Spokane Chiefs wrap up camp with local flair; Berkly Catton ‘ready to go’ for whatever season holds for him

Western Hockey League training camp means a lot of things to a lot of the people involved . The Red-White scrimmage at the conclusion of camp brings it all together.

For coaches, it provides the opportunity to evaluate talent and prepare for the upcoming season.

For returning players and signed prospects, it’s a chance to re-establish their place on the team. For drafted players, it’s time to get up-to-speed before they depart for NHL training camps.

For local player Benjamin Humphreys, it was an opportunity to play in an arena he visited so many times as a youngster, on the same ice his brothers did before him.

Humphreys, a 17-year-old Spokane native who was a camp invitee and spent last season with the Spokane Braves of the KIJHL, scored the game’s first two goals for Team Falloon.

But Team Grabner scored five straight goals – including a pair from returning forward Lukáš Král – to win the Chiefs Cup 5-4 Sunday in front of a lively crowd who escaped the late-summer heat inside a cool Spokane Arena.

“I’m just very grateful for the opportunity to come out here,” Humphreys said. “Knowing this could be my last time ever wearing a Chiefs jersey, like, it’s a true honor.”

The experience was a dream come true for the player who grew up attending Chiefs games.

“Coming here watching the games as a little kid, it’s a great, great arena, you know, and my brothers Josh and Derek came out here to camp before me, so I had an idea (of what to expect) … But just performing like I did, that’s just by the grace of God.”

“Credit to him, he’s put some work in. He had a good camp for us,” first-year Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “He worked hard, and again, happy to see a local kid do well. I think that’s always, always great to see.”

Lauer, who has coaching experience in the NHL and WHL after logging 323 NHL games as a player for four different clubs, concluded his first camp as bench boss for the Chiefs and was happy with how things went this week.

“Right from Day 1 – we had 80 or 81 kids here – I thought the competition and the scrimmages were competitive. A few of the games went to overtime, but I really liked the way we competed, where we battled against each other. And I think as this week went along, it got better and better.”

Lauer liked the mix of veteran players and invitees that suited up.

“Our scouts did a great job of bringing in some good, talented players,” he said. “At this age, there’s such a big difference between a 15-year-old and a 20-year-old. But to be able to see the young kids … do a good job and do well, that speaks to what our scouts have done in defining these kids.”

After making the playoffs last season – and putting in a bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup – everyone in the organization expects more this year.

“We always want to win. But there’s a way we’ve got to do it,” Lauer said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a good talent pool here. We’ve got good players. We have some good depth, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.

“It’s not given to you. There’s a lot of good teams in our league, but if we’re committed to doing what we want to do here in practice, making sure we’re doing the things to give ourselves a chance to get in the playoffs, and if we get in the playoffs, we can do some work, for sure.”

Catton stoked for season

It’s been a busy summer for Berkly Catton. The Chiefs’ leading scorer last season – with 54 goals, 116 points and seven short-handed goals – was the No. 8 overall pick in the NHL draft by the Seattle Kraken.

“It was kind of stressful leading up to the draft,” he said. “But then, you know, the World Junior showcase, there’s lots going on. But ultimately, a really fun summer and had a good time.”

When he wasn’t spending time with Kraken part-owner Marshawn Lynch of “Beast Mode” fame or throwing out the first pitch at a Mariners game, Catton was busy working out and putting some lean muscle on his 5-foot-11 frame and preparing for NHL training camp in a couple of weeks.

“That was kind of a goal of mine, I guess,” he said of the weight gain. “You hear all the draft stuff, it’s all weight this, weight that. So, I put on a little bit of weight. And, you know, I’m happy with where I’m at right now – even maybe grew a little bit. …

“ (Lynch is) quite the guy, you know. He made that whole experience really fun for me. It felt like a really weird dream, that whole night. He’s awesome, though. And it was really fun to meet him and get to hang out with him.”

Catton, 18, is eligible to make the Kraken roster as soon as this season, but he also has two years of juniors eligibility remaining.

He’ll be one of the “older guys” on the Chiefs roster this season, but the “new kid” once he shows at NHL camp.

“It’s funny. I was just kind of saying that to Saige (Weinstein), actually,” Catton said. “I was like, ‘It’s weird. We feel like the old kind of leaders here then in two weeks, we’re gonna be the little guys.’ I’m really looking forward to (HNL camp), and I think it’s good to come here and have a similar camp to what I’ll be doing in Seattle – it’ll just kind of be ‘Version 2’ of it. Going into that camp ready, trying to make a good impression. And who knows after that?”