The Estevan Bruins season may be done, but the work rolls on for Chris Lewgood and the rest of his staff as they host their annual spring camp at Affinity Place, beginning Thursday, April 26.

"We see a lot of our listed and drafted players from the last couple of years," said Bruins director of player personnel Cole Zahn. "The biggest thing we want to see is how exactly they've been developing over the last little bit and how much work they've been putting in in the offseason, since most of these teams are in their offseason already."

The age and experience of the players will vary wildly, as some are attending their first such camp, while others already have junior-A games under their belts. They are, however, largely skating against their peers in this camp.

"It's always nice to see these players playing against players they've played against before," Zahn said. "We've also got some kids here for the first time, some out of province and out of country players."

Developing both groups of players is paramount during the camp running from Thursday to Sunday. For most players at that age, getting stronger and faster are top priorities.

"When we're recruiting players, we're looking for guys that can skate," said Zahn. "We're a hihgly skilled team that focuses a lot on skating ability. If they're really good skaters that's a skillset you can't teach a whole lot of. You can take power skating courses but fluid skaters are hard to come by."

"Then the strength," he added. "If you get up into the junior-A ranks you're going up against twenty year olds and you've got to be pretty strong to get into the corner and battle with those guys. We tell they guys, get in the gym and put in the work as much as you can, but don't take away from your speed."

The camp will be a mix of practices and games, with players coming from as far away as Montana, while some are as close as the Bruins own back yard. While no free ice is given to the locals, the Bruins would like to get some Estevan-born players on board.

"We want to try to get local guys into our system as much as we can," Zahn said. "We love to see those guys in Bruins uniforms. It's always nice for fan support when you've got local guys on your roster. We'll be working with those guys as much as we can."

Registration for the camp is at 4:00 Thursday, with on-ice work beginning immediately after.