WHL pre-season up next for Calgary Hitmen in helping to shape roster

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Camp is complete.

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Prospects have been primed.

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Now, it’s time for live-action games to help the Calgary Hitmen shape their roster for the coming Western Hockey League campaign.

“Pre-season is the next step,” Hitmen head coach Steve Hamilton said. “And then the evolution of the regular season from where it starts to September to where it ends in March is a consistent climb of improvement, and you need your guys to match that.”

His “guys,”, however, have yet to be determined.

Hamilton did get a first look at 77 players — including some 17 returning from last year’s roster — with a four-day camp last weekend.

But four pre-season games, beginning with Friday night’s visit from the Red Deer Rebels at Siksika Deerfoot Sportsplex (7 p.m.), helps to further make decisions on what personnel will suit up for the local top-tier junior hockey club this season.

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“We want guys to shine individually, but shine within the framework,” Hamilton said. “You don’t put down a ton of framework during three days of practice (leading up to the pre-season games), but we’ll certainly have a chance to at least start to put that down, and we want our guys to pick it up and be able to play with better structure than they would in a training camp.”

After Friday’s pre-season opener, the Hitmen line up Saturday against the host Edmonton Oil Kings at Enoch Recreation Centre (6 p.m.).

They then play Thursday, Sept. 14, against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes at Tsuut’ina Nation’s Seven Chiefs Sportsplex (7 p.m.).

And finally on Friday, Sept. 15, the Hitmen rematch the host Rebels in at Red Deer’s Peavey Mart Centrium (7 p.m.).

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“We’ll have bigger numbers, but some of our guys we’ve got to make some decisions on,” Hamilton said. “Our younger players who are signed and part of the organization, we have to give them an opportunity. That’s what the first weekend (of pre-season games) will be about. It’ll be a balance of veteran players in there. But for the most part, we’ll have some pretty young lineups, and you want to give those guys a chance to make the team.

“If you can’t give them the opportunity and the minutes to show themselves, then it’s not really fair. So younger guys will probably play both games and get that experience, and we’ll sprinkle some veteran presence in.”

Joining the Hitmen fray as of Wednesday is 15-year-old goaltender Eric Tu, who was signed by the club to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.

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A product of White Rock, B.C., the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Tu was selected by the Hitmen in the second round — 31st overall — of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft for 2008-born players. Tu finished the 2022-23 season with B.C.’s St. George’s School U15 Prep, recording a 2.73 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.

“Eric is a prototypical new pro-style goalie with incredible athleticism,” Hitmen director of hockey operations Garry Davidson said. “He is mature beyond his age, and we are very excited to get Eric into the Hitmen program.”

LOOSE PUCKS

The HItmen need to get themselves down to 25 players — including a maximum three 20-year-olds and two imports — by Oct. 10, which is a little more than two weeks into the season … The season opener for the Hitmen’s 68-game WHL regular-season goes Friday, Sept. 22, against the Medicine Hat Tigers at the Dome (7 p.m.) … Three Hitmen veterans are preparing for NHL camps: Winger Sean Tschigerl (Los Angeles Kings); centre Oliver Tulk (Calgary Flames) and defenceman Tyson Galloway (Flames).

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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