PR - Pontiacs

The offseason saw a major shakeup on the Pontiacs' roster. Key players like Eric Cole, and Daniel Paille were traded and David Legwand didn't even stay long enough to play a game. In fact, the only team to be involved in more trades than the Pontiacs during the offseason was the Misconduct with whom three of the deals were made.

GM Andrew Schoenberger's work has brought some important depth and experience to the team. Many felt that the team was too young and lacked experience and could greatly benefit from the presence of influential veterans. In response to this need, Andrew Schoenberger was able to acquire Zigmund Palffy at the end of last season and within the last week Jeremy Roenick and Brad Stuart. "These players will give us the leadership that we've been looking for." Schoenberger was quoted as saying.

Another area that was quite weak at the end of last season was defense. Schoenberger was quoted as saying that, "Trading Ivan Baranka was one of the hardest things that I have had to do in this position, as General Manager, he was the core of our defense, but the numerous injuries faced by our team last season required me to act and try to fill the holes." However, the offseason saw the Pontiacs acquire Nicholas Boynton, Brad Stuart and Teemu Laakso who should provide much needed depth to the Pontiac defense, however, this came at the cost of sending young Alex Biega to the Bobcats.

Other key acquisitions for the team were Patrick Dwyer, Jani Rita and Richard Zednik. It is hoped that the added depth that these players will contribute will launch the team into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, which they missed by only a hair last season.

Pontiac stars Danny Fritsche, Jonas Johannson, Mark Stuart, Braydon Coburn, and Teemu Hovinen will be remaining with the team as this season begins.

When asked why he felt that they missed the playoffs last season, GM Andrew Schoenberger said, "Well I am not much for making excuses, but the fact that many of our key players were either injured or in the penalty box most of the time did not help the situation very much, but I am hopeful that this season will be different."

The Bonnyville Pontiacs have also announced that they will be hosting a "Meet the Players" event this Saturday afternoon so that fans can come and meet both the new and old additions to their favourite team.