It may seem early for AA peewee, bantam and midget camps since no other centres are at that stage yet, but the Battlefords Minor Hockey Association held their camps on the weekend to mark the beginning of the AA hockey season.
At the midget level, Kelly Page is moving from his assistant role last season to the head coach. Page said he was happy with the way camp went and happy with the turnout.
The Midget AA Barons had 34 players at camp and Page expects that number to be cut in half by the time the roster has to be submitted to the Centre Four Hockey League Oct. 1.
Page said it could be a bit of a long process to get to his final roster simply because they will have to wait to see which players make the Battlefords AAA Stars and which players are available at the AA level. Also the fact the Barons won't have an option to play exhibition games for nearly three weeks could slow the process of finalizing the roster.
As for expectations, the rookie head coach said he expects his team to be a hard working team and likely in the mix for a chance at the playoffs.
Last season, the Midget AA Barons missed the playoffs with a 6-15-5 record and sat in 12th spot.
At the Bantam AA level, David George is back for another season as the bench boss of the Bantam AA Barons.
George had a competitive camp and the players knew they would have to work hard to impress.
That process will continue with practices for the next few weeks and eventually the 25 players at camp will be cut down to around 17 and set for the 2010-11 season.
George believes he will have a strong group of forwards and with six second-year players returning he should have some good leadership coming into the season.
The biggest issue for the bantams, not only in Battleford, but around the area is which players are closest to which centres, but that will all be finalized by the roster deadline.
The 2009-10 season produced a 16-8-0 season for the fourth place Battlefords Bantam AA Barons.
Keith Nachtegaele is taking the reigns of the Peewee AA Barons, like half his players, the Centre Four Hockey League is a new experience.
Nachtegaele said the camp went "really well." They had 35 players from the surrounding area and the Battlefords.
He said he is satisfied with where the teams is and hopes to have that roster of 35 players cut in half by the Oct. 1 deadline.
Nachtegaele expects to have solid goaltending with a good mix of young, little first years and strong second years.
The next two weeks will include practices as he gets to know the players and continues to dwindle down the roster until he can arrange a home-and-home exhibition series with another centre before the regular season begins.
Last season, the Peewee AA Barons were 16-6-0 and held third place.
