Northern Capitals

Capitals shift focus to season following development camp

Aug 16, 2021 | 6:03 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Northern Capitals already have their 2021-22 schedule set in stone, what they didn’t have confirmed was who is going to be cracking the roster for this upcoming season.

Over the weekend, over 30 female hockey players converged on the Kin Centre for the Capitals Development Camp.

“It certainly feels good to be back to some normality with regards to even tryouts or the girls playing some games,” said Mario Desjardins, Head Coach for the Northern Capitals. “We’re looking forward to the season and this is a really good start. It must be exciting for the parents to finally be seeing their kids playing some games.”

Through the weekend camp, Desjardins believes the players were treating the experience similar to the way they did just a few years ago.

“You know, they’re really upbeat. They’re happy to be here. It’s nice to see over 30 girls at camp.”

And the Capitals drew a decent variety of players. While the majority of players hail from the Northern region of the province, the Caps also managed to draw a few players from elsewhere in British Columbia.

“We’ve had a couple of girls come from the OHA (Okanagan Hockey Academy) program,” said Desjardin. “We’re excited to have them on our team, but from there. Vanderhoof, Williams Lake, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Terrace, so they come from all over the Northwest.”

While the weekend brought an exciting time for these young girls and their hockey careers, it also brought back an exciting time for Desjardin as he evaluates the next generation of Capitals hockey.

“At the end of this season, we’re going to be losing some players. Our responsibility here is to make sure we’re developing some young players into our roster and making sure they’re getting the quality of hockey that they need to develop and be ready for next year. We’re going to be losing six to seven players, so we’re going to be needing some players to step in. It’s really encouraging to see what is out here today, and I think we’re going to be okay next year as well.”

Based on the crop of players he saw this weekend, he says he’s confident the Capitals will be competitive this year as they look ahead to their first tournament of the season in Calgary next month.