Sports | DrumhellerMail

Dragons show ‘em what they got at preseason camp

dragons camp

Dragons coaching staff are pleased with player development over the summer after seeing the 2016-17 squad perform at the club’s main camp over the weekend, where players were evaluated in fitness testing and their first practice of the season.

All 36 players turned out for the camp at the Drumheller Memorial Arena, with veteran players Kartusch, Burghardt, Dykema, Rochowiak, Many Guns, and Tschumi, meeting the many new, young players penned into the lineup for exhibition play this September.

Head coach Brian Curran liked what he saw from the players he and his scouting staff had been selecting the past few months.

“The players all improved immensely from their last testing, which definitely made the coaching staff happy... These kids pushed themselves hard and as you watched you knew they were prepared,” he said.

After testing on Friday morning, the players hit the ice for their first practice before regrouping for a inter-squad game that evening.

“The game was very competitive and for a first game it was quite physical. It was a little scrambly at times but the boys worked hard and after an intense morning and afternoon I was pleased that not one of them took a shift off,” said Curran.

On Saturday and Sunday the players met the Dragons’ new off-ice training program, nearly two hours of intense fitness, and regardless of how the season plays out in the win column, Curran said the players will be in shape.

“No matter what happens this year, our players will be in great shape this season.”

“I think our scouting staff did a great job and although we are a young team, our veterans showed a lot of leadership and led their teams in a solid battle for their first weekend together,” said Curran. “Overall the camp went really well, and we are all looking forward to an exciting season that our fans and community can enjoy and watch grow.”

Following the weekend the Dragons made some roster cuts, and are now prepping for the annual AJHL exhibition tournament on Wednesday, August 31 in Okotoks. After the tournament, management will drop the roster down to the 25-man in time for exhibition for the upcoming season.

The club’s first home exhibition game is against Lloydminister on September 9.

Terrapins ready for season

terps

The Gridiron is filling up with fall footballers and the Terrapins are ready to go.

The Drumheller PeeWee football team’s season officially began on Monday, August 22, and coach Thomas Laffin is optimistic about the season.

“We are feeling great,” he said. “All three teams are looking really good. You watch the guys and they had a really good spring, and almost all the players have come back. They are on the ball and doing a great job.”

Numbers are looking strong, based on the players who came out for spring training, he is expecting in the area of 35-40 players.

“There are a few that are on vacation that let me know they were going to be late. We are looking pretty good, but we won’t know the exact number until two or three weeks before our game,” said coach Laffin.

This year he expects the team to be competitive.

“We are well rounded on the offense, we have a lot of speed and athleticism. On the defense end we are really strong,” said Laffin. “When we were out in the spring they were basically stopping everything that came at them.”

He loves to watch the progress of the players.

“You can’t grab a better group of kids than what we get. It is great to watch them go from knowing nothing about football to plying a collegiate style game,” said Laffin.

The Terrapins are slated to face the Rocky View Rage on Saturday, September 17 at home.

Senior Titans looking forward to season

Titans

For the Drumheller Senior Titans this season, it’s good to be home.

This year the team has opted to leave the Rangeland League and play an exhibition schedule. The immediate impact of this decision is the team will be spending a lot more time on its home field, and they like it.

“We have six home games lined up this season so far,” said coach Ken Fournier. “I think that is as many as we had the last three years combined. We have been on the road for the last three years and this will be pretty nice to have some home games and build some school and town spirit.”

While having more home games is a bonus, the real advantage is that they will be better able to equip the team for the season.

“We decided to go exhibition so we are not facing teams with 60 player rosters. Last year we found it was a bit of a struggle, every time we took an injury, we would move a player to fill a spot and then we would have two spots with inexperienced players,” he said. “When you are a tier-four team and you have young guys on your roster in starting positions, and you are going against teams that are all Grade 12, it is very tough to balance. We want to get as many guys as you can on the field.”

The Titans are in the same boat with a number of other teams throughout the province who are looking for parity.

“Other schools want to play more tier appropriate teams so they can develop their young players as much as they can, which is what we are trying to do,” he said.

The official season began this week, and the players have been out practicing. Coach Fournier sees a lot of upside to this year’s squad.

“We have a lot of speed returning, we have some experience in a lot of skill spots, so that is nice to see,” said Fournier.

The Titans season opener is Saturday, August 27, when they will be heading to Vegreville to play the Vortex. The team’s home opener is September 2 at 7 p.m. under the Friday night lights.

More Articles ...