- I thought last night's Black / White game had the most intensity I've seen at camp so far. It was a game where 10 veterans were given the night off as the Broncos took a better look at their younger players.
There was some good hits and some physical play. Eric Doyle's hit on fellow veteran Derek Claffey was probably the biggest hit of the night. Doyle was sporting the full face-shield after taking a puck in the face Sunday and losing some teeth for his troubles.
- Zack Smith was one of the vets just watching. He mentioned to me how this could be the first camp without a single fight in a long time. He says when he was 15 or 16 the mentality was a lot different. Maybe it was just an off-year for that kind of stuff or maybe that's the direction the game is going more and more.
No one even looked at someone funny.
- Mark Guggenberger provided some entertainment in the Broncos Team White crease. His mini toe-drag around a forechecker late in the third period had lots of his teammates chuckling. He made sure I saw it.. " Keener, you see my toey in the third?" was his comment in the post-game wrap up.
- Both Guggenberger and Travis Yonkman were stellar, in fact all four goaltenders were outstanding. Austin Smith and Chad Ketting started the game for their respective sides.
Yonkman knows he's in a battle to be one of the three 20 year-old players this season.
"Really it's out of my control. As a goaltender usually it's pretty hard to stick as a 20 year-old but then again it does happen. All I can do is come to camp, work my hardest and try to earn my spot."
Yonkman didn't get a pro try-out this fall even after his playoff MVP performance for the Broncos last spring.
"I am a little disappointed that I didn't get a chance to go... just to get some experience. Then again, it's good motivation for myself to have a good year and try to go somewhere after that."
- A good crowd at the I-plex for the contest. The Bronco staff can sense a lot of excitement from fans around the team as they push closer towards 1600 season tickets. Even this blog is benefiting with over 500 hits from all over the league yesterday.
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I won't be taking in the action at St. Albert for the pre-season tournament. Instead, I'll be in Regina this weekend taking in Labour Day football festivities. There's a group of us annually that make a weekend of it. This year our 60 tickets were snapped up in a matter of couple days.
It will be interesting to see Michael Bishop at the QB spot - the Riders 4th starting QB in seven games. He's always had a strong arm and can be mobile. The knock on him is that he makes poor decisions with the ball at times.
What a situation he walks into. A team that has lost two straight, a QB controversy and the Labour Day game to boot. Good luck.
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