Close to 70 young hockey players attended the 2015 Osoyoos Coyotes Spring Prospects Camp this past Friday to Sunday at the Sun Bowl Arena in Osoyoos. Head coach Ken Law, who was selected the KIJHL’s Coach of the Year last week after leading the Coyotes to the regular season title and conference finals, said he was very impressed with the level of talent at this year’s camp. He made an offer to two players to play for the club next season and also invited a couple more players to the tryout camp in August. (Keith Lacey photo)
When you have enjoyed the amazing success the Osoyoos Coyotes’ have over the past five years, it’s always easier to recruit, as most young hockey players want nothing more than to be part of a winning franchise.
That’s why it surprised no one when another large contingent of young hockey hopefuls showed up at the Sun Bowl Arena this past weekend to participate in the annual Osoyoos Coyotes Spring Prospects Camp.
A total of 63 players from across British Columbia and Alberta participated in this year’s prospects camp.
In the past five years since Ken Law took over as coach and general manager of the Coyotes, the team has captured a Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) championship and reached the league semi-finals (conference finals) on three separate occasions.
Law, who was named the KIJHL’s top coach last week, was very pleased with the number of players and level of talent on display throughout the weekend camp.
“It was another good camp and there was a very good talent pool,” he said. “I was very impressed with some of the guys who showed up.”
He was so impressed, that he offered three players a spot on next year’s roster.
“We believe we found a couple of guys who can definitely contribute next year and offered to sign them,” he said. “We have to talk to their families to make sure everything is in order, but that looks really good.
“And there were a couple of others we invited to our main (tryout) camp in the fall and we think they’ll make the club as well.”
As has become custom, this Coyotes’ prospects camp included a handful of midget and bantam players from across the South Okanagan as well as a large contingent from Alberta and northern B.C.
“Most of the kids come from midget hockey, but we also get a few bantams anxious to get their feet wet at a higher level,” said Law. “We also had quite a few from the Okanagan Hockey Association out of Penticton and a handful who played Jr. B last year in the United States.
“We also brought in nine players from last year’s team to help run the camp. It’s good to have young guys who have played at this level come in and talk to the prospects as they look up to them knowing they were able to make it at this level.”
With five players graduating from one of the strongest Coyotes’ teams in history – the team only lost seven of 52 regular season games before falling to Kamloops in the conference final for the second-straight year – and another handful expected to move up to Junior A, Law said recruiting players at camps like this is one of his most important jobs.
“I’ll be busy for the next several weeks attending similar camps,” he said. “This is the most important time of the year when it comes to recruiting players and you have to do a good job to bring in the right players or you will struggle to be competitive.”
Being named the top coach in the KIJHL was a nice honour, although he would have preferred to have seen his team advance to the finals and win the league title, said Law.
“It’s nice to be recognized,” he said. “It’s the people I work with in this organization who deserve a lot of the credit and deserve to share this award.”
Co-captain Aaron Azevedo was also named the league’s Most Valuable Player, while goaltender Brett Soles was named the league’s Top Goaltender.
Azevedo, who tied for the league scoring title, was very deserving of the MVP award, said Law.
“He’s just a class young man and a tremendous leader both on and off the ice,” he said. “He was a huge part of our team the past two years and I don’t know anyone who has a negative word to say about the kid.”
Azevedo is looking to continue his hockey career by accepting a scholarship to an American college and hopes to make his final decision about where he will play next season in the next week or so, said Law.
Soles is a quality goaltender who played well all season and it would be great to have him back this coming season, but that likely won’t happen as he will be given several offers to play at a higher level, said Law.
Lawrence Langan, the team’s other goaltender from last season, can only return to the Coyotes as an overage player and that’s not likely to happen, said Law.
Law will spend the next several weeks attending various prospects camps to try and sign more players for next year’s club.
“I will take a couple of weeks off in June and another couple in July, but that’s about it,” he said. “Then we start getting things ready for training camp in August.”
Training camp for the 2015-16 season begins the last week in August.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Close to 70 young hockey players attended the 2015 Osoyoos Coyotes Spring Prospects Camp this past Friday to Sunday at the Sun Bowl Arena in Osoyoos. Head coach Ken Law, who was selected the KIJHL’s Coach of the Year last week after leading the Coyotes to the regular season title and conference finals, said he was very impressed with the level of talent at this year’s camp. He made an offer to two players to play for the club next season and also invited a couple more players to the tryout camp in August. (Keith Lacey photo)
