News

ACA Insider: Men’s CAST drops the puck in Magog

Monday, 14 June 2010 00:00

An inside look at what goes on during the men’s alpine ski team’s hockey camp in Magog, QC

Hockey camp is always a great opportunity for the guys to train in a different environment and step out of their comfort zone for five days of intense workouts. With some of the boys rusty from a couple months off of the skates, some skiers were more out of their comfort zone then others, and the first couple of drills of camp were…entertaining, to say the least.

The athletes arrived at the Centre Récréatif Rock Forest hockey rink around 8:30 am for a quick warm up with agility drills and stretching before they hit the ice for two hours. Former NHL goaltender Felix Potvin had a few on-ice tips for the guys during an hour of drills and then, ready or not, it was time to drop the puck and scrimmage.

Today was a first for some. Kelby Halbert (Bradford, ON) and Dustin Cook (Lac Sainte Marie, QC) were on the ice with the Men’s CAST for the first time while new coach Rewk Patten (Colorado, USA) was also at his first hockey camp with the team. While Dustin and Rewk both had several strong shifts – Dustin leading the White team with two goals and two assists – young Kelby spent his first day at camp still trying to find his form. Still, for a rangy, 6’8 guy who’s barely ever been on skates, he handled himself well.

On the other side of that coin is Robbie Dixon (Whistler, BC), who was told more than once to quit hogging ice time from his teammates. He did, however lead the winning Red team with a goal and two assists, showing today that he’s been seriously practicing his skills this off-season.

(For those of you keeping score, it was a decisive 8 – 4 win for Team Red despite four straight goals at one point by the White Team.)

The general consensus from the skiers was this was definitely as much fun as hard work can be. “Skating is difficult,” said Mike Janyk (Whistler, BC). “After a while on the ice you slowly get your skills back, but this is definitely hard stuff. It’s fun though.”

And that was just the morning cardio. They were back in the gym a couple hours later in order to do a high volume and intensity weight lifting session.

RED TEAM:
Robbie Dixon - Whistler, BC (Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
Erik Guay - Mont-Tremblant, QC (Mont-Tremblant)
Louis-Pierre Hélie – Berthierville, QC (Mont-Ste-Anne)
Trevor White - Calgary, AB (NATC – Fortress Alpine Ski Team)

Matt Price – Calgary, AB, ACA - Director Sport Science

WHITE TEAM:

Dustin Cook – Lac Sainte Marie, QC (Mont Ste-Marie)
Kelby Halbert – Bradford, ON (Toronto Ski Club)
Michael Janyk - Whistler, BC (Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
Tyler Nella – Toronto, ON (Georgian Peaks)
Manuel Osborne-Paradis - Vancouver, BC (Whistler Mountain Ski Club)
Rewk Patten – Colorado, USA - ACA, Assistant Coach
Serge Dugas – Magog, QC - ACA, Assistant Coach

ABOUT ALPINE CANADA ALPIN

Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) is the governing body for alpine ski racing in Canada with more than 50,000 athletes, coaches, officials and volunteer members and over 200,000 supporting members. ACA manages the high performance programs for the athletes of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team who represent Canada throughout the world. For more information on Alpine Canada Alpin, visit www.canski.org

• Sophie Pilon
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  Job Title: Coordinator, PR and Media
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