Osoyoos Coyotes’ winger Nick Kapusty drops his gloves during a 2011-12 season game at the Sun Bowl Arena. The Coyotes will be holding their annual spring prospects camp this weekend at the Sun Bowl Arena. File photo.

After being eliminated during the first round of their playoff series against the Kelowna Chiefs earlier this year, the Osoyoos Coyotes are looking ahead, beginning with their annual spring prospects camp this weekend.
“We’re just going to look for kids that got the right makeup, know what it takes to compete and not lose their edge once something doesn’t go right for them,” said Ken Law, Coyotes head coach who is currently in talks for renewing his contract for the 2012-13 season.
Law said they are expecting about 80 players to make it out to their spring camp, which will run all weekend, from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon.
Over the three days, players will participate in one practice, four games, and finally, an all-star game will be held on Sunday to wrap things up. There will also be two different goalie sessions and a brief seminar.
Law said that this year, much like last, they are going to be on the lookout for a few key characteristics that really make a quality hockey player.
“We’re looking for good speed, (the ability to) read the ice really well and a team player,” said Law. “It’s important that we get a good read of these guys off the ice, as well as on the ice. We need that character kid who’s going to come in and be the type of Coyote that we need him to be in a small community like Osoyoos.”
Coming off of last season’s disappointing finish, Law said that was simply a situation where the better team did not prevail.
“They (Kelowna) went on to do well in the finals against Beaver Valley, but I think at the end of the day, whether or not they beat us, we just had a couple of mental breakdowns,” said Law.
“I think we just panicked.”
Law encouraged as many residents as possible to come out on Saturday and Sunday to get a look at what the new Coyotes are going to look like. Games on Saturday will run all day, beginning at 9 a.m., while the all-star game on Sunday will start at noon and run until about 2 p.m.