Blazers Camp, Sept 7 (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

BLAZERS CAMP

Blazers camp roster cut in half ahead of preseason opener Friday

Sep 7, 2023 | 4:52 PM

KAMLOOPS — The first week of training camp for the Kamloops Blazers is officially in the books, and the hockey operations staff has taken out their razor, trimming an initial roster of more than 70 hopefuls down to just over 30.

On Thursday (Sept 7), the coaching staff was putting the team through its paces, working to establish some structure. With a lot of turnover expected on the roster, Head Coach and GM Shaun Clouston has been impressed by the early level of play from both the rookies and the veterans at camp.

“The energy has been great. I think our veteran players having doing a terrific job setting the tone, leading the way. That’s important,” said Clouston. “It has been competitive, some real strong showings from some of our younger players, which is going to be really important for us moving forward. So overall, positive.”

Coach did note that all of the team’s signed players remain in camp, and will get to play in at least one preseason game before the next round of cuts are made, with many of the younger players heading back to their AAA teams. Still, Clouston expects a tough fight for spots in the bottom six.

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“Some players will play [Friday] night and that will be the end of the line for them. They know that, they need to get back to their teams, back to school. And then the next age group up — the ’07s — there are a number of players who are really competing to stick.”

The Blazers begin their preseason slate on Friday (Sept 8) night at Sandman Centre versus the Kelowna Rockets.