The long offseason is over.
Tuesday night the Battlefords North Stars welcome the Kindersley Klippers in their first pre-season action of the 2015-16 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season, a day North Stars head coach and general manager Kevin Hasselberg has been waiting a long time for.
鈥淭his is a day we鈥檝e been waiting for ever since last season ended,鈥� Hasselberg said. 鈥淲e want to establish what kind of team we鈥檙e going to be this season, but more importantly we want to make sure the players that are here in camp are going to be able to play that way.鈥�
All North Stars hopefuls are in the Battlefords, as they took part in off-ice fitness testing Sunday. Even though the pre-season games don鈥檛 have any statistical effect on the regular season, Hasselberg says they鈥檙e still games you want to win.
鈥淵ou always want to win, that鈥檚 why we compete and that鈥檚 why the game is competitive,鈥� he said. 鈥淩egardless of the situtation, [the players] have to be at their best every time they hit the ice right from the first pre-season game to the last game of the season.鈥�
The North Stars currently have 36 players at camp, and will make cuts to get that number down to between 23 and 25 by the start of the season.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of hard work in front of us, every one of these kids in camp right now are quality people,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to test us as much as we test them, and I think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 really exciting about the competition of pre-season and camp. It鈥檚 going to be a challenge to make sure that we ice the most competitive roster possible.鈥�
A number of both returning and new players at camp for the North Stars have had offensive success in the past, a trend Hasselberg hopes continues into the season.
鈥淲e want to play a puck possession hockey game,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to make sure in a 60-minute hockey game, we鈥檙e carrying the puck for 35- or 40-minutes a game. It鈥檚 an exciting brand of hockey our fans will appreciate but it鈥檚 not going to come without a few headaches along the way. We like the skill level of our camp, we think we鈥檝e got some highly creative players and we鈥檝e also got some eager players who might not have played that style of hockey over the last few seasons that we鈥檙e going to be patient with and we鈥檙e looking forward to teaching.鈥�
The departure of Spencer Trembley opens the window of opportunity for Cut Knife鈥檚 Ryan Rewerts to grab the starting job in goal for the North Stars, though Hasselberg says nothing is given.
鈥淩yan wasn鈥檛 the starter last year and we want him to be that player this year,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike anything in competitive sports you have to earn the right to be what you want to be. You have to earn the right to be successful and both he and Taryn (Kotchorek) have to earn their positions on this hockey team and we look forward to them two dueling it out.鈥�
Last season, Rewerts appeared in 21 games posting a 2.70 GAA and a .920 save percentage with an 8-8-1 record.
Kotchorek, a North Battleford native, played last season with the Battlefords midget AA Barons, posting an 8-11-3 record with a 3.68 GAA in 25 games. He served as the backup for the North Stars for a few games last season when Trembley went down with an injury.
While every sports team鈥檚 long-term goal is to win a championship, Hasselberg says looking that far down the road isn鈥檛 the best course of action.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to set individual goals with our players, we鈥檙e going to create a vision both long-term and short-term,鈥� Hasselberg said. 鈥淩ight now our goal is to have a very successful hockey camp and get to know our players on a personal level and know exactly what makes them tick while giving them the opportunity to get to know us as a staff.鈥�
The North Stars hit the ice at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
