| Welcome to the 2008 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp Blog. My name is Carly Peters and I'll be bringing you the latest camp news in this space. Feel free to e-mail me questions at carlyp@usahockey.org and I'll try to answer them as soon as possible in future posts. August 10: Goodbye Lake Placid I can’t believe it, but the camp is over and the time has already come for me to head home. I’m feeling a mix of emotions right now: shock that the week went by so quickly, happy to be heading back to normal work hours, sad that camp is over and there are no more hockey games to watch, but mostly thankful that I was able to come and experience the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in wonderful Lake Placid. It was definitely busy, but I wouldn’t want to be busy doing anything else. The players left extremely early this morning, as a result of having the first flights of the day out of Albany which is a two-hour trip from the rink. I am now at the Olympic Training Center with some athletes in training relaxing and watching the U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team take on China before I have to leave and catch a flight of my own. It was a fantastic ten days in Lake Placid. I’d like to take this time to thank the great staff at the Olympic Training Center for making our stay so comfortable. I would also like to thank the Olympic Regional Development Authority for helping us execute this successful event. I enjoyed getting to know the players throughout the week and I’d especially like to recognize the Team and Camp staffs for making me feel so welcome and also for working tirelessly to make the camp run smoothly. The trainers kept the players in top shape, the equipment managers continuously worked so both teams had all their needs met, and the coaches and evaluators utilized all of the talent on the ice. I had a great time with all of them. A special thanks goes out to Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, for showing me the ropes in Lake Placid. As for the purpose of our time in Lake Placid, I was extremely impressed by the high level of competitiveness and hockey skill shown by all the players. I’m happy that USA Hockey looks to have such a bright future and do not envy the coaches who have to sort through this amazing group of talent to select the team that will play at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Ottawa this December. James van Riemsdyk led all U.S. players with seven points (6-1) in four games of competition. A total of 32 players recorded at least one point in the eight games played. Using the IIHF standards, USA Blue and White combined for a 4 -1-2-1 record (W-OTW-OTL-L) against Finland and Sweden. The games were extremely entertaining and competitive and I am eager to watch the U.S. take on the world in December. Be sure to stay tuned to usahockey.com for all of the latest updates on the 2009 U.S. National Junior Team. Also, you can learn about all my duties and projects as the 2008-09 Brian Fishman Intern on my blog. Thanks for reading! Carly |