Seventeen-year-old defenseman Tyler Strath is confident that he’ll earn a spot on the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Kootenay Ice.
“I’m feeling pretty confident in myself, I just need to keep it simple,” said Strath.
He is currently competing for a spot on the Ice’s roster at their training camp.
“Camp’s definitely going really well,” he said.
Strath, played a regular season game with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last year as well as pre-season games, was traded by the Hurricanes to the Ice.
So far Strath is happy with the move out to BC.
“I really like the coaching staff they have a lot of experience between them,” said Strath.
He said that the coaches are all former NHL and professional hockey players.
“The team seems really good too,” said Strath, “a great group of guys.”
In his quest to secure a place on the team, Strath said that his skating ability is his strongest asset.
“I’ve worked hard at it the last couple of years,” he said.
“It’s really improved.”
Along with his skating, Strath’s strategy at camp is to keep things simple.
“Trying to not complicate things, make the right pass…make it fast and crisp,” he said.
Compared to his minor hockey career, Strath said that playing in the WHL is a much faster game and takes a lot of skill to compete in.
“It’s definitely a lot faster, a lot bigger guys,” he said.
The key to success both at camp and in the league is paying attention to the little things.
“You’ve got to pay more attention to the details, you’ve got to focus on…how to execute things right,” said Strath.
The Kootenay Ice’s training camp continues to mid-September when Strath will find out if he has made the cut.
