The Renfrew Wolves’ road to the Bogart Cup begins this weekend as the Junior A club hosts it’s annual training camp.
General Manager Jerrett Defazio calls this weekend of intersquad games a special time of year, as he and his coaching staff get their first look at the team as a whole and determine who wins the few remaining openings on the roster going into the start of the season in September.
After the Wolves put together an older team during their all-in push for a championship last year, Defazio says his first roster will be much younger due to many players aging out of the league.
However, his scouts have been busy over the offseason, targeting experienced leaders who can guide a core of young standouts like Joshua Penney, Tal Stevenson, and Emmitt Robillard.
Being a young team is not a bad thing in Defazio’s opinion; he believes every player coming to camp is eager to make an impression and hungry to prove they can handle the workload required to stick in Junior A.
Defazio says he’s particularly looking for players to demonstrate strong skating skills, a high level of character as an ambassador within the community, and both the work ethic and heads-up thinking to keep pace with how fast the game has become.
The community can get their first look at the 2024-25 Renfrew Wolves this Friday, August 23rd, at 3:00 p.m. inside Arnprior’s Nick Smith Centre, before games head back home to the myFM Centre that evening at 8:00 p.m.
Intersquad games will continue all Saturday in Renfrew before the top players from each group take part in all-star games on Sunday. All games are free to attend, and the club will be selling merchandise and season tickets, plus refreshments at the canteen.
(written by Kasey Egan)
