The hunt for the next Trail Smoke Eater is well underway as the club wraps up their first ID camp in Minnesota over the weekend.
The team will look to add to their already growing roster, with the likes of Carter Matthews, Jack Ziliotto, Dylan Lariviere and Jared Coccimilglio joining the ranks.
“The players that have played junior hockey, three played in the BCHL that were in Merritt, and one that was in Albert junior league, so we brought in some experience.” said Tim Fragle, Head Coach and General Manager Trail Smoke Eaters.
“But then we also have our young recruits, seven kids out of Western Canada that are all key recruits for us coming into the season.”
Matthews is a defenseman hailing from the Alberta junior league, while Lariviere and Ziliotto bring in forward talent from Merritt.
And last week’s signing on Coccimilglio from Philadelphia will add to the forward pack.
“They bring in some experience as they’ve played two or three years of junior hockey.” said Fragle.
“We lose a lot of forwards from this past year’s team, so we wanted to add some experience, and those three forwards will.”
“And then Carter on defense is a real explosive, dynamic defenseman who skates really well. He’ll be a good addition.”
But the search isn’t over yet. Trail is still looking for another five spots to fill ahead of the 2024/25 season.
“We are really happy where we’re at right now.” said Fragle.
“Still have the month of June, we would like to get those spots solidified here by the end of the month if all things go well.”
“We took a big step last year in the second half we want to continue that,”
“We were ranked third in the BCHL and winning percentage from Christmas on, and we started to play a little bit more connected, and we really want to keep that going and form a better defensive game.”
“We really feel like these new recruits with the returning guys we have coming in will give us the best chance to do that.”
Identification Camp in Minnesota
For the first time, the Trail Smoke Eaters took their Identification Camp down south to Minnesota to scout talent, and they weren’t disappointed.
“Our staff was really impressed with how the ID camp went.” said Fragle.
“It was very successful and we had a lot of good players from the state of Minnesota, and we had a few players from Wisconsin.”
“I would say there’s probably five or six players out of that camp that we have serious interest in to trying to get them to Trail, whether it’s this year or next year.”
Trail Smoke Eaters is a BCHL team equipped with a passionate and dedicated coaching staff, state-of-the-art training facilities and a long, storied legacy.
The high-level junior hockey league offers athletes a level of play with a history of creating Division I college hockey athletes, more than any other league in Canada.
Trail Smoke Eaters graduate players from the Upper Midwest who’ve gone on to play NCAA hockey include:
Alec Whipple • Denver University
Adam Marshall • Army West Point
Ethan Mann • Milwaukee School of Engineering
Evan Bushy • Lake Superior State
Teddy Lagerback • Stonehill College
Zach Michaelis • Northern Michigan
Charlie Strobel • Colorado College
Trevor Zins • University of St. Thomas
Mack Byers • University of St. Thomas
Ryan Murphy • Fitchburg State
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