Hopefuls set quick pace
A total of 29 skaters and four goaltenders had heads turning at the pace of play when they took to the ice Saturday night for the first of two intrasquad games at the North Bay Battalion’s development camp.
Participants on the second day of the three-day camp included five players who saw action with the Battalion in the Ontario Hockey League’s 2024-25 regular season, ranging from one game by defenceman Sam Rivet to 68 by forward Ryder Carey.
Others numbered 14 taken in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection, four in the 2024 Priority Selection, one in the 2023 process, three from the 2025 Under-18 Priority Selection and six free agents.
Two forward prospects, Owen Smith, an 11th-round choice in the Priority Selection this year from the North Bay Trappers U16s, and Lucas Van Steensel, an eighth-rounder in 2024 from the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks, were unable to attend.
“What’s interesting is that this year we’ve been able to have some of our returning guys, 16-year-olds, come out and see how those players play alongside them at a different pace, different level,” said general manager John Winstanley. “I think tonight was a pretty good indication of we’re pretty happy with where things are with that (2025) draft.”
Winstanley and Ryan Oulahen, head coach and assistant GM, noted that this is the first year in some time that holdovers have skated with the prospects at the spring camp, as the Battalion advanced to the Eastern Conference final for three straight seasons through 2024.
Oulahen, who remarked on a “really good game tonight, first and foremost, for a development camp,” noted: “I haven’t been able to see the last few years. The guys were talking about how good the pace was out there, and I’d be hard-pressed to find a better development game than that one.”
Forward Quinn Kipfer, at his second spring camp, said: “I think it’s great to be a part of an organization that has a lot of skill level coming through. It’s a lot like a good hope for the next coming years, that there’s potential here and that they’re going to build on it and have a good team here in the future.”
With the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I council having voted Nov. 7 to permit Canadian Hockey League players to compete for U.S. schools, Kipfer has his eyes set on playing for North Bay before attending Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
“I’m just here trying to earn a spot and I want to showcase myself the best I can to the coaches and staff that they have,” said Kipfer, a resident of Milverton, Ont., who played in 2024-25 for the junior B Stratford Warriors. “It’s a great weekend for that. They put on a great weekend, everyone, so it’s exciting to be here.”
Bill Houlder ran the Team Green bench for three 20-minute periods, while fellow assistant coach Matt Marquardt had the Team White reins as Oulahen watched from the stands.
Camp opened with a practice session Friday night and continued with fitness testing and a goaltending skills session Saturday.
The Battalion also conducted a town hall meeting at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens during which a six-person panel answered questions. Taking part were owner and governor Scott Abbott, Adam Dennis, president and director of hockey operations, Winstanley, Oulahen, Yolanda Haight, vice-president of business operations, and Steve Bitonti, director of operations and business development.
The camp ends after a second intrasquad game at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Admission to the arena is free.
GAME RECAP
Lincoln Edwards scored the eventual winning goal and Kipfer provided two tallies as Green outlasted White 6-5. Goaltender Kyle Karwowski, who allowed all five White goals, got the win in relief of Gavin Zepp. Parker Vaughan had two goals for White.
Lineups
Green: Gavin Zepp, Kyle Karwowski, Oskar Konobelj, Colton D’Amico, Karter Buchmann, Dylan Rousselle, Grady Jalbert, Sam Rivet, Javian Nei, Ryder Carey, Lincoln Edwards, Quinn Kipfer, Ben Maharaj, Owen Head, Ryder Cali, Alex Kontos, Cole Worsfold-Bonneville.
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White: Cole Vreugdenhil, Logan Coates, Carter Kunopaski, Richard Wang, Sam Weedmark, Kent Greer, Aydin Beharie, James Rosenberg, Isaac Tracze, Dylan Nobili, Cameron Lockhart, Cam Warren, Jax Pereira, Parker Vaughan, Ewan McChesney, Maverick Hill.
Green goals: Kipfer 2, Cali, Nei, Rivet, Edwards.
White goals: Vaughan 2, McChesney, Pereira, Hill.
