Neepawa Natives turn attention to spring prospects camp
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- Published on Thursday, March 23, 2017
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
After being focused primarily on their recent playoff run, the management, scouts and coaching staff for the Neepawa Natives must quickly turn their attention towards the annual spring prospects camp. Just over 90 players from across Canada and the United States have confirmed their participation in the three day event, which gets underway on Friday, Mar. 24 at the Yellowhead Arena.
Natives head coach Dustin Howden said that while the past few days have been quite hectic, he and the coaching staff wouldn’t want it any other way.
“We’ve had to refocus rather quickly on the camp, but you know that’s better than having two weeks to just focus entirely on it, because that means you missed the playoffs,” noted Howden. “Having a problem like that, which really isn’t that much of a problem anyway, is nice to have. It means the organization is moving in the right direction.”
Howden added that the majority of Neepawa’s top draft picks and prospects have confirmed their attendance. He said it’ll be interesting to see them competing while they’re still in game shape.
“Most of these players are just finishing up their seasons in their respective leagues and are still in or near peak physical and mental condition. That’s great for us as evaluators, because we can see exactly where their game is while they’re in shape and still in a game mind set.”
For this year, the camp will be open to players in the 2002 draft eligible age bracket, as well as prospects from the club’s 50-man protected list. Some walk-on players hoping to earn a chance in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League will also be on hand. Howden said that they’re very pleased with the number of players they expect to see this year.
Another important aspect of the camp that the Neepawa Natives have been very progressive in is the one-on-one player evaluations, held at the end of the weekend. In a previous interview with the Banner, Neepawa Natives general manager Myles Cathcart said that coaches, scouts and management with the club provide a thorough examination of each players’ strengths and weaknesses, in order to provide them with guidance to move forward in their hockey career.
“It’s a great part of the weekend. A great selling point to the players and their families. We meet with every kid individually. Give them some pointers and some tips. We get a lot of positive feedback on that from the parents and the players as well. They really appreciate the honest evaluation,” said Cathcart. “This is very good for our listed players. It’s good for the recruits. It’s a real win-win.”
The annual spring camp also has a major economic impact on the community. Each year, the team conducts a survey of attending players and families to find out just how much money they spend in local businesses during the weekend. The survey found that, on average, a total of $23,378 is spent every year by the attendees for accommodations, meals and local shopping in Neepawa.
In person registrations will occur in the morning of Friday, Mar. 24 at the Yellowhead Arena, with the first on-ice session quickly to follow. All the practice sessions and games are open to the public at no cost. The Neepawa Natives Spring Camp will run until Sunday, Mar. 26.
