The Bearcats, defending champions of the Maritime Junior Hockey League, have acquired new talent with the addition of two veteran goaltenders and three forwards.
In the crease, the Bearcats picked up two 20-year-old netminders – Kevin Resop and Ryan Huestis.
Resop, of St. Petersburg, Fla., played for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec major junior league for the past three seasons.
Truro obtained Resop’s junior A playing rights from the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba junior league for future considerations.
Huestis, from Bedford, was also acquired for future considerations in a trade with the Miramichi Timberwolves.
Huestis played last season for Miramichi and Valley of the MHL and East Hants of the Nova Scotia junior B league.
Up front, the Bearcats added veteran centre Campbell Pickard of the Timberwolves.
Pickard, of Halifax, had 19 goals and 41 assists last season in Miramichi and led all playoff scorers with 10 goals and 13 assists in 15 post-season games.
In exchange for Pickard, the Bearcats gave up defenceman Jarrod Shipley and the rights to forward Anthony Wojcik, who played in the QMJHL last year with Rouyn-Noranda and Moncton. Truro also gave up a second-round pick in next-year’s draft.
In another off-season trade, the Bearcats acquired 18-year-old forward Karter Renouf of South Porcupine, Ont., from the Waterloo Siskins of the Mid-Western Junior Hockey League. Renouf tallied 28 points in 49 regular-season games with the Siskins last season. The Bearcats gave up future considerations in the deal.
Elliott McGuire of the Holderness Prep School Program in New Hampshire will also join the Bearcats this season.
The Lowell, Mass., native is another 18-year-old who should be a solid fit up front. The four-year Holderness veteran captained the club last year.
The Bearcats open training camp Sunday with fitness testing at 1 p.m., followed by an on-ice session at 8 p.m.
