The more than 60 players assembling today at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for Victoria Royals rookie camp do so knowing there isn鈥檛 much roster room on a veteran Royals team.
鈥淲e鈥檙e deep, and that makes it tough [for these rookie aspirants],鈥� said Victoria general manager Cameron Hope.
The rookie camp features 15- and 16-year-old players who were selected by the Royals in the last two Western Hockey League bantam drafts in 2016 and 2017, and also 15- and 16-year-old free-agent invitees.
At this age, the development curve is rapid, before it levels off in later years.
鈥淵ou see players in [junior-league rookie camps] who are fundamentally different in September than they were in the spring,鈥� noted Hope.
Although this season鈥檚 Royals roster looks to be set, with an abundance of returning veterans, the club has had a history of trying to break in a couple of 16-year-old rookies each season.
The best bets this season, according to Hope, could be forward Tarun Fizer from Chestermere, Alta., and defenceman John Lambos from Omaha, Nebraska, U-16 Triple-A.
Rookie camp opens this morning with a practice session from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Scrimmage games today are at 2:15 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Scrimmages on Saturday are at 10 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 2 p.m. Camp concludes Sunday with the top teams from the scrimmage round-robin meeting in the playoff round with the semifinal at 9:30 a.m. and final at 11 a.m.
The veterans will report for Royals main camp Monday and Tuesday.
The Royals NHL-drafted players 鈥� Matthew Phillips (Calgary Flames), Scott Walford (Montreal Canadiens), Chaz Reddekopp (L.A. Kings) and Tyler Soy (Anaheim Ducks) 鈥� will skate in Victoria鈥檚 main camp and be with the team until departing for their NHL camps on Sept. 6.
The Royals begin their pre-season schedule Sept. 1-2 with games in Kamloops against the Blazers and in Kelowna against the Rockets. The Royals, who will not play at home, conclude the pre-season when they meet the Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars as part of the Giants鈥� exhibition tournament at the Langley Events Centre, playing the Giants on Sept. 9 and Cougars on Sept. 10.
A cross-strait set between the Royals and Giants will highlight the opening weekend of the 2017-18 WHL regular season. Vancouver visits the Memorial Centre on Sept. 22, with the Royals travelling to the Langley Events Centre the next night.
