Lawrence, Pitton sparkle at mini-camp

Chris Lawrence and Jason Pitton gave a hint of what's to come as the two showed flashes of dominance at the opening of the Soo Greyhounds mini-camp on Monday.

Lawrence, the Hounds first round pick in May's Ontario Hockey League draft, and Pitton, a fifth round selection from 2002, played both ends of the ice well, won battles along the boards and created several offensive chances in a pair of scrimmages on Monday.

The two-day camp will conclude today with scrimmages at 9:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. Only draft picks and invites with 1987 and 1986 birth dates are participating, excluding 2002 first round pick Tyler Kennedy, who played with the team last year and will report directly to the main camp.

The Greyhounds will open their main camp on Wednesday with registrations and fitness testing. Two scrimmages will be held Thursday at 9:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. while Friday's schedule includes a 10 a.m. scrimmage and the annual Red/White Game at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.

Lawrence and Pitton not only caught the eyes of interested spectators but the attention of Greyhounds general manager Dave Torrie on Monday.

"I thought Chris Lawrence and Jason Pitton played well today. We had them out there on a line together and they looked good. I hate to name individuals but I thought those two obviously stood out," said Torrie.

The two-day mini-camp gives the Greyhounds' brass a chance to measure several aspects. It allows for the chance to note a player's progress, strengths and weaknesses along with determining which eligible players will be included in the main camp.

"With the '87 (birth dates) there are only certain kids who are eligible to even be considered for this year. It gives us a chance to determine whether they fit into our plans this year and with the others it gives us a feel of where they are and what they need to improve upon so they can come back next season and make the team," said Torrie.

Only players drafted in the first and second rounds along with one wildcard player from May's draft are eligible to play this coming season.

As for the option of filling the wildcard slot, several players have made that decision even more difficult with stellar performances on Monday.

"I thought Kyle Gajewski was strong in net today and I thought two other '87 birthdays had good days (Monday). Brandon McLean, our third round pick, scored four goals this morning and Tyler McKinley, our ninth round pick, had a good day," said Torrie.

Torrie, head coach Marty Abrams and assistants Denny Lambert and Terry Barbeau expect to make the selections to advance to main camp tonight although a decision on a wild card at this time is not necessary.

"We will try to make that decision (tonight) but it is not something that absolutely has to be done. You can send them all back and bring a player back a month later after he has started somewhere else but making that selection is something we would like to do," said Torrie.

While all selections from the 2002 draft are eligible to compete for a roster spot, the team will also use the mini-camp to determine whether the 2002 draft picks are ready to compete at the OHL level and be invited to the main camp.

Photo: OHL hopefuls in action at mini-camp