By Nathan Kanter

Sharks hold fall camp; team to be finalized by week’s end

Aug 21, 2017 | 5:00 PM

Making cuts after training camp is rarely an easy thing to do for coaches, and that is certainly no different for AAA Sharks head coach Gary Berggren.

The Sharks held their fall camp this past weekend at the Civic Centre, and now the roster is close to being finalized.

“There were very tough decisions this weeekend,” Berggren said on Monday. “There’s a lot of players that didn’t make our team that should probably be playing in the league…for the Sharks, that’s where we wanted to get to, is where we have to make those tough decisions. It’s been really good this year.

“[Our team] probably isn’t younger, it’s probably older. We took some more Grade 11 and 12 girls instead of a lot of young players this year.”

Berggren also said this year’s team should be faster despite a loss in size.

Fond Memories

North Stars' 20-year-olds reflect on junior hockey experience: Part 1

8h ago

Trades in Sask.

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

Apr 17, 2024

Battlefords Volleyball Club

13U BVC Impact take provincial silver in Warman

Apr 17, 2024

“We’re not going to be as big as we were last year but we’re going to be faster and we’re going to be a tough team to play against,” Berggren said. “We’ve got a lot of players that like to dig in the corners and work hard, and not necessarily crash the net, but go to the net hard.”

At spring camp, the team had a record 66 players show up. At fall camp, there were 40 players, which Berggren said was the perfect amount because it was exactly what was needed for two full teams. 

Those in attendance did strength testing, skills sessions, and scrimmaging.

“The level of play was high [and] the pace of play was strong,” Berggren said of this past weekend. “The quality of girls that came out was good…the quality of play was good. It was all around a good camp.”

Not returning from last year’s team (not including graduates Jordan Kulbida and Dakota Peterson) are six players: goaltender Chantel Weller, defencemen Jessie Herner and Tori MacDonald, and forwards Layne Hryhoriw, Kyra Ledoux, and Alyssa Roach.

Nine players will return: goaltender Chloe Burt, defencemen Keera Tiringer and Maya Tupper, and forwards Ali Aitken, Keara Amson, Ensley Fendelet, Lexxa Potratz, Madison Sansom, and Ashlee Wolfe.

Berggren said he looked for work ethic above all else when building the team.

“If you work hard every practice and every game, you really do improve throughout the course of the year and that’s what we’re looking for,” he said. “When you have that work ethic, it just makes it a lot easier for a player to get better throughout the season.”

The Sharks won’t open their season until Sept. 30 on the road in Melville.

Between now and then the team will be practicing two to three times a week, and they will also play a couple of exhibition games against Weyburn on Sept. 10 in Saskatoon. They will also take part in a tournament in Calgary during the Sept. 16 weekend.

“We just need to gel as a group,” Berggren said when asked what needs to happen between now and the start of the year. “Everybody needs to get used to each other. We need to figure out who plays well with who and that kind of thing before we start the season.”

The Sharks home opener is Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. against the Saskatoon Stars.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11