The Wildcats officially kicked off the 2015-16 season with an Aug. 23 barbecue and meet-and-greet at the Kings Mutual Century Centre in Berwick. The actual on-ice sessions got underway Aug. 24.
Since the end of last season, the Wildcats have made quite a few changes, though none have been of the major variety.
From the roster that finished the playoffs last spring, captain Anthony Cardinal, Adam Chapman, Mitchell Jones, Myles McGurty, Mike Molloy, Kaden Ruest and Matt Wright have all completed their junior eligibility.
In addition, forward Jesse Hamer and goalie Mark Loveday have departed in trades. Loveday brought defenseman Tyler Gunn in exchange, while Hamer brought forwards Brett Tidman and Jacob McNutt, both Kings County natives.
Also acquired in trades are forward Jack Patterson, a Bedford native who split last season between Pembroke and Brockville of the Central Canada League, and 6’2” defenseman Vytal Cote, who played last season with Val D’Or in the QMJHL.
Patterson and Cote are both 20-year-olds, which will add to the Wildcats’ veteran presence.
The Wildcats also acquired the rights to 6’2” defenseman Matthew Nosella, who played last year with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Greenough is currently in negotiations with Nosella as to where he will play this coming season.
A number of 2015 draft picks will be in camp, including top draft choices Branden Dauphinee and Dylan Morley, former teammates (and line mates) with the Cape Breton Tradesmen of the NSMMHL.
Other draft picks include defenseman Landon Trickett; forward Isaiah Francis; defenceman-forward Mitch Rankin; goalie Reilly Pickard; forward Cass Warren; and defensemen Adam Nolan, Jack Gallant, Craig Murray and Brett Thorne.
The Wildcats would appear to be solid on defence, with Cote (and possibly Nosella) joining returnees Brady Atwater, Nick Gibson, Brandon Worthen, Dane Moore and Austin Harding.
Atwater, Harding, Moore, Cote and Nosella are all 20-year-olds. Gibson is 19, and Worthen 18.
The team is equally deep at the forward position, where Greenough has amassed an enviable collection of talented local athletes, including John Deacon, Grant Janes, Lukas Kane, Eli Hughes and now Tidman and McNutt.
Other returning forwards include Jeremy Butterworth, Josh Worthen, 2014-2015 Rookie of the Year Nick Bruce and Jean-Marc Evans-Renaud.
Add in highly regarded rookies Dauphinee and Morley, the first two picks in the MHL draft, and the Wildcats should have few worries at the forward position.
The only place when the Wildcats might be a little thin is in goal. Blade Mann-Dixon recently had his QMJHL rights traded from Saint John to Moncton, and Greenough is proceeding on the real possibility that the Antigonish native might stick there.
Ryan Huestis, an 18-year-old recently cut by the Halifax Mooseheads, attended the Wildcats’ camp a year ago, and is now back this year.
Pickard, formerly with Acadie-Bathurst, is also an option, as are Olafr Schmidt, who played a handful of games last season while spending the bulk of the year with the Valley Maple Leafs, and Cameron Visser, who last played in Kensington, P.E.I.
Greenough said he has “a couple of irons in the fire,” including “a couple of other kids still at Q camps.” As well, he is “looking to see what happens with Blade.”
Greenough admitted he has been “focusing on defence” this off-season, and specifically getting bigger on the blueline.
Overall, he was “looking forward to camp. We have a couple of extra bodies, which should make for some competition for spots,” which in turn, “should make us a better team.”
The Wildcats officially kicked off the 2015-16 season with an Aug. 23 barbecue and meet-and-greet at the Kings Mutual Century Centre in Berwick. The actual on-ice sessions got underway Aug. 24.
Since the end of last season, the Wildcats have made quite a few changes, though none have been of the major variety.
From the roster that finished the playoffs last spring, captain Anthony Cardinal, Adam Chapman, Mitchell Jones, Myles McGurty, Mike Molloy, Kaden Ruest and Matt Wright have all completed their junior eligibility.
In addition, forward Jesse Hamer and goalie Mark Loveday have departed in trades. Loveday brought defenseman Tyler Gunn in exchange, while Hamer brought forwards Brett Tidman and Jacob McNutt, both Kings County natives.
Also acquired in trades are forward Jack Patterson, a Bedford native who split last season between Pembroke and Brockville of the Central Canada League, and 6’2” defenseman Vytal Cote, who played last season with Val D’Or in the QMJHL.
Patterson and Cote are both 20-year-olds, which will add to the Wildcats’ veteran presence.
The Wildcats also acquired the rights to 6’2” defenseman Matthew Nosella, who played last year with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Greenough is currently in negotiations with Nosella as to where he will play this coming season.
A number of 2015 draft picks will be in camp, including top draft choices Branden Dauphinee and Dylan Morley, former teammates (and line mates) with the Cape Breton Tradesmen of the NSMMHL.
Other draft picks include defenseman Landon Trickett; forward Isaiah Francis; defenceman-forward Mitch Rankin; goalie Reilly Pickard; forward Cass Warren; and defensemen Adam Nolan, Jack Gallant, Craig Murray and Brett Thorne.
The Wildcats would appear to be solid on defence, with Cote (and possibly Nosella) joining returnees Brady Atwater, Nick Gibson, Brandon Worthen, Dane Moore and Austin Harding.
Atwater, Harding, Moore, Cote and Nosella are all 20-year-olds. Gibson is 19, and Worthen 18.
The team is equally deep at the forward position, where Greenough has amassed an enviable collection of talented local athletes, including John Deacon, Grant Janes, Lukas Kane, Eli Hughes and now Tidman and McNutt.
Other returning forwards include Jeremy Butterworth, Josh Worthen, 2014-2015 Rookie of the Year Nick Bruce and Jean-Marc Evans-Renaud.
Add in highly regarded rookies Dauphinee and Morley, the first two picks in the MHL draft, and the Wildcats should have few worries at the forward position.
The only place when the Wildcats might be a little thin is in goal. Blade Mann-Dixon recently had his QMJHL rights traded from Saint John to Moncton, and Greenough is proceeding on the real possibility that the Antigonish native might stick there.
Ryan Huestis, an 18-year-old recently cut by the Halifax Mooseheads, attended the Wildcats’ camp a year ago, and is now back this year.
Pickard, formerly with Acadie-Bathurst, is also an option, as are Olafr Schmidt, who played a handful of games last season while spending the bulk of the year with the Valley Maple Leafs, and Cameron Visser, who last played in Kensington, P.E.I.
Greenough said he has “a couple of irons in the fire,” including “a couple of other kids still at Q camps.” As well, he is “looking to see what happens with Blade.”
Greenough admitted he has been “focusing on defence” this off-season, and specifically getting bigger on the blueline.
Overall, he was “looking forward to camp. We have a couple of extra bodies, which should make for some competition for spots,” which in turn, “should make us a better team.”