SUMMERSIDE – Head coach Billy McGuigan fully understands the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals will face some very tough decisions.
The MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) team will open training camp at Credit Union Place in Summerside on Monday. Registration is at 3 p.m., followed by fitness testing and on-ice sessions beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The Capitals, who host the Pictou County Crushers in their first exhibition game on Friday at 7 p.m., are coming off a third-place overall finish in the 2017-18 regular season on the strength of a 33-16-1-0 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses) record, and were eliminated by the eventual league champion Edmundston Blizzard in a seven-game Eastlink North Division final series.
“I’m real excited for the upcoming season,” said McGuigan. “We have a real strong core of players who have experience winning in the Maritime Hockey League and losing. The heartbreak of losing a Game 7 last year has really fuelled the fire to be a better team this year, and push for a Maritime Hockey League title.”
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Defence
The widest open position going into Caps’ camp is defence. Brodie MacMillan is expected to be the lone returnee to start the season. Veteran Jesse Annear is also back with the Caps, but he will miss the early part of the season as he recovers from surgery.
“We have some holes there,” admitted McGuigan. “We have some pretty good young players who are coming up . . . It’s definitely a work in progress. We like the guys we have returning, and feel our forward group will score enough goals and we will be a good enough team overall to win hockey games.”
McGuigan confirmed that Dominik Tmej, who had a league-leading six shutouts along with a microscopic 2.04 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in 21 regular-season games last year, will be returning to the Caps.
“We are looking to fill that second spot,” said McGuigan, who acknowledged the importance of having a No. 1 goaltender available from the start. “It solidifies your goaltending right off the start.
“It’s one of those key spots that sometimes you have to wait until later in the season sometimes, like last year. To start in September, we know for our first game in September that we will have a capable goaltender in nets. It’s a big plus for us.”
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Forwards
The most competitive position for spots will be at the three forward positions. After having a strong 2018 draft, the competition for forward spots is expected to be intense, and McGuigan anticipates there will be rookies pushing veterans for positions.
“Training camp is going to be really interesting and exciting,” said McGuigan.
The Caps recently added to their forwards with the signing of five-foot-eight and 177-pound Sam Meisenheimer, who recorded 34 points in 104 regular-season games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Moncton Wildcats, Charlottetown Islanders and Chicoutimi Sagueneens the last two seasons.
“He’s a real good player,” McGuigan said about Meisenheimer. “We lost Chris Chaddock (to graduation) last year, and he kind of replaces Chaddock in that role.
“He’s a real good skater, he’s real fast and he’s exciting to watch. . . I think he’s going to be a big impact player for us. I think he’s going to be one of those guys who comes into our league, has a big season and gets 30 goals.”
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Approach
When asked the organization’s approach to training camp, McGuigan answered: “We know most of the kids pretty well. Now it’s to get the right pieces in place.
“We want to see what guys were committed over the summer, what guys did the most to earn their spots and from there we will try to piece together line combinations, D partners that give us the best chance to win every night.
“It’s not rocket science, we just have to try the guys that fit best for your club, have the best attitudes, the best work ethic. We have some high values with the Summerside team – we want a great work ethic, we want very respectable kids, we want kids who are well received in the community and those are all important pieces to becoming a Western Capital for us.”
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