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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Players Arrive, Camp Opens this Week

August 24, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


The Spokane Chiefs will open their Annual Fall Camp on Thursday, August 27th with the first of three days of ice sessions in the Spokane Arena. Seventy players will participate in a revamped camp, up from two days of scrimmages to three.

Veterans will check in and go through fitness testing on Tuesday while prospects will arrive on Wednesday.

"This will give us a little extra time for us to ease into camp," Chiefs Head Coach Hardy Sauter said. "It gives players both young and old a chance to get to know each other and the staff a real good read on the players and their personalities.

"Knowledge is power, the more we know the better decisions we can make."

Scrimmages on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will take place at 10:30, 1:00 and 3:30 each day. All ice sessions are free and open to the public.

Of the 70 players at camp 19 were on the Chiefs playoff roster giving Spokane a healthy dose of veteran bodies to help lead the newcomers.

Sauter's expectations for the veterans are pretty simple, "I expect the usual, for them to come into shape both physically and mentally. I'm also expecting them to come in with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder after having a longer summer than we wanted."

"It is exciting in the fact that we probably have some new faces that potentially can make our team," Sauter said about the Chiefs prospects. "We will need to fill four or five roster spots from players who have moved on in their careers, but there are also a few others at camp that can surprise us and compete for a few of the jobs that have already been taken."

Camp will end on Sunday with the annual Red-White scrimmage on Sunday, August 30th at 1:00 pm. The Red-White Scrimmage will also be free and open to the public.

OFF-SEASON INJURY UPDATES

The Chiefs will begin the pre-season without three veterans, including defensemen Jared Cowen and Jared Spurgeon. Ryan Letts will also be on the shelf and not participate in camp.

did not participate in scrimmages at the Senators prospects camp in July or the Canadian Junior Evaluation camp in August. Cowen will wait to be cleared by Ottawa's staff before playing in any games.

The 20-year-old Spurgeon underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason to clean up a previous injury. The five-year veteran will be in Spokane, but not play in any games at camp or in the pre-season.

Letts, a 20-year-old forward, experienced an Achilles Tendon injury while training in the off-season that will keep him out of action for an indefinite period of time.

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from August 24, 2009


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