Western PEP prospects camp at Kal Tire Place North in Vernon (Pete McIntyre/Vernon Matters photo)

By Pete McIntyre

Kal Tire Place North

Top young hockey prospects training in Vernon

Jul 14, 2021 | 10:10 AM

Some of hockey’s top young talents are at Kal Tire Place North in Vernon this week, including highly-touted 15-year-old prospect Connor Bedard who will be at the camp on Thursday.

The young forward from North Vancouver, who plays for the WHL’s Regina Pats, is part of a Western Prospects Camp put on by Power Edge Pro (PEP) Hockey and the Training House from July 13-16.

Elite prospects from Western Canada, aged 14 to 17, are involved in training and drills.

PEP Hockey trains many of the top NHL players, including Connor McDavid.

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Joe Quinn, CEO and founder of Power Edge Pro Hockey, said the players are focusing on high-speed countering and manovering drills through the PEP gear.

“There is a lot of physical demands on the hands, the feet and the mind simultaneously. It works on their speed, everything that supports the new game, like stick-on-puck, moving pucks to space, working on tight area training with their edge control, and basically becoming multi-taskers, moving their hands and feet at the same time,” Quinn told Vernon Matters.

“The easing of province-wide health restrictions has helped make it possible to host these top athletes in Vernon, 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,” Christy Poirier, manager of communications and grants with the City of Vernon, told Vernon Matters.

Quinn said they normally run the camp in Kelowna every year, but with new refrigeration units going in there, Kal Tire Place North became available.

“It’s been fantastic. Great location here. It’s our first year here coming to Vernon. Beautiful new facility. The staff has been wonderful, the city has been awesome, so we’re hoping we’ll be be back here again next year,” Quinn said.