Several rookies invited to Sabres’ training camp

The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres held an open camp at the Ice for Kids Arena over the weekend in hopes of finding some pieces to round out the team’s main training camp that begins next Thursday (Aug. 21).
And a strong contingent of rookies impressed the coaching staff enough to get their names posted on the list after Sunday’s final scrimmage.
Goalies T.J. Pocock and Wade Friesen, defencemen Cody McCool, Scott Gurski, Patrick Bobczynski, Josh Scott, Cody Hasbargen, and Mike Boese, and forwards Zach McCool, Ryan Witherspoon, Kyler Ackewance, Riley Caul, Mike Jourdain, Kyle Herr, Dan Usiski, Jon Sinclair, Jace Baldwin, and Adam Wensley all made the grade.
“If I had to compare it to last year’s rookie camp, a lot of the players who were back this year came in more prepared, and a lot of them were in better shape and it made for a competitive camp,” Sabres’ head coach Wayne Strachan said.
“The intensity and the speed got better as the weekend went on, and it was good to see a lot of young kids getting into it and showing that they have the ability and courage to some day play here [with the Sabres],” he added.
Friday consisted of dryland fitness testing in the gym on the bench press, squats, chin-ups, dips, and sit-ups, as well as on the track with timed one-mile runs and 30-metre sprints.
The players then were split into three teams, with separate on-ice practice sessions taking place that same evening.
Three games were held Saturday, with the last one played before a healthy crowd that went home thoroughly entertained.
Resident Sabres’ enforcer Logan McDonell dropped the gloves with Brant Witherspoon, and both got some good shots in before Witherspoon head-butted McDonell to the ice—cutting a gash just above the Atikokan resident’s left eye that required stitches.
The Sabres’ coaches then cut the field into two teams for Sunday’s final tilt, which featured a close battle going right down to the final buzzer.
Team Black tied the score at 2-2 late in the game, sending it to a shootout.
It went back and forth for a number of shooters, with each team one-upping the other until second-year Sabre Chris Sinclair put it away for Team White with a nifty deke to his backhand before lifting the puck just under the crossbar.
The game also featured a long, spirited scrap between two of the smallest players in camp, Kyler Ackewance and Jon Sinclair, which drew accolades from McDonell.
“I didn’t expect that out of them but it was good to see,” he noted.
Rainy River’s Dan Usiski returned to camp having played almost 10 games with the Sabres last year before being sent back to high school hockey to develop his game further—and the move appeared to pay off for Strachan and his staff as Usiski came in well-prepared hoping to stick with the team.
“We had to shake some things up and make some changes at that time [last year],” Strachan admitted. “He was only a 17-year-old and we knew he could go back and play high school for Baudette and get the ice time he needed to develop.
“I knew what he could do, but he came in a lot better shape, and he was aggressive taking the body and created room for some of the little skilled guys that we have, and that’s just what we are looking for,” Strachan added.
Defenceman Mike Boese, from Hermantown, Mn., was a late addition to camp, but Strachan expected good things from the blueliner having pursued his services earlier in the summer.
“I would have liked to see a bit more aggression out of him maybe, but he’s really smart and reads the ice well,” Strachan enthused.
“We recruited him [Boese] really early in the off-season, but he had a couple other opportunities in the States that ended up not working out for him, and just found out for sure this week that he was coming.
“I’m glad he showed up and played the way he did.”
Returnees McDonell, Sinclair, Cain, Will Morrisseau, Mario Boivin, and Kyle Turgeon took part in the rookie camp to get some early preparation in.
Dan Smith of Hermantown, a signing from earlier this summer, also suited up and had instant chemistry with Sinclair.
“I was really impressed with Dan Smith,” Strachan noted. “I hadn’t seen him play in a couple years, and to come in and make the impression he did was good to see.”
Strachan is looking to have 36 players compete for roster spots at training camp, with the Sabres set to open their second SIJHL season at home Sept. 19 against the Thunder Bay Bearcats.
“There are probably six to eight [players] from far enough out of town that we didn’t want to bring them in for both camps, but [they] will be here for our main camp, as well,” Strachan noted.