Jamie Mountain
Another SIJHL season is right around the corner and the Fort Frances Lakers have their sights set squarely on an anticipated exciting season ahead.
The Lakers are set to open their annual training camp on Monday, which will run through next Thursday (Sept. 5).
Head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan said that he and his coaching staff will be looking to establish the team’s identity, having an all-business attitude, dedication, and hard work as they prepare for a big season ahead.
With the recent news of Fort Frances being chosen to host the 2020 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. ‘A’ Championship next spring, Strachan said it has changed how he plans to construct the roster.
“To be honest, I am confident in the players we have coming in. However, the last couple weeks has been a little bit of a whirlwind for recruiting as our train of thought had to change now with hosting the Dudley-Hewitt Cup,” he revealed.
“Initially we were looking to be younger and build to possibly host in 2022. That has changed now and I backed off some of those young guys and lost them to camps out west,” he conceded.
“With the announcement coming some two-and-a-half weeks after we thought we were hosting, we may have to wait on some players to see how they make out in other teams’ camps before we get to where we want to be to start the [regular] season Sept. 20.”
Strachan noted that he will be continually looking to upgrade the roster and make the best team that he can going into the new season.
“Players wanting to be here will have to buy in to our plan and work hard daily to be here at season’s end,” he warned.
“Early on it will be a small camp. We will work on skill, being fast, introducing our gameplan, and instilling the work ethic we need to be successful.
“We want hardworking players that are going to battle all over the ice and hound pucks to create offence,” Strachan stressed.
Following training camp, the Lakers are slated to kick-off their four-game pre-season schedule next Friday (Sept. 6) when they welcome the Dryden GM Ice Dogs at 7 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
The Lakers will complete the home-and-home series the following night at 7:30 p.m. in Dryden.
Fort Frances then will conclude the pre-season slate by taking on the Red Lake Miners at the Cochenour Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 11 before wrapping up the exhibition season on Friday, Sept. 13 in the Fort.
Both games will start at 7 p.m.
Strachan said the expectation he has for his club this season is to win both the SIJHL’s Bill Salonen Cup and the Dudley-Hewitt Cup titles.
“We have our work cut out for us as we have only had a short period of time to recruit in this mode,” he conceded.
“But we will get there and represent Fort Frances well.”
