broncos 2014

The Swift Current Broncos continue training camp today, with scrimmages at 4:00pm and 6:00pm at the Credit Union iplex.

On Wednesday, the team went through fitness testing. Associate Coach Jamie Heward says so far, things are looking good and the guys know that they have to come in shape if they want to come back on the team.

"We just wander around and you can tell if you haven't seen a guy in three or four months his body type and how much fat he's put on and lost... The percentages and their VO2 tests come in, and at the end of the day we analyse it, but so far the numbers are good," Heward said. "We've got a good veteran group, it's been set for the last three or four years, guys always come in in shape, and it looks good for the young guys. They know that if they want to come back next year, they have to be in as good a shape or better than guys like Colby Cave, Coda Gordon and some of our veteran guys, and it bodes well for the future. Our 17 and 18-year olds are in really good shape, so that's really good for the next two or three years."

Heward says they told a couple of guys at the end of the year that they needed to improve themselves over the off-season, and they did just that.

"They were new guys to our organization last year, and I don't think they realized how demanding that Mark is when it comes to fitness," Heward said. "At the end of year meetings, we made sure that we addressed that, and there were a couple of guys that we though came back, and Jordan Harris was one. He realized that if he's going to play the minutes that he did last year, and he's going to get to that level, he's got to make sure that he's in good shape, and he put the time and effort in this summer, and it showed."

As the camp moves toward on-ice training, Heward says their main focus will be on their 16 and 17-year old group to see how well they can compete with the older players in a game-like situation.

"Can they prove that they belong in the league? Can they prove that they can manage to play with the older guys?" he added. "The younger guys are going to go home, we take on the older guys in exhibition games and that's where they get their development. It's just a whole bunch of stuff that goes into evaluations. We evaluate the young guys that just got drafted, send them on their way and tell them what they have to work on, then you've got your group of 16 and 17-year-olds that are trying to push for spots on the team and it boils down to how well they do in exhibition games. As an evaluator, you're just looking to see if they can hold their own in these scrimmages, and then make that next step into exhibition games."

Scrimmages continue tomorrow and Saturday with the Intrasquad game Sunday afternoon, and the pre-season opener on Tuesday in Moose Jaw.