The Parkland Rangers hit the ice for training camp, last week, before heading south to Souris for the annual preseason tournament hosted by the Southwest Cougars over the weekend.
Thirty-one players, including six goaltenders, attended this year’s camp, which head coach Tyler Carefoot said was competitive.
“There’s a couple of kids from the high school team came out for some conditioning and ended up challenging our guys that were there to make the team. So overall, I was pleased with camp,” he said.
In Souris, the Rangers played three games, beginning Friday, with a 6-3 loss to the Yellowhead Chiefs.
On Saturday, Parkland began the day with a 5-1 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings, followed by a 6-1 setback at the hands of the Eastman Selects later in the day.
Carefoot noted the team is already battling injuries, with defenceman Sam Swanton out with a separated shoulder and forward Cade Legaarden dealing with back issues.
So with 23 players making the trip to Souris, Carefoot was able to ice the same lineup for all three games, while giving his three goalies equal playing time.
“It gave me an opportunity to put guys in different situations to challenge that way, so it worked out pretty good,” he said.
Despite the losses, Carefoot was pleased with the team’s play.
“I thought, overall, for some players, they were new to U18, so they were just getting adjusted to the different pace,” he said. “But, honest to goodness, I thought we got better every period. The scores looked like blowouts, but a lot of those goals were power-play goals. So we went without playing our systems. That is stuff we’ll be able to work on as we prepare for the season,” he said. “So all in all, we actually fared much better than I was anticipating.”
With no more preseason games scheduled, Carefoot will take the next two weeks to teach the players the systems ahead of the season opener, slated for Sept. 29 against Yellowhead.
“There’s so much to teach and so much for these kids to learn, so taking the next four to six practices might be a good thing,” he said.
With the focus shifting to the season opener, Carefoot is looking forward to it.
“Most importantly for this group, I want families that want to part of the Parkland Rangers family. And I think we have that. I’m excited about our goaltending, although we still have three goalies in camp,” he said, adding there have been a few surprises, such as the play of forwards Ethan Carnegie,
Cam Sarna and defencemen Ryder Gardner and Nathan Miller, who all played well in the three games in Souris.
While Chase Glover has a spot secured in goal as a second-year player, a decision will have to be made between Ethen Myhre and Owen Martyniuk, who split the first two games.
“That’s a decision that’s not going to be made lightly, so we’re going to have to take some time with it. So we’ll probably need the next four to six practices to do so,” Carefoot said.
