The Windsor Spitfires have been ranked 5th overall in the country by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) following preseason play.
The Spits won three of their four preseason games and head coach Greg Walters said the wins were because of the effort put forth by his team.
"Coming from last year, some people didn't have us making the playoffs, so it's great and obviously it's all credit to the kids and listen we've got a good team coming back," Walters said.
Walters is entering his second year as head coach with Windsor and said he will focus on continuing to build strong relationships with the players.
"When the kids in there know that the coaching staff care about them more as people than players, you can push them in a good way in making sure you get the best out of them, so we're excited to get going," he said.
Last season the team was plagued by injuries sidelining players like captain Liam Greentree, Cole Davis, A.J. Spellacy, Owen Outwater, Ethan Belchetz, J.C. Lemieux, and Carson Woodall.
In April, the Spitfires were eliminated from the playoffs in a deciding Game 7 against Kitchener.
Walters said his team never quits.
"They battled, the guy's who were in there, and listen, we were one shot away in overtime in Game 7 to go on to play London, so we're really excited and we want to make sure that we get back there and keep improving and moving on here," Walters said.
The Ontario Hockey League has ranked Windsor 2nd overall for their preseason performance.
The Spitfires will play their season opener on the road in Sarnia against the Sting on Friday night.
The home opener will be Saturday night when the Spits welcome rival London Knights to the WFCU Centre.