Junior A Hockey Camp Brings the Province to Neepawa

While the Neepawa Titans’ season ended just shy of making the playoffs this year, they headed straight into their spring development camp to begin making plans for future seasons. Head Coach Ken Pearson is always on the lookout for prospects for the MJHL draft in June, but he also looks at the camp as a chance to give his current players the opportunity to run the practice and the games to let them pass their experiences down to the next set of players.

The camp not only plays host to potential draft picks for the team but also for players in the Neepawa minor hockey program just looking for experience playing at this level. The team is aspirational for many young players in the area, and while Neepawa is one of the smallest markets for an MJHL team, it has some of the most fervent supporters.

Both Pearson and billet coordinator Mary Ellen Clark talk about how the sport of hockey can change these young men’s lives. Most of them are living away from home for the first time and not only learning the sport of hockey at a higher level but also learning who they are as people.

Titans President Ken Waddell echoes those ideals, adding that all of the players who aren’t in school either have jobs or, in the case of players from the States who are unable to hold jobs in Canada, do volunteer work around the town. While a handful of players from the Neepawa Team have gone on to play in the NHL - including Shane Hnidy, son of Ed Hnidy whom we talk to in this story - many others will play in the WHL or play college hockey in Canada or the US. Many more will take the discipline and independence they learn as part of the team and go on to professional careers.

Players and their families from across the province and beyond come to town to play at the development camp, but that’s not the only economic benefit the team has for the town. Waddell estimates that over the life of the team it’s brought in about half a million dollars in income to the arena, and that’s before factoring in the spending in other businesses around the town. Pearson agrees that the camp doesn’t just introduce the team to the players but introduces the community to their families, showing it off as an exciting and promising place to be.