The AC (Airdrie-Cochrane) Avalanche will be hard-pressed to repeat their Sutter Cup and provincial silver-medal performance from a season ago.
But the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League team wasn’t expecting the level of success earned last season. While repeating will be difficult, particularly with a new slate of players born in 1998, the organization now understands anything is possible.
Even though everyone will be gunning for them.
The team is currently on the ice, evaluating players at training camp. Thirty players, including four goalies, took to the ice Sept. 8 at Cochrane Arena to audition for this season’s Avalanche team.
Head coach Terry Sydoryk figures he has a 50/50 split of Airdrie and Cochrane players at camp.
“We started off with some drills. We usually spend 15-20 minutes running through some drills, more for warmups than anything else,” said Sydoryk. “Then we run a scrimmage. A scrimmage just tells us so much about what they’re able to do.”
Three eligible players who tried out for the major midget AAA UFA Bisons in Strathmore - forwards Jordan McConnel and Noah Philp, and defenceman Shaye Seefried - are now with the Avalanche.
“Camp’s been good. It’s been very competitive. Guys continue to develop from ice time to ice time,” Sydoryk observed. “They know it gets tougher and tougher as the group gets smaller. I’m very pleased it’s making our job very tough.
“It’s going to be tough when we get cutting down to the final team. There are going to be some very tough decisions.”
Those decisions come just prior to the start of the regular season, still three weeks away.
The Avalanche are playing home games at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre this season and open the season Oct. 5 in Calgary against the Rangers at South Fish Creek Arena, 3:45 p.m. puck drop.
