Recruiting never really stops. We’re always looking for the next Canuck — at tournaments, at showcases, on Sunday nights at our own Summer Development & Prospect Skates, and through the players and families who tell us about someone we should see.
But selection for the following season begins in earnest in May, at Main Camp.
What it is
Main Camp is our spring tryout, held over three days at the Gale Centre. Up to ninety players take part: prospects who’ve applied and been invited, along with rostered and affiliated players from the season just finished.
Players are divided into four teams. Each team plays the other three once, so every player gets three games — not a skills session, and not a scrimmage at the end of a long skate. Three real games, with referees, a scorekeeper, a timekeeper and game music, in front of our entire management and coaching staff.
What every player gets
- Three full games with referees, scorekeeper, timekeeper and music
- Feedback from our head coach, during camp and in the days that follow
- Evaluation by our entire management and coaching staff
Goaltenders also take part in a separate goaltending session, run by our goaltender coach.
What comes out of it
Roster spots are offered during the camp and in the days that follow, to the players our staff judge to have earned them. In a typical year we make offers to twelve to fifteen prospects, alongside most of our returning rostered players and some of our affiliated players.
Those are real numbers, and they’re worth understanding. A dozen or more places on an Ontario Junior Hockey League roster are decided at this camp every spring.
Affiliated player spots
We’re permitted to carry only fourteen affiliated players, and they have to cover the right positions. For that reason we don’t take applications for affiliated spots. Our coaching staff offer them directly, during camp or in the days that follow, based on what the roster needs.
Attending Main Camp is how you’re considered. There’s nothing further to apply for.
Who can apply
To be considered for an invitation, a player must:
- Be fifteen to twenty years of age as of December 31 of that year. For our 2027 Main Camp, that means born between 2007 and 2012.
- Have played Junior or AAA hockey, or the equivalent, in the season just completed.
Priority is given to players from the Niagara Region. This is a Niagara team, and we’d rather develop a Niagara player than import one.
Players who turn fifteen in that calendar year — born in 2012 for our 2027 camp — are eligible to attend, but can only be offered an affiliated player spot rather than a roster spot.
Dates and cost
Dates and cost for our 2027 Main Camp are to be determined.
For reference, our 2026 Main Camp ran from May 1 to 3, and cost $399 plus HST, in Canadian funds. Dates and cost for 2027 will be posted here. Apply below and we’ll be in touch with dates, cost, acceptance and payment instructions.
Apply for our 2027 Main Camp
Complete the application below. We read every one.
Not yet eligible, or not ready?
Our Summer Development & Prospect Skates run on Sunday nights through July and August, and every year training camp invitations come out of them. The 2027 sessions will be open to players born as recently as 2015, so a player too young for Main Camp can still get on our radar. Come to a game, too, and see the level you’d be playing at.
Where to next
- Summer Development & Prospect Skates — Six Sunday sessions, and a look at our staff before camp.
- Training Camp — The last step before the season opens.
- Game Day Tickets — See the team you want to play for. $15 at the door, cash only.
