By Scott Roblin

Championship aspirations high at Bandits training camp

Aug 27, 2017 | 9:44 AM

BROOKS, AB – The quest for a ‘three-peat’ kicked off this weekend for the Brooks Bandits.

Training camp for the back-to-back AJHL champions got underway at Centennial Regional Arena on Friday night, with 40 players trying to crack the lineup.

On Saturday in the second of three scrimmages, Team Navy held on for a 5-4 victory over Team Red.

After losing in the RBC Cup finals in overtime this past spring, the Bandits are hungry to get back to the promise land.

They’ll have to do it without arguably the greatest player in franchise history, defenceman Cale Makar.

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After another MVP-calibre season with Brooks, Makar was selected fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2017 NHL Draft and is off to the University of Massachusetts.

The Makar family connection to Brooks could continue this season however, as Cale’s brother Taylor is in the hunt for a roster spot.

The younger Makar said he’s learned a lot about the organization not just from the veterans at camp, but also from his MVP sibling.

“They’re around you the whole week and weekend,” said Makar. “Just giving you tips, everything to crack the lineup, keep telling you what you’re doing right and how to improve your game. And, they know my brother so [they’ll] tell him and he’ll talk to me too, tell me what to do.”

One of the returning veterans will be forward Conner Jean, who is set to enter his final junior season with the Bandits.

Acquired from the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings midway through the 2016-17 campaign, Jean posted 24 points in 22 regular season games with the Bandits, and picked up 16 points in 13 playoff games.

Jean said with the pre-season just a few days away, the team needs to shake off any rust accumulated over the course of the summer.

“It’s really important to set the bar high,” said Jean. “The energy level has got to be there, paying attention to detail. We got to start off hot, it’s big.”

The Bandits open the pre-season on Tuesday night with a home game against the Okotoks Oilers, with puck drop set for 7:00 pm at Centennial Regional Arena.

Brooks gets the regular season going on September 15 in Okotoks.