Yes, there will be changes with the Rayside-Balfour Canadians, as new owner Adrian Gedye steps into the limelight.
No, that doesn't mean that all vestiges of the previous regime have been tossed to the curb.
A new coaching staff, introduced Wednesday evening in Chelmford, will join all-star trainer Lisa Parisé, equipment manager Brian Workman, Game Day Co-Ordinator Grant Trayner, and a solid core of players from the 2015-2016 squad, when a new season kicks off in September.
Gedye has welcomed aboard the tandem of Darryl Moxam and Dave Clancy, both of whom manned the bench alongside Craig Duncanson with the Laurentian Voyageurs the past few years. Additionally, Vagelli Sakellaris, fresh off an appearance at the 2016 All-Ontario Peewee "AAA" Championships, will join the team in the capacity of assistant coach.
For Moxam, a former NOJHLer himself, this is a second tour of duty in the league, behind the bench in 2005-2006 before stepping away for family reasons.
"Having worked with Adrian in the past with the minor midgets, having a lot of fun those two years, and having the opportunity to work with Dave, everything just seemed to fit right now," he said.
"I learned a lot as an assistant with Laurentian, it wasn't always easy, having been a head coach for a number of years before that, but I think it definitely helped me grow. Now stepping back in as a head coach, it sure adds a different perspective."
While his most recent experience might have been with many young men who have already put in their time in the junior ranks before moving on to the OUA, Moxam does not expect to return to a drastically different game than the one he left a decade ago.
"I don't think the hockey has changed all that much," he said. "There's less physicality, as far as fighting is concerned, which isn't a bad thing. And I don't think the league has ever been in as good a shape as it is right now."
If the league, itself, is enjoying a period of relative stability, the same could not necessarily be said for the Rayside-Balfour franchise, as the 2015-2016 crew tried to deal with the announcement of ownership change, all while trying to complete the season at hand.
Gedye, for one, was extremely cognizant of the word on the street, as he quickly started to prepare for a busy off-season.
"The first thing we did was meet with the players who were eligible to return," he said. "We let them know that we would like them all to come back. There are enough graduating players to allow for the new younger players to come in. We'll likely need to sign five defencemen alone."
Beyond that, Gedye tried to learn from the past season, which often saw the Canadians suiting up with at least a few bodies less than the allowable twenty man roster for league games.
"We're going to sign more players, likely 23," he said. "We still want to have affiliates, but we don't want to have to count on that. We're going to stay very much local."
Despite the fact that they will almost certainly carry more than the two sixteen year-olds than were present this year in the form of Bradley Chenier and Cayse Ton, Gedye doesn't see the additional youth as an impediment to success.
"We will be a stronger team than last year is my initial thought, and I am confident in that," he said. "I think that we can contend in this league. Beyond that, it's hard to say."
Nickel City product Matt Neault was on hand, now a grizzled NOJHLer, with three years experience under his belt.
"I want to be a good leader next year," said Neault, who finished fifth on the team in scoring, racking up 44 points in 54 games.
"Having three years of junior A hockey, I can show the younger guys what I've learned. I think it's going to be a fast, hard-working team. We're going to be an exciting team to watch."
The first look at the new-look Canadians will come on the weekend of May 14 and 15, as coach Moxam and company welcome prospects to a "spring camp" taking place at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
In other NOJHL news, the French River Rapids will also be staging a spring camp, also at the Countryside Arena.
The tryouts will take place on the weekend of May 28 and 29, though final times have not yet been confirmed.
For more information, contact Jessy Landry at (705) 626-1657
