Sports fans in Nanaimo are about to hear those first sounds of fall – hockey skates clacking on the ice.
The Nanaimo Clippers open training camp Monday (Aug. 23) morning at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
About 44 players will skate twice a day from Monday through Thursday, leading up to the first B.C. Hockey League exhibition game on Friday (Aug. 27) in Duncan.
Some of the players attending camp are midget-age guys looking for experience, but at least 30 players have a shot at cracking the Clippers’ roster.
“It’s going to be a very competitive camp,” said Bill Bestwick, Clippers coach and general manager. “There’s definitely spots that are going to be earned or lost.”
ICE CHIPS … Nanaimo has added 20-year-old major junior veteran Dominic Savoie to the camp roster. The forward played 58 games for the Quebec Remparts last season, scoring eight goals and 14 points and compiling 56 penalty minutes … Two Clippers, Todd Gebert and Kiefer McNaughton, will be unable to participate in training camp due to injury. McNaughton, who can play either defence or forward, should be back in late September and Gebert should return in early October.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com