As National Lacrosse League teams open training camps across North America this week, it marks a return to the floor for wily veterans of the professional winter circuit and a much anticipated opportunity for several other youthful recruits.
The Victoria Shamrocks will see their share of players travel across the continent the next few days.
Among them will be goaltender Matt Flindell who is looking to earn his place back in the league after cups of coffee in Portland, Philadelphia and Washington.
The 25-year-old will join Shamrocks teammates Jeff Shattler, Dan MacRae and Greg Harnett in Calgary after signing a contract last month with the NLL's Roughnecks.
"Contracts aren't guaranteed, but I'm going to camp to battle for a backup spot," said Flindell, who leaves Friday and will be back on Monday, before heading to Langley the following week for exhibition play before camp resumes again back in Calgary.
"I'm super excited to go to camp, excited and a bit nervous," admitted Flindell, who played in 2009 with Portland before the NLL team folded the following year.
He made two starts at end of that season, winning in Colorado in overtime before dropping the last one to Calgary the year the Roughnecks went on to win the championship.
"Last year was the first year I didn't go to a tryout camp in a while, " added Flindell, who attended camps with the Toronto Rock and Philadelphia and was also on Washington's practice roster.
"I see it as a good shot as a backup and working my way up to a starter."
He'll be competing in Calgary along with New Westminster junior product Frankie Scigliano for the spot behind Mike Poulin.
"I feel ready to go," said Flindell, who injured his shoulder toward the end of the Western Lacrosse Association season after enjoying a solid campaign with the Shamrocks. "My shoulder isn't 100 per cent, but it's up there at 90 or 95."
He'll have Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch rooting him on.
"Flinner's played there before," Welch said of the NLL shot. "He hasn't had good luck getting back in there, but hopefully this opportunity will be the right one.
"He's continuing to develop as a goaltender. Sometimes goalies take a little longer to reach their best-before date. Flinner's on a pretty good trajectory where he's been making steady improvements since he came out of junior lacrosse and I think he's got a good shot to stick there.
"Flinner will give him competition and, hopefully, he'll do more than that and win a spot," added Welch.
Others, like Shattler in Calgary and Corey Small in Edmonton, are guaranteed to play their major roles within the NLL. Fellow Shamrocks heading off to NLL camps include veteran goaltender Chris Levis and Chet Koneczny, who will travel to Colorado; Ben McCullough, who will commute to Washington with the Stealth; and Ryan Benesch, Michael Teeter (recently drafted) and Tyler Haas, who head to Minnesota. Haas took last season off from the WLA, but is expected to return this summer.
