Unless you have just arrived in town, you already know the storylines for this year鈥檚 Battlefords North Stars.
After a dazzling regular season, the North Stars鈥� quest for the Canalta Cup ended in the semifinals last April, as they were upset by Flin Flon.
Much has changed since then, especially behind the bench with Kevin Hasselberg joining the Pensacola Ice Flyers.
Nate Bedford is now in charge and he鈥檚 eager to build off last year鈥檚 success.
They return almost everyone on defence and both聽 Taryn Kotchorek and Ryan Rewerts are back between the pipes.
Up front, the North Stars lost a number of key weapons, including leading scorer Igor Leonenko, while Braydon Buziak and Coby Downs are looking to make the Regina Pats and Omaha Lancers.
Reed Delainey and Layne Young will be leaned on even more, along with new faces like Keaton Holinaty and Connor Logan.
There are big expectations for the North Stars, especially as they are the highest ranked team from Saskatchewn in the CJHL pre-season rankings in 13th spot.
But what about the rest of the SJHL?
Earlier this week I talked to the other 11 head coaches in the league to see how things are looking ahead of opening night.
Estevan Bruins
After hosting the Western Canada Cup last year, the Bruins come into the campaign with valuable experience under their belts.
Although they enter the season ranked 20th in the country, Chris Lewgood isn鈥檛 putting a lot of stock in that.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 spend too much time focusing on those types of things,鈥� Lewgood said. 鈥淚t sounds clich茅, but if our younger guys grow together with our veterans right away, everything will take care of itself.鈥�
Forward Lynden Pastachuk and defenceman Josh Reiger are both back with the Bruins, who were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Nipawin last year.
The Bruins also brought in forwards Matt McNeil and Jason Miller from the AJHL鈥檚 Drayton Valley Thunder, along with defenceman Johnny Witzke, who had 44 points for Bismarck High School last year.
Flin Flon Bombers
When asked what was the key to the Bombers run to the final last season, Mike Reagan pointed to the character that his team showed.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e faced with the challenges that we had at the start of the season, I think how they worked through that adversity played a key role in what we did,鈥� Reagan said.
鈥淲e started the season with a 3-10 record and we ended up having the best record in the league from December on.鈥�
While the SJHL鈥檚 reigning player of the year Alex Smith is now at Michigan Tech, the Bombers return many from last season鈥檚 squad.
Both Brandon Lesko and Rylee Zimmer are expected to lead the way on offence, along with Dondre Watson who was acquired from the AJHL鈥檚 Spruce Grove Saints.
The Bombers will also have Brendan Newton and Zac Robidoux back in goal.
Humboldt Broncos
Last year marked the first time since 1980 that the most successful club in SJHL history had missed the playoffs.
As he enters his second season with the team, Darcy Haugen is eager to see how the moves the Broncos made in the off-season will play out as they work their way back up the ladder.
鈥淚t requires a lot of patience,鈥� Haugen said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 just happen overnight.
鈥淔or some of these players, I was the third coach they had in three years. That鈥檚 tough, not just for the players, but for an organization.鈥�
The Broncos will be led up front by a potent veteran trio Trevor Posch, Logan Schatz and Chris Van Os-Shaw.
Kindersley Klippers
When looking back on his first season in the SJHL, Geoff Grimwood was impressed with the number of strong teams in the league.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in a number of leagues where you have your powerhouse teams and a number of weaker squads,鈥� Grimwood said.
鈥淥ut here, you鈥檙e in for a hard night no matter who it is you are playing against and that鈥檚 very exciting.鈥�
Forward Carson Pickett and defenceman Holden Daley are two of the key pieces for the Klippers, who lost to Battlefords in the quarter-finals last year.
La Ronge Ice Wolves
Last season鈥檚 wild card round win over Yorkton was huge for the Ice Wolves, as it marked the first time they won a playoff series since 2012.
鈥淭hat was a big step in the right direction for us,鈥� Shawn Martin said. 鈥淏y making it to the quarter-finals against Melfort, it shows that we are ready to make that next step.鈥�
While the Ice Wolves will return key players like Jared Blaquiere and Bryce Fiske, starting goaltender Kris Joyce is now at the University of Windsor.
To fill that hole, they have brought in 18-year-old Josh Dechaine, who had strong numbers last year with the AJHL鈥檚 Whitecourt Wolverines.
Melfort Mustangs
After two straight titles, one might expect the Mustangs to rest on their laurels.
Given what Trevor Blevins has noticed already in the locker room, that would be a terrible assumption to make.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an aura in there of proving themselves to those that doubt that they can do it once again,鈥� Blevins said.
The Mustangs have lost a number of key players from their recent run, with the most notable graduation being two-time SJHL scoring champion and 2016 playoff MVP Travis Mayan, who will be playing for the University of Alberta-Augustana.
They will also be without forwards Justin Boyer and Tristan Frei, while goaltender Richard Palmer will be playing at Mercyhurst.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hard to replace a top line that put up 200 points together,鈥� Blevins said.
鈥淲e have a number of key guys that are back. Dakota Boutin is committed to Northern Michigan, Eric Sinclair was the top defenceman last year and Evan Plotnik took charge in the playoffs when Richard was hurt.鈥�
Melville Millionaires
After missing the post-season for the first time since 2005, the Millionaires made a major change as Jamie Fissel鈥檚 12-year tenure came to an end.
Former Nipawin assistant coach Devin Windle will now be in charge as he looks to help the franchise win their first-ever title.
鈥淭he biggest adjustment is getting familiar with all of the new players that are here,鈥� Windle said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had quite a lot of turnover here with guys moving on to different leagues or leaving the game. It鈥檚 pretty much a fresh start.鈥�
There will still be some familiar faces for SJHL fans. Tyler Kreklewich and Keegan Milligan will lead the way up front and Brandon Wells will be back in goal.
Nipawin Hawks
Following a tough Game 7 loss to Melfort in last year鈥檚 semifinal, the Hawks will have a much different look.
鈥淭his is the smallest number of returning players that we鈥檝e had here in a long time,鈥� Doug Johnson said.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be exciting to see the group come together and we are seeing them gel here already.鈥�
Goaltender Kristian Stead is back after he compiled a 27-12-4 record with a 2.51 goals against average last year.
Notre Dame Hounds
Clint Mylymok is eager to get the season underway, especially with a number of players coming up from last year鈥檚 Midget AAA Hounds team that won the SMAAAHL title.
鈥淭here will be lots of new faces but they are all hard-working guys that are very coachable,鈥� Mylymok said. 鈥淲ith the leadership we have from our returning guys, it will be a nice balance.鈥�
One of the new faces to watch for the Hounds, who lost to Kindersley in the wild card round last year, will be 17-year-old forward Adam Dawe.
He had 54 points for the Midget AAA Hounds and is already committed to the University of Maine.
Weyburn Red Wings
Wes Rudy is now in charge behind the bench after Bryce Thoma took an assistant coaching position with the Saskatoon Blades in the summer.
鈥淚鈥檝e very grateful for what I鈥檝e got to learn from Bryce over the last couple of years,鈥� Rudy said. 鈥淚t was great to watch how things were run on the bench as an assistant coach under him.鈥�
After being upset by Flin Flon in last year鈥檚 quarter-finals, Rudy says the returning players have returned with the right attitude.
鈥淪ometimes you see guys coming back and feeling like they already have a spot on the team,鈥� Rudy said. 鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 the case here.鈥�
Last year鈥檚 top scorer Braden Mellon is back and the Red Wings have acquired Nathan Hargrave from Kindersley to be their new starting netminder.
Jack Burgart, who was the SJHL goaltender of the year last season, is now at Bemidji State.
Yorkton Terriers
After five years as an assistant coach, Casey O鈥橞rien got a promotion last week when Trent Cassan joined the Calgary Hitmen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been exciting but it鈥檚 also been very busy,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淚 still have lots to learn, but the transition has been a good one.鈥�
While the Terriers are still in a rebuild after winning the RBC Cup in 2014, they can return as many as 16 players from last year鈥檚 team that lost to La Ronge in the wild card round.
鈥淢aking the playoffs was huge for this group, especially with how they played in the second half,鈥� O鈥橞rien said.
鈥淥ur pre-season went well, but it鈥檚 important for us to have a strong start. We went 5-0 in exhibition play last year and then we lost our first six games of the regular season.鈥�
The Terriers will be led on offence by twin brothers Carson and McKenzie Welke, while RIT commit Regan Seiferling will control the blueline.
