The Bonnyville PONTIACS will be hosting their 2014 Top Prospects Camp April 4th to 6th at the R.J. LaLonde Arena in Bonnyville.
Our Top Prospects Camp is our first step in identifying players for our 2014/15 season and beyond and allows our coaching staff an opportunity to assess all prospective player’s tangible and intangible skills in a competitive setting.
Making a decision on where you want to play at the next level is an extremely important one and our organization is very interested in having players come up to Bonnyville to see ‘first hand’ our first class organization and our excellent facility to see and experience the value of being in and playing in the Bonnyville PONTIACS environment as a place to positively prepare them for life and the next level of hockey beyond Junior A. We are confident that once players are in our environment they will experience first-hand the benefits associated to the goals and objectives that they have as a player and as a student.
We are proud of our Culture of Excellence of striving every day to do things right and we have created a strong reputation of treating our players better than anyone else reflected by our facilities, by our positive growth environment, by the quality of our people associated to the PONTIACS and by the ‘daily hockey culture' that we provide.
Some information about our Top Prospects Camp is:
The Bonnyville PONTIACS will be hosting their 2014 Top Prospects Camp on April 4th to 6th at the R.J. LaLonde Arena (Centennial Centre) in Bonnyville.
Each of our teams will start with an ice session on Friday April the 4th, with the first session starting at 5:00 pm and the last session starting at 8:00 pm that same day. Each player will receive one ice session on Friday, two ice sessions on Saturday and one ice session on Sunday. There will be a Goaltender session on Saturday as well. On Sunday our staff will set the schedule up with ample time to spend with each player to give them some feedback on their performance from the camp. All ice sessions will consist of games. We want to keep the number of players in our camp low, as we feel that this will add to the competitive level of the games and assist us in identifying players that are ready to make the jump to Junior A. It also gives us an opportunity to spend time with each player to provide them with “meaningful feedback” about their performance, skill set and potential. Our Top Prospects Camp is unique from any other as it is the only one in the Alberta Junior Hockey League that has our returning players and veterans involved which provides those attending a great opportunity to observe our Culture of Excellence by witnessing how our players conduct themselves both on and off the ice. It is one thing for a coach to talk about culture however we believe that the best way for a player to experience “the way things are done as a PONTIAC” is to watch and observe the individuals that are a part of it every day. As a coaching staff we also get a more accurate assessment of where we believe the player will be in August at the start of our Main Camp because we have AJHL players at the camp.
The Bonnyville PONTIACS organization has high expectations both on and off the ice for every member of our hockey club, from the coaching staff, to each other, all the way down to our players. Off the ice, school is given a very high priority in our organization and our players are expected to be as dedicated in this area as they are on the ice. We also feel that as an organization that in a community that supports us so strongly, we have a major responsibility in being positive role models and to “give back” to the people in the Lakeland area. As a coaching staff we demand that on and off the ice our players have the pride and commitment level to push themselves each and every day to become better. We also understand that we as a coaching staff have a responsibility to work hard in helping our players achieve their goals academically as young men as well as their goals on and off the ice. Our daily structure for our players is fully productive through their involvement in school, work, off-ice skill work, on-ice practice, video, off-ice training and community involvement. Players want to come to the Bonnyville PONTIAC organization because of the professional way we run things which ultimately prepares them for the demands placed on them at the next level as well as in life.
The town of Bonnyville is only just over 2 hours away from Edmonton and our fan base is 800 to 1200 per game which makes playing at the R.J. LaLONDE Arena a great experience to play in. We have one of the few facilities in the Alberta Junior Hockey League that has a 45 million dollar fitness center and community hub contained within. This allows for our players to receive a convenience not accessible to many other organizations in Junior hockey. We are also one of four teams in the AJHL that broadcast all 60 games making it great for parents and family to be involved despite living away. Living and playing junior hockey in a small town environment is a luxury transition for young men moving on to College. Boys grow into young men from their experiences living away from home and from the close friendships that they make with players sharing a common goal as well as with our supportive Billet Families. Our structured environment with a focus on character development enhances personal maturity and player growth.
By having a smaller, more intimate camp setting, along with having our veteran players attend the Bonnyville PONTIACS Top Prospects Camp will serve as a positive growth opportunity for all those who attend. Attending our Top Prospects Camp allows you to compare “head-to-head” just how we treat our players and people as well as what we have to offer the athlete as well as the person, to any other organization in Junior hockey.
If you require further information on the Bonnyville PONTIACS please check out our Team Website or contact Assistant General Manager and Associate Coach Larry DRAPER ldraper@bonnyvillepontiacs.com or Director of Player Personnel Jeff Tetz jeffwtetz@gmail.com.
A player profile form and a Hockey Alberta permission form will be needed to be filled out and returned to the PONTIAC office no later than March 15th. The form will serve as much needed information and confirmation of attendance at our Top Prospects Camp. The forms are contained on our team website. Once we have received the forms we can then email the ice times. We only plan on having four to six teams for our camp to be fair in our evaluation of the players attending. The cost for the camp will be $95.00.