Defence:
Paul Levarsky (89)
Zak Stebner (90)
Jordan Barker (90)
Lewis Laczko (89)
Mitchell Getzlaf (90)
Forward:
Andrew Lefebvre (90)
Brandon Sutter (89)
Alex Poulter (89)
Kyle Scott (89)
Nathan Arnott (89)
Mike Krgovich (90)
Levko Koper (90)
Dion LeBlue (90)
Tanner Dion (90)
Starting Golies Were Patchett for black and Rolheiser for grey.
1st goal of the game came with 23:15 left in the only 25:00 period, as Oystrick Shoveled a pass out from behind the net and found Smith waiting in the slot and beat Rolheiser to the far side.
With 13:19 to go in the only period, the black team switched golies to put Willitts in net. Good showing for Patchett…didn’t see much action but when he did, he was there and had 2 or 3 exceptional saves.
Second goal of the game came with 6:06 left, from 2 players that could become a common combination for Rebels fans in the near future. Brandon Sutter Got the puck and came off the side boards, and took a hard snap shot from the slot. Great save by Willetts, who steered it towards the corner, but Alex Poulter was there to intercept the puck and deposit into the open net.
Final Score was 1-1. Rolheiser Played a good game, making some great saves from in close. Sutter and Poulter looked great playing together. This is going to be a fun combination to watch over the next couple of years. Betts also Had a good session, making 2 or 3 big hits and having lots of speed. He could also be an early pick to make a charge for one of the open spots on our team.
The 9:30 Session put the same Grey team up against the Burgundy Team.
Grey Team's roster was the same as the previous session
Burgundy Team
Goal:
Morgan Clark (90) (Burgundy Jersey)
James Renouf (90) (Red Jersey)
Defence:
Colin Archer (90)
Tanner Wilson (89)
Tanner Korchinski (90)
Joel Kot (90)
Derek Wiedmer (90)
The Grey team had just finished a session, so they started the 2nd game of the back to back sessions with Dylan Crawford (yes, Mark Crawford of the Vancouver Canucks is his dad) in net. The Burgundy team started Morgan Clark.
1st goal of the second session came for the Burgundy as Josh Gionfriddo won a faceoff deep in the Grey team’s Zone. Tanner Wilson wound up and sent a laser threw traffic to the top corner of the net. Beautiful shot.
2nd goal of the game came for team grey as Brandon Sutter Came down the right wing and fired a shot to the far top corner. Probably a shot that Clark should have had, but still a nice shot from Sutter.
Final score of the Second session was 1-1. Mike Krgovich had a good first session, and we really started to notice him in the grey team’s second session. Good speed, good shot, and never gives up. May have to work on the defencive side of his game, but I liked what I saw in the 2 sessions. Colin Archer also showed good signs on defence. He seems like a very solid, stay at home defenceman, but if he gets the chance to go with the rush, he does, and does it well. Josh Gionfriddo Also will be a great addition to this team this year. Arguably the best player on the ice for team burgundy.
Session 3 Placed team Black against Team Burgundy. Rosters Remained the same as the other sessions. Golies were Willitts for Black and Renouf for Burgundy.
50 Seconds into the session, Tyler Halliday Streaked down the Left Side, and took a wrist shot that went off the Golies Stick and bounced up 2 feet. It eventually ended up in the net but the ref waived it off. I thought it was in, and should have counted, but it is only training camp, so I wont get down on the refs too much just yet.
Not much action with these 2 teams threw the first half of the session, and the only 2 plays worth mentioning was a span in which the Burgundy team played a good 3 minutes with 6 skaters on the ice. They went threw about 4 line changes before they realized and rectified it. The other play worth mentioning was a goaltending change for black to put in Patchett for the balance of the game.
Travis Briard showed good signs this session, and is likely one who will make the first round of cuts. 1st round choice Cassidy Mappin also was playing well, and was obviously here to show why he was a first rounder.
Afternoon Sessions:
Burgundy vs. Grey
Rosters were the same as the morning session, and Starting goalies were Rolheiser for Grey and Clark for the Burgundy team.
No Scoring and no real big plays in this session, so lets go straight to standout players.
Again, Sutter, Poulter and new to that line for this session, Levko Koper all were very impressive. Sutter and Poulter have easily been the best 2 players in the entire rookie camp. Gionfriddo again played well, but may not be playing to his full ability simply due to a lack of equivalent talent on his team. Tanner Wilson on Defence for Burgundy was again a solid player, and Paul Levarsky played well on defence for the grey team as well.
Grey vs. Black
Rosters again the same, in goal for Grey was Dylan Crawford and in goal for Black was Brett Patchett.
2 minutes into the game and grey takes the early lead. Nathan Arnott won a faceoff deep in the Black teams zone and Zak Stebner leans into a shot from the point threw traffic low to the close point.
Less than a minute later, the black team gets control and a scramble insues deep in the grey teams zone. After about 4 or 5 wacks from various players, Shawn Hunter finally gets a hold of the puck and burries it to the far side. 1-1 game.
With 19:50 to go, the black team re-takes the lead on a 3 on 2 rush….not a pretty play by any means but Hunter took the puck in and put it on net, and it appears to go off of Cassidy Mappin’s toe and into the net. 2-1 Black.
At 9:37, Alex Poulter managed to poke check a defenceman at the blueline and had a clearcut breakaway from the centerline in. He makes a nice triple deke to the forhand and puts it behind Willitts, who entered the game and the mid-point. Very nice goal.
Black made it 3-2 and retook the lead when Hunter made a nice pass across the crease from the corner where Mappin was waiting and deposited the easy goal. And less than a minute later, when the same line again had some pressure, and the puck came back to the point, where Patrick Kozyra wound up with a shot that squeaked threw Crawford, but not enough to get in the net. Unfortunatly for Crawford, Dieter Gillanders was the first player there and puts it into the open net to make it 4-2 Black which ends up being the final score.
Somebody finally put a fire under Hunters ass and we see the same player I remember from last years camp. Poulter, Sutter and Koper continue to lead the way. Defenceman Paul Levarsky looks very comfortable in there as a 16 yr old. Very smooth with the puck. The line of Mike Krgovich, Nathan Arnott, and Kyle Scott were very good, but none of them have really stood out from the others….could just be a nice line combination, but I’m not sure if any of them have the raw talent to make a run at a spot on the team.
Black vs. Burgundy
Starting Golies were James Renouf for Burgundy and Jeff Willetts for Black
Less than 2 minutes in and Hunter Continues on his afternoon tear as he blows a wrist shot past Renouf. 1-0 Black.
At the 23:30 mark, Shawn Hunter and Tanner Wilson Decide to drop the gloves. Hunter got in 2 shots early that put Wilson down to his knees, but popped right back up and continued along. Hunter landed 1 or 2 more punches and then Wilson replied with 3-4 of his own before the linesmen stepped in. Both players were checking their noses before leaving the Ice.
Charlie Smith Extended black’s lead at the 18:00 minute mark with a slap shot from the top of the circle that beat Renouf to the glove side. 2-0 Black.
Burgundy cut the lead in half when Tanner Wilson took a shot from the point and Matt Fraser buried the rebound. 2-1 Black
On the ensuing faceoff, Fraser thought that the goal wasn’t enough, so he and Cassidy Mappin dropped the gloves and have a little tussle. Both players land 4 or 5 shots a piece before the hip toss by Mappin brings in the linesmen. Good bout
After a mad scramble at the 8:34 mark, Jamie Mitchell Buries a rebound for the Burgundy team to make it a 2-2 Tie.
With 3:45 left to go, Colin Archer and Ian Robertson get into a pushing match that ends up in them dropping the gloves. Kind of a mismatch so its probably a good thing that it didn’t last long. Archer weighs in at 163 and Robertson at 207 so you get my drift….. Archer goes in swinging and lands a couple, Robertson only gets 1 in before they go down, and was mad he didn’t get a chance to get his revenge.
Defence:
Vladimir Mihalik (87)
Paul Kurceba (87)
Daniel Poulsen (88)
Eric Frere (88)
John Flatters (88)
Forward:
Garrett Klotz (88)
Kyle Klym (88)
Michael Falk (87)
Cody Rockson (87)
Mario Lamoureux (88)
Jared Walker (86)
Matt Sawa (87)
Roman Wick (85)
Tanner Gillies (87)
Ted Vandermeer (86)
Team White:
Andrew Leslie (86) (White Jersey)
Brad Eidsness (89) (Blue Jersey)
Defence:
Matthew Hansen (85)
Pierre-Paul Lamoureux (87)
Shaden Moore (85)
Jonathon Smith (87)
Steve Walker (88)
Forward:
Ashton Rome (85)
Karey Pieper (87)
Andre Chabot (86)
Matt Cline (88)
Adam Ross (87)
Michael Iorio (88)
Drew Hoff (88)
Devon LeBlanc (88)
Jordan Knackstedt (88)
Joel Henituik (85)
The ref was Kyle Rehman. The Starting Goalies Were Leslie for White and Reimer For Black.
We showed up just a little late, just in time to see Kyle Klym receive a penalty break. For those of you who don’t attend camp, penalties called in camp result in the person who was called gets on one knee just outside the faceoff circle, and the person the infraction was done to gets the puck on the faceoff dot, and the ref blows the whistle and play starts, essentially giving the player with the puck a breakaway. Klym tried a fancy move and lost the puck before he even got to the net, so not much to report there.
At 9:53, Jordan Knackstedt got in close and roofed a shot to the top corner after a mad scramble in close. Nice Shot from Knackstedt who also put on about 20 lbs this summer. This kid is gonna be good for us this season.
At the 4:26 mark, Gilles and P.P. Lamereux were jousting out front of the net, so on the insuing faceoff, the 2 dropped their gloves and went at it. Gilles started off the fight left handed, and got a few in, then Lamereux came back at the end, and got in a couple of shots, but nothing much for either player.
Right after the Gilles / Lamereux bout, Andre Chabot dropped his gloves and pointed to John Flatters. Flatters was somewhat shocked, but promptly dropped his gloves. More of a dance than a fight, nobody really landing anything, but good to see Flatters not backing down.
With about 1:36 left in the Jared Walker was given a penalty break, and had Reimer beat, but lost the puck off the end of his stick.
The main camp players were playing 2, 30 minute periods. In the second period, Starting Golies were Irving For Black and Eidsness for White.
The first goal of the second period was a nice backhand shot by Roman Wick, which went off the far post and in. Rebels fans should get used to seeing this guy score this year.
With 24:20 Left to go in the period, Newcommer Michazel Falk came in to the offencive zone stickhandling with his head down, and Joel Henitiuk Made him pay with a huge hit which stopped Falk in his tracks. Kudos for Falk for popping right back up and continuing with the play, but wow…what a hit. Welcome to the Dub, Falk.
At 16:58, Frere got caught grabbing Rome’s Jersey and Rome was awarded a Free Break. Rome made no mistake picking the top corner over Irving’s Glove Hand. 2-1 White.
At 14:31 White tallied again when Knackstedt and Michael Iorio went in on a 2 on 1. Knackstedt Kept the puck and fired a nice shot to the far post and in. With the extra weight Jordan put on this summer this kid is going to be good.
At 12:02 of the period, White extended their lead when Henitiuk got a partial break, and Kurceba hooked him just enough to get a penalty, so Henitiuk went in on the penalty break and made a nice move to the backhand and beat Irving to the Glove Side. 4-1 White.
With 6:03 left to go in the period, After some sustained pressure, the puck popped back to Shaden Moore, who let a weak shot go about 3 feet in the air. Irving Put his glove up in the air to make a routine catch, and the puck bounced off the top of his glove and into the net. Tough Break for Irving, and the score is now 5-1
Final Score, 5-1. (apparently I missed the first goal from team black, so final score was actually 5-2) Some Noteables:
As mentioned, Knackstedt has put on 10-20 lbs, as well as Frere. Good to see those 2 sticking to their off-season training. Both will fit in well with much bigger roles this season.
Michael Iorio Also had a good session, and played well with Henituik on a line for the white team.
Our New Import, Vladimir Mihalik Comes as advertised. He is listed at 6 foot 8 and a half and is easily the tallest player on the ice. He Carries himself very well on the ice for a guy of his size and will easily be one of our top defencemen this season. One of the most surprising Things he brings is he also has some talented hands. Durring the 1 hour Goalie Session, some of the vets, and Mihalik were on the Ice as shooters, and Mihalik made numerous moves and shots that made a number of our jaws drop.
Gilles is another one who has put on about 10-20 lbs and looks good on the ice, and Daniel Poulsen will be one of the players who will challenge for one of the open defencive spots.
Training Camp Report - Day 2 (Rookies)
Morning Session
Burgundy vs. Black
Rosters Were the same as yesterdays sessions, Starting goalies were Clark for Burgundy and Patchett for black. Looks Like Patrick Kozyra sustained an ankle injury and was not dressed. He was in section ‘C’ With Ice on his Ankle. Tough Break as he was on who was expected to challenge for one of the open spots on Defence.
At 22:31 Matt Fraser intercepts a clearing pass from ?? Joel Kot and fires a shot from the hash marks to the top glove-hand corner of Patchett. Beautiful Shot.
Goaltending Change for Black at the mid point of the game to put Willetts in Goal.
With about 45 seconds left in the game, black pulled the goalie in favor of the extra attacker. Unfortunatly the couldn’t win the faceoff deep in the burgundy team’s end, and it resulted in the burgundy team getting the puck and firing it down the ice into the open net. I didn’t catch who shot it, but it would have been unassisted. Possibly Tyler Halliday but im not entirely sure.
No real standouts in this game. Gionfriddo Continues to try to do everything himself, but it will be really interesting to see what he has to offer when you put him on a line with some people the same talent level as him.
I still like what Betts has to offer and I think he will be one who sticks around for a while in this camp.
Spencer Edwards is one of those spark plug kids who is just begging to grow about 6 inches and 80 pounds. He came into camp at 5 foot 7 and 136 pounds but plays like Ted Vandermeer did when he first came to camp… I love his grit, and he despite his size, he is not scared to get in and bump along the boards to fight for the puck.
Hunter had another poor performance, and needs to pull up his socks if he is going to stick around much longer.
Grey vs. Burgundy
Small Roster Change for the Grey team, as Eidsness Switches spots with Rolheiser today and Eidsness will be with team Grey for the day and Rolheiser will be up with the main camp for the day. Starting Goalies were Crawford for Grey and Renouf for Burgundy.
At 21:34 the Grey Team made it 1-0 after some long sustained pressure by the Sutter – Poulter – Koper Line, the puck came back to the point and Zak Stebner let it fly to the top blocker – Hand corner over a screened Renouf.
At the 15:54 mark Andrew Lefebvre is rewarded for his hard work this game, and gets a backhand to the far post after a scramble in front of the Burgundy Goal. Didn’t see much of him the 1st day but really noticed him in this first session. Digging hard and going hard to the net. 2-0 Grey.
At the 12:27 mark, Halliday picked up a botched clearing attempt and walked in and beat Dylan Crawford on the blocker side. 2-1 Grey.
With 3:11 to go, Grey extended their lead when Renouf made and out standing save, but Tanner Dion was at the side of the net and waiting to burry rebound. 3-1 Grey
With 1:34 to go, Grey Tallied again when Kyle Scott made a nice feed across the crease to Mike Krgovich who slammed it home to make it 4-1 Grey which ended up being the final score.
Grey vs. Black
Starting Golies were Eidness for Grey and Willetts for Black.
Game started off early as Grey’s Sutter-Poulter Combo got free when Sutter Poked the puck free from the last defenceman and he and Poulter went in on a 2 on 0. Poulter ended it by feeding a beauty pass to Sutter who put it in the open net. 1-0 Grey
Black tied it up at the 22:47 mark when ?? Mappin?? Fired a centering pass that went all the way out to the point where Jayson Reardon was waiting and fired a wrist shot that beat Eidsness threw the 5-hole. Nice feed out from whoever it was.
Grey Retook the lead when Nathan Arnott and Mike Krgovich came in on a 2 on 0 and Arnott Fed Krgovich who brought the puck back to the other side of the net and caught goaltender Willetts Going the wrong way. Willetts Still got a toe on it but it trickled into the net behind him. 2-1 Grey.
At 9:19 Grey extended their lead when Koper was awarded a free break after Luke Betts gave him a 2 handed chop to the legs. (and not the first chop Betts has taken this camp) Koper made no mistake and used the triple deke to the backhand and beat Patchett to the glove side. 3-1 Grey.
At 2:08 Poulter Made it 4-1 on a nice backhand deke threw the 5 hole on Patchett.
Afternoon session
Burgundy vs Black
Golies were Clark and Willetts
1st goal goes to black with Oystrick putting a pass out from behind the net onto the tape of Luke betts who shot it short side on Clark. 1-0 Black
First fight of the day happened when Oystrik for Black drops his gloves and before he could quite get his helmet off, Wiedmer had decided he would go with him. Wiedmer got the only shot in and then they fell to the ice and the refs jumped in
Matt Fraser got the free break off of a Rory Connop slashing penalty and Fraser made no mistake going low to the stick side on Willetts. 1-1 Tie
Colin Archer took the lead for team Burgundy when he took a pass from Hiebert and one timed it home. 2-1 Burgundy
Burgundy made it 3-1 when Fraser took a pass from Braird and went in all alone from the blue line and beat Patchett low to the stick side. Apparently Fraser didn’t think that was good enough because after the goal, Fraser and Oystrick squared off for a little fist-y-cuffs and we saw what was, by far, the best fight in the rookie camp, with both players landing 4 or 5 good punches.
That’s how things ended in that game.
After that session I had to go, but D.A. PROMISED he would have a recap of the remaining 2 sessions.
Lots of cuts expected tonight, and we should be down to 2 or 3 teams total tomorrow when the rookies and main camp are combined.
Training Camp Report - Day 2 (Main Camp)
The only Roster Changes from yesterday was that Eidsness was out and Rolheiser Was in for team white. Also, Matt Cline was absent from the White teams bench. No information on why.
Starting golies were Rolheiser and Irving. Referee was Rehman again and Linemen were Senkow and Nichols.
The first action we saw was at the 26:40 mark of the first period when Rolheiser was nailed by Referee Rehman for holding the puck when he could have played it so it resulted in a free break for team black. Teddy Vandermeer got the honors for Team Black and made no mistake, picking the low blocker side corner on Rolheiser, 1-0 Black.
The next free break came soon after when Danial Poulsen was called for tripping Devon LeBlanc and LeBlanc capitalized on his break in almost an identical shot that Vandermeer took on his. 1-1 tie
The 3rd goal of the game came at 19:34 when a shot from black came from a very sharp angle and ended up going in off ?? Michael Falk’s ?? Stick. Kind of a weird goal and nobody around me was sure who the puck went in off, but never the less its 2-1 Black.
White tied it up at 16:33 when Andre Chabot Converted a Cross Crease Pass from Newly aquired Mathew Hanson. No chance for Irving. 2-2 tie
White Immediately took the lead when Ashton Rome got by the defence and went in all alone. A nice double deke and Rome tucked it in behind Irving for the 3-2 white Lead.
Black got one at 11:47 when Michael Falk Stretched with one hand on his stick to bang a rebound behind Rolheiser. 3-3 tie
Everything was pretty quite until the 1:36 mark when Shayden Moore got called for an obvious holding call on hopefull Danny Poulsen. Moore Almost caught up on the free break but couldn’t bother Poulsen enough and he beat Rolheiser low to the Stick side, 4- 3 Black and that’s how the 1st period would end.
In the second period, Leslie and Reimer started in net for their respective teams, and we had a slight referee change, as Senkow was now the Ref and Rehman was one of the linesmen.
Just as the opening faceoff puck was dropped, Shayden Moore and Garrett Klotz dropped the gloves and went at it. Moore Lost his balance right of the get go and as he was getting up, Klotz nailed him with a hard right that put him back down. The refs jumped in there right away and as soon as they had them broken up, Klotz was holding his hand funny and calling for Radar. The good news was that he did return with about 10 minutes left.
Team white tied it up when Drew Hoff (who was impressive the entire session) fed Karey Pieper who was standing on the goal line about 6 feet from the net. Pieper let a one timer go and it hit Reimer’s pad and ended up in the net
Less than 2 minutes later, Ashton Rome made it 5-4 for white when he leaned into a loose puck and fired it right between Reimer’s legs.
At 17:04 Kyle Klym Was called for Crosschecking Knackstedt giving Jordan a free break. Klym was nowhere near Knackstedt on the break, so with all the time he needed, he picked his spot. Unfortunalty he shot it 2 inches to the right of where he wanted it and ended up hitting the post.
At 15:10, Our newest import, Mihalik hauled down Joel Henituik giving Tank a Free Break. Henituik didn’t get much wood on the shot and Reimer easily stopped him.
At 11:58, Karey Pieper took a hard shot from the left hand faceoff circle that Reimer got the left pad on, but Michael Iorio was standing at the top of the Crease to shovel it by a fallen Reimer to make it 6-4 White.
With 7:56 left to go Walker got the puck on a beautiful pass, but unfortunately I don’t know who passed it. Anyhow, walker switched it to his backhand and roofed it to make the score 6-5 white.
With 1:33 to go, Roman Wick made a nice pass to Sawa off the boards who made no mistake to tie the game a 6.
With the game tied, we got our first look at the new WHL rule and we went to a 3 player-per-team shootout to break the tie
Flatters went first and tried a deke but lost the puck off his stick and missed the net for black
Knackstedt attempted to deke Reimer with the double deke but Reimer Stayed with him. Reimer Got the Pad down and stopped it but it rolled over his pad and into the net for a goal for white, 1-0 White.
Walker went next for Black, and took a snap shot from the hash marks and missed the net.
Next for White, Peiper lost the handle on a deke and was stopped by Reimer
Vandermeer went next for the black team, and beat Leslie with a wrist shot to the low stick side. 1-1 Tie
Rome was next up for white with a chance to win it and tried a wide crossing deke across the crease, but Reimer slid across the crease to stone him
With the score still tied, we went to a 1 man per team shootout.
Roman Wick was up for Team Black and went 5-Hole on Leslie for the 2-1 Lead for black.
Devon LeBlanc was the shooter for white and Tried the same move as Rome and again Reimer stayed with the puck and Stoned him to preserve the 2-1 lead and secure the win for team black.
Final Score 7-6 Black in a shootout.
P.P. Lamereux played with a lot more grit this game, finishing all his checks and making it a difficult task to stay in front of the white net. He will have a much larger role for the defence this year.
Some players I had really noticed turning it on this second session include Drew Hoff, Devon LeBlanc, Michael Iorio, and Daniel Poulsen. All 4 of these kids have a legit shot at cracking this lineup.
Rome Started to pick up his game as well. I noticed him a few times, but also a few times for the wrong reasons. He needs to realize that Sutter wont tolerate his laziness and he needs to keep his game at that level we have seen flashes of this camp.
Training Camp Report- Day 3 (Rookies)
Morning Session
They didn’t give us the handy dandy roster sheets, and everyone was mixed around so I’ll try to do my best. Apparently they made cuts to get down to just 2 teams, and the talent level was defiantly higher.
Starting Golies were Rolheiser for Black and Crawford for Grey
Spencer Edwards for Black was awarded a free break after his head was almost snapped off by Laczko, and he made no mistake going 5 hole after the triple deke. Nice move by Edwards. 1-0 Black
And that’s how The Period Ended.
Spencer Edwards Really stood out that period, and his Skill level is far beyond almost all the players on the Rookie Camp ice. Its just too bad he is only 140 pounds. Hopefully he will put on 30-40 or more pounds this next season and can make a run at playing for this team.
The first goal of the second period came when Arnott put a backhand threw some traffic and it just barely squeaked threw Willetts’ Legs
Dion was awarded a free break when Gillianders tripped him up. Too bad for Dion though as during his time to shine, he lost the puck off the end of his stick before he even got to the hash marks and Willetts didn’t even have move, and the puck went into the corner.
And that’s how the morning session ended. After the session, Randy Peterson (Head Scout) Thanked all the Rookies for attending camp, and then listed about 6 or 7 players that he wanted to stick around for main camp.
