Camus, Chicago looking forward to S75 and beyond

[solas 1,951]

Things are starting to look up for the Chicago Phoenix.  Despite starting their existence as the worst team in the VHL in Season 73, the slow rebuild approach by the front office appears to be paying dividends when looking at the current roster.  Chicago has built a strong young core around the talents of goaltender Jean-Pierre Camus, defenseman Matty Socks, and forwards Christian Mingle and Lee Xin thanks to quality draft picks in their early seasons.  

 

And things seem to only be looking up for their third year.  The Phoenix were able to acquire a second first-round pick from Calgary in order to select the duo of L and R, along with some quality prospects in Jordan Tate and Steve Eso in the second and third rounds.  But they haven’t just been making moves for the future - the team also brought in retiring defenseman and former Valiq Trophy winner Jeff Downey in order to flesh out the blueline.  The addition of Downey to an already quickly-developing roster seems like a signal of intent after two years of missing the playoffs: they’ve spent time rebuilding, but now their window to compete is starting to open.

 

It’s a message that seems to be echoed by the players themselves.  “I feel really good about our team right now”, says JP Camus.  “I knew the situation was going to be what it was for the first couple seasons when I came here.  Over that time we’ve stocked up on a lot of great young talent, though.  This is a team that hasn’t hit its peak yet.  And when we do hit that peak it’s gonna be really fun to watch.  Adding a veteran like Downey who’s coming off of a continental cup win with Vancouver is really helpful too, it’s great to have a guy in the locker room who’s been there and done that.  Even if he’ll only be here for one season I think his experience can rub off on us.  And I really like the guys we picked up in the draft this year.  I think we’ve got a lot of success ahead of us.”