Spruce Kings prospects take to the ice

For future Prince George Spruce Kings, it starts now.

The club’s annual Prospects Camps kicks off today (Friday) at the Coliseum and runs through Sunday afternoon.

More than 100 players will officially register starting at 10 a.m., at which time they will also be assigned to one of six teams for the weekend.

Team practices will start at noon, and the first of a series of intra-squad games starts at 4:30 p.m. with Team Grey playing Team Red. Teams Black and Gold take to the ice at 6:15 p.m., followed by Green and White at 8 p.m.

Games resume Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., with a break in the action mid-afternoon for a special session for the goalies. Games resume at 4 p.m.

On Sunday, there will be one more round of games starting at 8:30 a.m., after which the rosters will be posted for the Top Prospect Game.

That game, between Team Blue and Team White, takes to the ice at 2 p.m.

Players at the camp may be playing in front of a new coach, as the Spruce Kings have scheduled a press conference for 9 a.m. Friday. After the resignation last month of Dave Dupas, team general manager Mike Hawes said there was “a good chance” a new coach would be in place before the Prospects Camp.

Last year’s camp saw the Spruce Kings get commitments from four players, two of whom – Matt Stief and Rider Stoglin – ended up playing more than 50 games each for the team.

With at least eight players from the past season’s squad moving on, there will be openings for players at this weekend’s camp to be playing hockey in the B.C. Hockey League next season.