Hounds' 2003 draft shines in camp openers

It may have taken about a year and a half, but the hard work from the 2003 Ontario Hockey League draft was paying dividends for the Soo Greyhounds on Thursday.

Over 50 hopefuls were divided into three teams for the beginning of on-ice workouts during the second day of training camp.

The team held a morning scrimmage before wrapping things up with another game at 4:30 p.m. Scrimmages will continue on Friday at 9 a.m. before a rookie game will cap the day at 3:30 p.m.

Following the rookie game, the Greyhounds will make their first roster moves. The deletions will mostly include players from the 2004 draft, which have a 48 hour limit in training camp unless eligible for a roster spot.

On Thursday, players from the first draft in 2003 under the regime of general manager Dave Torrie and head coach Marty Abrams took the spotlight along with several of the team's leaders.

Defensemen Tyler Cuthbert and Tyler McKinley along with forward Sean Smyth from the 2003 draft caught the eye of Torrie and company on day two while centre Brandon MacLean from the same draft crop perhaps had the best day on the ice.

Captain Jeff Carter was a standout in both scrimmages teaming on a line with newly acquired overage forward and local product Blair Jarrett and Jason Pitton.

The Carter line battled head-to-head against a line of Tyler Kennedy, Reg Thomas and Jeff Larsh in the morning scrimmage with both trios playing well.

Torrie was also impressed with the play of first round draft pick Ryan McInerney and second round defensemen Jake Lalonde and Josh Day from the 2004 selection.

There were no fights in camp on Thursday as the OHL has a mandate against fighting when players from the 2004 draft are on the ice with the veterans.

With many returning veterans, competition is tight for the few remaining spots. As the rookies continue to show promise in camp, some veterans will quickly be fighting for their own jobs.

After the team makes their initial cuts on Friday, Torrie expects the intensity to pickup on the weekend leading up to Sunday night's annual Red/White intra squad game.

"Because the (1988) players are on the ice, which is great for them because they have a chance to see how far they have to come over the next year, it is somewhat hard for the veterans to get going," said Torrie.

"They don't want to run over or hurt a kid four years younger. You see some intensity to an extent but I think you'll see that pick up on Saturday and Sunday. The first couple of days tends to be a little slower as everyone gets their feet wet and gets comfortable.

"Realistically we have about 12 kids here who aren't competing for this year's team. As the numbers go down, you'll see the coaches challenging the veteran players and the competition for a spot heat up."

Four players did not report to camp this season although the decision not to attend did not come as a surprise to the team.

Fourth round pick Mike Van Wagner and 15th rounder Andrew Doyhenard from the 2003 draft did not attend while ninth rounder Brett Halstead and 10th round selection Garret Ince from the 2004 draft also opted out of camp.

The Greyhounds officially opened camp on Wednesday with player registrations and fitness testing. The Hounds brass were impressed by players off season conditioning.