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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012 17 KEY COGS: Pictured left to right, forward Vince Cerone, goaltender Evan Buitenhuis and defenceman Aidan Orbinski are expected to be three major contributors on this year's Oakville Blades squad. The Blades open the Ontario Junior Hockey League season tomorrow against Georgetown. GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG Oakville Blades' new era begins tomorrow night Complex as the Blades open the OJHL campaign against the rival Georgetown Raiders. The Raiders, like Oakville, are a perennial The ownership has changed hands, the powerhouse that saw a change in ownership general manager is a rookie, the coaching during the offseason. In the Blades' case, new management staff has been overhauled and the roster has means a new direction. very few returnees. Majority owner Ira Berg and Now, it's time to see if this "The plan is for the Harvey both say there will be edition of the Oakville Blades team to be successful. more of a focus on having can measure up to the sucBut until they actually Oakville players on the roscesses of the previous regime, ter as well as improved relaone that reached the Ontario start playing games, we tions with local sports assoJunior Hockey League (OHJL) won't know." ciations and the community finals in four straight seasons in general. and twice represented the Oakville Blades general Ticket prices have been league at the Royal Bank Cup manager Duncan Harvey lowered for both individual national championships. Oakville general manager Duncan Harvey, games and multiple-game packages. And the windows that allow spectators to view Rink 1 for one, can't wait to find out. "The plan is for the team to be success- from the upper concourse at Sixteen Mile ful," Harvey said. "But until they actually will no longer be blacked out during Blades home games. start playing games, we won't know." "We want to make it realistic for families The first litmus test comes tomorrow (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) at Sixteen Mile Sports to come here and have a good night," Harvey By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR said. "We're no longer competing with going to a movie or an OHL game. Affordability is important, and this is a good product. Now, if mom and dad come with their kids and don't buy any food, it can cost the whole family $10." Not easy compiling local talent The Blades' opening-day roster was not announced until yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, and Harvey said it wasn't easy trying to load it with local talent. "Nothing's going to happen overnight. Oakville has a ton of excellent hockey players in the community, but a lot of them are already property of other (junior) teams and are expensive to get," he said. "Going forward, we're trying to get more local guys involved." For now, local guys include Vince Cerone, Vince Palermo, Rory Bell and potentially Stefan LeBlanc. Cerone helped the Stouffville Spirit win the OJHL championship a year ago; Palermo was acquired from the Hamilton Red Wings; Bell played for the Oakville midget AAA Rangers last season; and LeBlanc captained the minor midget AAA Rangers in 2011-12. They'll be joined by returning defencemen Aidan Orbinski, Brock Battochio and Patrick Arnold as well as forwards Todd Bannerman and Ashton Anderson. Orbinski, in his final season of junior eligibility, will captain the squad. British Columbia natives and twin brothers Patrick and Eric Chore are two of the notable out-of-town additions to the forward ranks. In net, Oakville is expected to primarily rely on Evan Buitenhuis. The netminder, who played junior B for the Thorold Blackhawks last season, was recruited to the Blades before the team's ownership changed hands. The main man behind the bench will be Kevin Gomes, already familiar with Harvey from the work they've done together with See First, page 18