Troops hold orientation camp and welcome top draft pick

The North Bay Battalion held their annual orientation camp on the weekend.

35 prospects took part in the event, which included fitness testing and two intra-squad games, with Team White winning both.

Assistant General Manager Matt Rabideau liked what he saw this weekend and says they have a great skating crop.

The weekend was a chance for the drafted and free agent players and their families to see North Bay and get used to their OHL home.

Rabideau says with the training camp coming up in August they will expect to see improvement from the off ice testing results on Saturday.

He’s excited for players like Brandon Coe and Simon Rose, the top two team picks in the OHL Priority Selection this spring.

Coe says it’ll be a learning process, as it’s a big jump to the OHL.

He was welcomed to the team by owner Scott Abbott as he received his Battalion jersey. He says he will have to get stronger and faster as he prepares to start his OHL career in the fall.

Coe says it was quite competitive this weekend with more hitting.

He says he’ll be up against bigger players at camp, so he needs to be ready.