There weren't many surprises expected at Tri-City Americans camp this season.
Not with so many veteran players returning from last year's U.S. Division and Western Conference champions.
"Last year, we spent a lot of time implementing a change in system," said second-year coach Jim Hiller. "This year, the players know the system -- 17 of them, anyway. The vets have a good handle of how I want to do things, so there's a lot less stress."
That said, after three days of camp, here are three players opening the eyes of the coaches and scouts high up in the Toyota Center stands during scrimmages and down on the ice at practice.
D Sam Grist
Grist, a 17-year-old stay-at-home defenseman, is one of several blueliners the team is looking to replace the trio it lost from last season.
Grist, at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, had 2 goals, 4 assists and 55 penalty minutes in 45 games as a rookie last season for the Victoria Grizzlies Junior A team in the British Columbia Hockey League.
D Spencer Humphries
Humphries, an 18-year-old, is like Grist -- a stay-at-home D-man whom the team hopes will complement its more offensive-minded blueliners such as Zach Yuen.
"Humphries was here a little bit last year (he played in one game for the Ams)," said Hiller. "Both he and Grist are big guys who move pretty well. It's hard to find kids that size who move well."
Humphries, at 6-2, 213, had 2 goals, 12 assists and 80 penalty minutes in 49 games for the Westside Warriors, a rival of Victoria in the BCHL Junior A. He also held his own when things got rough (see video at end of story).
F Gabe Rapitta
Rapitta, a 16-year-old, played left wing for the Yorktown AAA Midget team last season, notching only 6 goals and 9 assists in 43 games while racking up 56 penalty minutes.
An undrafted player who originally was listed by Kamloops, he chose Tri-City over several other teams thanks in large part to new head scout Barclay Parneta, who was the first to contact Rapitta after the Blazers released him and the only head scout to do so.
Rapitta had a strong rookie camp, capping his performance with two goals in the annual Blue-White Game, and he's continued to wow the coaches at main camp.
"He was somebody I knew nothing about before camp," Hiller said. "But he's continued to impress each and every day. He's impressed the coaches, the scouts and the veteran players."
Rapitta's biggest challenge is the veteran nature of the Americans roster. With 10 forwards returning, there are likely no more than four roster spots up for grabs.
Further, Hiller doesn't anticipate carrying more than two 16-year-old forwards. With 2009 top bantam pick Connor Rankin almost a sure thing to make the team, that leaves Rapitta battling against Dylan Fluter, Matt Hughesman and Marcus Messier for that second spot.
"The competition to make this team is really tough," Hiler said. "We return so many forwards. It's always a tough decision (who to keep). We have to decide what will make (a player) the best at 17."
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The team released five players and reassigned another following Wednesday's scrimmage as it readies for its first preseason action this weekend at the Everett Silvertips Tournament.
Goalies Ross Baadsvik and Jay Hudon, defensemen Josh Cronan and Brett Pile, and forward Mitch Owsley (the younger brother of Ams G Drew Owsley) were released.
F Lucas Nickles, meanwhile, was reassigned to his Golden Junior B team.
Both 15-year-olds at main camp -- G Eric Comrie, the team's first-round bantam pick this summer, and LA Selects teammate F Trevor Moore -- will skate with the team today before heading back to Southern California to begin school and prepare for their Midget AAA season.
The Americans open the preseason at 3 p.m. Friday against Spokane.
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