At the end of the first two days of the Olds Grizzlys main camp, the number of players vying for a spot on the team was cut in half.
Brett Hopfe, the team's head coach and hockey operations director, said 80 players, not including team members from last season, came out to the camp, which started on Aug. 17 and runs until Aug. 23.
After a weekend where hopefuls played four games to show off their skills, the team's coaching staff had whittled that number to 40.
Hopfe said he and the other coaches mainly looked at skating skills and endurance during the busy start to the camp.
“It's pretty intense to have four games in two days, especially at this level, but it's good because we get to see who's in shape and who's not in shape and kind of see the durability of guys,” he said.
Fourteen “veterans” from last season also came out to take part in the camp.
Players from as far away as Ontario, B.C. and Minnesota joined competitors from Central Alberta at the camp and Hopfe said the team is focusing on building a roster of local skaters.
The Grizzlys have already signed two Red Deer players and Hopfe said a pair of competitors from Olds, Ryan Klinck and Tyson Schmidt, have also stood out during the camp.
“They're going to have an opportunity to compete for a job.”
Hopfe said the aim is to come out of the camp with 32 players for the exhibition season, which starts on Aug. 30 and has the Grizzlys playing five games on consecutive days.
When the regular season begins on Sept. 6, the roster will be whittled down to 23 players.
Overall, Hopfe said the coaching staff are “impressed” with the talent that has come out to the camp and added the team that takes to the ice this season will have a different dynamic than last year.
“We've gotten younger defensively, but I think we've gotten stronger defensively,” he said.
The Grizzlys' first exhibition game is against the Calgary Mustangs in Calgary.
