The North Stars fall camp, beginning Oct. 2, will feature no returning players. Instead, the camp will offer a chance for prospects and unsigned talent to battle it out for a spot at main camp, later this fall. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Hockey on the Horizon

North Stars looking to make most of unique fall camp

Sep 9, 2020 | 3:00 PM

The Battlefords North Stars will host a fall camp for team prospects and potential players Oct. 2 to 4, ahead of their official team training camp, the club has announced.

No returning players, or previously signed players will be attending the fall camp.

Instead it will be an opportunity for both listed and unlisted players attending to compete for a spot at main camp — and potentially on the team’s opening night roster — later this fall, when the new Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season begins.

Head coach and General Manager with the North Stars, Brayden Klimosko, said the decision to host a fall camp specifically geared toward prospects and unsigned players comes down largely to a numbers game.

Due to current number restrictions as it pertains to both in-building and on-ice capacity limits, Klimosko said the camp gives the team an opportunity to see a lot more players than they would otherwise be allowed to, had they only hosted the singular main camp later this fall.

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“We aren’t bringing in any of the vets for this because of the limited numbers you’re allowed with COVID, and the restrictions there,” Klimosko said. “You want to see your list kids, you want to see your draft picks, and it’s kind of a camp too for any free agents that we’ve liked but haven’t been able to come to a spring camp, or necessarily have enough room at our exhibition season with our returning players, to really take a look at them.”

He said the camp will offer a good opportunity for the organization to see the players vying for those final few roster spots. The players will need to bring their best, as they compete and battle against others in similar situations to them, to try to make the team.

Head scout and Assistant General Manager with the Stars, Wylie Riendeau, said the camp will provide the club with really good opportunity to see their prospects in the midst of in a unique year.

“Usually we don’t get an opportunity like this to potentially see them all at once,” Riendeau said. “We’re usually competing with other camps going on at the same time and [other leagues]; but with no seasons scheduled to start yet, it kind of gives us that opportunity. We’ll get to see those kids all on the ice at once, and it will give us a good gage of where they are at and how they are developing. It’ll definitely be an exciting camp and should be highly competitive.”

Riendeau said just in talking to the players ahead of time, there’s no doubt the group at large is chomping at the bit to get back on the ice and compete in a meaningful way following an extended summer.

“I think the players we’ve talked to are really excited to come compete for a spot to be a North Star,” he said. “A lot of the kids are really looking forward to getting back on the ice after a long time, and we’re just as excited to get back at the rink too.”

The dates for the North Stars main camp remain TBD. The SJHL regular season is tentatively scheduled to begin Oct. 9, but that date is still subject to change, as the league awaits the official go-ahead from the provincial government and Saskatchewan Health Authority.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1