Mat-Su Spirit hosts first tryout camp

June 19, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman sports editor

PALMER - The Mat-Su Spirit took its first step toward building a squad that will ultimately take the ice once the North American Hockey League season starts in September. The organization, recently moved to the Mat-Su from Springfield, Mo., hosted its first of two tryout camps.

About 70 skaters attended the three-day camp that ended Saturday at the Palmer Ice Arena.

"This is our Alaska evaluation camp," Spirit head coach Dean Larson said. "This is a chance to bring these Alaska kids together and see where we are at with these guys."

The Junior A hockey squad will host a second tryout camp in Minneapolis, Minn., later in the summer.

Athletes who finished the 2004 season as a part of the Springfield version of the Spirit have been invited to the Minnesota camp.

Larson and Spirit general manager Corey Millen will select a group of players from the Alaska camp to participate in the Minnesota camp.

Larson said anywhere from five to 15 skaters could be selected to attend the Minnesota camp, which he calls the main tryout camp for the off season.

"That's going to be our chance to evaluate everyone," Larson said. "We should have a pretty good idea what our team is going to look like at that point."

Larson said the Alaska camp includes a variety of local prospects, ranging from players who skated at the midget level, to athletes with junior hockey experience. The Spirit coaching staff, which includes Larson, Millen and Steve MacSwain, evaluated the players in several scrimmage sessions.

"We are looking for kids we believe have a chance to make this hockey team," Larson said.

Larson said there are no players guaranteed a roster spot at this point. Even veterans of the Spirit franchise are not promised a spot.

"That's hockey at this level. No one is guaranteed a spot," Larson said. "It's not like comp. hockey. You're not on a team for a full year. Even if you are on the team, you are not guaranteed a spot.

"Everybody's on the same platform."

Larson said a reason these camps are so important is simply because he and the Spirit coaches have not seen most of these athletes on the ice. The Minnesota camp will mark the first interaction between the new Spirit coaching staff with players from the 2004 Spirit roster.

"We're hoping to have that main nucleus back," Larson said. "From what we've heard, they're a pretty good group. But we just haven't seen them."

The NAHL granted the Spirit approval to move from Missouri to the Valley in late May. The organization has already signed a contract to play its home games on the ice of the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex. Larson, a former University of Alaska Anchorage and Anchorage Aces star, was quickly hired as the team's head coach and assistant general manager. Millen, a former National League Hockey player and University of Minnesota alum, is the team's general manager and assistant coach.