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Cam Reid has deferred his NCAA scholarship for one year to return to the Westside Warriors for the 2009-10 season. (Photo Chris Stanford)
By Chris Stanford
The Westside Warriors have filled a big hole with a big player, as they look ahead to the opening of their main training camp this Thursday at Royal LePage Place.
With the return to the fold of big centre Cam Reid, who turned 18 on Aug. 25, and who has deferred his scholarship to the NCAA Division I program at the University of New Hampshire to play one more year of junior, the Warriors have the first-line centre they were looking for.
“Our biggest hole was a first-line centreman and it looks like we’ve filed that,” said Warriors head coach Darren Yopyk on the eve of the team’s training camp.
Reid, a native of Delta, came to the Warriors from the Victoria Grizzlies at the trade deadline last season, in exchange for Brett Howe and Craig Eisenhut, and was drafted in the seventh round of this year’s NHL entry draft by the Nashville Predators.
Listed as six-feet, two-inches tall and 183 lbs. on the Warriors website, and still growing, Reid racked up an impressive 47 points in 66 games between the Warriors and Grizzlies last season and was on a point-per-game pace since coming to the Okanagan.
Reid, who attended Predators prospects camp in early July, said the reason for his decision was that he still needed to take a couple of courses in preparation for success with the books at university next year.
“Knowing out team this year I’m pretty excited about it,” said Reid of his junior to the Warriors. “One of my goals this year was to have of a leadership role, so it should be good,” he said
The centreman spoke highly of his taste of the NHL. “That was unbelievable. It was probably the hardest week of my life, but I probably learned the most there too,” said Reid of his week with the Predators.
Of the 45 to 50 players that will take to the ice Thursday, 11 are coming back from last year’s squad. Defencemen Brendan Ellis, Michael Quinn and Joel Woznikoski are expected here, along with starting goalie Kevin Jebson, and forwards Grayson Downing, Trevor Bailey, Kyle Singleton, Quinn Gould, Alex Grieve and Tyler Krause of Kelowna.
Kelowna native Ellis, Bailey of Winfield, and Woznikoski are all going into their fourth and final season with the Warriors and will be expected to assume the leadership roles they played last year with the team.
The Warriors finished third in the BCHL Interior Conference last season, with a record of 37-18-1-4 and were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Salmon Arm in five games.
Two of the more interesting prospects to step into the Warriors lineup this season will be local product Max French, the talented forward who was signed to the squad shortly after rookie camp earlier this summer, and defenceman Peter MacIntosh, 18, who was acquired from the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League in an off-season trade for Jordan Gidaro.
French, 16, played last year for the Okanagan Rockets in the B.C. Major Midget league and was called up for a handful of games with the Warriors to get a taste of the BCHL.
With the Warriors first exhibition game slated for Sept. 1 against the league champion Vernon Vipers at Wesbild Centre, and with a return match the next night at home, Yopyk and his staff will have to waste no time getting down to brass tacks. “I think all the 45-50 players at camp have a shot at making the team,” said Yopyk. “But I’ll probably cut down to 30 players on Sunday, and then cut right down to 25 after next Sunday exhibition,” he added.
The Warriors will finish up their five-game pre-season when they host Merritt Sept. 6. at Royal LePage Place.
They open the 60-game regular season on a three-game northern road trip when they face the Spruce Kings in Prince George Sept. 11.
The Warriors camp officially opens on-ice with a practice at 4 p.m. Thursday and continues through to the intra-squad game at 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
For a complete schedule go to westsidewarriors.ca
Warrior words:
Fourth-year Warrior defenceman Joel Woznikoski, whose grandfather died from the disease, has undertaken and ambitious initiative to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society by personally donating $2 for every goal the team scores in their first 30 league games to the charity.
According to team GM Gary Gelinas, Woznikoski came up with the idea on his own and approached the team this summer with the goal of raising $5,000 for the society by hopefully combining his donations with those from team mates, fans and Westside businesses. “Joel said ‘Look, I’ve had great experience in this community and I want to give something back’ and we thought it was terrific idea. We support him, but he really wanted to run with it as team initiative,” said Gelinas. “We’re very happy that Joel has decided to do this and get the team involved . . . anytime you’ve got a young man that’s that thoughtful and wants to do something to raise money for his community, I think it’s outstanding.”
Woznikoski’s goal also fits in with the Warriors previous plans for a special jersey night Oct. 16, when the team will wear special one-off pink and black uniforms in their game against Merritt at RLP. The jerseys will be auctioned off with the proceeds also going to the Cancer Society.
Their fund-rasing efforts can be followed at canadiancancersociety.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=304012&lis=1&kntae304012=E2B3D43C5A644BB098D21E4EC7411D3D&team=3501454
sports@kelowna.com/(250)575-3981
Max French will play his first season in the BCHL with the Warriors. (File Photo Chris Stanford)
Warriors rookie head coach Darren Yopyk and the team will open their 2009 main camp Aug. 27. (Photo Chris Stanford)
