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Clippers camping at Tilbury

B.C. Hockey League club wraps up four-days of prospect sessions
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Nanaimo Clippers wrapped up a four-day prospects camp on Sunday at Tilbury Arena.

The road to the Nanaimo Clippers’ future took them through Ladner last weekend.

The B.C. Hockey League club ran a four-day prospects camp at Tilbury Arena to identify talent for next season and beyond. 

The Clippers have close ties to the city with GM and head coach Darren Naylor having enjoyed plenty of success with the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s Delta Ice Hawks before heading to Nanaimo.

The club also hosted prospects camp in Sicamous and the top players from both sessions will be invited to another camp in Nanaimo — April 12-14.

“It’s funny what a difference a year makes. I had one returning player so I was looking hard. This year is more about identifying 2002 and 2003 kids and bringing them to the next camp,” said Naylor. “There’s not going to be a big turnover this coming season but there definitely will be the next.”

The Delta Hockey Academy was well-represented at the Tilbury camp which was no surprise given Naylor’s recruiting trends in the past. Among the DHA players was 16-year-old blueliner Jack O’Brien who the club has already committed to. He played for DHA’s Elite 15s and was a member of Team BC at the Canada Winter Games. 

“I like the Delta Hockey Academy kids,” smiled Naylor.  “That program has always been good for me over the years and I have taken a lot of those kids.”

Some players from Naylor’s former team were also among the camp participants looking to get his attention. 

Liam Visram is a lock to join the Clippers next season after being the Ice Hawks’ best dman this past season and playing 10 games as a call-up.

That will give Naylor three blueliners from Delta’s 2017-18 league championship team — joining Aiden Hansen-Bukata and Isiah Hendricks.

In Naylor’s first full-season behind the bench, the Clippers finished with a 27-30-1-0 record and lost in five games to Powell River in the opening round of the BCHL playoffs.