After advancing to the NAHL Central Division Finals last season, the Bruins are using the summer to make another big push in the upcoming season. The Bruins wrapped up their team camp this week when they hosted an All-Star game with their prospects in Riverside Arena Friday night.

Throughout the week, the Bruins went from 160 players in camp on Monday, to around 40 players at the on Friday. Those remaining have a shot at landing on the roster in September before the team eventually gets reduced to 23 players.

“It’s a long week. I think some guys showed well and some guys didn’t show well,” Austin head coach Steve Howard said. “That’s part of it. You’ve got to figure out when the pace picks up and you get all your veterans in, who can keep us. Who’s ultimately going to help us win against Central Division foes? That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

The Bruins had plenty of young players in Friday’s All-Stars game and there were some veterans in the camp as well. Dante Sheriff and Dante Zapata were both at camp.

“We had a good mix. It’s tough. Our scouts and staff do a good job of get out and watch a lot of hockey,” Howard said. “It’s the first time I’m seeing some of the guys and I didn’t see some things from some guys that they saw during the season, but ultimately it’s a story of what we saw throughout the year. We pushed some guys through and honestly, some guys popped out after that. They played themselves into a situation where they’re hopefully going to move on.”

The Bruins will open up the regular season against the Bismarck Bobcats with back-to-back home games against Riverside Arena on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29.