It's been a busier SJHL off-season than usual, in no small part due to all the in-province futures deals that were made leading up to the January trade deadline.
Almost every top player on the block found a new home within the league, and most of those swaps included players to be named later.
As a result, we are seeing teams get dramatic makeovers, with last year's middle-of-the-pack clubs like Humboldt and Melville getting facelifts at the expense of Yorkton and Melfort, respectively.
Who could forget last year's mega-blockbuster that sent top scorers Jeremy Boyer and Justin Buzzeo to Yorkton? The pair made their mark, but the Terriers fell one win short of the Credit Union Cup and now they're paying for it.
The return, 1991-born forwards Clarke Breitkreuz and Robbie Ciolfi, was the worst-kept secret in the SJHL. It played out as expected and now the Broncos have arguably the two top forwards in the league to lead the charge for the Royal Bank Cup.
Breitkreuz is the odds-on favourite to win the SJHL scoring title. Ciolfi needs to keep his focus on the rink, and if he can do that, there's no telling how good he can be.
Humboldt also picked up Ryan Marshall from Swan Valley as the futures for Nick Keller, and I think we'll be looking back on this as the best trade of the off-season. Marshall is a complete player who can play first-line minutes and lead the penalty kill. He'll be invaluable to the Broncos during the RBC.
The Broncos also acquired stud defenceman Mat Backhouse from the Dauphin Kings.
They've built an impressive attack; now they need a top-end goalie. They have been linked to Blake Voth, who the Battlefords North Stars picked up from Vernon this spring, but it won't be cheap to land his services from an inter-divisional rival.
Yorkton won't be terrorizing the Sherwood Conference, but it's not all gloomy for them. Warren Shymko is a capable starter and their attack will be led by the likes of Zak Majkowski, Brent Struble, Brenden Poncelet, Nathan Murray and Kyle McLeod.
The other major futures deal completed this summer saw Melfort send three star players to Melville to complete two separate deals for Cody Hanson and Brayden Metz before the deadline.
The Millionaires made out shockingly well here as now ex-Mustangs general manager Darrell Mann sacrificed a huge part of his team's future for a deep playoff run that ended in the semis.
Lee Christensen could establish himself as the best rearguard in the SJHL this year, especially after the departure of James Howden and Sean Flanagan, which I'll get to soon.
The 20-year-old has shown himself to be outstanding in his own end and also able to put up solid offensive numbers. He will anchor the Melville blueline.
Sean Aschim achieved a point-per-game pace last season as an 18-year-old and could challenge for the scoring title this year. Factor in Jesse Mireau, who finished top-15 in league scoring and gets under opponents' skin like a mosquito bite, and Melville made out like bandits.
With goalie Zach Rakochy entering his third SJHL season as an 18-year-old, you can colour them the prohibitive Sherwood favourites.
Melfort will be feeling the pain from this deal for a while. It indirectly led to Mann's dismissal and the resignation of several board members and staff. It will be a rebuilding year for the 'Stangs in more ways than one.
Along with all the movement has come the exit of several prominent returning players via either scholarship or trade.
Marc-Andre Carre, who tied linemate Travis Eggum for last year's scoring title but lost out on fewer goals, left La Ronge to join Eggum with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League.
Carre capturing next year's scoring title was as much a given as toast falling peanut butter side down.
No one expected the Ice Wolves to repeat after losing defence duo Dustin Stevenson and Mike Alexander, but I suspect the loss of the top three scorers in the league will have a bigger impact.
Weyburn's Drew George committed to Sacred Heart. He would have been among the most dynamic players in the SJHL next year and leaves a massive hole in the Wings' attack.
Notre Dame took a double whammy with the loss of goalie Russell Abbott and Howden to the Ottawa Gee Gees and Clarkson Golden Knights, respectively. For my money, they were the top returning goalie and defenceman in the league.
We all thought the Hounds were doomed when they lost Rylan and Jaden Schwartz, so let's not write them off just yet, but I don't see a Travis Janke-like explosion coming from any of their current forwards.
I do wish the Hounds luck; their coaches Kevin White and Connor Cameron - son of Dave Cameron - are both fellow P.E.I. natives and both are good guys. It's unfortunate that their institution doesn't give them a lot to work with.
Kindersley traded Flanagan to Salmon Arm in June for three players, one of them skilled forward Jarryd Ten Vaanholt. Flanagan requested a trade to the BCHL to pursue a Division I scholarship - not a good reflection on the SJHL - and left a big hole in an already porous-looking Klipper blueline, despite a strong forward group coming back.
Another talented player in Nipawin's Tanner Dusyk was shipped to the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
It's been a relatively quiet summer in North Battleford in terms of player movement, but the team lost two familiar faces last week.
Head coach Ken Pearson resigned to take on the vacant job in Winkler, where he will be closer to his children, and play-by-play man Dan O'Connor was hired by the WHL's Prince George Cougars.
Dan was among the best the SJHL media has to offer, and his loss will be felt around the league. But he's going to do something he's always dreamed of, and in his home province of B.C.
You learn very quickly after meeting Dan that he's extremely passionate about his job and relishes the opportunity to call hockey games for a living. He treats people first-class, and dealing with him has been a pleasure.
This corner wishes him the best of luck in the next phase of his career.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at sports@estevanmercury.ca, on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 and on his Bruins blog at bruinbanter.blogspot.com. He's thinking the only explanation for how the Blue Jays got Colby Rasmus for so little is that it balanced out the Carl er, Eric Lindros trade.
