The new head coach for the Chatham Maroons isn't wasting any time coming up with a plan to improve the team's performance for the upcoming season.
Kyle Makaric is taking over the job as bench boss after Ron Horvat left to coach the Komoka Kings.
"[I'm] really excited to have the announcement and be able to get going, and start reaching out to some of the local players and former players from last season," he says. "[That way] we can really get a good sense of what we have coming back and we can look forward to next season."
Makaric says after seeing how the Maroons played last season, he can tell they have a great group of players who are "hungry" to get back on the ice.
The Maroons upset the LaSalle Vipers in the first round before their post-season run came screeching to a halt with a second-round exit against the London Nationals.
The players and the fans can expect to see some changes, too.
Although Makaric respects Horvat's coaching style, he says he'll be bringing something different to the table.
"The game over the last ten years has evolved way more than it has in the previous ten," says Makaric. "The young vibe that we have with the way that we want to play, a fast game with quick transitions -- things like that, that's going to be what we're going to bring to the upcoming season."
The new season starts in the fall with training camp set to start in May.