The window to impress is a small one in junior hockey.
That’s likely the realization for some of the roster casualties of the Victoria Grizzlies’ opening few days of training camp, with players having just a handful of on-ice sessions and perhaps an exhibition game or two to prove to head coach Craig Didmon and his staff that they belong.
The Grizzlies play their first of four exhibition games in four nights tonight. Before that contest against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, Didmon made it clear that the time was now for some of his players to step up.
“Some guys that have had sort of an okay camp, it’s time to shine,” he said. “We need those guys to start to come out of their shell a little bit and show us what they’ve got, because time runs out real quick.”
On the whole, Didmon was pleased with how the early stages of camp went, believing that the team was set up to have a lot of success this year following a rocky 2015-16 campaign that saw the club miss the playoffs by just two points.
“It seems to be a team with a lot of depth and there’s a lot of optimism around the rink right now,” he said.
Numerous new and returning players stood out as difference makers in the first two days of camp, with a pair of veteran defencemen leading the list of those who have impressed.
“The defence corps of Cody Van Lierop and Jake Stevens, they’re two 20 year olds that have looked really solid in camp … [Van Lierop] kind of looks like a man among boys out there and [Stevens] as well,” he said.
Stevens played in 54 games last year, his first with the Grizzlies, notching six goals and 19 points, while Van Lierop had 25 points in 55 games in his second BCHL campaign. Both stand 6’2” and will give Victoria experience and size on the back end to go with returning No. 1 goaltender Matthew Galajda.
Up front, the projected top line of Tyler Welsh, Nathan Looysen and Cole Pickup appear poised to have a big year offensively. Welsh, the youngest of the three at 19, has filled out his 5’10” frame this year and will be looking to build on the 40 points he produced as a rookie.
New blood should add to that picture up front, as a pair of promising Americans have the look of significant contributors.
Sage Englund from Arizona and Justin Michaelian (Detroit) showed Didmon enough in the early part of camp for him to confidently say that they’d be a part of the roster to open the season.
“They’re big, they’re strong, they’re quick, they’re smart. Those two have sort of solidified what I had hoped, that they could be guys that could come in and be major contributors offensively right away,” he said.
The Grizzlies are due to continue to trim their roster before the weekend, with Didmon saying they’d likely be down to 18 forwards following their second exhibition game, in Duncan against the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Thursday night.
joel.tansey@goldstreamgazette.com