By Nathan Kanter

North Stars unveil roster with kick-off breakfast

Sep 14, 2016 | 12:25 PM

The North Stars have officially introduced their roster.

The team held their kick-off breakfast at the Civic Centre at 7 a.m. today, Sept. 14, to give the roughly 100 attending family, friends and fans a rundown of who they’ll see on the ice.

The roster includes 24 players, 13 of which are returning, including goaltenders Taryn Kotchorek and Ryan Rewerts, defencemen Kendall Fransoo and Connor Sych and forwards Layne Young and Reed Delainey.

Head coach Nate Bedford said unveiling the team to the community makes everyone feel comfortable.

For the players, the support is a sign of things to come.

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“If our fans and billets are willing to come out this early to have breakfast with all the team, it means they’re going to support us in our games,” team captain Fransoo said. “And we’ll give them something to come out to.” 

Spirits were high during the event, as players, coaches, family, and fans eagerly await the start of the season. Last year, the North Stars ran an extremely successful campaign, finishing first in the SJHL in the regular season with 43 wins in 58 games.

“I think everyone’s really excited to have that home opener and get that first regular season under our belts,” Fransoo said.

Fellow defenceman Sych echoed Fransoo’s thoughts.

“It’s pretty nice to have fans that … not only support us during the season, but get up at 6:30 in the morning to come out for breakfast with us,” Sych said.

Despite high expectations, Fransoo said he’s not nervous about the upcoming season.

“You just kind of get used to it and battle your nerves,” he said.

The season opener is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Kindersley Klippers at the Civic Centre. The teams will then travel to Kindersley for a rematch on Saturday night.

Both games can be heard on CJNB/CJNS, with the Ultra Print pre-game show beginning at 7:15 p.m.

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11