(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Weekend Competition

Mustangs host Spring Camp to evaluate future prospects

Apr 8, 2024 | 5:36 PM

The Melfort Mustangs held their annual two-day Spring Camp over the weekend, splitting games two and three of their second-round series.

Roughly 120 hockey players from the ages of 14-18 descended on the Northern Lights Palace on Saturday and Sunday, as they competed for roster spots, draft opportunities, spots on the team’s protected list, and invites to Fall Camp later this year.

“This weekend really is the culmination of watching a lot of games over the course of the winter and bringing kids in that could potentially be a part of our future, so it’s good to get everybody all out at the same time and compare them and see how far they’ve progressed over the course of the year,” explained Mustangs Director of Player Development, Rick Oakes.

“We’ll pick a group out of this camp that will come back to fall camp and compete with our returnees and some of the other free agents we’ll be bringing in, and then we’ll build our team for next season.”

Some of the names participating in the camp were quite familiar to the organization and its fans, as players such as Trey Markus, Blake Girard, Jaxon Kehrig, Tristin Ziola, Josh Henry, Tao Flory, and Scott McLean have already dressed at least once for the Mustangs this season.

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According to Oakes, the club is looking for more than just these names, as they invited a majority of the 120, with the team expecting a high turnover for next season.

“You take a look at our roster and right off the top, we got nine 20-year-olds, and you never know who’s gonna leave early for school or that kind of thing, so we’re looking at a turnover potentially as high as 12 or 13. With that in mind, there’ll be quite a few of these kids that are in camp right now that’ll get an opportunity to step into the lineup for next year,” he added.

“We did send out quite a few invites, and at some point, either myself or somebody else from our coaching staff or scouting staff have seen them play, so right now our preference is to go quality over quantity. It’s great to have a large number, and then in the end, the quality more than anything is what will stand out to us.”

With Melfort now just two wins away from an SJHL Finals appearance, quality has definitely been the motto this season.

Oakes told northeastNOW that certain qualities are preferred by the organization, as the rest can be coached.

“Trevor’s put a pretty strict mandate on the table that we want guys that are going to come in and compete, work hard, practice every day, be good teammates and bring some skill. They’ve told us that if we get guys with those traits, then they’ll teach them the rest. It’s a pretty easy mandate to follow and I think we’ve had a lot of success doing it that way.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

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