Now, I'll be the first to admit I don't know as much about hockey as I should, but I'm doing my best to learn the aspects of the game and the dynamics of the team, and here's what I see.
As far as the leadership situation, I think we'll have some kids step up and really take on that role next year. Case in point: Jonathan Matsumoto. From the limited time I've interacted with him and the way I see him act on the ice, I think he'll come up as a huge leader next season, "C" or no "C". First out, last off, always encouraging... I'm excited about his possiblilties.
In net - I am pumped to see Spratt improve. I think this kid could be something special. As much crap as I heard from 'fans' in the student section about him, he showed some real brilliance in the net at times, and I only see that improving as he gets more experience, mental toughness, and refines his game.
Defense - I am still somewhat worried about this, but I take an optimistic outlook. Yes, we're losing Sitko and Morrison, but I think we've got at least a couple guys left who (if they can get their game together) could help out a lot. One thing they REALLY need to work on is the d-zone turnovers that were all too common.
Also, I'm excited about at least one
promising newcomer (and I don't know the rest). I'm excited about Maxwell for a couple reasons; 1) "named team MVP", 2) "Best Defenseman" 3) "AJHL all-star" and 4) "Named Most Sportsmanlike twice" - that's huge, if we can get a quality defender who can stay out of the box, we'll have someone to take the pressure off Spratt and also to hopefully avoid the killer SH situations we got into this past season.
As far as forwards go, I look for Svendsen to absolutely wow everyone. Like I said, I'm not really "qualified" to judge hockey talent, but I saw some really promising moments from this kid. And, of course, if and when Matsumoto comes back, he'll be a huge offensive asset.
Beyond that, I don't really know, but I really think that at the very least, if we can get the leadership issue together and get Spratt hitting on all cylinders, we'll have somewhere to work from. I don't know much about the rest of the teams next season, but I'm confident that we could at least get into the top half of the CCHA if not higher.