The U13 AAA Bonnyville Yaks finished up their first ever ID Camp this past weekend and it was nothing short of a huge success.
Building off a tremendous first season of operation against big city competition, the defiant Yaks played with purpose all season long and exceeded expectations, leading to a final four playoff push and now a sold out ID Camp in their first attempt hosting one.
“I am feeling pretty good about next season,” said Yaks head coach and Pontiacs assistant coach Chad Taylor. “There was a lot of hard work that I saw this past weekend during the ID skates. I think families got a sneak peak of what the program is like and know this is the place to be for the best competition in the province.”
With year one officially under the belt of the Yaks, the future looks bright and it’s getting brighter.
“The inaugural year of the U13AAA Yaks saw many changes from the initial concept to what is now one of the most sought after U13 programs in North Eastern Alberta,” said Pontiacs vice-president of operations Neil Langridge.
“What started out as a quickly put together pilot project has started to evolve into a great partnership between BMHA (Bonnyville Minor Hockey Association) and the Bonnyville Pontiacs. The end product was a U13 AAA team that finished ahead of major city teams like Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Grande Prairie and Lloydminster.”
The program’s next step will be hosting a Fall Camp where any remaining spots on the team will be decided. With plenty of Yaks now aging out and moving on to U15 hockey, there is plenty of opportunity for a new group of U13 players to earn a spot for the upcoming season.
“It should be a great fall camp,” said coach Taylor. “Our goal next year is to be the same hard-working team and continue to develop players in the Lakeland area. We want to build on last year’s success and show families why they want to play with us.
“There will be a focus on developing and learning the game and what it’s like to be an elite player. With the Pontiacs partnership, our players get access to everything they can offer from dryland programs to goalie coaches.”
This year, the league will be expanding to a 32-team format from the current 11 club league. The competition is expected to be very good.
The Yaks Fall Camp is expected to be held in late August. Pontiac scouts and staff will aid in the assessment of prospective Yak players for the upcoming season.
“It’s great when our vision comes to life,” said Langridge. “We invested in this partnership to prove that if we invest in our local area players with high level coaching and programs that we can accelerate the athletes development. The proof was the result on how this team led by Chad Taylor, grew tremendously from day 1 until the league playoffs.
“The goal of the collaboration was to provide our local area players with a higher level of competition and development,” said Langridge. We want to encourage the region’s top players to come together and not only showcase their abilities, but the abilities of all the local minor hockey systems that have worked hard to develop players in the region.
“We are very excited to continue growing this program and partnership with BMHA and are actively seeking ways to expand into other age groups.”
