Neepawa Natives ready for spring camp

Details

Published on Friday, March 18, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The future of the Neepawa Natives will hit the ice later this month as the junior ‘A’ hockey club holds its annual spring camp. About 90 prospects have already confirmed their participation in the three day camp, which gets underway on Friday, Mar. 25 at the Yellowhead Arena.

Natives general manager Myles Cathcart said this year, the camp is open to players in the 2001 draft eligible age bracket, as well as prospects from the club’s 50-man protected list. Some walk-on players hoping to earn a chance in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League will also be on hand. Cathcart said that they’re very pleased with the number of players they expect to see this year.

“I think we’re close to 90 players confirmed. It’s a very diverse group. We have some American players that’ll be attending. Some from Saskatchewan and of course, Manitoba is well represented,” said Cathcart. “These numbers are a bit higher than last year and we expect there will be about a hundred players involved by the time the camp begins.”

Cathcart noted that an important aspect of the camp that the Neepawa Natives have been very progressive in is the one-on-one player evaluations held at the end of the weekend. He said that coaches, scouts and management with the club provide a thorough examination of each players’ strengths and weaknesses, in order to provide them with guidance to move forward in their hockey career.

“It’s a great part of the weekend. A great selling point to the players and their families. We meet with every kid individually. Give them some pointers and some tips. We get a lot of positive feedback on that from the parents and the players as well. They really appreciate the honest evaluation,” said Cathcart. “This is very good for our listed players. It’s good for the recruits. It’s a real win-win.”

The annual spring camp also has a major economic impact on the community. Each year, the team conducts a survey of attending players and families to find out just how much money they spend in local businesses during the weekend. The survey found that, on average, a total of $23,378 is spent every year by the attendees for accommodations, meals and local shopping in Neepawa.

Players still interested in signing up for the camp can do so by filling out the online registration form on the team’s website. In person registrations  will begin in the morning on Friday, Mar. 25 at the Yellowhead Arena, with the first on-ice session quickly to follow. All the practice sessions and games are open to the public at no cost. The Neepawa Natives Spring Camp will run until Sunday, Mar. 27