Marshals’ Addison, TX Tryout Camp
Dean Quarles
| I had the very good
fortune of spending the day at the Marshals’ tryout camp on the 29th of
August. Before I pass on what I saw, I think I need to list my
hockey qualifications from which I am basing this “article”, which are
absolutely none that relate to hockey. The approximately 50 guys,
my guess, were broken down into three teams, which were Red, Green, and
Blue. I arrived in Addison about 10 minutes before the first scrimmage of the day between the Red and Green teams. I was able to speak to both coaches and ask about the camp. Both coaches were very optimistic about the talent they had seen on the ice for the weekend. My initial thoughts about the game were that there would be a lot of solo acts from the players so that each individual would stand out and be noticed. I also assumed that the guys would be out of gas by Sunday and I would see a slow game with numerous mistakes by all. I was dead wrong on both assumptions and was I glad. The first game between the Red and Green was a three period game of 20 minutes each and a three-minute intermission if the guys were lucky. From the opening draw to the end of the game I saw some of the fastest and team oriented hockey I have ever seen. The guys were not showboating at all and were making some awesome plays and passes. Ninety percent of the passes I saw went tape to tape, something that was lacking a little last year. The defensive players on the ice all had good puck handling and skating abilities. The offensive goals that were scored were all good clean shots and a couple of them were even “highlight worthy.” The main point about the goals scored was that most of them were set up by passing and making a play rather than a superstar trying to do it all. The Red team won the game. After the ice was cleaned the Green and Blue teams lined up for the draw. Again, I watched 30 guys go full bore for three periods on the ice with only a short intermission. The only difference between this game and the first game was the blue jerseys and the Green Team did make a few mistakes and slowed the game down a little from the first game but only after the first period! What I admired most from this game was the mental discipline the guys displayed by slowing the game down and not forcing mistakes because they were tired. Please forgive me but I don’t recall who won this game. The All-star game began at noon and was between the Red and Green teams. Both teams had been rearranged and consisted of around 18 on each roster. All of the guys had at least an hour and half break before the start of the game. The game was really fast and hard hitting for the three periods again with only a 2-3 minute intermission. As before some of the plays were highlight worthy and all of the goals were solid scoring drives. This game also had the most pinging noise of the three and by that I mean lots of pucks on the pipes. I believe the final score for that game was Green 3 and Red 1. The hardest part of the day was watching the guys check the roster and see if they had made the cut for the team. I will tell you it was kind of tough just being a fan and seeing guys I had noticed on the ice, and never met, not make the roster, but then again I have NO hockey skills. The players that made the roster were all pumped up and excited. In closing I would like to suggest that if you ever have a chance to go and watch a camp to do so, the hockey is awesome and cleanly played for the majority of the game. Also note worthy was the fact that there were at last a half dozen or so players that called Texas home-imagine that! I also want to point out that I didn’t mention game scores since they are not really important in the big picture of a camp, in my view. What was important was the amount of drive, heart, character, and skill I was able to witness at the camp. I will also go out on a limb and predict, based on what I saw with speed and skill, many of us will be traveling to Bismarck next spring! |