Americans set to hit the ice for training camp
KENNEWICK — The boys are back in town, which means the Tri-City Americans’ training camp is about to hit the ice.
The Americas have 64 players, from veterans to rookies to newly acquired players set to participate in camp ahead of the team’s 36th season in Kennewick.
“This is our chance to sell the team, the city and the region,” Americans General Manager Bob Tory said. “The Tri-Cities is a great place to play and live. It’s a wonderful community — a small community that cares for each other.”
Rookies will register Wednesday morning and go through fitness testing in the afternoon. They will get their first on-ice sessions Thursday morning.
Veterans will report Thursday for fitness training, and will join the rest of the players on the ice Friday.
Players will have a session with skating coach Vanessa Hettinger on Saturday, with the annual Blue-White game on Monday, Sept. 4.
All sessions will be held at Toyota Arena and are free to the public. With events scheduled at Toyota Center, the sheet of ice won’t be laid until mid-September.
“That’s unfortunate for the young ones,” Tory said of being unable to skate on the main sheet of ice. “The quality of ice next door is good. We are fortunate to have a practice rink across the parking lot.”
Among the rookies coming in are 2022 first-round draft pick Jackson Smith of Calgary.
In July, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound defenseman was invited to participate in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence Meetings in preparation for the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
“He’s a good player,” Tory said. “We felt fortunate that he was still there when it was our turn. He was the type of player we would like to select.”
Fans also will get a look at Tri-City’s 2023 first-round draft pick, forward Cruz Pavao of Calgary. Pavao scored 32 goals and had 35 assists in 23 games last season for the Edge School U15 team.
The two are among 45 list players in camp.
“There’s always a Kruise Reddick or a Justin Feser that shows up,” Tory said of former Tri-City standouts who were unknown when they showed up for their first training camps.
Feser holds the Western Hockey League Iron Man title with 321 games, while Reddick’s name is sprinkled throughout the team’s record book.
Forward Brandon Whynott, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen, and forward Jake Gudelj, who came over in a trade with Spokane, will be on the ice Friday.
There will be six goalies in camp, including Nick Avakyan, who was with the Americans last year. Also in net will be Ryler Gates, Chayse Johnson, Eric Kahl, Armaan Kaila, and Lukas Matecha from Czechia, the Americans’ second pick in the 2023 CHL Import Draft.
Goalie Tomas Suchanek (Anaheim), forward Adam Mechura (Boston), forward Parker Bell (Calgary), defenseman Lukas Dragicevik (Seattle), forward Jake Sloan (Edmonton), forward Tyson Greenway (Toronto), and Matecha (Detroit) will attend NHL training camps.
Suchanek, Mechura, Greenway and Bell are the four overage players.
“We should have a good team this year,” Tory said. “We have a lot of veterans coming back. We need to grow on that as a team. We have been blessed with good chemistry from our players — how they react with one another and being part of the community.”
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