The Halifax Mooseheads have 63 players scheduled to report to training camp on Aug. 19 at Cole Harbour Place.
That number includes 17 players who skated in at least one game with the Mooseheads in 2008-09 as well as 20-year-old forward Yuri Cheremetiev, who is currently trying out for CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League.
That’s a big jump from the 48 at last year’s camp, a move designed to push veterans for their roster spots.
“The bigger camp makes it more competitive,” said Mooseheads head coach and general manager Cam Cam Russell.
There are 19 invites at camp and the positional breakdown is 33 forwards, 19 defencemen and 11 goalies.
A fighting ban has been lifted at this year’s camp and practices have been axed. Five-on-five scrimmages will run 10 a.m. to noon and 7 to 9 p.m. at Cole Harbour Place from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21.
The Mooseheads open the QMJHL pre-season in Cornwall, P.E.I., against the P.E.I. Rocket on Aug. 22.
