Miami Hockey Wraps Up Inaugural Pro Camp
8/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Aug. 26, 2011
OXFORD, Ohio - Several former RedHawks now making a name for themselves in the professional ranks returned to Oxford this past week, Aug. 22-26, for Miami Hockey's inaugural pro camp, to help get them ready for the upcoming season, reunite with former teammates and coaches and make an impact on the current RedHawk hockey team.
Throughout the week, a total of 13 hockey alumni participated in the camp. Among those that took part were five out of six members of the class of 2011 in Carter Camper, Vincent LoVerde, Andy Miele, Justin Vaive and Tommy Wingels, who left Miami following his junior year to sign with the San Jose Sharks. Also in attendance were NHL defensemen Andy Greene ('06) of the New Jersey Devils and Alec Martinez ('09) of the Los Angeles Kings, as well as goalies Charlie Effinger ('08) and Jeff Zatkoff ('09). Also joining Martinez and Zatkoff from the class of 2009 was Justin Mercier while Jarod Palmer, Brandon Smith and Gary Steffes represented the class of 2010.
"It was a great experience. The coaches and the current players appreciate having us back here. As much as they appreciate it, we felt the same way. We love being back here. We appreciate the invite and love coming back," Wingels said. "It's cool as alums to see the younger guys and see them go through what you went through a couple years back. It's a great tradition and I look forward to it next summer. I know the guys have talked about how great it was and they can't wait for this to happen again in the future."
"Just to be back skating on the ice is a great experience. To see so many familiar faces is a lot of fun too," Effinger noted. "I was fortunate enough to play with I think all the pros that were here this week. It was a good experience and good to meet some new faces too because the team this year is a good-looking group of guys that push each other and make each other better."
While the pros were put through drills and workouts each day by Miami's coaching staff of head coach Enrico Blasi, associate head coach Brent Brekke and assistant coach Nick Petraglia, the alumni also scrimmaged the current varsity RedHawks Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, giving them a taste of what it takes to compete at the next level.
"I think back to when I was a freshman and Andy Greene, I remember when he graduated and went to play for New Jersey. Seeing him come back, there were a couple of days my sophomore and junior years where he'd come back and skate with the team and that meant a lot to me and also showed me what I need to do, realizing I'm going to have to play against that type of guy at the next level," Mercier said. "I kind of want to return the favor and show these incoming freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors that might make that jump the next year, that it's not only for me to get in shape but to help them out to."
While the ice at Steve Cady Arena was being fixed for much of the week, forcing the pros to practice on the B-pad Monday through Thursday, by Friday Steve Cady Arena was ready for the pros, which led to exciting scrimmages between the veterans and the varsity squad. Although the pros won each scrimmage throughout the week, Friday's finale went to overtime before the alumni pulled through.
Despite being Miami's first pro camp, all the players benefited from the experience.
"The coaching staff put together goalie drills that Jeff Zatkoff and I did every day. They were awesome," Effinger remarked. "To work one-on-one with Coach Petraglia and Coach Brekke and have drills customized to the goaltenders was an excellent opportunity. The goalie tandem they have here now (Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard) has benefited a lot from the hard, long hours they've put in with Coach Petraglia over the last three years. You can tell these guys are great young goalies."
"It's fun. It's a great group of guys and everyone that comes to Miami is a great guy," said Miele, the 2011 Hobey Baker Award winner - Miami's first. "It's fun to hang out with everyone and play against them. It's light-hearted but at the same time it's very competitive. It was good and I definitely benefited from it and am glad I came."
Although the atmosphere was somewhat more relaxed than an NHL camp, the pros felt it was very comparable to other training camps.
"I think it's similar to other camps I've been to," Wingels said. "We have the facilities to workout. We had a trainer and an equipment guy to help us and great coaches. They put us through some high-tempo practices against some real good players so I think it's definitely comparable to what guys have been doing this summer and it'll be good to get us ready for the start of the season."
"I thought it was amazing. The idea when Coach Petraglia and Coach Blasi talked to me at alumni weekend earlier in the summer, I told them I thought it was awesome and this year they finally had enough guys," Mercier said. "As far as the structure of the camp, they really had our best interests at heart. They really focused on getting us prepared for our upcoming training camp."
The camp wasn't exactly like other camps, however.
"This camp is special because everyone here has gone through the same four-year commitment that is Miami Hockey. It's a special place to play," Effinger noted. "I know people talk a lot about the Brotherhood but it really is a great place and it's such a supportive community; Oxford, the university, they really support the hockey program and it's a great place to develop as a young man, so to come back was great."
"It's unbelievable. None of us would be where we are today if it wasn't for this program and the time we spent here," Wingels remarked. "So to come back to the place where you spent a lot of your life and a lot of development as a person and a player, it's special. For me, almost our whole class was here with the exception of Pat Cannone, but the rest of us were here and there's nothing like seeing those guys again. I think it's something we'll look forward to every summer, counting down the days until we have this again."
As Miami continues to develop more pro players, the pro camp will only continue to grow and evolve.
"Miami has over the last couple years shown that they've become a force to be reckoned with in the NCAA Tournament. They're producing top players now and you see that at this camp," Mercier said. "When you get to the next level, it's the top players and being able to skate with some of the best college kids in the country, and even more so the pros from Miami that have made it, it really couldn't be any better."
"I'd love to be back next year just to see new faces and old friends and also get better," Effinger said. "We challenged each other this week and this camp's only going to get better and better and grow in the future."
--MURedHawks.com--
