Storm development season from 2020. Photo Credit: Shane Clausing

By Shane Clausing

Storm open prospects camp

Storm season inches closer with opening of prospects camp

Aug 20, 2021 | 12:30 PM

The Grande Prairie Storms season is inching closer to returning, as the club opened up their prospects camp Friday.

The prospects camp runs from August 20-22 and features players from the Peace Region and Alberta.

Prospect camps for AJHL teams normally take place in the spring, however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the league’s prospect camps were forced to be shifted to before main training camps open up.

Storm Head Coach and General Manager Mike Vandekamp tells EverythingGP the prospects camp is a great opportunity for players to impress the scouts and coaching staff.

“With a prospects camp like this, it’s pretty wide open. Yes, some of the players were invited, but a lot of the players kind of invited themselves and registered for it,” he said.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

“That’s kind of the idea for these camps, they’re really open to players coming from all different places. Not all of them, by any means, do we really know who they are, and that’s what this is about. It’s about them getting experience at the Junior A level and be seen for the first time by a team like ours. I think it’s good for us as an organization and the players.”

According to Vandekamp, there have been success stories of players playing well in prospects camp, getting invited to main camp, then making the team.

“It is normal for players to get invited to main camp, and it is normal for players to sometimes end up making the team. I’ve had players come to camps like this who I didn’t know at all and they ended up playing on our team,” explained Vandekamp.

“It’s really wide open, and as a player, any time you can get in front of a coaching staff and be seen, you have a chance to make the team. I’ve seen some great stories from camps like this.”

Vandekamp says after what was a pandemic riddled season last year, he and his staff are eager to finally, get back into a normal routine and coaching hockey again.

“It’s the first camp of this nature we’ve been able to have since I’ve returned to Grande Prairie. It is nice to get back to a little bit more of a normal situation here. It’s exciting to be able to get back into the thing we’re used to doing, it’s been a while, so it’s definitely exciting.”

Following the prospects camp, the Storm will open their main camp on August 29. The exhibition season begins on starts on September 4 against Olds, with the regular season starting on September 17 in Drayton Valley.