Victoria Royals- Jay Wallace

Victoria Royals defenceman Will Warm discusses Vancouver Canucks training camp

DUBNetwork spoke with Victoria Royals defenceman Will Warm at the 2019 Vancouver Canucks NHL training camp being held at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, BC. The camp invite is special for Warm not only as a great opportunity but also because it is being held in front of Warm’s new hometown fans of the Royals.

Victoria Royals- Jay Wallace

After being on the ice for a few sessions, what are some of your early impressions of this training camp?

It was really good. One of the things that the coaches are stressing from the top down is a level of compete. They want conditioning, so it’s fast-paced. A lot of work and battles, awesome to be out there.

When did you find out that you’re going to get the invite to training camp?

I found out on Monday morning. The camp started Thursday morning, so it was a pretty quick turnaround.

Who was the first call you made with the news of the invite?

My parents. Mom and dad right away. They’re super proud and excited for me.

With the camp in Victoria this year, do you feel any pressure of the fans in the building. Does it make you skate a little harder?

For sure. It’s great that the camp is in Victoria and being my first year here with the Royals, I haven’t even really had a chance to play in front of the fans yet. So, it’s a good opportunity to show the Victoria fans what I’ve got.

Victoria Royals- Jay Wallace

What are the Canucks coaching staff stressing on you in this camp?

The biggest thing is to just compete. The coaches want to see the battles out there, who can keep up and who can play with pace. I’m taking my ice time by assignment and putting my best foot forward.

The level of experience will obviously help you going forward.  What are looking to take back to with you from this camp?

It’s obviously a huge step up playing with the Canucks here at camp. So, trying to take the speed and the pace from this camp and keep it going when I go back to the Royals will be my goal.  I hope to really be able to push the pace once I’m back.

Photo: Victoria Royals

Do you feel this is the start of one of your most exciting years in junior hockey?

Definitely. That is one of the first things [Victoria Royals President and General Manager] Cam Hope said when he called me after I got traded. He said let us make this your best year of hockey ever. So, that’s the goal and that’s what I’m ready to do.