It’s an organization that counts among its clientele current National Hockey League superstars Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall, John Tavares, Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Stanley Cup finalist Josh Anderson of the Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto-based Power Edge Pro (PEP) Hockey was in Vernon July 13-16 conducting the PEP Talk Prospects Camp for Western Canada’s elite hockey players born between 2002 and 2007 at Kal Tire Place North.
“The players are going through reactive training,” said PEP owner and CEO Joe Quinn. “There’s a lot of physical demands on the hands, the feet and the mind with high speed and high reactions. They have to move the pucks to space to find passing and shooting lanes so there’s a lot of pressure put on the body to make those actions come together simultaneously.”
Among the players taking part was North Vancouver’s Connor Bedard, 16, a projected potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft. Bedard, who plays for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats. Bedard became the first player to ever be granted exceptional status to play in the WHL at age 15, similar to McDavid at the same age in the Ontario Hockey League.
The camp is normally held annually in Kelowna but maintenance at the arena where the camp was slated to run forced a change of venue, with the City of Vernon stepping in and offering up Kal Tire Place North.
“The easing of provincewide health restrictions has helped make it possible to host these top athletes in Vernon,” said City of Vernon communications manager Christy Poirier. “So this is a great news story for our community and a positive sign for the continued progress of moving through B.C.’s Restart Plan.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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