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Sarnia Sting Prepare for Camp
By DAVE BORODY
August 24, 2009
As the boys of
winter, specifically, members of the Sarnia
Sting drift into town for training camp,
head coach Dave MacQueen has a clear message
for them.
"I' m looking
for competition," said MacQueen on Monday.
"I don't want the veterans to think they
just automatically have secured a spot or
are going to get tons of ice time. They
better have worked hard over the summer.
There is nothing going to be handed to you."
On Wednesday
afternoon, 57 players are slated to report
to the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment
Centre for fitness testing. On-ice workouts
begin Thursday at 9 a.m.
MacQueen is
beginning his fourth season as head man
behind the Sting bench. The 57 players are
the most he has had coming to camp since he
arrived in town to coach the Ontario Hockey
League club.
"We wanted some
local flavour in the 57 players. This is not
just a token invitation. There are a number
of players who played for the (Sarnia)
Legionnaires last year who had a good year
and learned what it takes to win. I hope
they can come to our camp and push hard for
a spot."
He added, "I'm
anticipating an upbeat camp with the youth
and free agents. They have nothing to lose.
They know we are going through a transition
period and are going to be given every
chance to catch on with us this year. After
saying that, I am a loyal coach and do give
the veterans some loyalty."
One of the
positions up for grabs is between the pipes.
Seven goalies have been invited to camp.
"Shayne
Campbell, (who was a rookie last season),
will be given every opportunity to carry the
ball. We have some young kids coming to camp
who will need to go and play a lot this
year. But we also have Jesse Raymond coming
in as a free agent who was goalie of the
year last season in junior B with the St.
Marys Lincolns. He knows we don't have a lot
of depth in our organization in goal. I
talked to him last week and he's coming to
camp to land a spot."
MacQueen says
the intangible in goal is overager Adam
Courchaine, who the Sting acquired in a
trade with Ottawa over the summer.
"He will be at
camp for three or four days before going to
the Boston Bruins. We probably won't know
about his status of returning until
mid-October. So that means other players
have a chance to step up and show what they
can do."
MacQueen is now not only head coach, but
also general manager of the Sting.
"There should be
a lot of nervous players stepping onto the
ice on Thursday," when asked about his dual
role. "The message from me is they better be
prepared. This is an exciting time for
myself and the organization . We have got
all our young kids signed and they are the
ones who will take us where we want to go
over the next two or three years."
There will be
three scrimmages both Thursday and Friday at
9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. The annual
Black and White inter-squad game goes
Saturday at 4 p.m.
Along with the
seven goalies, 14 defencemen and 36 forwards
are coming to camp. Two of the forwards,
Miroslav Preisinger and newcomer Ted Brithen
of Sweden, arrived in Sarnia last night.
click here
for the training camp roster
All Sting scrimmages for
training camp are open to the public at no
charge.
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