'Fighting for a spot on the team': Islanders hit the ice for training camp
Tom Steepe | CBC News | Posted: August 24, 2017 9:00 PM | Last Updated: August 24, 2017
'We're going to have a gritty, scrappy kind of an underdog type of team'
The Charlottetown Islanders have kicked off their 2017-18 training camp and fans may need a program to get know them.
Nearly 40 players have been on the ice at the APM Centre in Cornwall for the team's main camp battling for a spot on the roster.
Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said it will be a very different team in the upcoming season than last year's.
"A lot of spots open for competition, and I think that's been the key word for us here is competition," he said.
"I've been happy with the work ethic and a lot of kids that are truly fighting for a spot on the team and that hasn't necessarily been the case in the past couple of seasons due to the amount of returning players"
'A lot of skilled players here'
There are some familiar faces in camp, and many new ones.
Gone are Daniel Sprong, Filip Chlapik, Guillaume Brisebois and Nicolas Meloche.
Goaltender Matthew Welsh and first-round NHL draft pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph are among the returning players heading up the back end of a team that fell short in their best-of-seven semifinal series to Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
But, that was last season.
Centre Will Bower is also back for his first full season with the Islanders.
"We've got a lot of skilled players here. It's really up to them who wants to get those positions. There's numerous positions in the front end and back end up for grabs, so it just depends on who's going to take it," said Bower.
"We obviously don't have the skilled team as we did last year, so we're going to have to work hard to win our games, so we know that going in … that's going to be our mindset this year."
'Underdog type of team'
Hulton said this year's club will have to find its own identity, and he'll be counting on his veterans to play key roles again this season.
"We're not going to replace the high-end talent that we had last year, but that doesn't mean that we can't have a successful hockey team," said Hulton.
"There's more than one way to win a hockey game … we're going to have a gritty, scrappy kind of an underdog type of team, and I think that everybody outside of Charlottetown is probably going to pick us to be one of the lower teams in the league, and I think we're going to relish in the opportunity to prove people wrong."
The Islanders hope to take the first step to proving their critics wrong when they open the 2017-18 regular season at home Sept. 22 against the Moncton Wildcats.
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