The Alberni Valley Bulldogs have trimmed their roster down to 31 following a week of training camp and a pair of exhibition games last Friday and Saturday.
“We had 80 guys in here last Monday. The competition level and pace of play we were real happy with. It was really difficult cutting it down to 40 guys Wednesday afternoon,” head coach Matt Hughes said in the Bulldogs Coach’s Update with Kaicee Trott.
The Bulldogs kicked off their exhibition games with an intra-squad game on Thursday night, followed by an exhibition tilt at home against the Powell River Kings on Friday and a road contest Saturday at Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo. They won Friday’s game against the Kings 5-2 and lost 4–1 in Nanaimo.
WATCH: Bulldogs’ coach talks training camp
“Friday night we dressed an older more experienced lineup to see how they would handle some of the things we’ve been covering in practices,” Hughes said. “We were pretty happy for the most part with the way the guys played. The effort level was there, the pace of play was good.
“I thought our power play moved the puck around real well and I thought our forecheck was pretty strong’”
The Bulldogs put a younger lineup on the ice Saturday night in Nanaimo and they faced a Clippers’ lineup that’s pretty much ready for regular season, Hughes said.
Two Alberni Valley minor hockey products survived the first two cuts: Foster Martin and Ezra Paddock were still with the team as of the News’ print deadline earlier this week. “They’ve both been playing well. They’ve been learning and asking questions and they’re in the mix, as are a whole bunch of other guys,” Hughes said.
“At the end of the day we can only keep 23, so we’re going to have some real tough choices to make this week.”
The Bulldogs are back on the ice at the Dogpound this Friday, Sept. 1 when they host the Victoria Grizzlies. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
