Thoughts on day two of Lethbridge Hurricanes main camp

Veteran forward Ryan Vandervlis put up excellent numbers in two of Sunday’s games at camp. Ryan had five goals and two assists, and was a constant threat for Team Red. His team played four straight games with a three-hour break after the first two. They ran out of gas in their fourth game.

European Egor Zudlikov continues to impress. Egor certainly has a nose for the net, but is not hesitant to shoot from anywhere, which was made obvious with his goal today. Egor will fit in with the Hurricanes, once he gets acclimatized to the rigors of the WHL. 

If the Hurricane brass decides on having one 16-year-old on the blue line this season, it will be between Nolan Jones who played in three regular season games and one playoff game and newcomer Alex Cotton.  Alex has impressed at camp and does have an offensive touch, especially finding the open players near the net.

There is a pair of twins trying to catch the eye of the scouting staff. Justin and Adam Hall (2001-born) of Edmonton have played on the same line together in bantam and this camp.  They do have chemistry between each other, but that will be put to the test when they are split up.

There were two names left off the main camp roster, one permanently and one temporally. ‘Canes backup goaltender Ryan Gilchrist decided not to return to the club. General Manager Peter Anholt said he respects Ryan’s decision.

The other question mark is overage defenseman Brennan Riddle. I saw him today and he is recovering from an “upper-body” injury. Time of return is uncertain.

The mini tournament will resume Monday with the same grueling schedule (poor Team Red) and that be followed by player departures, a team roster being named and the Hurricanes annual Red & White game Tuesday 7:00 pm (MST) at the Enmax Centre.  Wednesday usually marks the beginning of players leaving for NHL camps. Stuart Skinner will be heading to Edmonton, Jordy Bellerive to Pittsburgh, Giorgio Estephan to Minnesota and Brennan Menell to Philadelphia.