Excitement is building ahead of another season of Sarnia Legionnaires Jr. B hockey.
The GOJHL squad will look a lot different than last year, with just eight returning players.
They include Wes Brooks (Captain) Cameron Graham, Colton Graham, Ty Moffatt, Landon Marcy, Jake Blum, Logan Phillips, and Jace McGrail.
Brian Irwin is the Legionnaires' new head coach. He was an assistant with the team last season, and was promoted after Derek DiMuzio resigned.
Irwin said he's excited to get started, adding they've done a lot of hard work in the offseason in terms of player recruitment.
"We've picked up some high end guys that can skate and compete and they want to be part of our program which is a big thing," said Irwin. "We want to have success cascading through the full 50 game schedule. We got off to a great start last year and then kind of hit the skids. We worked diligently to pull ourselves out of the skid we were in, but the losing streak got extended for a lot longer than we hoped. We squeezed into a playoff spot, but unfortunately ran into a juggernaut in the Leamington Flyers."
Irwin said it's about having a strong long-term plan.
"We have to manage through the ups and downs of the season and have a consistent effort on Thursday nights at home, and preparing for road games, and trying to translate that into some success this year."
Irwin said he wants the Legionnaires to play an exciting brand of hockey.
"Part of the plan around player recruitment is getting guys that have some size and can skate, and are good fits for Thursday nights at the Pat Stapleton Arena. We're hoping to turn it into an exciting brand of hockey that our passionate fans will appreciate. We want to make it so that we're the hardest working team in the GOJHL."
Irwin has over 20 years of coaching experience, including a stint with the Lambton U18 AAA team in 2021-22.
Sarnia has five preseason games on the schedule, including on August 20 and 23 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
The Legionnaires' home opener is scheduled for Thursday, September 14 against the Komoka Kings at Pat Stapleton Arena.
Sarnia's full regular season schedule can be found here.
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The following players have been previously announced as joining the team this season:
Alex Akena (Lambton Jr. Sting U18)
Jack Martin (Elgin Middlesex Canucks U18)
Matthew Anderson (Barrie Jr. Colts U16)
Nathan Holland (Compuware U18)
Ethan Waddick (Blenheim Blades)
Lucas Durham (Oshawa Generals U18)
Ty Therrien (Peterborough Petes U18)
Braden Twigg (Elliot Lake Red Wings)
Colin Langstaff (North Middlesex Stars)
Caeleb Bowler (Kincardine Bulldogs)
Iain MacIsaac (Goderich Flyers)
Ayden Hakkers (Goderich Flyers)