Cats coach likes camp

Prince George Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp was pleased with the effort during the opening four days of training camp.
“I thought that training camp was excellent the boys put in a good effort. We had a bit of a slow start on day one. And yesterday’s game was ok the guys started looking a little tired after the two-a-day scrimmages,” said Vandekamp. “It started slowly but day two and three were excellent.”
The Prince George Cougars have cut their roster down to a working number of 29 following the intra-squad game.
The roster includes just two goalies, Scott Bowles and Real Cyr. All five overagers made it through the first round of cuts.
“They are all still here and anybody who is here has done well through this point,” said Vandekamp. “We can only dress three in a game. Basically, having too many extra players around sitting out isn’t really conducive to the team chemistry.”
Cougars veteran Myles Zimmer said the situation has been tough.
“There isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. Pretty much every one of the guys has to come into the camp and know some of us won’t be around in a month or so. We have five guys working hard for three spots. It’s a decision for the coaches. I can’t comment on what they are going to be doing but we’re going to continue to work hard,” said Zimmer.
“Whether you have been here for four years or one year everyone is a team. It doesn’t really make a difference that way. There isn’t too much you can do about it, just wait and see what happens.”
The Cougars are carrying four 16-year-olds heading into the Saskatoon tournament next weekend - draft picks from 2004 Ryan Kerr, Dana Tyrell, Prab Rai and Chris vanDuynhoven.
Dan Gendur was the only veteran who did not play in the Black and White game. Gendur suffered a minor bruised tail bone or hip injury when he crashed into the board during a scrimmage on Saturday. The Cats had the day off on Monday.
“I think anyone who is still here today had done well to this point. Basically we’re just getting into the second stage of training camp we’re still carrying extra players. We’re just going to spend some time weeding the team,” said Vandekamp.