On the cusp of moving into their spiffy new home, the Lloydminster Bobcats staged the junior A team’s final training camp at the soon-to-be-closed Centennial Civic Centre on the Labour Day weekend.
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“It’s unique for our players and for our new recruits to be able to see the Civic Centre one more time and maybe appreciate what we had here and the history that goes back over 40 years of junior hockey,” said Bobcats general manager Nigel Dube.
The AJHL’s Bobcats also scheduled at least two exhibition games for the Civic Centre, beginning with a 3-1 loss to the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers on Sept. 1.
Exhibition action continues this weekend as Lloydminster visits the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Friday (Sept. 5) and the same teams face off in Lloyd at 7 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 6) for possibly the final game in the Civic Centre’s storied history.
On the final weekend of the pre-season, the Bobcats host the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars on Friday (Sept. 12), either at the Civic or the spanking-new Cenovus Energy Hub.
“What arena we play (that game) at is to be determined,” Dube said on Labour Day. “We’ll be in the Hub for the home-opener (Sept. 19 against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons). It’s just a matter of whether we get one (exhibition) game in there before, or not, just to get the feel for things.”
The Bobcats planned to transition into their new home this week, alternating practices between the Hub and the Civic.
Training camp featured almost 40 players, enough for two teams during the initial tryouts.
“We kept it at just shy of 40 players,” Dube said. “We thought that was important to keep it to a small camp, just to get really good looks at players.
“With players going off to Western Hockey League major junior camps, we knew we’d see the return of players throughout the weekend, so it was better to start with a lower number.”
The Bobcats iced an entirely rookie lineup in their pre-season opener against Kindersley, which was playing its second exhibition game.
Dube and new coach Eric Labrosse watched the Civic Centre action from upstairs.
“I think it’s just exciting,” Dube said about early evaluations. “You look at our lineup with no returning players, no veteran players in it, an all-rookie lineup against a team that had four or five 20-year-olds in it, more experience and a 20-year-old goalie in net.
“We had a couple of 15-year-olds in our lineup. And for them to step in and do that (was admirable). I thought, throughout the game, we showed a lot of good flashes, a good possession game. At times, our youth kind of showed through at the end and we looked like we were running out of a little bit of gas.”
Sherwood Park prospect Jacob Harkness scored Lloydminster’s lone goal. The Bobcats’ goaltending was split between Kannen Kirkwood — younger brother of Bobcats graduate Kaiden — and former U18 AAA Lancer Malakai Zwiers.
The other goaltender in camp is Sam Madgett, who joined the Bobcats after trying out with his hometown Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. Madgett and Bobcats forward recruit Luke Dooley were 18U major teammates for three seasons — one year with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack and the past two with the Halifax McDonald’s.
With a wide-open slate in Lloydminster’s net, this is an opportune time for the three young goalie prospects to show their stuff.
“They’ll continue to get minutes throughout the pre-season,” Dube said. “With their performance, they’ll be able to sort themselves out in that matter, too. I think that’s a big part (of the equation) — a lot of minutes throughout the weekend with main camp, and two of them in for today’s game, and we’ll be able to change that up for Friday’s pre-season game as well and continue to evaluate that position.”
Another key variable in the Bobcats’ goaltending picture is Matthew Kondro, whose rights were acquired in an Aug. 21 trade that saw forward Wyatt Yule, 19, go to the Drumheller Dragons.
Kondro, who turns 18 in December, is from St. Albert. He spent last season with Drumheller in the AJHL and was called up to the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL.
For the past week, Kondro has participated in Red Deer’s training camp. The length of his latest stay with the Rebels might well be dependent on how long Red Deer starting goalie Chase Wutzke, 19, sticks with the Minnesota Wild during the NHL pre-season.
Kondro has family connections in Lloydminster.
“That’s a unique part,” Dube said. “If we’re able to get him back from Red Deer, he’ll also add some local (flavour) to our lineup. Talking to his coaches in St. Albert, too, they spoke very highly of the hockey player and of the person, which is very important.”
As for Yule, the trade to Drumheller aligned with his desire to play close to home, Dube said. “He had tried out there the last couple of years and his brother (Tate) played there, was their captain last year.”
The Bobcats have regained the services of sophomore defenceman Dylan Deets, who returned Sunday from the Moose Jaw Warriors’ WHL camp.
Cooper Moore, a 50-point man last winter in his standout rookie season with Lloydminster, remained at the Kamloops Blazers’ camp early this week. At the same time, Bobcats’ promising forward recruit Ty Hynes was auditioning with the Calgary Hitmen.
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