Ice Hawks open camp this weekend

PHERSY:Ahhhh, my favorite time of year ... junior hockey is back, baby!!!

The Rec Center will be rocking this weekend as the Ice Hawks hit town for training camp. I caught up with coach Fatis yesterday to get all the details.

Most of the info will appear in today's print edition. So grab a copy!

I will include the FULL camp schedule on here, for fans, parents, etc. The boys have their work cut out for them this weekend. If they can survive the weekend, they then get into the real training camp, which starts next week. 

Coach said they're bringing 40 players in this weekend, and they'll be split into two teams. Priorities include goaltending and defense. Coach didn't seem concerned with the goaltending. He likes the guys they're bringing in, and it sounds like he has his eyes set on two specific players, though there's room for other guys to impress.

Defensively, there are some returners with guys like Brock Stahlke, Shaun Foster and Derek Rahme. It's an interesting group. Obviously, loads of potential.

"We're in a weird spot on defense," Fatis said. "If they all play as well as we know they can, we're going to be great. We'll have maybe the best blue line in the league, because these guys have top-end talent. But if they don't play up to their potential, even these vets are guys who aren't going to be in the lineup. We saw that with a few of them last year. When they were good, they were top-end guys. When they weren't, we couldn't even put them in the lineup. So I think we're definitely looking for more consistency from that unit."

Coach seemed pretty pleased about the forwards he's bringing in. He talks more in depth about that in the print edition story.

So, I'm back! I will be at the Rec Center on Sunday for the final games and cuts; it will be good to see everyone back at the rink!

Here's the final camp schedule (SCROLL DOWN ...):