Stephen R. Sylvanie / Special to the Sun
Las Vegas Wranglers head coach Ryan Mougenel skates through a group of players stretching during a free agent tryout the SoBe Ice Arena on Tuesday.
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 | 6 p.m.
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Expanded hockey coverage
Since taking the reins of the Las Vegas Wranglers in June, first-year head coach and general manager Ryan Mougenel has done nothing but anticipate the start of this season.
That anxious buildup is finally nearing an end as the Wranglers are set to start training camp on Friday morning at the SoBe Ice Arena in the Fiesta Rancho.
"I'm very excited. I've been talking hockey and thinking hockey nonstop for the past three months," Mougenel said. "I'm excited for the Wranglers and I'm excited to be a part of the San Antonio and Phoenix organizations as well."
Training camp opens with player physicals on Oct. 1 and then the team takes the ice on Friday. All practices at the SoBe Ice Arena are open to the public while on-ice sessions at the Orleans Arena are closed.
Although the Wranglers have not released an official training camp roster, the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League did send down two players on Monday.
The Rampage assigned forward Andrew Orpik and goaltender Joel Gistedt to Las Vegas.
Orpik, the younger brother of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, spent the past four years at Boston College. The Buffalo Sabres selected Orpik in the seventh round (No. 227) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Gistedt was the 36th overall draft pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Last season Gistedt posted a 4.15 goals against average and a .873 save percentage with the Arizona Sundogs of the CHL.
San Antonio also released Jason Reese, Mitch Fritz, Jay Henderson and Jesse Perrin on Monday. Some of these players could also end up in the Wranglers' camp.
"Just because of how summer has been and the economy, it's going to be an extremely competitive camp," Mougenel said. "Just because you've signed an ECHL contract doesn't mean you have a job. In the past if you had a contract you most likely made the team. Now, if you don't make the team you're going to be in a lot of trouble finding a job somewhere else. It's that competitive out there... I talked to Brad Treliving, the assistant GM in Phoenix, last night and he said our league is going to be like another AHL league because there is much talent."
The Wranglers' complete training camp schedule is as follows:
Friday, October 2 - 7:15 – 8:45 a.m. (SoBe Ice Arena)
Saturday, October 3 - 6:45 – 8:15 a.m. (SoBe Ice Arena)
Sunday, October 4 - 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. (SoBe Ice Arena)
Monday, October 5 - 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. (SoBe Ice Arena)
Tuesday, October 6 - 10:00 a.m. – Noon (Orleans Arena)
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (Orleans Arena)
Wednesday, October 7 - 10:15 am – Noon (Orleans Arena
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. (Orleans Arena)
Thursday, October 8 - 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (Orleans Arena)
7:05 p.m. Preseason Game vs. Ontario Reign (Orleans Arena)
Friday, October 9 - 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. (Orleans Arena)
7:00 p.m. Preseason Game vs. Ontario Reign (Center Ice Arena – Ontario, Calif.)
Saturday, October 10 - No Skate
Sunday, October 11 - No Skate
Monday, October 12 - TBD
Tuesday, October 13 - 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. (Orleans Arena)
Wednesday, October 1 - 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. (Orleans Arena)
Thursday, October 15 - 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. (Orleans Arena)
The Orleans Arena, a Boyd Gaming facility located just west of the Las Vegas Strip, is one of the nation’s leading mid-sized arenas, and was recently ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 5 internationally among venues of similar size by Venues Today Magazine.
The Arena hosts more than 200 events each year, including concerts by top names like Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Van Halen, Brooks & Dunn, Black Eyed Peas, Akon and Rihanna; family favorites like The Harlem Globetrotters and Circus Spectacular; and a wide variety of sporting events, including NCAA basketball tournaments, the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference Basketball Championships, mixed martial arts with Superior Cage Combat, and major motorsports events.
The arena serves as home to the Las Vegas Wranglers professional ECHL hockey team, the Las Vegas Legends professional indoor soccer team, and the Lingerie Football League’s Las Vegas Sin. Stay connected to the Orleans Arena on Facebook (www.facebook.com/orleansarena) and on Twitter (@orleansarena).
Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected].
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