MONCTON, N.B. They come from the far north. And that's where they hope their fortunes are headed straight upward.

Ted Stephens and Andrew Pettitt, two 17-year-old forwards from Whitehorse, are among the 14 free agents looking for a spot on the Moncton Wildcats. They were dominant players in the Yukon and made the long trip here in hopes of getting a chance to prove themselves at a higher level in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

'I saw them the last two summers when I went to work a hockey camp in Whitehorse,'' said Moncton head coach and director of hockey operations Danny Flynn. 'I think if they come in and play well they have a chance (to make our team). They're good kids, they have pretty good skill level and they have good hockey sense.

'We didn't have a third, fourth, fifth or sixth round pick (in the 2007 QMJHL draft). Sometimes spots are committed for a couple of those guys. I think there's some jobs up for grabs on our team.''

Stephens, 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, is a centre who played midget AAA in Whitehorse last season. He had 135 points, including 45 goals, in 55 games.

'We didn't play in a league,'' he said. 'There's only one midget team in the Yukon. We just played in tournaments. We travelled a lot. We went to Calgary, Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamloops.

'It's pretty exciting to get a free agent tryout with Moncton. I've been to Toronto, but this is the furthest east I've ever been. We're so far away in the Yukon that not a lot of scouts get to see us play.''

Pettitt, 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, is a right winger who suited up for Prince George last season in the British Columbia Major Midget Hockey League. He had 26 points, including 10 goals, in 32 games.

By his own admission, he had a rough first half of the season. He points out it was a difficult adjustment living away from home for the first time and he was nervous in a new environment.

'Once I got adjusted to everything, I just focused on hockey and I started to play my game,'' he said. 'I had a strong second half of the season from January onward. We finished second in the league in Prince George, losing in the league final.

'I've already gone through the experience of moving away from home and the adjustment that comes with that. I think that would help me coming to Moncton if I make the team. I was just so excited to get a free agent tryout here. I'm pumped about the opportunity.''

Stephens and Pettitt are among the 36 players in Moncton's rookie camp, which opened on Sunday at the Tim Hortons 4-Ice Centre. There will be scrimmages today at 9 a.m.

There are four goaltenders, 13 defencemen and 19 forwards in rookie camp. Approximately half of them will move on to the main camp when the veterans hit the ice on Thursday.

Stephens and Pettitt played for the host Yukon at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in February. Stephens had six points in five games and Pettitt managed five points in three contests.

'Ted Stephens is a big, rangy centre with good skill,'' said Flynn. 'He had more than 100 points in midget AAA last season and he played a competitive schedule against a lot of British Columbia teams.

'They were trying to prepare for the Canada Winter Games as host team so they played against a lot of top British Columbia teams in tournaments. He can skate and move the puck.

'He's more of a playmaker. Andrew Pettitt is a smallish winger, good skater, a goal scorer.''

The Yukon has a population of 32,000, including 23,000 in Whitehorse. Stephens and Pettitt grew up living on the same street and they've been playing minor hockey and street hockey together since age five.

'It's nice that we came to Moncton together,'' said Pettitt. 'We're here to support each other and push each other. We give each other a pat on the back for encouragement.''

'I never thought we would some day be going to the other side of the country together for a tryout with a major junior team,'' added Stephens. 'It's pretty amazing.''

Stephens and Pettitt were passed over in the Western Hockey League draft. They then had to go unclaimed on the WHL waiver wire in order to become eligible to come to the QMJHL as free agents.

'I think a little bit,'' said Flynn when asked whether he thinks the two youngsters slipped through the WHL cracks because they were hidden in Whitehorse.

'In the OHL and WHL, they have a greater population base from which to draw players. In the Quebec League, we have the same number of teams basically but not the population base so sometimes we have to go outside our league territory looking for players and I think these two guys might have slipped through. I'm interested to see how they do.''

Pettitt finds it easy to explain why he didn't end up in the WHL.

'We didn't really have any exposure before the WHL bantam draft,'' he said. 'I mean we would be lucky if we had nine games the whole season going into provincials in bantam in the Yukon. A season for us counting provincials would be about 14 games.

'We didn't get much exposure so we slipped through the cracks. Same thing for me in Prince George last season. I had a rough first half and that helped me slip through WHL waivers so I could come here.''

Getting passed over in the WHL serves as an extra motivation for Stephens.

'I would like to prove them wrong,'' he said. 'The way I see it, if you're a good player you're going to make it. I just want the opportunity to prove that I can be a good player in a higher league.

'Moncton is the first major junior team I've talked to. I'm looking to show the coaches my offensive abilities. This is where I want to be this season, but if I don't make it I have a spot on a junior A team in Canmore, Alberta.''