Sports
September 04, 2008 10:52 PM
Mike Hayakawa
Winning hockey games during the preseason is nice.
But it’s not the end all, noted first-year Vaughan Vipers’ head coach Jason Fortier.
The preseason is all about evaluating the talent, he said.
And at the same time, to prepare them for when the puck drops to begin their Provincial Junior A Hockey League regular season in the new 10-team Mackinnon Division that includes Bramalea Blues, Brampton Capitals, Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Burlington Cougars, Georgetown Raiders, Milton Icehawks, Mississauga Chargers, Oakville Blades and Streetsville Derbys.
For the Vipers, play for keeps begins Sept. 13 on the road against Georgetown.
To prepare for their season opener, the Vipers have taken to the ice in five preseason games.
Dressing primarily rookies in the majority of those contests, the Vipers lost their first two games to the Markham Waxers 4-3 at York University Aug. 21 and 8-2 to the Aurora Tigers Aug. 22 before coming back to defeat the St. Michael’s Buzzers 5-4 last Sunday at Westwood Arena and then falling 7-1 to the defending league champion Oakville Blades Monday at Westwood Arena.
Last Friday, the Vipers went on the road against the Buzzers and skated off with a 4-3 win.
Based on what he has observed during training camp and the preseason, Fortier is happy with the attitude and work ethic exhibited by the rookies and veterans.
“It’s been pretty good so far. We’ve got a lot of young kids who’ve come in and looked pretty good and what veterans we had coming back have been in good shape,” the Sault Ste. Marie native said. “We’ve had a good camp of kids with character. We’re stressing what we want to do to win. Not just in our preseason games but even in our drills in practices.”
Launching training camp with 33 hopefuls, Fortier has whittled that number down to 26 and intends to get it down to 23 or 24 once the regular season begins.
Of that number, he anticipates anywhere from 13 to 14 rookies will be a part of their roster.
Among those who have caught Fortier’s attention are forwards Colin Campbell, who played last season with the AAA Red Wings; Wes McGovern (Barrie midgets); Ryan Clarkson (Kitchener AAA midgets), Rob DeFauluis (Toronto Titans midgets) and Stephen Genoa (Mississauga Reps midgets).
On defence, Fortier has been impressed with Brandon Beadow, (King Wild, Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League); Dan Morello (Vaughan Kings midgets); Chris Ardell (Vaughan Kings midgets), Steven Pintaric (Vaughan Kings midgets) and Mike Hayward, who Fortier had coached three years ago as a midget.
While Kori Coelho has returned to play in goal, Dalton McGrath (Vaughan Kings midgets), is making a strong bid to claim the backup job.
Even with a number of rookies hoping to make the Vipers’ roster, Fortier is banking on some leadership from the returning veterans including forwards Brad Fleishman, Mark Schiraldi and Dorian Peca.
He is also hoping those acquired in offseason trades who have experience at the tier two junior A level will also make some big contributions.
Among the newly acquired players include defenceman Brad Kearns and forward Giordano Tarantino.
Members of the Toronto Junior A Canadiens last season, the pair were acquired for forward Paul Rodriguez, who shared the league’s scoring title last season.
For more on the Vipers, go to
www.vaughanvipers.com