Tipped Off
08-21-2006, 12:57 PM
Peters and Chiefs Prepare for Camp (http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3364817)
08/18/06 - Western Hockey League (WHL) Spokane Chiefs
Next Friday the off-season is over. Eighty plus players will take the ice for the first set of scrimmages at the 2006 Spokane Chiefs Fall Camp in the Spokane Arena and for Head Coach Bill Peters, it is coming at a perfect time.
"It has been a long enough summer and lots of guys have done a great job in off season training and we are looking forward to getting started," the second year Head Coach said.
"Let's get it going," Peters said with a smile.
The Chiefs fall camp marks the beginning of the 2006- 07 season and will be open to the public with ice sessions on Friday and Saturday. The weekend will culminate with the Red-White Game at 1:00 on Sunday, August 27th. All ice sessions will be free of charge.
Five months have passed since the final game of the regular season last year but, for Peters and the Chiefs, a slew of changes and achievements have made, "It an exciting summer for us, obviously longer than we wanted it to be, but great things happened.
"First off, Sean Zimmerman got the opportunity to play a few games in the American Hockey League, then signs a pro contract with the Devils and then get invited to the U.S. under-20 camp. Michael Grabner gets taken in the first round of the NHL draft and we get the opportunity to select a player of Ond?oman's talent in the first round of the Import Draft. He is a quality pick like Grabner was and will be a big reward down the road."
Roman, a forward from the Czech Republic taken fifth overall in the CHL Import Draft, is expected to be on the ice at camp, as well as 19 of the 24 players that finished last year on the Spokane roster. That number will give fans familiar bodies to watch throughout camp and should help the new faces transition into the WHL, "With the veterans, we expect them to lead the way," Peters said. "They know what the transition is like, living away from home and playing in this league. There are a lot of things they can do to help and get the new players acclimated or better prepared."
The amount of experience will not only help smooth the evolution of a young player, it will also foster competition within the team, "Its going to be exciting as it sorts itself out. Nobody is going to be given something for free, they're going to have to continue to earn the job. (Assistant Coach) Steve (Pleau) and I have already talked about it and know exactly what players are given at the next level, which is exactly nothing, they have to work for it.
"We are nine deep on the backend and that is going to be a competitive situation and interesting to see how the players work for those positions. I don't think our goaltending situation has ever been deeper. We have a quality starter and three solid guys for the back-up spot. I hope they push each other hard. We will probably have to carry three goaltenders early in the season just to give it a fair chance of playing itself out," Peters said.
New Assistant Pleau will join Peters on the bench this year and experience his first Chiefs training camp shortly after arriving in town next week. The former Head Coach of the Peoria Rivermen, the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, has been involved in pro- hockey since his graduation from the University of New Hampshire in 1996.
As for what Peters and Pleau expect for the three- day camp, "We want our veterans to set the tone and let the young guys know what this is about."
"The tone for us is going to be 'push the pace'. You're going to hear Steve and I say it a lot this season, but we want to get going quick from offense to defense, be creative and move the puck, move our feet and working hard getting into transition. We want to see that at camp."
08/18/06 - Western Hockey League (WHL) Spokane Chiefs
Next Friday the off-season is over. Eighty plus players will take the ice for the first set of scrimmages at the 2006 Spokane Chiefs Fall Camp in the Spokane Arena and for Head Coach Bill Peters, it is coming at a perfect time.
"It has been a long enough summer and lots of guys have done a great job in off season training and we are looking forward to getting started," the second year Head Coach said.
"Let's get it going," Peters said with a smile.
The Chiefs fall camp marks the beginning of the 2006- 07 season and will be open to the public with ice sessions on Friday and Saturday. The weekend will culminate with the Red-White Game at 1:00 on Sunday, August 27th. All ice sessions will be free of charge.
Five months have passed since the final game of the regular season last year but, for Peters and the Chiefs, a slew of changes and achievements have made, "It an exciting summer for us, obviously longer than we wanted it to be, but great things happened.
"First off, Sean Zimmerman got the opportunity to play a few games in the American Hockey League, then signs a pro contract with the Devils and then get invited to the U.S. under-20 camp. Michael Grabner gets taken in the first round of the NHL draft and we get the opportunity to select a player of Ond?oman's talent in the first round of the Import Draft. He is a quality pick like Grabner was and will be a big reward down the road."
Roman, a forward from the Czech Republic taken fifth overall in the CHL Import Draft, is expected to be on the ice at camp, as well as 19 of the 24 players that finished last year on the Spokane roster. That number will give fans familiar bodies to watch throughout camp and should help the new faces transition into the WHL, "With the veterans, we expect them to lead the way," Peters said. "They know what the transition is like, living away from home and playing in this league. There are a lot of things they can do to help and get the new players acclimated or better prepared."
The amount of experience will not only help smooth the evolution of a young player, it will also foster competition within the team, "Its going to be exciting as it sorts itself out. Nobody is going to be given something for free, they're going to have to continue to earn the job. (Assistant Coach) Steve (Pleau) and I have already talked about it and know exactly what players are given at the next level, which is exactly nothing, they have to work for it.
"We are nine deep on the backend and that is going to be a competitive situation and interesting to see how the players work for those positions. I don't think our goaltending situation has ever been deeper. We have a quality starter and three solid guys for the back-up spot. I hope they push each other hard. We will probably have to carry three goaltenders early in the season just to give it a fair chance of playing itself out," Peters said.
New Assistant Pleau will join Peters on the bench this year and experience his first Chiefs training camp shortly after arriving in town next week. The former Head Coach of the Peoria Rivermen, the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, has been involved in pro- hockey since his graduation from the University of New Hampshire in 1996.
As for what Peters and Pleau expect for the three- day camp, "We want our veterans to set the tone and let the young guys know what this is about."
"The tone for us is going to be 'push the pace'. You're going to hear Steve and I say it a lot this season, but we want to get going quick from offense to defense, be creative and move the puck, move our feet and working hard getting into transition. We want to see that at camp."