It can be viewed at www.northbaytrappers.ca

Photo of Dylan Staples