Curtain rises on camp
NORTH BAY, Ont. — A total of 46 skaters and goaltenders were in attendance Monday when the North Bay Battalion opened its Ontario Hockey League training camp on a sunny and hot summer day.
Fitness testing, including running on the St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Catholic Secondary School track, followed registration, with the day’s activity ending with Memorial Gardens practices for Team Green and Team White in the evening.
An addition to both practices was former Battalion star Justin Brazeau. The right winger, a product of the New Liskeard Cubs minor midgets who was a 13th-round pick in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection, scored a franchise-record 61 goals in 2018-19, his final season with the Troops. He played in 2020-21 with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Green and White play the first of five intrasquad games at 10 a.m. Tuesday, the second following at 5 p.m. In light of the coronavirus pandemic that cost the OHL its 2020-21 season, fans attending the on-ice sessions must wear masks in the arena except when seated. Admission is free.
Apart from 14 skaters and goaltenders who have seen action with the Battalion, the camp comprises prospects looking for roster spots, including those chosen in the 2020 and 2021 OHL Priority Selections. They are headlined by the respective first-round picks, defenceman Ty Nelson and centre Owen Outwater.
The only unexpected absence was that of defenceman Tayte Landry, a sixth-round selection this year from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens under-16s, who fell ill before traveling to North Bay.
Four players weren’t scheduled to arrive for the start of camp, including potential overager Mason Primeau, who has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas made Primeau, a centre and left winger, a fifth-round pick in the 2019 National Hockey League Draft.
Others are defenceman Avery Winslow, at home in Florida before reporting to an NHL camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Russian imports Matvey Petrov, a forward, and Alexander Lukin, a defenceman.
