Even the players need a program.
With just 17 returnees and 16 new faces taking to the ice Monday as training camp opened at Port Arthur Arena, third-year coach Bill McDonald got his first close-up look at nearly half of his players, with just four weeks to wrestle together a roster before the Sept. 25 pre-season opener against the University of Manitoba.
“It’s obviously an exciting time of the year,” said McDonald, whose team pulled a first-round upset over rival Western in last season’s playoffs, before succumbing to Windsor in Round 2.
“I think as the Thunderwolves fans knew throughout the summer we did a lot of traveling, a lot of recruiting and there are a lot of different faces and we’re excited to get it going.”
It’s a lot of bodies to acclimate to the Thunderwolves system.
Gone are leading scorer Mike Hammond, forwards Keith Grondin, Ryan Magill, Jake Carrick, Matt Kaarela and Jason Grecica.
The departures on defence are even more damaging.
Anchors Mike Quesnele and Mitch Fillman graduated, Andrew Tessier transferred and Nathan Bruyere and his booming slapshot fell victim to academics.
It won’t be easy to find capable replacements in an OUA circuit that’s anything but forgiving.
“It’s going to be tough. If you really look at our team from last year, we didn’t have much trouble scoring goals, believe it or not, but we had a hard time keeping them out of our net,” McDonald said, attributing the team’s goal-scoring success to the power play unit.
Those goals will be difficult to find in 2015-16.
“But we feel we went out and got some guys, like maybe Billy Jenkins and Sam Schutte, and you get Jake Wright coming into the zone and (Kelin) Ainsworth,” McDonald said. “I think we’ll be able to score some goals, but we have to be able to defend as well.”
Third-year forward Cody Alcock said the players are well aware of the talent no longer in the dressing room, but it’s time for those left behind to prove their worth.
“The guys we lost were a couple of key guys, but we picked up a lot of new recruits. I’ve gotten a chance to meet all of them and the vibe in the room is really good. Everyone’s enjoying it, so I think if we get these guys going, I think we’ll be a pretty good team and a pretty deep team,” said Alcock, who scored six goal and added six assists, playing just 18 games after a hand injury.
Familiar faces on the blue-line include captain Luke Maw, Jay Gilbert, Justin Sefton and Cody Kostecki. Newcomers include former Brock Badger Tyler Anton, Thunder Bay North Stars graduate Tim Cavar and recruits Tyler Kunz, Matt Alexander, Lindon Springer and Jake Ringuette, who was Sefton’s defensive partner with the OHL’s Saginaw Spririt.
Up front new faces include Mike Lucifora, Ryan Tront, Robert MacLean, Garick Gray, and Adam Restoule, who returns after a year’s absence.
The 5-foot-11 Jenkins, who spent five seasons in the OHL, said each of the recruits was brought in for specific purpose.
“Normally you go over that with the coach and you just try to play your game and do what you do well. You work hard, play simple and get the job done,” he said.
McDonald said he expects to carry 25 players on the roster this season, including three goaltenders. Returnees Jeff Bosch and Justin McDonald are being challenged in camp by recruit Devin Green and walk-on Robert Koptek, who last played for the Dryden Ice Dogs.
