It’s the start of a new era for the Calgary Hitmen tonight, the same night they raise the banner to celebrate last years Eastern Conference, regular season crown. Familiar faces on the ice and behind the bench have moved on in some capacity or another. So it’s time for the new guard to take over, as the Hitmen open their 2008-2009 season tonight at the Dome against, who else, the Red Deer Rebels.

The first change, clearly, is behind the bench. Kelly Kisio has decided to focus solely on his role as General Manager with the team, handing the reigns to Dave Lowry, who serves as Associate Head Coach last year. It’s Lowry’s head coaching debut, but he’s got his familiar staff with him. Another former Flame, Joel Otto, along with Brent Kisio are the assistant coaches for the year, and are very familiar with the team assembled.

The other changes are changes on the ice. Last years captain Karl Alzner is at camp with the Washington Capitals, while leading scorer Ryan White is in Montreal at Canadiens camp. The playoff stud (and former Calgary Royal *cough*) from last year, TJ Galiardi, is in Denver with the Avalanche while Brock Nixon and Ryan Gillen are playing in the CIS. Rounding out the grads is Dan Mercer who is playing pro in Belgium.

Tonight, the Hitmen will be without 4 other key players…goalie Martin Jones, d-men Michael Stone and Paul Postma and forward Carson McMillan are all at NHL camps still, with the Kings, Wild, Thrashers and Coyotes respectively. 4 players…Brett Sonne, Kyle Bortis, Keith Seabrook, and Ian Schultz have all returned from NHL camps.

It’s certainly a year where the returning vets are going to need to step it up, while there is a lot of hope on some of the new faces, notably one in particular. Up front, this could be a big year for a couple returnees. Brett Sonne saw mostly 3rd line play in an injury shortended year, and is going to see key minutes this year and has an opportunity to do some big things. Ian Schultz saw big minutes last year, and with an increased workload, he could be looking at a 60 point season, wreaking havoc in front of the net. And remember the name Tyler Fiddler. The 18 year old forward comes to the Hitmen after a stellar season playing midget in Prince Albert with the Mintos. Fiddler had 88 points, including 43 goals, in 43 games last year.

On the blueline, it’ll be on 2 guys to carry the load. Seabrook is a versatile blueliner who can skate and play a sound defensive game. He’ll get a lot of powerplay time and will look to improve upon his 17 points last year. But the guy to watch, if he comes back from camp, will be 19 year old Paul Postma. If you’re looking to a guy to help replace Alzner’s offence, this is the one. Postma is an offensive dynamo, and was on display throughout Calgary’s run to the Eastern Conference final. With 42 points last year, he was already a huge PP contributor, but this could be a huge year for Posty.

With Dan Spence, and most likely Martin Jones, returning in between the pipes, the Hitmen have a solid tandem to bank on to bail them out, especially early on. First place in the East may not be the expectations for the Hitmen this year, but if some of the returning players take the steps they are expected to…it could be a very successful season for the Hitmen.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 1:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.