As the Calgary Roughnecks enter their final weekend of training camp, they have two scrimmages scheduled. After that, the front office has some tough decisions to make.
Their first challenge of the weekend will be a scrimmage against the Minnesota Swarm on Saturday afternoon at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville, ON. The Roughnecks will be facing a retooled Swarm roster that has already won two scrimmages in the pre-season.
The biggest change for the Swarm, compared to last year, is the absence of Ryan Benesch who was traded to the Buffalo Bandits over the summer. The hole left by the Benesch trade is expected to be filled by first-overall draft pick Logan Schuss, who has notched six goals already in pre-season action.
On the Calgary side of things, it was a good news day on Friday when it was announced that forward Curtis Dickson and defenseman Scott Carnegie have re-signed with the Roughnecks adding two more key pieces to the puzzle. That should make them even more competitive this weekend.
Last weekend the Roughnecks outlasted the Vancouver Stealth by a 9-8 score on the strength of a Dane Dobbie hat trick. Adding Dickson into the mix gives them arguably the most dangerous right side as well, with Dickson and Shawn Evans feeding off each other.
While head coach Curt Malawsky has been happy with what he’s seen from this year’s draft crop, he and general manager Mike Board still have some decisions to make coming out the back door.
Tor Reinholdt, Karsen Leung and Garrett McIntosh all big size and youthful vigour to the roster, but with just 20 spots available and a number of veterans fighting hard to retain their spots, it will be interesting to see how things play out over the next two days.
The Swarm and Roughnecks scrimmage gets underway at 1:30 ET at the TRAC. The Riggers then travel to Hagersville to take on the Rochester Knighthawks at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena bright and early at 11:30 ET.
