The Nipawin Hawks have signed Cole Fox of Innisfail, Alberta to a Letter of Intent. (Submitted photo/Nipawin Hawks)

By Clark Stork

Hawks Hockey

Hawks conclude spring camp, sign defenceman

Apr 26, 2022 | 1:07 PM

The Nipawin Hawks held their spring camp over the weekend at the Centennial Arena.

The camp was the first under Tad Kozun since being announced as the new general manager and head coach. Kozun said getting a firsthand look at the organizations prospects and hopefuls went as expected.

“It’s nice to see a lot of the prospects that are on our list, some guys came in and showcased themselves very well and that’s exciting and some guys also came in and probably didn’t do as well as they wanted to,” Kozun said.

One player that did stand out was 2004 born defenceman Cole Fox of Innisfail, Alta. The Hawks announced Monday that they have signed the 5’10” blueliner for next season. Kozun said the 18-year-old stood out among the over 60 camp attendees and he jumped on the chance to sign the U18 AAA Red Deer Chief.

“After the first couple shifts you kind of go, oh man that guy can skate,” Kozun said. “His edges are very good, plays with his head up, makes a really good first pass. We couldn’t let him leave Nipawin without his name signed up to be a Hawk next year.”

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Fox had three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 38 games played with the Chiefs.

Next up for the Hawks is preparing for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League draft. The date was originally set for June 1, but that date will be slightly adjusted as the teams meet virtually today. Nipawin has nine picks in the draft but that could change due to potential trades. Kozun said he’s excited about the draft and knows the importance of using the abundance of picks to immediately try to improve on the team’s 11^th place performance this past season.

“It’s an important draft, especially for the first one for us. It’s going to help shape our future, going into this age group (2006 born players) now where guys can jump into your line up next year if they showcase themselves well,” he said.

The team also announced the listing of three players, Deegan Wapass of Debden, Burke Osinski of Eastend and Wynyard’s Tyler Gudjonson. Kozun said those players will continue to develop, potentially play U18 for another year and could work their way into the organization.

Kozun is also still accepting resumes to hire an assistant coach, Kozun believes a decision will be made following the draft.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork