More than 20 Yukon hockey players showcased their skills this past weekend for a chance to tryout for Team B.C. at the 2009 Yukon Aboriginal Hockey Championships.

The ID camp was put on by the Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle and held at the Canada Games Centre.

A maximum of five boys and five girls will be selected today by the Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle to attend the tryout sessions, which are being held in Lillooet, B.C. at the end of January.

"We're just looking at the kids to see which one's standout and which ones we think could compete because we don't want to send kids that don't have a chance at making the team," said Dean Mastrangelo, executive director for the Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle. "We want them to be at least close to making the team and get that experience."

The Yukon was well represented at the ID camp, which included players from six communities as well as Whitehorse. Players travelled in from Watson Lake, Teslin, Haines Junction, Dawson City, Carmacks and Pelly Crossing.

The ID camp included 2 1/2 hour sessions held on Saturday and Sunday. Both the girls and boys in attendance practiced at the same time, which included a series of drills that tested the players skating, stick handling, shooting and passing skills.

There were no games played at the camp, but it included one-on-one scenarios and concluded with a player scrimmage.

Players over the two days were evaluated by four scouts, who watched them from the stands.

The Yukon has participated with B.C. at the championships since 2004.

Last year, six Yukoners suited up for the tournament, including six boys and three girls.

The 2008 B.C. girls team did especially well, finishing in third place, which marked the first time the squad medalled at the championships.

The Yukon has never had a team of its own at the championships, but with more than 10 squads in the 10 to 13 year old age category for the annual Native Hockey Tournament, Mastrangelo is confident about being able to send a group in the coming years.

He said an all Yukon boys team might even be an option for the 2010 tournament.

"We are looking more at the older kids, but the younger kids I am hoping will come out in the future, so possibly in a couple of years down the road we might be sending our own team," Mastrangelo said.

The National Aboriginal Hockey Championships are held during the first week of May. This year's tournament will be played in Winnipeg.

"Most of what we are trying to do here is keep it fairly simple," said Randy Merkel, one of the on-ice coaches for the ID camp. "We don't get too technical. We try to measure whether or not they want to go or they don't because my philosophy is you make the practices very hard and then you measure how much they want to go.

"There is a really good bunch of kids here this year, they tried hard. There was no squawking, they all worked really hard."

Merkel, who is a player in the Whitehorse Recreational Hockey League's A division, commended the kids that came out to the ID camp.

"I have to give them some credit," he said. "None of them gave up, they all came out. The more kids we can get out there, the more exposure the Yukon has and hopefully one day we will have enough to make our own team here."