'Need these guys to lead': Lethbridge Hurricanes prepare for 2022 training camp

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have more than a dozen new players this new season and the team's general manager wants to see how well they perform.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are a week and a half away from the 2022 training camp and are looking forward to getting back on the ice.

"Camp's always a fun time," said Hurricanes’ head coach, Brent Kisio.

"You get to see where guys are at and what you got to work with."

While the ENMAX Centre is sitting empty and hockey free right now, that will all change soon with the Lethbridge Hurricanes rookie camp kicking off next week.

"The rookie camp is important for us to put a face with the name, especially myself, to kind of see what they're about," said Kisio.

"You get to meet them and just talk to them and kind of learn a little bit more about themselves and their families but then also see how they are on the ice and see what they can work on for the upcoming season."

The ‘Canes took 13 players in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft and the team’s general manager Peter Anholt is excited to see what they can do.

"It gives us a great chance to look at these new guys, just to measure them up and see what they're going to be like for us and project what they're going to be like for us as Hurricanes," Anholt told CTV News.

The main camp, which will include returning players and other hopefuls, will start on Sept. 3, giving some of the team’s veterans a chance to step into those leadership roles.

"We want our older guys to come in and set the tempo right off the start of the season and then we know we have a good young group coming in and, like I said, hopefully there's a couple surprises that you don't expect to come in and show better than you thought," Kisio said.

"We need these guys to lead," added Anholt."We need them to nurture our younger guys and also push them to be better and push them to compete and push them to be better Hurricanes."

Looking ahead to the regular season, the hope is to come out strong and give the club and the fans another strong season.

"I think we've got a good group of guys, I think we'll compete and I think we have a chance of winning on any given night, so that's first and then we can see where we shake out from there," said Anholt.

Last year, they made it to the first round of playoffs and are hoping to make it back and go even further this season.

"We've been very fortunate here to make playoffs for a bunch of years now and we've had good pushes for playoffs and we want to make another one this year," Kisio said.

Training camp will end with the annual inter-squad game on Sept. 5 and ‘Canes preseason starts on Sept.9 against the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Preseason tickets are available for purchase and the ‘Canes, along with the ENMAX Centre, look forward to bringing in fans for a full, restriction-free season.

Puck drops for the regular season home opener against the Tigers on Sept.30.

For more information on the Lethbridge Hurricanes upcoming training camp and season, you can visit their website.