About 130 hopeful young hockey players descended on the Humboldt Uniplex last weekend, making their best pitch to wear the green and gold next season.
Humboldt Broncos spring evaluation camp took place from April 8-10 at the Elgar Petersen Arena. Players were divided into two groups based on age, with about 60 born in 1996 and 1997, and about 70 born in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
Broncos head coach and general manager Dean Brockman said he was impressed by what he saw this time around, especially from those players already on the Broncos' radar. However, there were no eye-popping surprises.
"I thought it went very well," he noted of the camp. "We put them through the paces. We wanted to be able to evaluate the players in game-like situations, and we were able to do that."
Brockman agreed that it's tough to evaluate so many players in such a short time, but seeing them perform under game-like conditions does give coaches a better idea of how each one handles the pressure.
"Some of the kids we've certainly had reports on before, so this is an opportunity to see how they have developed since the beginning of the season, and whether they've improved or not," he said.
The next step, he noted, will be for Brockman and assistant coaches Tim Klimosko and Murray Brookbank to evaluate what they've seen, and to decide which players to invite back to Humboldt for the Broncos' fall camp.
"Then we have to go out and do the recruting, and try to make them Broncos," he said.
Brockman said just over half the players at the spring camp will be invited back for the fall camp. But he conceded that with the Broncos hosting the Royal Bank Cup in 2012, there really isn't must roster space for young players hoping to make the team.
"It's a calculated risk for them (to come here), but it could be an opportunity as well," he said.
"There aren't a lot of openings, because at the end of last year we had 20 returnees" for the 2011-12 season, he added. "There are still a few trades or other players out there(on our list), and you never know who might decide to not come back. But we think we're in pretty good shape for next year.
"We're probably half to three-quarters set with our roster right now."
