Competition is going to be fierce for spots on the Estevan Bruins this season, particularly at forward, where there could be as many as 20 players vying for positions. That competition got a little tougher today when the Bruins already-impressive recruiting class grew by one. 

Forward Antoine Saint-Onge of Shawinigan, Quebec, has signed on to join the Bruins for the coming season. Last year, playing Junior A in the Western States Hockey League for the Edson Aeros, the 2002-born forward posted 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 41 games. 

"Antoine is from Quebec and he's got a year of junior experience under his belt," said Bruins head coach and GM Jason Tatarnic. "He's a big kid, he's got size and he's got a good skill set. I'm really looking forward to seeing his progression here and seeing how he develops. He's going to a cast of a pretty good group of forwards so it's nice to add to the depth."

"I am very excited to get the opportunity to play for the Bruins and be a part of the Estevan community," said Saint-Onge. "I can't wait to start working on the ice with my new teammates!" 

Because Saint-Onge played junior last season rather than finish out his U18 career, he's used to playing against older players. He's also not afraid to use his size in the dirty areas of the ice, according to Tatarnic. 

"Where he's coming from, he's going to have to adapt a bit to playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Leauge," he said. "The SJHL is going to be a little bit higher caliber than he was used to last year, but he still played against some older guys and he understands what it's like to go in the corners with older guys, the battles and stuff like that." 

Saint-Onge joins a recruiting class that is already loaded with top-tier talent graduating from the U18 AAA circuit. Couple that with the number of returning forwards who made a big impact on the team last season, and this year's Bruins training camp (which does not yet have a set date) is shaping up to have a bit of an edge to it

"We're looking at it being a very competitive training camp for those spots," said Tatarnic. "We have younger players and older players that we feel can fill those spots and they're going to have to battle it out. Our mindset is we're going to take the best players from camp and we don't care really what you did last year. We have to evaluate on this year. I think players should expect that and want to have it that way."