Camp opens to renewed optimism

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Optimism and excitement reigned in head coach Stan Butler’s office Wednesday as the Brampton Battalion opened its Ontario Hockey League training camp.rrI think any time you’re in a business like this the opening day of training camp is an exciting day,” said Butler. rrIt’s the first day of a new season, and there’s always that sense of optimism and the excitement of starting once again.”rrThe coaching and training staffs put the Battalion through fitness testing on Day 1. Players will hit the ice for practice sessions Thursday morning, with an intrasquad game scheduled for 4 p.m. on the Brampton Centre’s spectator rink. Others will follow Friday and Saturday.rrButler said he expects the 51 players in camp to create some good competition for available spots.rrWhat we hope is that some of the new guys push the older guys. For your team to get better you need good competition for jobs. I don’t know if we’ve ever had this many kids in camp before. It’s good and bad. It’s good in that it makes for good competition, but it’s bad in the sense that sometimes the numbers aren’t as manageable as you’d like.”rrButler said the coaching staff will be looking to fill a 24-man roster.rrWe have to put a roster together consisting of eight defencemen, 14 forwards and two goalies, and we need to look at a lot of things. We’re not going to spend a lot of time looking at players like (left winger) Wojtek Wolski. He can use this time to get ready for camp with the Colorado Avalanche. rrWhen guys return from National Hockey League camps, the guys who have been fighting for jobs in that time will see if they move up the ladder and who might fall down.”rrButler said he decided to let the most recent recruits compete for the entire camp rather than run the rookie camp that the club has conducted in previous years.rrWe wanted to use this time to evaluate the players in our system rather than fill our rosters with walk-ons. We want those kids to get the experience and we want to see what they can do.”r