Several holes to fill on Jr. C club
Aug 18, 2008 - 02:39 PM
By Shawn Cayley
UXBRIDGE --There is plenty of excitement permeating around the Uxbridge Bruins right now.
The reason being is the unofficial end of the summer with the start of training camp, which began late last week at Uxbridge Arena for the Central Ontario Jr. C hockey club.
And with that excitement will come plenty of opportunity for young junior aged hockey players to make an impression on Bruins general manager Rob Archibald and head coach Craig Donovan.
"It's great to see some of the young hopefuls out and the veterans too," Archibald said on Friday, a day after camp opened. "We've got lots ahead us. We're looking for three defencemen, two goalies and somewhere in the neighbourhood of five or six forwards. There is going to be a lot of opportunity for these kids."
There will be with as many as 11 holes to fill on the roster.
Among the departed is goalie Chris Seiler who has signed a card with the Pickering Panthers of the Ontario Provincial Jr. A Hockey League and Ryan Rinneard who has moved up to play Jr. B in Thorold.
Though still awaiting official confirmation, Archibald said he expects Justin Holshof to move up and be signed by the Stouffville Spirit.
Several others are also giving it a shot at various Tier II camps and Archibald will have a better idea in the next 7-10 to days once those camps get underway as to who he'll have back and who he won't.
The wait and see mode is nothing new for the Bruins, or any Jr. C team for the matter, as it's a common phase for teams to go through while advancing players to the next level.
"I don't mind it because it's a constant in our level and if you take pride, like we do, in moving players up to the next level, then it's no big deal," he said, noting the only forced graduation came with Paul Duncan moving on due to age.
Once Archibald and Donevan are able to gather a better gauge of where they stand roster wise, one simple message will be parlayed to the players after finishing below .500 last season at 16-17-2-5, with only the downtrodden Port Perry MoJacks at 6-29-5 keeping them out of the league basement.
"This is a new start," said Archibald. "No one in this organization is ever satisfied with a fourth place finish. We have to be better than that."
The Bruins first exhibition game will go Aug. 28 in Bradford against the Schomberg Cougars, while the two teams meet again Sept. 5 in Uxbridge.
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