The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer The hockey season isn't even over for two SJHL teams, but the Flin Flon Bombers are already looking to next year. The Bombers, who lost out to the La Ronge Ice Wolves in the Bauer Conference semifinals, are gearing up for their spring camp at the end of the month in Saskatoon. Hosted earlier than last year, the Bombers are hoping for a 100-player turnout. Last year, head coach and GM Mike Reagan brought in a number of rookies to build the lineup. Hopes With 16 players eligible to return to the Bombers this year, Reagan hopes to again bring in some younger players. The spring camp players will face some tough competition as Reagan praised returning players like Tanner Clark, who "really came into his own after he got settled" in Flin Flon. As well, the newcomers will have to watch for those players who bring their game every night, like David Roper and James McNulty. Reagan praised McNulty's size and playoff ability. Over the past four years that Reagan has been bench boss, the camp sizes have grown from 65 to an average of 100 players. "Which is very good for a spring camp," said Reagan, in an interview last week. "We're pretty happy. It's a good opportunity not only for us to see players that could potentially play for us next year, but also [to see] potential list players." Competitive The camp itself is always competitive, said the coach. "I know a lot of other kids have gone to other camps in the past and [they have] been pretty impressed with that competition level that we've had," he said. The coach says that's a "credit to our scouting staff." This year's spring camp is the earliest it has been while Reagan has been coach. Last year, the camp was held at the end of May and start of June, but it ran the same weekend as the SJHL AGM Ð which left Reagan driving to and from Nipawin and Saskatoon. As well, he says June is a tough month as some player are graduating. This year's April spring camp will be a trial, with a chance of the next spring camp in the same time frame. "It's never going to be perfect. You're always going to run into something," Reagan said of the timing Now, the club competes with other clubs hosting their camps on the same weekend. But Reagan is confident it will be a good camp. As well as looking to fill those spots from players who aged out of the SJHL, the Bombers are looking for a top-notch goaltender. Randy Graham, who played with the Bombers last season, will have to prove his colours this year to earn top spot. Spring camp gets underway on Friday, April 29 and runs through to Sunday, May 1.
