Sarnia Sting want to hit ground running in training camp

The Sarnia Sting did their best this summer to avoid any unwanted surprises at training camp.

Players were sent home after last season with detailed instructions on how to stay in shape and what to improve.

Then, coaches and training staff kept in touch with them for months checking on their progress.

“(There was) more transparency on what we need out of them and where their games are at so that it’s a productive off-season versus a little bit of hoping that things are going the right way,” general manager Dylan Seca said. “Most times it does, but then there’s times where you see a player and you haven’t seen him for awhile and you’re like, ‘Boy, they didn’t make a lot of progress.’

“We’ve been very in tune with their progress throughout the course of the summer.”

Training camp starts Tuesday at Progressive Auto Sales Arena. The annual Black and White intrasquad game is set for Friday, Aug. 28.

“Our goal is to hit the ground running here in camp,” Seca said. “A lot of competition, a lot of spots open that are really not guaranteed.”

Several players have already been skating this summer in Sarnia. Plus, nearly all their non-Europeans got together in July for an optional skate and a fitness evaluation while in town for the team’s annual golf tournament.

“You really get a sense for where they’re at. . . . When we left in the off-season, way back in March and April, we set a professional expectation for player development, strength and conditioning, and communication. I give our staff a ton of credit. They were incredible,” Seca said.

This is the first training camp for head coach Mathieu Turcotte, who was hired in November. Seca is impressed with Turcotte’s planning and readiness.

“(We’re) more prepared than we’ve been in the years that I’ve been here,” Seca said. “The hope is obviously that’s going to translate into success on the ice (after) three seasons of frustration.”

The Sting have missed the OHL playoffs for three straight years. The first was expected after a run to the 2022-23 Western Conference final, but “the following two years, we expected to make more progress than we did,” Seca said.

“This off-season, you could tell strategically we were like, ‘We need some certain things,’ and I think we hit almost every one of them.”

Camp begins with 60 players, including 25 already under contract.

Captain Alessandro Di Iorio returns up front with leading scorer Easton Walos, Jack Van Volsen, Matthew Manza, Logan Hawery, Tyler Challenger, Brenner Lammens, Chase Gaughan and Sarvir Jaworski.

Forwards Simon Katolicky and Jonas Gulbrandsen are import draft picks, Parker Holmes was acquired from the Brantford Bulldogs, Myles Dunn was a 2025 draft pick, and Braydon Sisco and Carter Chadwick signed as free agents.

Import pick Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko and Kale Osipenko are in net.

Hunter Solomon, Kaden Aucoin and Cameron Aucoin are back on the blue-line. Cole Emerton was acquired from the Barrie Colts, Adrian Sgro was this year’s first-round draft pick, Wyatt Herres was a free agent, and Olivier Romain and Chase Sewell look to make the jump to full-time players.

Veteran defenceman Hughston Hurt won’t be in camp. Seca expects Hurt and forward Carson Hall to land in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The Sting have more depth than last season, Seca said.

“You had certain players that had to really carry the load, and that’s obviously a lot of pressure on some of those players,” he said. “This year, we know there’s a lot of organizational depth.”

He wants 23 or 24 players on the opening-day roster vying for ice time.

“Someone somewhere is going to be not happy,” Seca said. “That’s the depth you need to be a good team, especially in our division and in our conference and in the league.”

Van Volsen is their only over-ager, so two spots remain open. The Sting will use camp and pre-season to see which holes need to be filled, Seca said.

He wants to start the regular season with at least one spot open and then target a “very impactful” over-ager.

Some potential over-agers will attend camp as free agents. They’ll try to make the cut like Jordan Bax did last year.

“There’s 20 teams in our league and we are all inundated with players from North America that want to play in this league. . . . There’s an incredibly long list, so you have to be strategic about it. I’m curious to how a couple guys show up,” Seca said.

mmalone@postmedia.com