Kootenay Ice head coach Luke Pierce has been named as a staff member for the Western Hockey League’s U.S. Prospects Camp for a second consecutive year.
The camp, which will be held at the Anaheim Ice Facility in Anaheim, California, from April 22 to 24, 2017, will be marking its twelfth year as an evaluation camp for American-born WHL prospects.
Pierce will be joined by fellow WHL coaches David Anning of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Dean Brockman of the Saskatoon Blades, and Don Hay of the Kamloops Blazers.
Pierce is the only returning coach from the 2016 edition of the camp.
According to the WHL’s press release, “the WHL U.S. Prospects Camp in Anaheim will provide a unique opportunity for American-born hockey players to participate with other top-ranked 2002-born players” and “is open only to U.S. residents born in 2002 who live in the western United States, including Alaska.”
Pierce will be at the helm of ‘Team Gray’ with help from assistant coach Tim Kraus, a former WHLer with the Vancouver Giants and Regina Pats from Canyon Lake, California.
The camp is of crucial importance for American players looking to play in the WHL as “virtually all of the WHL’s 22 member Clubs will be in attendance to evaluate players’ abilities and potential to compete at the WHL level” and “of the over 50 American-born players currently on WHL rosters, the majority attended a WHL U.S. Prospects Camp in previous years.”
The Ice did not have any American-born player on their 2016-17 roster.