The brand new Bredenbury Tundra junior C hockey club held its fall camp last weekend. They now prepare for their inaugural season in the Qu鈥檃ppelle Valley Hockey League.
The team first announced its beginning last spring, when they hosted spring camps to get an idea of how the team would look and what the interest would be like.
Over the summer, the staff worked hard to build up sponsorships, community presence and their roster.听
President Emily Mac Neill said they were happy with the numbers they saw at camp, and even happier with the town support they鈥檝e seen this far.听
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a chunk of season tickets sold already, we had them just in time for the weekend, so that鈥檚 been kind of wonderful,鈥� she said.听
鈥淲e got really lucky because the town of Bredenbury has worked with us hand in hand since we came,鈥� added Mac Neill.听
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On the ice
When it comes to the team, the players acquired so far are mostly from around the Bredenbury area. If not from the town itself, they come from Yorkton, Esterhazy, Langenburg and other close communities.听
鈥淵ou get to keep a lot of guys who have been playing together a long time 鈥� you get to keep them together here,鈥� said Mac Neill.
The Tundra鈥檚 head coach Marcel Legault said he doesn鈥檛 need his team to be the quickest or the roughest on the ice, but he does want them to be tactile.听
鈥淚f you play with all of your tools in your wheelhouse, and follow the tactics, you should be successful,鈥� he said.听
As for expectations for his team, he said they鈥檙e where anyone would expect.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 say they鈥檙e high but I won鈥檛 say they鈥檙e low. They鈥檙e as expected from any starting organization,鈥� said the coach. 鈥淲e want them to come out every game and work their butts off.鈥�
Legault added that he鈥檚 hoping the town of Bredenbury will fill the rink for the Tundra鈥檚 home games, and in return he hopes to bring them victories.
鈥淗opefully we can win some games and prove that we belong in the league.鈥�
The Tundra begins their preseason exhibition games in the middle of October, with regular season set to start at the end of October.
The coach said that their biggest challenge so far has been finding players to fill the roster. They still have spots available, so anyone interested can contact the team.
