Inuvik - Young hockey players spent this past long weekend on the ice honing their skills with a puck.

Evan Lemieux prepares to speed down the ice during one of his drills at the hockey school. The young players were led by a team of ice veterans who have been visiting Inuvik for the past seven years. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photos

The Inuvik Minor Hockey league hosted its seventh annual clinic, teaching new players and refreshing the older ones.

The school started session on Friday afternoon and ran until Monday.

Each year, a few veteran players come in for the camp to work with the developing players.

Daryl Baxandall is one of the five instructors who is becoming familiar with the Inuvik talent.

"I've been here with Doug Russell for each year," he said.

Baxandall said it was seven years ago that the coaches got the call to come North.

"It was an RCMP officer that wanted to know if we could come up for a hockey school," he said.

"Here we are, seven years later."

He said the league wanted to focus on technical abilities.

"There are a lot of good skaters here, but they aren't exposed to the hockey environment a lot," he said.

"We're trying to teach them drills to improve their hockey."

Baxandall said the younger players are taught a simpler approach that focuses on skating and basic skills.

"With the younger groups, it's all about skill development, teaching them to skate. It's tough to play the game," he said.

The older players learned advanced techniques that were applied over the four-day program.

"We're trying to create a game situation," said Baxandall. "Quick passes, tight turns and handling the puck, everything tries to relate to a game."

Playing the game as a team game was another focus.

"With a lot of good skaters, you see a lot of them taking the puck down the ice and scoring," he said.

"What we want is some passing, so they start playing as a team."

The sessions started as early as 8:30 a.m. every day and finished roughly 12 hours later.

Dennis Polonich, a former NHL player-turned-coach, shared his experiences with the league's teams.

"I played with the Detroit Red Wings for 14 years, then coached and managed for 12 years," said Polonich.

It was after moving to Calgary in 1998 that Polonich started his player agency.

"We manage about 100 to 150 players," he said.

This is the fifth year that the former pro has been in Inuvik.

He talked to the kids about their goals in the sport.

"Because I've been in hockey such a long time, I can spot potential," he said.

"There are some great kids here."

The advice and wisdom of the five coaches proved helpful for young players, such as 11-year-old Dang Dang Gruben. Gruben is an Atom division player who has been on the ice for as long as he can remember.

"I did some work on my balance and shooting skills," he said.

Gruben said he was thankful for the coaches and said their information helped him improve on the ice.

"It's a good sport," he said.