The Sarnia Sting taking on the Windsor Spitfires. Photo courtesy of Metcalfe Photography. The Sarnia Sting taking on the Windsor Spitfires. Photo courtesy of Metcalfe Photography.
Sarnia

Sting kick off OHL season Thursday in Windsor

Another exciting season of Sarnia Sting hockey begins Thursday night as they head to Windsor to battle the Spitfires.

Head Coach Alan Letang is in his first season behind the Sting bench after coming from Owen Sound.

He said it will be a new-look squad this year, with at least 11 rookies on the roster to begin the season.

"We've got a pretty good crop [of players]," said Letang. "We've got some guys coming in within two years of being drafted. We've got Max Namestnikov, and Zach Filak and some good guys on the back end like Russian Andrei Malyavin who played in the U18 program. So, there are some exciting guys coming in. It's just a matter of how they adjust to the league and the season."

Letang expects Windsor to be a strong, physical team this year but he said the Sting will be ready for them.

He said the 2021-22 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season will see teams play games entirely within their own division.

"There will be a lot more rivalries with teams like London, Windsor, and Owen Sound. When you play in the West Division, it's always one of the stronger divisions in our league. It just means you have to be ready to go every night."

The Sting announced Thursday that Associate Coach Brad Staubitz would be taking a leave of absence from the club for non-COVID related personal reasons. The team said it fully supports Staubitz, and looks forward to his eventual return.

In a news conference Wednesday, OHL Commissioner David Branch said there are protocols in place to ensure safety.

"The OHL community, as we refer to it, and that's players, coaches, support staff, officials and billet families, all must be fully vaccinated," said Branch. "Subsequent to that, in August, we further mandated that in order to attend an OHL game, you must be fully vaccinated if you're 12 or older. If a player comes into contact with someone who has COVID there are rules and regulations in place."

Branch was also asked about travel between Ontario and the United States.

"One of the significant developments that we've had is approval for our teams in Ontario to travel and play in the U.S. That's been a very important building block in allowing us to move forward."

Branch said U.S. teams are also allowed to enter Canada under the current guidelines.

The Sting host the Spitfires in their home opener on Friday night at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.

As always, you can hear every game LIVE on CHOK.

https://soundcloud.com/blackburnradio-sarnia/sting-head-coach-alan-letang-oct-6th-2021

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