Stars gearing up for season with camp

The Kenora Midget ‘AAA’ Stars will be holding their annual ID camp this weekend, but this year there is even more pressure to find the best young talent in the district.
The annual ID camp runs Aug. 22-24 at the Keewatin Arena in Kenora. Players aged 15-17 are invited to try their luck at being selected for an invite to the team’s main camp next month.
What makes this year more important is that Kenora will host the national Midget championship next April. And as the host squad, they’re guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
For the coaching staff, it’s an extra shot at winning a national title. For the players, it guarantees them a chance to play in front of big-league scouts from across North America.
“We want all participating guys to come out,” said Stars head coach Doug Novak. “There’s a lot of young hopefuls in the area.”
That includes Rainy River District, he noted.
“We usually have between 40-45,” Novak said of the participation in the ID camp participation. “Some years there are lots, sometimes not so much.
“Hopefully we have more kids because of the championship.”
Anyone interested in taking part in the camp, which costs $60 to attend, is encouraged to show up at the Keewatin Arena on Friday at 6 p.m. Sessions begin that night, running from 8-11 p.m.
The camp continues Saturday from 3-6 p.m. and 8-11 p.m., and then on Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Novak said the camp will consist mainly of skating and stick-handling drills, as well as one-on-one and two-on-one drills and a scrimmage at the end.
“We’ll be selecting so many to come to our main camp Sept. 6-7,” he noted, adding the number will depend on the how many participants attend and the crop of players returning from last year.
“We’ll select them down on Sunday afternoon.
“We have a good core that’ll come back,” Novak added. “We have 13 hopefuls that will come back as long as some don’t go play junior.”
The Midget championship—slated for late April—will include five regional champs and the host Stars.