On the eve of training camp week, the Moose Jaw Warriors have 88 players coming into camp and not one of them is a healthy Western Hockey League goaltender.

Camp gets underway this week, and there are a lot of younger players with a lot of holes on the roster to fill.

Five defencemen and 10 forwards are returning from last year's team

Warriors general manager Alan Millar said training camp is a time for optimism.

“I think we’re excited to see a promising young group of players that we have here,” he said. “I think our team is going have a new look just in that we’re going to be quite a bit younger than we have been the last number of years. Development will be a good key for us.”

With presumed starter Adam Evanoff on the shelf for up to 14 weeks to start the season, Millar doesn't have any experienced WHL goaltenders attending camp this year.

“All in all, I think our group has worked hard to get ready for camp here, and we’re looking forward to getting going.”

A lot of players who will be 16 or 17 this year will be able to make the team out of camp this season. Some of the signed players will be stepping up.

“We really like where we are in our back end with some of our young players in the ‘02 age group, guys like Cole Jordan, Cory King and Braden Miller coming in complement Daemon Hunt, who was there last year,” Millar said. “Those young guys have shown lots of promise.”

Millar also likes the future of the defence that includes first round bantam draft pick Denton Mateychuk and 16-year-old Lucas Brenton, a 6’2” blueliner who is eligible to make the team this year.”

At forward, Millar said he’s looking forward to seeing Eric Alarie and Peyton McKenzie, who both spent some time with the Warriors last season, as well as Ryder Korczak, Calder Anderson, and Cade Hayes.

“We like all these young players I mentioned... they’re signed. I think they’re all guys that we expect are going to be here and get better and develop with our team and be a good young groups that grows up together for down the road.”

Luke Ormsby is the only 20-year-old attending camp.

Millar said he would keep his eye on the market when it comes to adding veterans, whether they’re 18, 19 or 20.

“We need to find something between the pipes to bridge the gap between Evanoff being ready to go and our young goaltending,” he said. “And I think we’d like to add a veteran presence on the back end sometime along the way during camp here during the pre-season.”

The overage spots are something to look at, he said.

“In saying all that, as much as you want to fill those 20-year-old spots, and we do want to add some veteran presence.... we want our young guys to play this year,” Millar said. “We want our young guys to grow. We want our young guys to develop, and so there’s a balance there between your age groups, and what you add in terms of veteran guys and when you add them, and make sure your young guys get the opportunity to play.