6 HOCKEY PLAYERS HEADED TO SEATTLE

ANCHORAGE Six Valley hockey players earned invitations to developmental camps in the Lower 48 after a tryout in Anchorage April 3.

Stephen Erdman, Corey Dean, Nathan Schwartzbauer, Seth Reda and Joey Guild are all headed to the USA Hockey Pacific District Player Development Camp in Seattle April 23-25, while Lorna Wilson is headed to the womens Olympic Development Camp in Lake Placid, New York.

The five boys earned spots after a tryout in Anchorage. Twenty-three players from around the state were selected for three different teams players born in 1982, 1983 and 1984. In Seattle, the players will compete for one of 20 roster spots for the National Select Festivals, a summer hockey tournament showcasing the top talent in the nation.

There are a couple of players from the Valley who could go pretty far with the select teams, said Bruce Urban, who runs the Seattle and Anchorage camps. They are evaluated on their skills and abilities against players from Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Wilson is headed straight to an Olympic Development Camp in Lake Placid. The boys competed for one of 23 spots among different age groups, but the girls tryout was for one group of 20 girls born between 1981-84. The camp is designed to give girls a chance to hone their skills and help develop the U. S. womens hockey team, which won the first-ever gold medal in the 1998 Nagano Olympics with a victory over the heavily favored Canadians.

Erdman, one of two goalies selected in his age group, said that the allure of the program is getting noticed by hockey scouts in the Lower 48.

There will be scouts in Seattle and Minnesota (sight of the National Select Festivals), and it gives me a chance to be seen, Erdman said. I expect the skill to be a little better down there, but I have an idea of what Im going to face. The best-case scenario is that I get to go to Minnesota.

Erdman played for Wasilla last season. Dean also played for the Warriors and was a key defenseman for a squad that finished first in the region during the regular season.

Colony had three players Reda, Guild and Schwartzbauer selected to the Pacific District Player Development Camp, the most from any Valley high school program.

Reda was second on the Colony team in scoring during the regular season, and Guild was among the team leaders in assists. Both played a huge role in helping the Knights win the Region III tournament during the high school season.

Schwartzbauer is a solid defenseman who anchored the Colony defense. He said he is looking forward to the Seattle camp.

There is going to be a lot of good hockey players there trying to impress everyone, Schwartzbauer said. Its a great opportunity.

The players earned spots based on how well they performed during the two-day Anchorage tryout, which was basically a scrimmage-type atmosphere.

We didnt go through any drills or anything like that, Erdman said. It was all based on how you did in the game situations.

Urban said in Seattle, all the players at the camp will be mixed up and put on separate teams to ensure that all the players from Alaska and other states are not on the same team throughout the camp.

This isnt a Team Alaska or Team California thing, Urban explained. Its about the development of the players and that doesnt depend on getting on a certain team.

From there, who impresses the selection committee the most will be chosen to go to Minnesota. Anchorages Dennis Sorenson is part of the committee that will make the difficult choices.

We try to get one person from every region so that it is done as fair as it can be, Urban said.

While the selection committee will keep a close eye on the talent, there will be other people interested in what is going on on the ice, Urban said.

We are inviting a number of prep school coaches from the East Coast, some college coaches and junior coaches, Urban said. Its a chance for the players to meet some recruiters and for the recruiters to see talent they may not have known about.