It’s been a busy few months for Ryan Parent since taking over as owner, general manager and head coach of the Revelstoke Grizzlies in June.
“Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting,” he said, when asked about his summer. “And it’s gone really well. That’s been my main priority.”
The Revelstoke Grizzlies start their 2014-15 season this weekend with the main camp. About 40 young hopefuls will take to the ice at the Revelstoke Forum with the goal of landing a spot on the team.
“We need to have a good balance on our team and that means we want some skill, we want to have some toughness, but ideally we want to have good kids, and I think having good young men in the community this year is a priority for us,” said Parent. “Anything less just won’t be tolerated or accepted.”
Camp begins with registration on Friday at 8 a.m. and an orientation meeting at 8:30 a.m. The players will be divided into two teams. Team 1 will practice at 9:45 a.m. and Team 2 at 11 a.m. There’s a goalie session in the afternoon and a game at 4 p.m.
There will be two games on Saturday, at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., with fitness testing in between.
Camp will wrap up on Sunday with one more game at 10 a.m., at which point players will have their exit interviews.
On Monday, the Grizzlies Hockey School starts and all players who will be taking part in the exhibition season – which starts Sept. 2 – will take part.
“What I’d love to see is just a strong, competitive camp,” said Parent. “I don’t anticipate having a large camp, but I think that what we do want is we want players there that can legitimately vie for spots.”
Darren Komonoski, a former assistant coach with the Grizzlies, will be returning to the team in his former post.
“He knows his stuff. He’s worked with some good coaches,” said Parent. “He won in 2010 in Revelstoke, so he’s a winner and he’s a proven guy.”
Parent said he will be adding one more assistant.
Darren Cota is the team’s marketing manager.
