When it comes to the benefits of lacrosse skills for hockey players, Joe Nieuwendyk's hall of fame plaque should be evidence enough.

This according to Terry Mosdell, master coach and vice-president of development with the B.C. Lacrosse Association.

Mosdell will be leading the Lacrosse and Ice Hockey Crossover Summer Camp next week in Whitehorse. The camp is the first in the Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association's summer programming.

"There's been a lot of great hockey players that were great lacrosse players,” Mosdell told the Star. "Joey Nieuwendyk was a Minto Cup MVP for Whitby in the ‘80s. He contributes his great success in hockey to his participation in lacrosse.”

Nieuwendyk's career saw him win three Stanley Cups with three different teams, as well as a gold medal for Canada in the 2002 Olympics.

"A lot of players in hockey play summer lacrosse,” Mosdell said. "I mean, as soon as hockey's done, they flip right into lacrosse. And then when lacrosse is done, they flip right into hockey.”

Next week's camp is sold out, with 46 young athletes registered.

"The benefits are increased hand-eye coordination, and the game itself is basically the same,” Mosdell added. "The concept, the structure of the game, basically the way it's played – everything is virtually the same. Obviously the big difference is ice versus floor.”

The roots of box lacrosse are linked directly to the availability of indoor rinks during the summer months, he explained.

With six players per side, the game looks very much like dryland hockey.

On the contrary, field lacrosse is played on a soccer field with 10 players a side.

Mosdell said summer camps in the territory serve as an opportunity to reveal the other national game to young players in hopes that the Yukon will one day send a team to events such as the B.C. Summer Games.

"My biggest goal is exposure to the game,” he said. "It is pretty well non-existent (in the Yukon). I did it last year, and I think we had about 40 kids show up.”

WMHA president Carl Burgess said local interest in lacrosse has been good.

"The Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle is really keen to see what interest there might be possible and they've done a great job of figuring out how to connect to the right coaches from southern B.C. and they've bought enough gear to outfit two teams,” he said. "There's a ton of crossover benefits, and so we're just looking at it as an easy no-brainer to team up on.

"We're pretty excited to what this could potentially be. If there's interest in it, then putting together a lacrosse team might be the long-term goal. Right now, it's just seeing how best to enmesh the two interests.”

The WMHA is hosting seven week-long camps this summer, including skills camps dedicated to every player position.

The lacrosse camp will run Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for two age groups – five to eight and nine to 16.

Days will consist of one hour of dryland training, an hour of instructional hockey scrimmage, and two hours of lacrosse action. Lacrosse gear will be provided by the Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle.

Vancouver-based player Nat Wilson, who has roots in the Carcross/Tagish area, will also coach alongside Mosdell, while Elias Park, Cody Park and Matthew Pollard will serve as assistants.

Future summer hockey camps are as follows:

• Defence Skills Camp (July 8 to 12 – $325);

• Offensive Skills Camp (July 15 to 19 – $325);

• Goalie Skills Camp (July 15 to 18 – $300);

• Northwestel Summit Hockey School (July 22 to 26 – $350);

• Women's Hockey Clinic (evenings July 22 to 24 – $250);

• Advanced Skills and Team Play (July 29 to August 2 – $325).

To register, visit www.whitehorseminorhockey.ca.