Blazers coach Clouston looks ahead to the season

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

Yesterday, the Western Hockey League released the B.C. Division schedule for a short season.

Question of the Week

Have you changed your driving and transportation habits since fuel prices increased significantly?

6h ago

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: April 27, 2026

6h ago

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 WAYS TO HEAL: Returning to Balance

6h ago

The 24 game season will start March 26, about the same time the playoffs would start after a normal season, and end May 12, about the same time the playoffs would end after a normal season.

The Blazers will play 18 of their 24 games in 48 days at the Sandman Centre, in the three team Kamloops Hub.

The other six games will be played in the two team Kelowna hub.

“It’s a lot of games, but because there is not a lot of travel, because you don’t have three on three, it’s a real good compromise, it’s a real good schedule.” says Blazers coach Shaun Clouston.

The Blazers won’t be the designated home team for all of those 18 games in their rink, only for 12 of them, with either Prince George or Vancouver, the home team for the other six.

Clouston says with the way things are he doesn’t really see any advantage or disadvantage to be the home team or the visiting team.

“There’s going to be a couple of things. One is there are no fans — in a way that is going to take away some of the home ice advantage. Everybody is going to be playing all of the games with no fans. So you don’t have your own fans cheering you on and you don’t have the visitor fans kind of in your grill.”

Coaches like practice, or at least I think they do.

But with an average of a game every second day, quality practice time won’t be what it is in a normal season.

“It looks like we’re on the ice either the 18th or 19th.” says Clouston. “We’ve got seven or eight days there that we’re really going to have to work on it. You don’t want to over complicate things too much. You’re just going to have to get the basics in. We have a good number of returning players, so I think those guys become very important in the process. Our veteran players who know how we had to play last year to be successful.”

Clouston says during the season video is a big part of coaching is video.

So with that the coaches can present things as need be as the season goes on.

In the year between games there have been regular zoom meetings between coaches and players.

Until last week not knowing when or if there was going to be a season, the challenge was to keep players motivated, engaged and focused.

“I think that’s one thing that people miss the most. I think it’s the one thing that the coaches miss and the players miss.” says Clouston. There’s a difference between running an ice session or getting on the ice and being a part of a team for that day to day basis. That’s what’s so special about this is that we do get to be back and be a team for a time again.”