'Fighting for a spot on the team': Islanders hit the ice for training camp

The Charlottetown Islanders have kicked off their2017-18 training camp and fans may need a programto get know them.

Nearly 40 players have been on the iceat the APM Centre in Cornwall forthe team's main camp battlingfor a spoton the roster.

Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said it will be a very different team in the upcoming season than last year's.

"A lot of spots open for competition, and I think that's been the key word for us here is competition," he said.

"I've been happy with the work ethic and a lot of kids that are truly fighting for a spot on the team and that hasn't necessarily been the case in the past couple of seasons due to the amount of returning players"

'A lot of skilled players here'

There are some familiar faces in camp,and manynew ones.

Gone are DanielSprong,Filip Chlapik,Guillaume BriseboisandNicolas Meloche.

Goaltender Matthew Welsh and first-round NHL draft pickPierre-Olivier Josephare among the returning players heading up the back end ofa team that fell short in their best-of-seven semifinal series toBlainville-Boisbriand Armada.

But, that was last season.

Centre Will Bower is also back for his first full season with the Islanders.

"We've got a lot of skilled players here. It's really up to them who wants to get those positions. There's numerous positions in the front end and back end up for grabs, so it just depends on who's going to take it," said Bower.

"We obviously don't have the skilled team as we did last year, so we're going to have to work hard to win our games, so we know that going in that's going to be our mindset this year."

'Underdog type of team'

Hultonsaidthis year's club will have to find its own identity, and he'll be counting on his veterans to play key roles again this season.

"We're not going to replace the high-end talent that we had last year, but that doesn't mean that we can't have a successful hockey team," said Hulton.

"There's more than one way to win a hockey game we're going to have a gritty, scrappy kind of an underdog type of team, and I think that everybody outside of Charlottetown is probably going to pick us to be one of the lower teams in the league, and I think we're going to relish in the opportunity to prove people wrong."

The Islanders hope to take the first step to proving their critics wrong when they open the 2017-18 regular season at home Sept. 22 against the Moncton Wildcats.

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