While they have been well established for over two decades, the NorSask Hockey Development Camps have also been keeping a close eye on the future.
Starting this year, NorSask had partnered with the Prince Albert Raiders and the Global Sports Academy for their summer camps, which will take place from Aug. 12-20 at the Art Hauser Centre.
“We actually started talking with the Raiders about a couple of years ago and then Global Sports Academy started to show some interest,” said Mark Odnokon, who leads the NorSask camps along with Art Feher.
“Art and I had been looking at the longevity of the school for a bit and when you bring in people like the Global Sports Academy, they are able to update the curriculum and everything that they do is very progressive.
“Then when you bring in the Raiders, you are able to add people on the ice from their organization and it really keeps the camp in excellent hands.”
As part of the partnership, which was finalized in April, the Raiders will supply professional support in all on-ice and off-ice practices, while the Raiders Office staff will also be involved with the administration of the camps.
“Over the past five years, the Prince Albert Raiders and their players have supported the growth and development of minor hockey in the City of Prince Albert. It was a natural step to join with two quality hockey entities as a partner with NorSask Hockey Development Camps and Global Sport Academy,” Raiders General Manager Curtis Hunt said in a statement.
Unlike other hockey camps, NorSask was able to take to the ice last August, but they had to make some changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We only ran on-ice sessions last year,” Odnokon said. “There were no off-ice sessions, classroom sessions or anything else that we’d normally have, plus our numbers were limited.
“We’re back to normal this year, except for the fact that we are allowing people to wear a face mask if they want and we still have social distancing in place in certain areas. We’ll also be making sure that everything is sanitized so that the kids can focus on having fun instead of just concentrating on being safe. We’re going to be focusing on that for them.”
In addition to having more of a presence from the Raiders and Global Sports Academy, this year’s camp will also have new aspects on the ice.
“We’ll have a lot of more competitive small area games and a lot of the drills have been made more challenging and fun,” Odnokon said. “You’ll still see Artie and I around all the time as well, so there’s some things that will be the same as before.”
Registration for the camp can be done online at www.norsaskhockey.net, while those looking for more information can send an email to norsaskhockey@sasktel.net.
“Our pee wee and bantam camps are full already and we have a waiting list for those,“ Odnokon said.
“There’s still a lot of room though in our novice, atom and midget camps. We’re usually full by this time, especially when it comes to our novice and atom camps, but there might be a little bit more hesitancy when it comes to people wanting to jump back in.”
