The Parkland Rangers will hit the ice at Credit Union Place in Dauphin this weekend with about 40 players vying for a spot on the roster for the upcoming season.

Swan River native Joshua Tripp is entering his first year as head coach of the Rangers. He said a number of veteran players will be trying out with junior A clubs.

“We’ll see what happens with the junior camps, who trickles down. There should be a good number (of returning players), anywhere from six to 10, I’d say,” he said.

Tripp is expecting some tough competition  in camp. He ran a couple of skill development camps over the summer, so he is familiar with many of the players who will be trying out.

“It’s going to be a tight battle to fill out the team. The guys that are willing to work and sacrifice for the rest of the team, that’s going to be something I’m going to keep an eye out for,” he said.

“If they put the work in and they show me they’re going to be a team player, that’s going to be one of the main focuses.”

In terms of preseason games, the Rangers will play a pair of games at the preseason tournament in Souris, hosted by the Southwest Cougars.

Parkland will face the Interlake Lightning, Sept. 13, at 8:15 p.m., followed by a 9 a.m. date with the Cougars, Sept. 14.

Tripp is looking forward to running his first camp as head coach.

“I’m really excited. We’ve had some skates already, so I’ve met a lot of the guys that are coming to try out. Even just doing those, I’ve been getting really excited to get camp going,” he said.