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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, September 5, 2013 | 30 HALTON TRANSMISSION 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" 2013-14 Blades younger, tougher, more Oakville I f you were to judge the 2013-14 edition of the Oakville Blades by the Ontario Junior Hockey League preseason, you might think the War Memorial Arena -- home of the Charlestown Chiefs of Slapshot movie lore -- would be a more appropriate home venue for the Blades than the pristine Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. "We probably led the league in fighting majors," laughed Blades general manager Mike Daley, whose team opens the regular season tomorrow (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) against the Milton IceHawks. Daley says he doesn't condone Sports Editor goonery and that he prefers a fastOakville Beaver paced, skill-based style. It's unlikely that this Blades squad will be a reincarnation of the Broad Street Bullies -- or, to localize it, the Neyagawa Boulevard Neanderthals. But the way the Blades didn't back down from any challengers during a 4-1 showing in exhibition action can still be seen as a good omen for a bunch of new players who have shown they won't be pushed around. "We're so much younger than everybody else, but we've got some eager guys and the best part was that they stuck up for each other as a team," Daley said. "We're not expecting them to go out there and start gooning it up. But we want them to protect each other and themselves," he added. "The wolf is only as strong as the pack, and the pack is only as strong as the wolf. If you're out there sticking up for your teammates, everybody gets along better. These guys have already proven they're ready to do it." That mentality seems to already be in contrast to last year's Blades squad. Led by a pair of high-scoring but diminutive twin forwards in Nathan and Jonah Renouf (both of whom weighed less than 150 pounds), Oakville was widely perceived as being a bit too soft in 2012-13. That might explain why the team suffered its earliest playoff exit since 2002, going out in the first round to the eventual league finalist North York Rangers. The Renoufs -- not that they were the problem -- have since moved on to the British Columbia Hockey League. So, too, has forward Patrick Chore. And blueliner Stefan Leblanc is now a member of the Ontario Hockey League's Sudbury Wolves, leaving Oakville without its top three point-producers and highestscoring defenceman from a year ago. Replacing them and the other offseason departures is a bevy of young talent, much of it with Oakville connections. Daniel Jelic, Marcel Fatovic, Ryan Garvey and Kamil Tkaczuk join the Blades after playing last season with the midget AAA Rangers. Sean Kohler, Mark Bzowey and Brendan McGlynn were part of the minor midget AAA Rangers club that won the OHL championship. Scott Goodman and Carmine Vietri, both Oakville natives, played midget AAA hockey last year in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. They team up with returning local residents Greg Campbell, Vince Palermo and Sean Perichak to give the Blades the greatest Oakville flavour they've had Jon Kuiperij in more than a decade. And there's potential for even more local content on the Blades this year. The team will start the season with just 19 players on its roster (teams are allowed 23), planning to call up midget and minor midget Rangers players when injuries or suspensions create a need. "That was (former Blades GM) Duncan Harvey's initiative," said Daley, who has been involved with the midget Rangers program for the past six years. "We are carrying it on. "We're trying to expose the midget players to the junior level. They're very close to being ready to play, so the more exposure we can get for them, the better their development." Daley had planned to center the Blades' offensive attack around Burlington Eagles product Jeff Gilligan, but the forward recently left the team to sign with the Owen Sound Attack. Now, Daley hopes former Oakville midget Ross Sloan, acquired from the Mississauga Chargers during the offseason, and Garvey, the only midget Rangers player to score 50 goals in a season during Daley's tenure, can carry the bulk of the scoring load. Keigan Goetz, Chris Polotek, Kohler, Bzowey, Tkaczuk and Perichak have the potential to add scoring depth up front, Daley said. The defence will be anchored by Campbell, who Daley feels could become one of the top five defencemen in the league, and Palermo. The blueline corps was bolstered with the addition of former St. Michael's Buzzers player Greg Allen, Saginaw Spirit prospect Brandon Lukezic and youngsters Jelic and Fatovic. Evan Buitenhuis -- 26-14-1-3 with a 2.60 goalsagainst average in 45 games a year ago -- returns in net. He'll be backed up by McGlynn, who reportedly showed well at Kingston Frontenacs' camp last weekend. "Buits is absolutely one of the top goalies in the league, if not the top, in being able to hold his team in a game," Daley said. "Brendan will get more of an opportunity to spell (Buitenhuis), who played too much last year. Brendan will get 15-20 games this year." The Blades have been one of the OJHL's most successful franchises in the last 10 years, winning two league titles and reaching the final on two other occasions, and have expressed interest in hosting the Royal Bank Cup national junior A championship in 2015. But Daley has two modest goals for his squad this year: qualify for post-season play, and be enjoyable to watch in the process. "Once you're (in the playoffs), you never know what can happen," Daley said. "We want to make sure whoever plays us in the first round doesn't want to play us. We may not have as many wins as we had last year (34 in 55 games), but being over .500 is our expectation. "We're trying to put a good product on the ice for people in the town." -- The Oakville Blades 2013-14 schedule can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/1ajbbeY Defenceman Greg Campbell is one of the many Oakville residents -- and few returnees -- on this year's Blades team. | Brian Watts -- OJHL Images Bulldogs, Marlies to collide Sept. 27 at Sixteen Mile The farm teams of Canada's two most storied NHL franchises will face off later this month at Oakville's Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The Hamilton Bulldogs have partnered with the Oakville Blades to host the preseason American Hockey League contest Friday, Sept. 27 versus the Toronto Marlies. The game, slated for 7:30 p.m., will be the first exhibition action for both the Bulldogs and Marlies and will also launch the Ontario Junior Hockey League's college showcase Sept. 28-29 at Sixteen Mile. Hamilton is the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, while the Marlies are the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two thousand tickets will be sold for the game for $20 each (plus HST), with first sales taking place at the Blades' home game tomorrow (7:30 p.m. Friday) versus the Milton IceHawks at Sixteen Mile. "We recognize there may be more Marlies fans in attendance, given the proximity of Toronto, see Both on p.31