ROSTER RELEASED
Charlottetown’s young squad getting set for Friday’s season and home-opening QMJHL game versus Moncton at Eastlink Centre
Charlottetown Islanders have made their final decisions and are ready for Friday’s first game of the season.
So the Charlottetown Islanders roster is set to start the 2017-18 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
Now the hard part begins for head coach Jim Hulton and his coaching staff coming out of a 1-8 pre-season record, including a 4-0 loss to Acadie-Bathurst on Sunday in Charlottetown.
The hard part is finding a way for the young team to shake off the major junior jitters, think less and react more.
“I put no bearing on pre-season, (that said) we weren’t very good Sunday afternoon, but we have seen that progression. It’s not a lack of effort, they’re kids who want to please,” said Hulton.
“So we’ve upped the pressure in practice so it’s not paralysis by analysis.”
Right now the 23-man roster for the Isles’ season and homeopener Friday versus the Moncton Wildcats (7-3 in pre-season) includes two goalies, seven defencemen and 14 forwards. Game time is 7 p.m. at Eastlink Centre.
And that lineup will be shorter as forward Pascal Aquin is out after the league suspended the 20-year-old leftwinger for eight games following a hit-to-the-head infraction against Cape Breton in a preseason game Saturday.
He’s not back in the lineup until Oct. 13 versus the Titan in Bathurst.
Also potentially missing is d-man Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who’s at Arizona Coyotes camp and might not be back for opening night.
The task now for Hulton’s other charges, many of who will see significant ice time this season as the Isles transition from last year’s deep, experienced team to a younger, less grizzled squad, is to grasp a different style of play than 2016-17’s high-flying version that scored a league-high 303 goals.
He’s also charged himself and his staff with forbearance.
“I’ve run the gamut of experienced teams, good teams, bad teams. The staff (and I) will keep pushing our ourselves to be to patient, patience is not a word most associated with my personality, and do a lot of teaching to remove that hesitation from our game,” said Hulton, who doubles as general manager.
“We have to embrace a certain style of play to get more offence. Get those greasy, dirty goals. It will take a little time to master.”
Matthew Welsh is slated to start in nets for the Isles versus Moncton and Sunday’s matinee against the Halifax Mooseheads set for a 3 p.m. kickoff.