A quiet nervousness overtook the typically bustling hallways of the Don Hartman Sportsplex in Calgary’s Northeast over the weekend, as more than 150 Calgary Hitmen hopefuls, including over 50 returning players, hit the ice for training camp.
Among the players on the ice Sunday morning were defenceman Jaynen Rissling, left-winger Trevor Cheek and centreman Greg Chase, who is returning for his second season with the Hitmen.
In the off-season quite a few players from Calgary’s club were invited to NHL Development Camps in July, including Rissling, who was selected 197th overall in the 2012 Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals.
The 19-year-old from Edmonton, who stands at 6-foot-4, set personal bests during the fitness testing, which he prepared for by spending about two hours a day with a personal trainer throughout the summer. With a smile on his face, he says he’s just happy to get back to playing hockey.
Of his experience at Capitals camp, Rissling says he models himself after a lot of the players he met, and is trying to bring the lessons he learned back to Calgary.
“The guys are top notch, the coaching staff, the facility, everything; it’s out of this world,” says Rissling. “You come back here and you sort of want to display that to the other guys, just the attitude of what it’s like up there and you just try to give points and tips to the younger guys in the right direction.”
Cheek is another one of Calgary’s players who attended an NHL development camp. The 20-year-old went down to Carolina to spend time with the Hurricanes organization.
Cheek, who improved greatly on his fitness testing, says it’s been an eye-opener of an off-season, working out in Arizona with a personal trainer. His biggest wakeup call wasn’t regimented workouts; for the first time in his life, he didn’t eat junk food.
Cheek’s fitness testing numbers were some of the team’s highest, measuring 2.69 metres in the broad jump and reaching a level 12 in the beep test.
The over-ager is fighting to protect a position on the roster this season as young prospects look for their first chance in the WHL. While he’s nervous, he admits he’s confident in his abilities.
“There are six of us who are 20 and there’s not a single bad player. We’ll all have places to play this year but obviously we’re all competing for a job in Calgary. I worked really hard this summer and I think they’ll see that.”
Despite the subdued nervousness from many players, Chase was chipper and full of energy on the first full day of camp as he sat in an empty dressing room waiting to make a media phone call.
The Hitmen finished 44-25-2-1 last season with their post-season run ending in March, losing in the conference quarterfinal series 4-1 to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Despite a short playoff run, the centreman from Sherwood Park, Alberta, says he’s excited about what’s ahead for the start of this season.
“We have a pretty good base from last year and a couple really good young players that are looking pretty good so far, so I think we’re going to have a pretty strong team at the start of the year.”
Training camp is tough for second year WHL players who are not only competing to keep their spot on the roster, but competing against young, fresh faces who want to make an impact on the coaches over a short period of time.
Chase, a well-spoken 17-year-old, says his abilities are on display throughout camp.
“You’re pushing against the other guys in camp to have a starting spot in the lineup and I’m trying to be a top-six forward. This league is so much faster and stronger than any midget league in this country and you have to be prepared to be bigger, stronger, faster and that’s the key.”
While a lot of familiar faces will remain in the lineup, one of the biggest systematic changes this year will be a permanent starting goalie instead of the previous shared goaltending schedule, split last season between 18-year-old Chris Driedger and 20-year-old Brandon Glover, who was traded May 8 to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Cuts will continue to be made until the annual intra-squad exhibition game Tuesday, where the team will begin to make their final decisions on a season roster before pre-season games begin September 1.