Skyhawks hit the ice

More than 30 players including rookies and veterans hit the ice on Saturday to start the North Bay Skyhawks training camp. Photo by Blake McChristie.

Story by Blake McChristie

The North Bay Skyhawks held their training camp at the Pete Pelangio Arena on Saturday August 9th. Although there are only a handful of open spots, many players came out to show their stuff.

Coaches Ian Swalucynski and Guy Blanchard invited these players to tryout at this training camp after the candidates had previously caught their eye at the spring a training camp held in May.

"We want to be bigger, we want to be tougher, we want to be faster and keep the skill level," said second year Swalucynski who will be starting his first full season as head coach of the Skyhawks after taking over the head coaching position from Darren Turcotte last November.

Swalucynski says the biggest goal of this Skyhawks training camp is to fill many key positions that are still open. The first and most noticeable being a goaltender. Both Ian Wilson and Andre Laperriere are not returning. Ian Wilson is joined the NCAA Hockey League in the United States, and Andre Laperriere is no longer eligible to play in the NOJHL on account of his age. So a new goaltender is definitely on the list.

Skyhawks future

The Skyhawks are looking forward to a season where the NOJHL expanded by two - adding the Soo Eagles in the West and the Temiscaming Royals in the East.

"It’s great for us playing Sudbury more - Abitibi more," said Swalucynski, who added that building strong rivalries makes a better team and increases fan interest.

With the 2008-2009 season being quite possibly the last season for the North Bay Skyhawkes, Ian Swalucynski is looking for a lot of fan turnout and support.

"We want the Mayor and the people on council to come out and see what they’re going to miss. In order for that to happen, we need the fans to come out and support us. After all we are defending North Bay and showing what kind of hockey town North Bay is."

When asked about this being his last season with the North Bay Skyhawkes, defenceman Brad Norkum expressed that in a way he was looking forward to the chance to tryout for the Nipissing University hockey team next year. Norkum is currently in the accounting program at Canadore College, and with the right grades, he may be able to attend Nipissing University in the fall of 2009, thus making him eligible to try out for the team.

Defenceman Kyle Radigan, on the other hand, is more disappointed at potentially not being able to continue his junior hockey career as a Skyhawk after this season.

"It’s too bad that they were not to be able to come to an agreement. If there is no team, I might look at going to the Nipissing team," said Radigan.

The Skyhawks take to the ice on September 7th, facing off against their new Highway 63 rival, the Temiscaming Royals at 7:00 p.m. at the Gardens.