The Prince Albert Mintos held some skates for a few younger players this past weekend. (Twitter/Prince Albert Mintos)

By Rob Mahon

Mintos Season Prep

Short camp kicks off hectic stretch for Mintos

Aug 22, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Although it is the middle of the hottest stretch of August, eyes are already turning to the Art Hauser Centre as hockey camps begin and teams start to mentally construct their rosters.

For the Prince Albert Mintos, the work has already begun.

The Mintos held a camp over the past weekend to invite some bantam-age players to come on the ice and show what they can do. In many ways, it was an early glimpse into the future of the team.

“We wanted to bring in some young guys, the bantam age group that we wanted to look at for the future, and see about possibly AP-ing them for the season,” said Mintos coach, Tim Leonard. “Seeing if we’re the right fit for them and they’re the right fit for us. Very impressed with what we saw.”

That’s only step one of what promises to be a hectic few weeks for the coaching staff as they prepare for a few more skates before some of their charges head off to camps in the junior ranks. Both the WHL and SJHL are soon to start their camps as well.

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“We’ve almost got our club picked, so we’re going to have a couple of skates this week,” said Leonard. “Then, most of the guys will have dispersed to Western Hockey League camps and Junior A camps. Then we’ll join up again after the long weekend and start practicing and getting some exhibition games.”

Those exhibition games begin on Sept. 9 against the Tisdale Trojans, while the home opener will take place on Sept. 24. While there are still some question marks on the roster, the team has a pretty good idea of how they’ll look.

“We liked what we saw,” Leonard said. “We’ll have to see what happens when real bullets start firing, but I think we’ve got good quality kids that are going to be good on the ice and off the ice. We’re excited.”

The incoming 2007-born players are cause for excitement for the team, including WHL draft picks Owen Nelson and Will Whitter. As for the older players, some may return to the team, some may not. The Mintos view either situation as a win.

“You want to have a strong program and it’s up to us to get them moved on to that next level,” said Leonard. “When they do, it’s a feather in our cap.”

Kamloops Blazers draft pick Ashton Tait would be the team’s leading scorer among eligible returnees, but he was selected 26^th overall in the prospects draft and has already played a game for the Blazers, so he seems poised to make the jump to the WHL. Leading scorer from last season, Jacob Cosette, who led the entire league with 77 points in 43 games, is off to Spruce Grove of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

“Maybe we’re going to be a little deeper this year in the scoring,” Leonard said. “We should be able to count on more kids to put up some points. Those two kids were pretty good players in AAA… That’s just our league. Guys come and guys go and you hope you bring in the right kids to fill those spots, and I think we’ve done a good job of that.”

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP