The Guelph Storm begins a season of great expectation Tuesday when 48 players report to training camp.
The team returns 17 players off last year’s squad and is expected to contend for a Western Conference title.
Following fitness testing and meetings the team will hold its first on-ice session at 6 p.m.
First exhibition games are this weekend, both at home: Saturday versus Peterborough at 7 p.m. and Monday against Mississauga at 2 p.m.
First regular season game is Sept. 21 in Windsor.
Here’s a training camp primer:
THE DEPARTED: Overagers Garrett McFadden, James MacEwan and Mark Shoemaker are the only three players not returning.
Assistant coach Luca Caputi left to become an associate coach with the Kingston Frontenacs.
THE NEWBEES: First round pick Daniil Chayka, second rounder Zack Terry and third rounder Ty Collins have all signed with the team and coach/gm George Burnett expects all three to make it.
Overage defenceman Jack Hanley arrives from Hamilton with a trip to the Memorial Cup on his resume and a reputation as a solid character player and teammate.
Former OHLer Chad Wiseman takes Caputi’s spot as assistant coach.
THE NUMBERS: Burnett says ideally he wants to carry 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goalies.
With 18 veterans in camp and three draft picks signed, that would leave one spot up for grabs. That’s assuming everyone from last year’s team makes the squad and no one is traded.
THE OVERAGE SITUATION: The defensive-minded Hanley likely pairs with Ryan Merkley.
Some were surprised to see Zach Poirier back as an overage and he’ll have to score more goals than the eight and have fewer suspensions to justify Burnett’s faith in him.
The team will wait before adding a third overage player, likely waiting to see where the need is. Whoever it is, it should be an impact player.
WHO’S ON THE BUBBLE: Former third rounder Anthony Aguanno is facing a challenge on defence given that the team has signed two 16 year olds. Keegan Stevenson has to take big strides given that he is technically a third-year player coming off a five-goal season.
If the team is looking to push Anthony Popovich, as a likely contender they may be in the market for a goalie with more experience than Nico Daws.
TIME TO DELIVER: The Storm had a group of players who performed below expectation last season, notably Popovich, Poirier, Nate Schnarr, Liam Hawel and Alexey Toropchenko. All players capable of much more.
The emergence of that group will likely dictate just how far this team goes this year.
TAG YOUR IT: A Mandarin buffet of injuries curtailed the development of second-overall pick Tag Bertuzzi last year, where he was limited to just 41 games.
Hopefully healthy and in his draft year, Bertuzzi will be looking to make huge improvements.
THE MERKLEY FACTOR: He had 63 points last season, was a first round NHL draft pick and is already signed by the San Jose Sharks. But Ryan Merkley will always be a polarizing player, given his iffy defensive game and issues he’s had in the past dealing with on-ice adversity.
He is well aware of his shortcomings and with maturity and direction, perhaps the next step will be taken.
It won’t hurt that with this team there should be considerably less on-ice frustration than he saw in his first two years in the league.
GOALTENDING: Popovich returns as the starter following an up-and-down season a year ago that reflected the play of the team overall.
Brilliant one night, yanked the next night, consistency was Popovich’s issue, not talent.
Unlikely Popovich will face the most shots of any goalie in the league again this season, which should help him lower that 3.44 goals-against average.
Nico Daws returns as the likely back-up.
The team has a pair of 16 year olds from this year’s draft in camp and 17-year-old Tanner Wickware from the major midget draft, but it’s highly unlikely any of them would make the team at this stage.
DEFENCE: Merkley could get 90 points on this team, Dmitri Samorukov can be brilliant and Hanley provides stay-at-home reliability.
Owen Lalonde may never be a star, but he’s a pretty decent second-pairing.
Mark Wooley was the surprise of the team last year and will likely be coveted by other teams in trade talks.
First rounder Daniil Chayka and second rounder Zack Terry appear to be the sixth and seventh defencemen unless the exhibition season proves otherwise.
Anthony Aguanno will try to impress enough through the pre-season to create a difficult decision for Burnett for the seventh defenceman’s spot or get noticed by another team.
FORWARDS: It wouldn’t be surprising to see this team score 300 goals this season. In fact if player’s live up to expectation, it probably should hit 300.
Go up and down the roster and there’s not really a forward that you would expect to score less than a year ago, but probably eight or nine you would expect to score more.
The development of the third and fourth lines will be interesting. Stevenson, Bertuzzi, Mason Primeau, Barret Kirwin all bring a different mix to the table but will all be trade bait if the team is in the thick of things come the trade deadline.
With likely one forward spot up for grabs at training camp, former third rounder Dennis Glolovatchev and Jacob Kelly, drafted in the 13th round this year as an 18 year old, will be in the hunt and there’s always someone who comes to camp and opens some eyes.
