Thunderbirds tryout camp opens
Friday, June 01, 2012 by: Brad Coccimiglio
The Soo Thunderbirds 2012 tryout camp kicked off on Friday night with a pair of practices followed by a scrimmage at the John Rhodes Community Centre.
With roughly 50 players in camp, the Thunderbirds have roster spots to fill after losing a number of players to graduation off the 2011-12 team that went all the way to the semi-final at the RBC Cup in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. The 2011-12 team had eight 20-year-olds - forward Kevin Michelcavage, Matt Amadio, Cody Zorzi, Brett Campbell, Micky Sartoretto; defencemen Kris Barclay and James Delayer and goaltender John Kleinhans - along with eight 19-year-olds.
The camp also features a number of Ontario Hockey League prospects selected in April's OHL Priority Selection, many of which are local products. Among the OHL picks are Nick Trecroce (Sudbury), Jaren Bellini (Sault Ste. Marie), Ryan Vendramin (Sarnia), and Jack Vanboekel (Sault Ste. Marie). Trecroce, Vendramin and Bellini were all members of the 2011-12 Soo North Stars.
Vanboekel was the Greyhounds 15th round pick and spent the 2011-12 season in minor midget with the Cambridge Hawks.
Among the players in camp are eight veterans for the RBC Cup entry as well. Defencemen Jeremy Solomon, Corey Jackson and Josh Hicks and forwards Greg Sartoretto, Darcy Casola, Jake Wright, Derek Battagin and Kurtis Barbarie are among those in camp.
On-ice workouts continue on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with a second on-ice workout at 4 p.m.
