Vipers Narrow Down Prospects:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Vipers narrow down prospects

By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning StarPublished: August 24, 2008 10:00 AM

If paring an 80-man roster down to 40 players after three days of camp wasn’t difficult enough, the Vernon Vipers’ coaches and scouts will face an even more onerous task in selecting the final 23-man squad.“Camp has been very good, there have been some pleasant surprises,” said Vipers’ assistant coach Jason Williamson, after the first cuts were made. “We’re down to two teams, and we’re going to have some very tough decisions to make. The guys have really put the work in over the summer, and there are lots of guys pushing for spots on the team.”One of those pleasant surprises has been the play of Irvine, Calif. product Cory Kane, a big forward with impressive speed and playmaking ability.“Cory Kane has been very good,” said Williamson. “He’s a player that just kind of fell in our lap and we’ve been very impressed with him. The guys that we’ve signed already (Adam Thompson, Brett Switzer and Steven Weinstein) have been good for us, too.“We’re just going to put the best team on the ice. Whether it’s a returning player or a rookie, it’s whoever’s the best player.”With quite a few imports left in camp, Williamson admitted it’ll be a challenge to whittle the number down to the eight allowed.“That’s going to be a pretty tough decision because we’ve got some pretty good import players,” said Williamson. “We’re a little bit over, so we’re going to have to make some pretty tough calls for some pretty good players who are going to have to get released here.”The picture is a little bit clearer for the Vipers on the 20-year-old front. With Chris Crowell, netminder Andrew Hammond, Cody Ikkala and Ryan Santana likely to occupy ‘88 cards, the Vipers will have two more to play with.For Santana, he’s just happy to finally be battling for a roster spot on the Vipers. “Vernon has always been a great team for a lot of years, and getting out here and playing with the guys and seeing the talented group we have and the great coaches we have has just been awesome,” said Santana, who split last season between the U.S. Hockey League and North American Hockey League. “I just want to go out there and give it my all.“Talent-wise, the USHL, NAHL and BCHL seem to be very close. The grittiness and tough play seem to be very similar, but I think here there seems to be a little bit more of an offensive style, compared to back in the States where a lot of the coaches are more defensive.”Santana came close to trying out for the Vipers a few years ago while he was still playing Midget hockey in Chicago, but he got drafted by the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, and decided to hold off for fear of problems arising around transfer rights.“But it’s good to finally get here,” added Santana.With Hammond’s strong showing at camp thus far, he has all but locked up the Vipers’ No. 1 starting role.“Hammond has been our definite No. 1,” said Williamson. “He’s been the best player in camp, and other than that, there’s been a few guys pushing for that backup spot.” After being picked up by the Tri-City Americans midway through last season, Kevin Kraus developed into a reliable d-man for the Vipers down the stretch. It’s a trend he hopes to continue this season.“I want to have a good year, and hopefully we can go all the way (to the RBC Cup) this year. Right now, I’m just trying to getting my legs going and my timing going for hitting and passing, and getting all the rust out.“We’re going to have a pretty solid dee this year with a couple big boys in me, (Kyle) Bigos and Ikkala, a couple shifty guys in (Steven) Weinstein and (Steve) Tresierra, and the new guy Thompson.”Vipers fans have had the opportunity to see the Vernon hopefuls in a series of three intra-squad games, the last of which goes tonight at Wesbild Centre (7 p.m.). The annual Blue & White Intra-squad game went last night.The Snakes will have two exhibition games, both against the Salmon Arm SilverBacks. The first goes Saturday at the Sunwave Centre, the second Sunday at the Revelstoke Forum. Vernon will open the regular season with a home-and-home series with the ‘Backs, starting Friday, Sept. 5 at Wesbild Centre before returning to Sunwave on Saturday, Sept. 6.