On Sunday, August 12, CrossIce Developments’ first ever camp concluded and the overall feedback was extremely positive from both players and parents. The Midget Prep camp was a smaller group with 11 skaters and 2 goalies, but therefore was a lot of individual attention and specific skill work for each player. Camp was focused on lots of passing, small area games, game positioning with and without the puck, and also position specific work like footwork and lateral movement on the blue line for defence, and then shooting, down low possession and net drives for forwards.

The Junior Prep group was a bigger group and the tempo got better each and every day. Camp included 12 forwards, 7 defence, and 2 goalies. With 15 players in camp attending Jr. A camps within a couple weeks, players were pushed in game situational drills. Camp was some skill work but largely ran like Junior practices, preparing the guys for their upcoming camps. Execution, pace, and communication was brought each and every skate. Elite passing, small area games, zone entries, defensive zone coverage, and odd man rush drills was what camp was mainly composed of. The quality of our first camp was tremendous and we are very proud of the fact that a large portion of camp attendees received a lot of interest from Junior clubs over the last 6 months and that 6 are signed to roster spots on their respective Jr A or WHL clubs.

We are one of the very few season prep camps that has Junior teams attend to scout our players and speak with them and their parents prior to and after the ice sessions. We had clubs attend from the AJHL, MJHL, and KIJHL to scout players and offer them opportunities. What other camp prepares players for camps with relevant drills that will be used at camp while also offer exposure from multiple Junior clubs, all for under $200?

A huge thank you to Brennen York, Scout with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, for helping out at camp for all 4 days. I think most if not all players who attended can say they learned something new from him and his keen eye for the game and incredible hockey knowledge is extremely valuable for players looking to fix holes in their game or try to gain more of an edge in specific areas. Brennen will continue doing more work with CrossIce Developments both on the ice as well as other services off the ice to help players move on.

Next up for CrossIce is the Lacombe Prep Camp, one group for Bantam and one for Midgets! Dates are August 22-24 and 27-28 for both groups. Go to the “Contact Us” page and fill out the registration page if you would like to register as there are still a few spots left in both groups! We look forward to continue helping players be their best.