The Flin Flon Bombers held another successful spring camp this month.
The event, held at Saskatoon’s Agriplace Ice Sports from May 4 to 6, featured 115 hockey players who hope to one day play for one of the most historic junior hockey teams. The spring camp included athletes looking to crack the Bombers’ roster in the fall and those eligible for the upcoming Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League draft. Players came from as far away as Quebec and Colorado.
“Camp was very competitive and deep, especially in goal and on D,” Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan said.
This is good news for the Bombers. The team only saw four players age out. However, one of them was standout goalie Brenden Newton, who helped the team make two SJHL finals. Ben Lanfermann, who went from battling for a lineup spot as a rookie to captaining the team from the blue line as a 20-year-old, and forwards Tyler Nyman and Jordan McCausland also aged out.
The Bombers are slated to return a talent core, including leading points getter Nate Hooper (56 points in 58 games), top goal scorer Chrystopher Collin (22 goals in 49 games), and Sherwood Division Rookie of the Year Calvon Boots, a defenseman.
Players at the spring camp were split into different teams. Each team had a practice and four games.
Among the athletes at the spring camp were 10 from Flin Flon. Reagan said that the local players had a good camp. Flin Flon players go on to the team’s Auto-Protect B List until they are 17 and then are either added to the regular protected list or become eligible to sign with another team.
Saskatchewan players not on a team’s Auto-Protect B Lists and who have completed their bantam eligibility can be selected in the yearly SJHL draft. Reagan said having draft-eligible players at the spring camp will help the team decide who to target when making its selections.
Former draft picks also hit the ice in Saskatoon earlier this month. Reagan said he thought players from last year’s draft had improved a lot.
