There is plenty of justification for the buzz surrounding this year’s Florida Everblades squad.

“The excitement level for this year’s team is just incredible,” said Kevin Reiter, public relations manager and radio voice of the Everblades. “The names that are on this roster are some big names who put up big points. There are some good players here.”

The first big name the Blades brought in was new head coach Malcolm Cameron, who takes the reigns from Gerry Fleming.

Cameron was expected to bring about big changes by the nature of the type of players he brings in and what he expects of those players. It comes as no surprise that the Everblades have seen the largest player turnover in team history.

Cameron brought back just three players from last year’s squad, meaning he and franchise president Craig Brush worked tirelessly during the offseason to put together a squad that, on paper, many see as having an automatic berth in the Kelly Cup Finals this year.

“We went out and recruited the most talented players we could find,” Brush said of the impressive team, on paper, that he and Cameron put together. “We did that by being able to expand our scope in where we recruited. Between myself and Malcolm, we were able to talk to twice as many players over the course of the summer as we have been able to in the past.”

The close, and tireless, working relationship between Brush and Cameron seemed to pay off, resulting in a team that looked as impressive in its two preseason games as it does on paper.

Offensively, the Blades are bigger, faster and more skilled as puck handlers than in years past.

Former Texas Wildcatter Kevin Baker became well known to Blades fans over the last two years as a “Blades killer,” and fans will be more than happy to have him on their side for a change. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward brings an impressive resume after notching 56 points in 44 games last season with the Wildcatters, leading to an ECHL All-Star appearance and a call-up to the AHL last season.

Third-year pro Jacob Micflikier is a speedy forward with great puck handling skills, who comes to Florida from the Stockton Thunder where he tallied 10 goals and 27 assists in just 29 games last year. In Florida’s second preseason game, Micflikier showed his worth with one goal and one assist.

Center Yannick Tifu came to the Blades via trade. Tifu is widely considered the best player in the ECHL, and is an assist machine after totaling 93 assists and 41 goals over the last two seasons with the Dayton Bombers.

Ryan Lang is an ECHL All-Star that Blades fans also are familiar with. Lang comes to the Blades from the Augusta Lynx where he had 73 points in 61 games last year.

Danick Bouchard is a speedster that Cameron brought with him from Texas. The second-year pro had his promising rookie campaign cut short due to injuries, but still managed 13 goals and six assists in just 19 games last season.

Earnie Hartlieb returns for his fifth season as an Everblade after having a career-year last season with 24 goals and 41 assists.

On defense, Cameron and Brush focused on getting size, and players with the ability to handle the puck well and generate offense, and they didn’t disappoint with their signings.

“Defensively, we’ve got some good size which is something we lacked last year,” said Reiter.

Rookie Aaron Brocklehurst is one of the smallest defensemen at 5-11 and 195 pounds, but posted 18 assists in just 40 games in his final season at St. Cloud University, and showed his penchant for finding the net in last weekend’s preseason games, scoring one goal in each game.

Kyle Peto is another of those defensemen who can play both sides of the puck as evident by the 20 assists and two goals he posted last year in 39 games for Basingstoke of the England league.

Michael Grenzy and A.J. Thelen are a couple of 6-3, 200-pound D-men who aren’t afraid to do the dirty work, but also possess the intelligence to not get their team in trouble with bad penalties.

With so much talent assembled on one squad, expectations are high for this year’s Blades.

“Win every game,” is what Brush expects when asked.

Just because Florida’s main rival within the division the last two years, the Wildcatters, are no longer competing and most of the rival’s most talented players are now Everblades, they shouldn’t expect an easy road to winning the division. Both the Gwinnett Gladiators and the South Carolina Stingrays are expected to put talented teams on the ice, too.

Regardless, with so much talent the Everblades are considered by most to be the favorite to take the division title.

The Everblades’ first chance to see how they measure up against the division comes Friday and Saturday night at Germain Arena when they open the ECHL regular season against the Charlotte Checkers.

In a roster adjustment Wednesday, defenseman Jonathan Paiement was assigned to the Blades by the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League and defenseman Nate Hagemo was released to make room.

For information on ticket availability, visit www.floridaeverblades.com or www.germainarena.com or call 239-948-7825.