Windy in Weyburn

Gusting winds overturned tractor trailers, along the highway heading south to Weyburn as Saskatchewan was hit by gale force winds on Friday and Saturday. Saskatchewan is victim to some crazy weather without a doubt, but lucky enough we arrived safely in Weyburn for the Red wings junior A rookie camp. With approx 120 players arriving from as far away as Texas, Omaha and Minnesota and ranging in age from 14 years old to 19 it was a very good camp. I talked to one grandparent who had driven from Minny all of 12 hours to attend and have his grandson skate in front of the Red wings staff for a chance to attend main camp in the fall. The Red wings were a first place team in the Saskatchewan junior A league last year and are traditionally one of the stronger teams in the loop. The town of Weyburn is a smaller version of a swift current minus the casino, clean, friendly and is located on the highway to the U.S border. One things I really like about small towns are you are 5 minutes from anywhere you may need to go, and there is virtually no traffic though boredom can lead to having one to many pops.

After the first skate of the day, I was informed in the afternoon from the asst coach that they had listed Sam on their 50 man protected list and was now property of the the club as a 15 year old, a bit of a pleasant surprise for us. In the Saskatchewan junior A league, when a player is protected it means that they can no longer skate with any other Junior A, excluding the WHL, team in the province, this protected list includes present players on the team and their top prospects. But bare in mind that one can be deleted as quickly by one phone call as added albeit normally they hang on to the younger prospects hoping they will develop into Red wing players in time with maturity. Junior hockey is a business at the end of the day and players are just pieces in the puzzle and can be interchanged or sold on at any time.

I was impressed by the way they handled the camp, on the Sunday they had a top prospect game with the older players and listed guys and a younger rookie game. The top prospect game which Sam skated in was full of junior B players and older players trying to get invites to main camp in the fall...fast, physical and tight checking, so great experience for a younger player. Stayed tuned for a trip to Winkler, Manitoba next week for a skate with the Flyers.