Josh Tripp's first training camp as head coach of the Parkland U18 Rangers has come and gone.
Leading the group after spending last year as an assistant coach with his hometown Swan Valley Stampeders, Tripp is excited about the opportunity ahead and how the weekend went.
"Things went very well, I liked a lot of what I saw," said Tripp. "The pace picked up from the first day to the last day which is very promising."
Last year's group finished the campaign with 13 wins and missed the playoffs by 12 points. Heading into the regular season this year, the Rangers will look to get off to a much better start after losing six of their first seven games of the season last year.
This year's group has dwindled as they prepare for preseason action in Souris this weekend. The team's roster now includes.
Tripp was very impressed with how much skill was at camp.
"It was very good, it was a nice surprise to see so much elite skill," offered Tripp. "Me and my coaching staff had a chat with our returning players and we let them know that they will need to be leaders. We have guys that will need to show the way this year."
Up front, the list of returnees includes Alex Campbell, Quinten Fisk, Landyn Garton, Ethan Carnegie, Cash McCallum, and Ryzlie Nepinak. Nathan Miller of Russell returns on the back end while Ethan Myhre returns between the pipes.
Lacasse, Budolowski, Poole, Hanneson, Gardner, and Pelletier played with the U15 Rangers last season.
In talking about the team's goaltending situation, Tripp knows the preseason will be very telling after all four impressed over the weekend.
"All of those guys did well over the weekend, it was a tough decision for the coaching staff," said Tripp. "They all showed some great stuff so we wanted to give them a chance in the preseason."
Tripp says the team is planning to add Piet Mierau to the fold. Mierau is a Kings prospect and is currently practicing with the team. He has played the last three years at Pilot Mound Academy and had a .942 save percentage last season.
"We're certainly hoping to add him, he's an out-of-region kid so we have to wait for that process," said Tripp. "It's good that we have a tough decision."
Rounding out the Rangers coaching staff are Matt Kustra and Tom White.
"Things have been going very well between the three of us, we're all on the same page," commented Tripp. "It's easy working with them, I'm looking forward to the season."
Parkland is slated to open their preseason on Friday evening in Souris as they play Interlake and then play again on Saturday morning against Southwest. It's the team's annual preseason tournament at the home of the Cougars and it serves as one of the last chances for players to show why they deserve to be a Ranger.
As Tripp says, the message is simple, compete and lay it all out on the line.
"It's about doing the little things. We know how skilled these guys are and know they can put the puck in the net," ended Tripp. "We want guys that are going to leave it all on the ice, it's an exciting time for the group."
The Rangers will open their 2024-25 campaign on Saturday, September 28 against the Central Plains Capitals at Stride Place. the following afternoon, the Rangers are in Morden to play the Pembina Valley Hawks.
On October 5, Darnell Duff will be joined by Jeff Henson as Parkland Rangers hockey returns to 730CKDM.
