On the first day of training camp, when have you ever heard a Head Coach, state: “They already look like they are in mid-season form. They took their off-season dry land/on-ice training, very seriously and they are looking really good!”

Imagine being one of the players on the ice. You came to camp in the best shape of your life, you studied your playbook, you are executing with teammmates who came to camp with the identical focus and commitment to excellence, and suddenly, you discover that everything begins to “click.” Your teammates have a magic chemestry that works beyond anything you have ever experienced!

With a great combination of veterans and a number of very welcome additions to the team, the 2001 Toronto Marlboros head into the 2014/2015 hockey season with fantastic chemistry and strong indicators of having a truly fulfilling year, in the GTHL AAA Minor Bantam Division!

The “veterans” have been with the team for 3-4 years. The relevance of this fact can be distilled down to some very basic math. The practice drills pretty much stay the same, however, with very minor “tweaks” combined with exponentially improving skill-sets, the execution continually improves. Why?

With 70-75 practices a season, combined with approximately the same number of games; times the number of years the main body of the team has remained intact, and you have hockey players that have had the opportunity to execute on the same drills, hundreds and hundreds of times. Add to this equation the very exacting “eyes” of the coaching staff, who demand only the very best efforts at all times, and this particular equation ends up being a total winner!

Add to this an NHL-sized dressing room and at every practice: a very well presented sheet of ice, managed by the highly professional staff at the Nottawasaga Arena; and you have the makings from which highly positive expectations are well justified!

As the dawn of a new hockey season gives rise to great expectations, there is a great “meeting of the minds” between Coaches, management, volunteers, and parents. This math adds up to the basis of a hockey season that offers great potential for the 2001 Toronto Marlboros… The kind of hockey season that dreams are made of.