The Dragons have made another acquisition to the front line with 18-year-old Logan Sceviour.
“He actually broke into the league in Canmore a couple years ago. I really hated to play against him because he was really dangerous because of his speed,” said Dragons coach Dan Price. “He has a really good shot as well, so someone with that combination of that good speed and can shoot in stride is really going to help us. And obviously he has good size and is not afraid to be tenacious and physical.”
This follows last week’s announcement of the signing of Trevor Tracy, also a bruiser at 6”3’ and 210 pounds. Price says it is no coincidence that both players are a good size.
“Our team has been generally going that way. We were young for two years now… and now they are all a little older and stronger, so with the players we brought in we are trying to keep with that theme as much as possible,” said coach Price. “You see that in the league, and it is something we have been planning for the last couple years, that in year three we wanted to be older, more mature and stronger, and these two additions are definitely consistent with that theme.”
He says Sceviour has the potential team’s top lines and its powerplay as well.
Preparation for the season is coming up. Returning players will be back in the valley to participate in the annual Drumheller Dragons hockey school. First year players are to report on August 23, and the Dragons Main Camp will be on the weekend of August 25-28.
Price explained moving forward he feels there is a good core on both offense and defence.
“There are a couple things I would like to add. I really like our combination of speed, size and skill, and a big reason is because the guys that were younger are now second and third year players, and I know they can handle a big share of those top six minutes, but we are trying to find some guys to complement them. If we can find a couple players we really like we can add them, but if we can’t, then we really like the players we have,” he said.
One glaring hole on the roster is between the posts. Last season’s starting goalie Cole Cheveldave went up to the WHL with Kamloops. The Dragons only have one goaltender on the protected list and he is 17.
“We have recruits coming out of midget and junior B, but we haven’t made any promises to any one, I am really looking forward to that battle at camp because we will have 12 guys going neck and neck, tooth on nail for two spots,” said Price.
Aside from the goalies, the Dragons will be having a small camp.
“We will have a cap of 40 at our main camp including retuning guys. We like to have our camp really small and try to make it as close to game pace as possible,” said Price.
