Training Camp Update

[Tinner]

spent the morning over at the rink, not to many surprises other than the fact that the returning players have came back bigger, both height and bulk. The rookie scrimmage had both Ferraro and Archer stand out from the rest. The main camp is just practicing until later today. Hanzel has skills and size and from what I saw the race for a back up goaltender will be heated.

[SectionNDeserter]

Hanzel has skills and size and from what I saw the race for a back up goaltender will be heated.You think any of them will give Reimer a run for his money for starter? That is always the ideal situation, keeps the starter honest.

[grainbear]

Just curious if Marvin from Minnesota showd up , u received him from Leth List for Gio from Colorodo ?

[SectionNDeserter]

Doesn't look like it from the training camp rosters on the Rebel's site. Wonder why he wasn't invited?

[mapletoft]

Both the rookies and main camp were quite impressive I'd say. Especially when I compare it to my memory from last year. We got some keepers in both camps.

Rookie - the line of Edwards, Ferraro and Krgovich was impressive. Edwards has some amazing speed! Connop is strong and has an upside - time will develop his footspeed and agility. I like the kid Kloss - poise and position are two awesome strngths he possesess! The other two local kids Archer and Fraser also were impressive - Archer can move that puick well in a crowd. Kot and Maxwell also got my attention as well as the keeper Clark.

Main - Poulter, Brett Sutter and Hanzal played well together - they will get time together during the season I think. Lamoureux plays hard as always - working to maintain a spot on the club. Betts did well - is he ready for full-time Rebel duty - I hope so.

Looking forward to Friday!

[Shinyshoes]

I only caught part of the camp today, but here is what I saw.

Notes: Everyone on our 50 PPL is in camp with the following exceptions:
Bradley Eidsness, G, Chestermere AB, 6/2/1989 - The rumor flying around is that apparently he has refused to come to camp and has demanded a trade.
Aaron Marvin, C, Warroad MN, 5/27/1988 - He was what we received in return for Josh Gionfriddo, and apparently he has decided to maintain his NCAA route.
Krill Starkov, LW, Sweden, 3/31/1987 - Due to Immigrations and all that other political crap, he has been held up in getting here. Still expected to make it over, and should be here next week, just in time to go to pro camp :(
Kris Versteeg, C, Lethbridge AB, 5/13/1986 - Signed a pro contract, not expected back.
Kirk Irving, G, Swan Hills AB, 10/17/1986 - 20yr old goaltender that has been on our list from as long as I can remember. He was at camp last year, but could never crack the lineup. I dont think he was expected at camp, but remains on our list because he is an overager, so he does not count toward the 50 players.

As for players at camp.......

Rookie camp:
Joel Kot looked good on Defence, Reminded me of Derek Meech with a speedy playmaker but questionable defencive skills.
Colin Archer looked good. He can move the puck especially well, but again, questionable in his own zone. Blazing speed for a defenceman.
Matt Fraser, Spencer Edwards, Landon Ferraro, Mike Krgovich all impressed me and looked to be the cream of the crop in the rookie camp.

Main Camp:
Devon Leblanc laid a couple of big hits, and looked faster than I remember him.
Alex Poulter also has grown, and now is much more effective in the corners. He looks like he will be able to accomplish a lot more of what his mind wanted to do last year, but his body prevented him from doing so.
Karey Pieper looks like he has gained about 30 pounds. He didnt look out of place at all after not playing most of last season. He was playing on a line with Cass Mappin and Brandon Sutter in this scrimmage and all 3 looked VERY good together.
Hanzel has size and is extremely talented, however his work ethic will have to become Sutterized (To Coin a phrase). Lazy comming back to the defencive zone, and lazy comming off the ice for a line change. 2 thing that wont sit well with Sutter.

[RebelsFan]

Don't forget, three players from rookie camp have already moved up to main camp. Mappin, Stebner and Scarborough moved up to main camp after testing the first day. All three look good in main camp and will probably stick with the team. If they were with the rookies they would stand out.

[Rebels30]

For tomorow (Saturday) what time does camp start? *(was thinking of coming in to watch :) :thumb: )*

[Tinner]

Rookie camp

:thumb: The line of Edwards, Ferraro and Krgovich was dominate thoughout the scrimmage. Total line speed and skill netted the trio 4-5 goals. Archer, Weller, Moir and Fraser all will move up and I expect to see them play in the 2 main camp scrimmages. Overall, speed of play looked really good and after the scrimmage approx. 14 -15 players were released.

Main camp

No really big surprises as the players expected to shine, did. Hanzel again showed his deft skill around the net. Mainstays, but having to show up and play, Pieper and Vandermeer were noticable with their play. Really, no big surprises.

Overall

There is going to be a race to see who will be the number 2 goaltender behind Reimer. Looks like 2-3 guys still in the hunt (Clark, Rolheiser and Walsh). Lots of skill and speed on the front end to pick from with 15 or so players vieing for 12 spots. :skeptical Defence is a little more cloudier as there is lots of skill, but size and strength will be a factor in how well the team plays. If I were a betting man, I would say that a trade for a 19/20 dman might just happen. That said, can one be found and at what price.

[3rebels]

Black N' Blue I mean White game goes Sunday at 2:00 PM and I can't wait. Looking good so far, although Berube looked a tad over heavy :D which mite be cause for concern !! :thumb:
See Y'all there folks !!
:groovy:

[MidgetAAA]

Bradley Eidsness is going the NCAA route,He is signed to be the Starter for the Okotoks Oilers in the AJHL.

[Rebels30]

I went to watch the Camp today :)

The rookies that stood out to me were Landon Ferraro, Craig Eisenhut, Morgan Clark, Spencer Edwards and Colin Archer.
In the main camp it looked like Karey Pieper is way more solid and big now. Cass Mappin looked great :thumb: and Alex Poulter has improved soooo much :) Devon Leblanc and Jordan Knackstedt also caught my eye... the sutters were good as usual as well haha.

Was Reimer not there because of a foot problem or somthing?
Was Egener not there because of his shoulder?

Do any of you know who got cut from the camp tonight??

[Tinner]

Bradley Eidsness wanted the Rebels to guarentee him a spot and Brent wouldn't do it. He may be using the NCAA thing as a ploy so the Rebels have a hard time trading him......who knows!

[playa]

I found the scrimmage I watched today to be pretty slow overall, but maybe they're just ready to play the Black & White game and get going from there. Here are my VERY general thoughts:

I really liked the looks of Hanzal. I think he brings a lot to the table with size and puck handling skills.

Ferraro is a kid I didn't even know anything about and he definitely caught my eye. I think we've got something good there.

Mappin may fulfill the expectations that everyone has for him. He was a pleasure to watch; looks like he's a go-getter and he's got some skills.

Henry...remains a solid d-man, not much more to say about him.

Pieper has come back from his injury looking like he's ready to play. He definitely looks bigger and is skating better.

Vandy...oh Vandy...some good dangles on one play today in particular, but that's about it. I think he's a great kid and hope he has a spot on this team. I agree with everyone else though that it's hard to keep a 20-year-old 3rd or 4th liner.

That's all I got for now. Like I said, the scrimmage was pretty lame so that's all. I'm so excited for games to get rollin'! It's a wonderful time of year!

[Tinner]

I too found the game somewhat slow, but my other observation for the entire camp is that I think that there is not enough players being invited to camp. There doesn't seem to be anyone out there "pushing" for spots or adding that bit of excitement to the scrimmages. I realize its getting tougher to get the quality teams want, but, when I hear the numbers that other teams have in their camps, I have to wonder. Some teams have the numbers because they want to make the camp pay for everything and other teams use the higher numbers to find non-listed players who can maybe win a spot because of a summer growth spurt or more maturity.

Back to the Rebels.....looks to me like the back-up goaltender spot will be wide open as none of them have really stood out. Our forward positions should be OK, but the D needs help.