Ex-Victoria Grizzlies put through their paces at off-season NHL development camps

Summer off from hockey not in the cards for elite players

A trio of former Victoria Grizzlies players have put their skills to the test, looking to make an impression at summer development camps with National Hockey League teams this year.

Undrafted free agent goaltender Matt Ginn took to the ice earlier this month at the Vancouver Canucks’ prospects camp in Shawnigan Lake School.

Last season the native of Lindsay, Ont. posted a 2.10 goals against average and a .931 save percentage for a mediocre Holy Cross team in the NCAA’s Div. 1 Atlantic Hockey conference. Ginn, 24, also played seven games for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, putting up a 2.12 average and .932 saves mark.

Forward Joel Lowry and defenceman Nolan DeJong were the other former Grizzlies involved in NHL development camps this summer.

Lowry, 23, a 2011 draft pick by Los Angeles, finished his third NCAA Div. 1 season with the Cornell Big Red of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (seven goals, 17 assists in 32 games) this spring and is on the Kings’ prospects list.

Greater Victoria native DeJong, 20, wound up his second season with the University of Michigan.

He was picked by Minnesota in the 2013 entry draft and is on the Wild’s prospect list, along with Western Hockey League stalwart Jack Walker of the Victoria Royals.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com

Goldstream News Gazette