Dan Gendur of Dan Gendur Hockey Development and Kelly Guard of Guardian Goaltending are co-ordinating to put on a unique camp for young players and goaltenders alike this summer. (submitted photo/Kelly Guard)

By Trevor Redden

Unique Opportunity

Unique opportunity offered for area hockey players and goaltenders

Jul 8, 2020 | 1:40 PM

With indoor rinks in Saskatchewan allowed to reopen as of this week, a new and unique skill development camp for young hockey players and goaltenders alike in the Prince Albert area will be going ahead in August.

The combined goalie and player skill development camp will be run by Guardian Goaltending in conjunction with Dan Gendur Hockey Development. The four-day camp features on-ice instruction, video analysis, off-ice circuit training, and mental performance.

Kelly Guard of Guardian Goaltending said the camp will help goaltenders and players understand the game in a different way.

“[What’s unique] is mostly the combined element, bringing both positions together to learn together and develop their skills,” Guard said. “Not so much technique but the game within the game, learning the game, reading the game, and knowing what the other position does and how they’re thinking.”

Drawing on his own experience from junior and professional hockey, Guard said the camp will offer details to find a new level.

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“Not all kids have that athleticism that gets them to the higher level, you’ve got to find different edges and I think stuff like this, the detailed information that we’re going to go over will go a long way for some of these kids moving forward.”

Guard will bring plenty of experience to the camp, as he currently serves as the goaltender coach of the Prince Albert Raiders and is a former WHL champion and Memorial Cup champion with the Kelowna Rockets. In his final season of junior, he was a first-team league all-star and the Memorial Cup MVP. After five seasons of pro hockey, Guard has now been coaching for over eight years.

With the combination of on-ice and off-ice training, mental performance, and video analysis, players will be exposed to some of the same development options that Raider players have throughout the season.

A detailed overview of what will be offered to participants in the camp. (Guardian Goaltending/Twitter)

Dan Gendur has been an assistant coach with the Raiders for two seasons and recognized the opportunity he has to share resources with young players.

“[We have] some pretty good outlets to reach out to, we’ve got an off-ice portion and Stacey Alexandre [of Two Roads Therapeutics] is going to come in and do mental performance with the kids. On the video side, we’re going to try to take what we learn on the ice into the video session and talk about what a player sees and what a goalie sees.”

The camp will be a demanding four days for participants but will offer insights that they may have not been aware of previously.

“I think it’s going to be quite eye-opening for these kids. It might be a lot of information, but I think it’s going to be beneficial,” Gendur said.

Gendur brings plenty of his own experience to the camp, having a productive four-year WHL career between Prince George and Everett on his resume. A draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, Gendur played five seasons of professional hockey before eventually transitioning into coaching.

“The game has changed so much, even from my time going through when I played. There was really no such thing as skill development,” Gendur said, adding that his summers typically consisted of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 scrimmages and power skating classes.

The camp will be run in accordance to all guidelines in place in the provincial government’s Re-Open plan relating to group activities. All sessions are expected to be held at the Art Hauser Centre from Aug. 20 to 23.

Players born between 2004 and 2009 are eligible to register, and will be split into two groups based on age.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden