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Ben attended the Tornado
July Tryout Camp and was selected to play in the All-Star
games. He could be a good addition to the 2007-2008 Tornado. |
Ex-Buc looks to jump ship, skate in Stars organization
By LISA COLONNO
Des Moines Register Staff Writer
July 23, 2007
Ben Van Lare skated against a trio of current
Dallas Stars prospects while playing major junior hockey in Canada.
He got to know them in Des Moines while he played
for the Des Moines Buccaneers and they skated for the Iowa Stars.
Now they will all come together at the Dallas
Stars' development camp that runs today through Saturday at Dr
Pepper StarCenter in Frisco, Texas.
Thirty-two Dallas prospects, including some of
last season's Iowa Stars, recent Dallas draft picks and a handful of
undrafted players like Van Lare, will compete in on- and off-ice
workouts and activities.
"I'm looking to play minor pro somewhere," Van
Lare said. "I'm hoping to find out what I need to work on and how I
can further my career."
Scott White, Iowa's director of hockey operations,
said the camp introduces young players and draft picks to the
professional game, Dallas' staff, a nutritionist and allows Dallas
to touch base with players during summer training.
The camp concludes with a Saturday skills
competition.
"We'll do some on-ice stuff; some skills and
skating," White said. "But not put them in a super highly
competitive environment. It's just to give them some ideas.
"This will be the first time some of these guys
will be on their own. So it's more of some life lessons; learn some
basic recipes from the nutritionist."
Van Lare, 19, played the past two seasons in the
U.S. Hockey League with the Buccaneers. He is unable to play college
hockey, however, because he played parts of three seasons in
Canada's Western Hockey League, which is considered professional by
the NCAA.
The Dallas native received a call from Texas
Tornado coach Dwight Mullins, who is helping with Dallas' camp,
asking if Van Lare was interested in attending. He then received an
official letter inviting him to Frisco.
"The camp allows us to expose kids from Texas into
the world of the Dallas Stars," White said. "It's a chance for them
to see what it's all about."
Van Lare skated in Canada against forwards John
Lammers and Konstantin Pushkarev and defenseman Mark Fistric, who
all played for the Iowa Stars last season.
They will be joined at the camp by defensemen Matt
Niskanen and Matt Nickerson, and forwards Paul Szczechura and Marty
Sertich, who played in Iowa in 2006-07, and B.J. Crombeen, who
skated for Iowa in 2005-06.
Dallas 2007 draft picks Nico Sacchetti, Colton
Sceviour, Austin Smith, Jamie Benn, Ondrej Roman, Michael Neal and
Luke Gazdic are on the camp roster.
White said forwards like James Neal, who had 65
points for Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League last season, and
Aaron Gagnon, who had 80 points for Seattle of the WHL, are
potential players for Iowa next season.
"The experience is going to be the biggest thing
for me and building a relationship with a pro team," Van Lare said.
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