The Westside Warriors of the B.C. Hockey League will open training camp for the 2009-2010 BCHL season Thursday Aug. 27 at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna.
The Warriors are expecting about 45 players to its camp including 10 returning veterans to the camp which will run through Sunday Aug. 30 which wraps up with the annual intra-squad game.
The Warriors will hold its first team practise the very next day in preparation for the season which opens Sept. 11 with the Warriors in Prince George as part of a three day northern road trip to open the 60 game schedule.
Among the veterans returning to the Warriors are three local minor hockey products, one of the top goalies in the BCHL and a solid core of second year players.
Winfield Minor Hockey product Trevor Bailey will be 20 this year and is the highest returning scorer. He and Brendan Ellis of Kelowna are two of three players who have been with the Warriors in each of its three seasons. Kelowna?s Tyler Krause will be in his second season.
Goalie Kevin Jebson returns as a 20-year-old and shopuld be one of the top goalies in the league after posting a 2.66 goals against and .909 save percentage in 47 games last season with the Warriors.
It will be the Warriors first training camp with new head coach and director of player personnel Darren Yopyk, hired this summer from NCAA Div. I Merricack University.
“The Westside Warriors' organization is extremely excited about our upcoming main camp,? said Yopyk. ?The camp will be very competitive this year with a good blend of veterans and rookies. We are extremely happy with the quality and depth of all of our invitees. We expect an intense try-out process. We are confident we will ice a high quality team coming out of camp. I am excited to have all of the players here, and am eager to get the season underway.”
The Warriors have made the playoffs in each of its first three years in West Kelowna as part of the nine team BCHL Interior Conference. Williams Lake is the conference?s ninth team.
The Warriors will have five exhibition games prior to the BCHL regular season:
Tue, Sep. 1 7:00P Westside at Vernon Wesbild Centre
Wed, Sep. 2 7:00P Vernon at Westside Royal LePage Place
Fri, Sep. 4 7:00P Westside at Penticton South Okanagan Events Centre
Sat, Sep. 5 7:00P Penticton at Westside Royal LePage Place
Sun, Sep. 6 2:30P Merritt at Westside Royal LePage Place
