Terrier scout talks strategy for MJHL Prospect Camp

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League's annual prospect camp is getting started today in Winnipeg. 

The five-day event sees players born between 2004 and 2007 take the ice in different groups to showcase their skills in front of MJHL, university, and college scouts. Half of these players are already in an MJHL system, while the others are hoping to hear their name called as a selection in either the 2023 or 2024 entry draft.

Portage Terriers' scout Angus Moar will be attending the event and says he always gets excited about this specific camp.

"It's something that you look forward to. It's put right in the middle of our downtime, so it keeps you involved," Moar explains. "I like it, it's fun to go to, and you see everyone that you need to see."

He says this gives them a great opportunity to see how players have progressed in the last few months, and the scout adds it's always beneficial to see how the players' skills hold up against their peers.

Moar says this camp can sometimes help them find out if a prospect will be ready to make the jump to the MJHL this coming season. He talks about one current Terrier, who really caught his eye at this camp previously.

"Matt Wisener really flew around the ice when we saw him at this thing a few years ago," Moar continues. "We liked him before, but after this camp, we really liked him. We happened to be lucky enough to be able to get him."

Wisener had already been drafted by the OCN Blizzard at that point, however, the Terriers made a trade to acquire his rights in October of 2020. The following season (last year), Wisener made a huge impact on the team playing a majority of the season on the first line while also leading the team in points with 43. 

Moar says oftentimes they focus on scouting the players who are not in their system.

"We probably watch other teams' players more than we watch ours. We already have a pretty good idea of where our guys are," Moar notes. "We want to find out for future reference what these other players can do."

The scout describes the type of things they tend to look for from prospects at this event. 

"Blake (Spiller) likes guys who can skate. You have to be able to skate for us," says Moar. "Blake likes those guys and the smart guys. So, we look for the guys who make the smart plays and the guys that can get around the ice well."

The MJHL Prospect Camp kicks off today and will be running until Sunday at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg.