In two weeks time, the Jasper Arena will be home to 30 Edmonton Oilers hopefuls.
The players include draft picks from previous years, as well as the Oilers six picks from the upcoming NHL draft on June 27. The hopefuls will spend a week in Jasper for the team鈥檚 annual development camp.
Attending the camp will be Memorial Cup champion, Mitch Moroz; Darnell Nurse, the seventh overall pick in 2013; Dylan Simpson, whose dad, Craig Simpson, played for the Oilers and now works for Hockey Night in Canada; and Bogdan Yakimov, a third round pick in the 2013 draft, just to name a few.
Joining the players will also be the Oilers General Manager Craig MacTavish, Head Coach Dallas Eakins and American Hockey League coach Todd Nelson.
The camp will be open to the public, with the players taking the ice July 3鈥�7 at 10 a.m.
鈥淭he arena will be wide open for their workout days, no charge,鈥� said Jasper鈥檚 Doug McPhee, who鈥檚 organizing the Oilers visit.
The players will spend their early mornings doing dry land training, part of which will be mountain biking on Jasper鈥檚 trails. They will then hit the ice for a few hours, before having the afternoons off to enjoy the town and park.
There will also be two events taking place during their stay. On July 4, the players will head to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for a round on Canada鈥檚 No. 1 golf course.
Forty local golfers will have the opportunity to play with the Oilers that day for a fee of $175.
鈥淭hen the big deal will be on Monday night, July 7. That鈥檚 when there will be the Billy Moores Cup鈥攁n inter-squad game,鈥� said McPhee.
Proceeds from that game, which is being organized by Greg Van Tighem, will go toward the MS Society of Canada. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth under 12 and are available at Avalanche Spirits and Source for Sports.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a great opportunity for minor hockey league kids from Jasper, and even Hinton and Edson, to see these guys play.鈥�
McPhee said if this camp goes well, the Oilers have expressed interest in holding it in Jasper for the next few years.
This isn鈥檛 the first time the organization has come to Jasper for training. In 2011, the team came for a retreat ahead of the regular season, attracting hundreds of Jasperites to the arena to snag autographs and watch as the NHL stars practised their on-ice drills.
They were also here in 2008 for a team-building trip to prepare for the 2008-09 season.
鈥淲hen they come it鈥檚 a good little shot in the wrist for the community,鈥� said McPhee.
Check out next week鈥檚 51暗网 for profiles of some of the players who will be gracing the ice at the Jasper Arena.
If you鈥檇 like more information about the golf event on July 4, or if you鈥檙e interested in volunteering your time throughout the week, email [email protected].
聽Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
