The Shockers Revamped for Fall Season

The Shockers have been quite quiet about the rebuilding of the team but with the Fall '09 season fast approaching it is time to take a look at the new and improved Shockers.

The Newbies:

Bottom line, everyone should be pretty excited to see what the new guys can do as they are the main constituents of the Shockers offense this season. Mike Rossi, Nick Petosa, Mark Gamboz, Mike Minkiewicz and Carlo Varano have agreed to sign on for minimally this season, all depending where the team ends up in the playoffs. Rossi is quick, plays smart and he's got a good eye for the play should be able to contribute to Shocker goal production. He did sub in for a game last season for the Shockers but sustained a season-ending injury during a regualr season game with his former team Damage Inc.

Petosa and Minkiewicz will be ther surprises of the season as the Shockers' scouts blindly signed these two in a package deal to get Rossi.

"Their good guys. We played together for awhile so we know each other," commented Rossi.

Mark Gamboz subbed a game for the Shockers in the summer season and turned some heads with his gritness and speed. He will definately be a big help as the Shockers always lacked speed up in front in the past.

Carlo Varano was a late signing after former captain, Andrew Stevens, announced to the team that he would be sitting out this season to focus on other life projects. Varano who played with Alain Godard and Stevens with the Blues in the Elite league of the NABHL three years ago was a key player in the success of the Blues. Since then, the Blues had disbanded leaving Varano on the free agent market.

The Comback Kid:

The comeback kid this season is the Green Giant himself, Gary McDermott, who had missed the cut last season but had subbed a few games for the Shockers. The team is very happy to have his solidness back on the blueline.

"He's smart and knows the game so it's a big help to have him back," commented impromptu captain, Francois Hamelin.

The Veterans:

The verterans returning for this season are Alain Godard, Frankie Ortuso, Benoit Ducharme, Joey Rae, Jeff Jasmin, Marc Boucher, Greg Emmanuel, Francois Hamelin and Giancarlo Capaz.

Godard is without long-time linemate Andrew Stevens this season so he will be looking to step up his game and take the reigns of the first line.

Ortuso will be most-likely teamed up with good friend Mark Gamboz and should be a dynamic duo as they are both pretty fast players. Ortuso looks to make a bigger impact this season as it took him a good number of games before finding the back of the net last season.

Ducharme, the most veteran centerman on the team, will have a new task to adjust his game to accomodate much of the new talent. Over time he has learned to play with many styles so look for him to jump into the production department more and more as the season progresses.

Rae makes his second appearance as the Shockers' burly blueliner. He is looking forward to jumping into the rythm of the season as he will have to modify his gameplay for his new defensive partner who has yet to be named just yet.

As for Jasmin, every season is an improvement from the last and the Shockers feel very lucky to have him covering the back field but he will soon feel more responsibility to be a solid building block for the defense as he is the most energetic human being on the floor to date. There is a lot of floor to cover and he will play an integral role of stopping the opposition, and quaterbacking the play back into the offensive zone.

"The Claw" Boucher had a decent season during the summer and the Shockers should utilize this guy more on the powerplay for this upcoming season. Arguably one of the better shots from the blueline, his shot could be a difference maker in the tight situations. With the team looking to stay out of the box and stay on the floor, they should see more opportunities on the powerplay and why not have some fire power from the back end?

Emmanuel a.k.a Lids will return for another season. Despite his rough start with the team in the NABHL, he returned last season in PTM as a new and imporved player. He is a solid offensive defenseman with a lot of good ideas so look for him to be jumping up on the rush or leading the charge for the boys in black-red and white.

Hamelin, who, despite last season, was unsure about his future with the team returns as the initiator of the team. Practically building the team from ground zero and showing that he can construct a new face for the team to keep the dynasty alive for another season. The veteran wants to improve his point total this season but had made clear that points do not matter for him, he just wants to win.

Last but not least is the backbone of the team, Giancarlo Capaz. His new motivation is having a new team in front of him. He had made it perfectly clear that last season's disappointments were due to being on the penalty kill for most of the games. Capaz was inticed to return to the Shockers when management came to him with promises of the signing Rossi, Petoso and Minkiewicz, whom are all his former teammates of Damage Inc. Capaz, usually solid, but had a hot and cold season in the summer will look to step up his game to be hot in the pipes to keep the team on fire all fall and winter.

The Long and Short:

The Shockers have a good chance at being a top team in PTM this fall. The goal should be to play hard every game, get in good position for the playoffs and hopefully pave a golden road to the championships. Only time will tell as to where this, so far, captain-less team will end up at the end of the season.

The Shockers will have an exhibition game next Tuesday where most the of the players will be dressed to play.