Although the West Fraser Centre plays host to many sporting events, it is never quite as alive as when there are hockey pucks flying around the arena.
Last weekend (Sept. 29-30) the rink saw some of the first games of the season during the Bantam Ice Breaker Tournament.
Parents yelled passionately in the stands, kids raced up and down the aisles and players who were not on the ice stretched and chatted.
Rep teams from Williams Lake and Prince George were invited to the event, which functions more as a pre-season exhibition style get-together than an actual tournament.
Some of the squads still had cuts to make and others were trying out different line combinations to see what will work best for the upcoming season.
The Quesnel Thunder went 1-2 in the three games, losing their first to Williams Lake and then going 1-1 against the Prince George team.
For all the players, who will be spending countless hours with their teammates over the coming few months, it was an opportunity to forge bonds.
“Chemistry, camaraderie and brotherhood will build over the course of the season,” says Bantam general manager Mike Ernst, whose son Kaden is on the team.
“They’re together a lot. We’re going to be practising two to three times a week, plus any extra ice time as well as dryland workouts and the fundraiser.”
It is up to the coaches, like Gary Salmons and his assistant Kevin Hesselgrave, to steer the young players while at this crucial juncture in their hockey careers.
The athletes in Bantam are between 13 and 14 years old and beginning to put on some size. Huge jumps in skill can take place if the right work is put in and it is also when body checking is allowed at the rep level.
“The coaches were happy with the weekend,” Ernst says.
“A bunch of the kids had never played a game together and a few had never played rep or contact hockey. On average, the other teams had a few more inches and a few more pounds, but our kids work pretty hard.”
The team had a parent film the games, so they can review the footage and point out deficiencies to the players.
“It’s great to break it down and show them in a school type setting what’s going right and what’s going wrong,” says Ernst.
“We tell them, ‘You think you’re in this spot, but you’re actually here,’ and the gear turns.”
Ernst says the team will be going to provincials this year and they want to represent the town in the best way possible, so development is paramount.
“I’m looking forward to the year and I’m excited to get these kids developing.”
