Summer was proceeding nicely for Josh Frazer until just one day before he left Lloydminster for his first Western Hockey League training camp with the Spokane Chiefs.
Read more: Chiefs select ‘speedy, tenacious’ Frazer
The highly regarded 15-year-old forward suffered a broken thumb when he was hit during an Aug. 24 scrimmage at the U18 AAA Lancers’ tryout camp.
“It just kind of bent back a little bit,” Frazer said. “And then, I went to the ER, and it was broken, unfortunately.”
His heart was also broken.
“Yeah, I was really upset,” Frazer said. “I really wanted to go to Spokane (to participate). It was still a good experience, but I would have loved to skate (while I was there). I just did the fitness testing.
“But I was there with the team, got to know everybody a little bit, and also got to know the coaching staff more.”
The Chiefs selected Frazer this past May in the WHL prospects draft. He was among three U18 AAA Lancers at Spokane’s camp, including fellow 2025 draft choice Brody Sunderland and 2024 selection Connor Knickle.
and Josh Frazer attend their first WHL training camp with the Spokane Chiefs in late August. Submitted photo
Exactly three weeks after his injury, Frazer watched his new team — the Lancers — lose 6-1 to the U18 prep team from his previous program, OHA Edmonton.
The Sunday evening showdown on Sept. 14 was the Lancers’ third pre-season game of the weekend, and their first in the new Cenovus Energy Hub.
Frazer and multiple other players were in the stands as he watched the Lancers in all three games, including a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Junior Oilers Orange on Friday and a 3-2 defeat against the St. Albert Raiders on Saturday.
He even recorded some statistics while following the Lloyd prospects in their initial foray into the Alberta Elite Hockey League pre-season.
“We’re playing pretty well,” Frazer said in his scouting report. “We played physically, and I think everybody noticed that we were working hard. Once everybody comes together and our team gets a little bit of chemistry, then we’re going to be a really great team, and hopefully we’ll finish the season off strong, too.”
EYES SEASON-OPENER
Frazer has resumed practising with the Lancers, but he’s not permitted to engage in battle drills. He’s projecting a comeback in about two weeks, possibly in time for the Lancers’ Oct. 4 season-opener against the host Leduc Oil Kings. He’ll tape his left thumb, now less swollen than it had been.
“The plan so far is for me to play (that opening weekend),” he said this week.
“Everything is looking like I will be, yes.”
When he does return, Frazer will be that much more appreciative of the moment. Those are the life lessons mixed in with hockey instruction early in the season and the school year.
“Every moment is not a given,” said Frazer, a Grade 10 student at Lloydminster Comprehensive High School. “You can’t expect everything to go the right way.
“Sometimes, unexpected things happen. You’ve just got to deal with it and move on and do your best.”
His buddy Tripp Fischer can relate. Fischer was also on the sidelines Sunday, limping after suffering an ankle injury in Friday’s game versus Oilers Orange. Fortunately for Fischer, and the Lancers, he wasn’t projected to be out of action for long. He expects to be able to play on season-opening weekend, which includes the Lancers’ home-opener Oct. 5 against the Sherwood Park Kings.
“Yes, I should be back and healthy by then,” Fischer reported.
The 15-year-old forward is another key piece in the Lancers’ rebuild and part of the future of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, who drafted him in the third round this year. Capping his first training camp with the Raiders, Fischer went all the way to WHL pre-season action in early September. He dressed for Prince Albert in two games against the rival Saskatoon Blades.
REUNION OF SORTS
Speaking of rivalries, Frazer had hoped to be able to face off Sunday against his buddies and former U15 prep teammates from OHA Edmonton.
“It was a little bit of love-hate,” Frazer said with a smile. “I obviously wanted to play and compete against them, but it was still good to see my buddies and catch up a little bit.”
Among the familiar faces with OHA Edmonton were WHL draft choices Liam McFadden and Brayden Tucker, both of whom played last season with Frazer and fellow Lancers’ campers Kael Scott of Lloydminster and Damian Anderson of Mannville.
While living in Edmonton, Frazer billeted with the family of McFadden, a Lethbridge Hurricanes’ prospect. Scott and Tucker are both Calgary Hitmen prospects also selected in the latest WHL draft.
The exhibition matchup in Lloyd also gave Scott and Anderson an opportunity to mingle with some of their prep buddies and former teammates. Multiple chit-chats at centre ice followed the Hub post-game handshakes.
Read more: Pratt likes Lancers’ early progress
