During his rookie campaign with the Victoria Royals, Logan Nelson had an outstanding season, collecting 23 goals and 39 assists to finish third in the team's scoring.
Nelson, Jamie Crooks, Brandon Magee and Steven Hodges are the core group of returning forwards expected to be some of the offensive threats for the Western Hockey League team.
"I can't wait for the season to start,'' said the
18-year-old Nelson. "I hope that I can build off last season and have another solid season and help the team go far in the playoffs. As a rookie last year, the veterans helped to guide me through the season. I hope that I can do the same thing this year with the younger guys, but there are no guarantees. When we go to main camp [on Monday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre], the coach [Dave Lowry] will take the best players.''
The Royals made it to the playoffs last year with a record of 24 wins, 41 losses and seven ties for 55 points. In the first round of the playoffs, the Kamloops Blazers swept the Royals in four games.
Nelson, who is from Rogers, Minnesota, was drafted in the fifth round this year by the NHL Buffalo Sabres.
"In my last five years of hockey, I've had a new coach every year,'' Nelson said. "I'm very used to this, and it will only help me as a player and a person.
"As a coach, Dave tells it like it is, and he knows what it takes for us to reach our full potential.''
Nelson took part in football, lacrosse, baseball, track and field and hockey before making the decision to play hockey full-time.
"I just had so much fun playing hockey, and it is paying off for me so far. I wouldn't change a thing if I had a chance to.
"Before I made the decision to come to sa国际传媒, we had a lot of dinner conversations about it. I kind of knew what to expect in coming to a different country, but it still was a little tough with my family and twin sister in Minnesota.''
The 148-player rookie camp ends today with scrimmage sessions running from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Then the Royals' brass of Lowry, general manager Cam Hope and the scouting staff will put their heads together and determine which players will be invited to main camp Monday and how the others will be reassigned.
