Battalion opens camp
A total of 56 skaters and goaltenders were listed as the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion opened a four-day training camp Monday.
The total comprised 31 forwards, 18 defencemen and seven goaltenders, with all but two in attendance. Defenceman Kent Greer was to arrive Monday after dealing with an illness, and forward Evgeny Dubrovtsev, a first-round selection in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in July, was to reach North Bay on Tuesday after a flight delay in travel from his native Russia.
Camp attendees underwent medicals and fitness testing before taking to the ice for Team Green and Team White practices.
Twenty-three veterans who played with the Troops last season were among those present. They included forward Adam Smeeton, defencemen Declan Gallivan and Sam Rivet and goaltender Carter Nadon, each of whom saw action in one game.
Others listed included all 15 picks from the 2025 OHL Priority Selection, eight from the 2024 Priority Selection and one from the 2023 process. There were two picks from the 2025 Under-18 Priority Selection and two from the 2025 CHL Import Draft. Four free-agent invitees participated, as well as former free-agent rearguard Brandt Harper, who signed an education and development agreement with North Bay after playing last season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League.
Holdover defenceman Bronson Ride and free-agent forward Daks Klinkhammer were the only overagers. Klinkhammer, a sixth-round choice by the Flint Firebirds in the 2021 Priority Selection, has played 101 OHL games over three seasons with Flint and the Sudbury Wolves. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with the junior A Greater Sudbury Cubs.
A pair of intrasquad games goes Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Admission to Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens for the games is free.
There are a further two intrasquad games Wednesday and one Thursday, with camp breaking by early afternoon.
