Excitement is building as the Sarnia Sting inch closer to starting another Ontario Hockey League season.
The club has a pair of games this weekend, in Sault St. Marie on Friday, and in Saginaw on Saturday.
Sarnia has been without the likes of Jordan Kyrou, Jonathan Ang, Michael Pezzetta, Cam Dineen, and Drake Rymsha during the preseason.
General Manager Nick Sinclair said there's still an outside chance that some of them could return for another year.
"We're focused on the group that we have here right now, and that's our team," said Sinclair. "If, as we go forward, we get news or wind that one or two of those guys could potentially be returning then that will be a good problem for us to have."
Right now, the Sting have four overagers in Anthony Salinitri, Franco Sproviero, Theo Calvas, and Mitch Eliot. They can have all four on the roster but can only dress three of them.
Justin Fazio, Connor Schlichting, and Jordan Ernst won't be back after playing as 20-year-olds this past season.
Sinclair said guys like Ryan McGregor, Hugo Leufvenius, Adam Ruzicka, and Sean Josling will be relied upon to provide offence.
The trio of Aidan Hughes, Blair Coffin and rookie Ethan Langevin will start the year in net.
The lineup will feature a lot of rookies, including Jacob Perreault, Justin McCombs, Theo Hill, and Ashton Reesor.
Sinclair said Will Redick, who had a strong camp after playing in Jr. C last season, will begin the year with the GOJHL's Sarnia Legionnaires.
"The message to him was that he's getting closer and closer to playing at this level," said Sinclair. "But, he needs to go back with the Legionnaires now and have a strong start to the season and be a top performer for them and at that level. If he does that, good things will happen for him going forward."
You'll be able to see the Sting in action on home ice when they host the Flint Firebirds on September 28 and the Greyhounds the following night at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
As always, you can hear all of the action live on 103.9FM and 1070AM CHOK.