What's wrong with the Sarnia Legionnaires?

That's the question local hockey fans are asking these days as the defending Western Jr. 'B' champions continue to languish around the .500 mark.

The team is about to reach the halfway point of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season with a mediocre record of 9-10-5. If the regular schedule ended right now, they would not have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Rebuilding job

To a certain degree, the Legionnaires are victims of their own success. They were such a great club last year that they ended up losing far more players than had originally been anticipated.

It was known that Kyle Gallinger, Tom Policelli, Chris McGuffin and Jason Smith would be lost to overage. It was known, too, that scoring champ Matt Abercrombie was going off to university. And it was widely anticipated that rookie sensations Craig Hottot and Curtis Crombeen would be in the OHL.

But few thought No. 1 goalie Matt Berglund and team captain Tyler Lewis would opt to play Jr. 'C' in Wallaceburg. Even fewer expected Zack MacQueen and Tyler Peters to make the Sarnia Sting.

In other words, Head Coach Jeff Perry, General Manager Bob Williamson and their assistants faced a huge rebuilding job. In all, no less than 13 veterans were gone, including five 20-goal scorers.

In the circumstances, this team might have collapsed completely.

But they haven't done that. Instead, they're putting together a solid team, even if the results haven't shown up on the ice yet.

Goaltending

Let's start with the goalies. In Kyle Washer and Jesse Raymond they have two reliable puckstoppers. So far, neither has been great, but both have been good. Sooner or later, one of them is going to emerge as the No. 1 guy. Hopefully, that will help him develop into the great netman Sarnia is going to need come playoff time.

Defencemen

Now let's examine the blueline.

The back end features experienced players Kyle Flemington, Anthony Donati and Tommy Ziolkowski and promising newcomers Tanner Ferguson, Jeff Paulley, Steve Farlow and Anton Zupancic. Add those names up and you have seven rearguards, giving Perry some depth at a very important position.

Donati has been absolutely explosive since returning to the team five games ago. In fact, he's scored five goals and three assists.

I think Perry is making the right move by letting youngsters like Ferguson, Farlow and Paulley play a fair amount. They're making their share of mistakes, but they're improving as they go. Overall, I'd say the blueline is good and getting better.

Forwards

If the team has a serious problem, it's a lack of scoring punch.

Right-winger Jesse Drydak and left-wingers Chase Clark and Tyler Cicchini are threats to score every time they step on the ice. But after that, they don't have any explosive scorers.

That isn't to say there aren't other talented forwards. Shawn Waldie is a great playmaker and Owen Rogers is one of the best forecheckers you'll ever see at this level.

I also like the grit shown by Andy Sokol, Joel Steeves, and Tanner Tomlinson. All three are rugged characters who can put the puck in the net on a fairly regular basis, even if they aren't great marksmen.

There are other young players that could be outstanding once they get more experience. I'm thinking of Derek Nap and Josh Teschke. I predict both will be much better by playoff time than they are now. And next season they could be team leaders.

Jake Unsworth hasn't shown too much offensively since his arrival, but I like the way he sticks up for teammates. The same could be said for Tanner Garrick and Jordan Black.

Intangibles

Now let's look at the intangibles. This team, as assistant coach Blake Morrison has noted, features players who stick up for one another. That's tremendously important.

But it has yet to find a way to win games that are there for the taking. The players seem to lack confidence in clutch situations. You can almost sense the end is coming in the third period when they're clinging to a one-goal lead.

They also have to learn to be better at home. Opposing teams should dread coming into the Brock Street Barn. As it stands now, the Legionnaires are just 6-5-2 at home.

Hopefully, they'll develop a killer instinct as they gain more experience.

The second half

Despite the ups and downs to date, I'm optimistic about the last half of the schedule. That's because I know they have exceptional hockey men in charge.

Perry is as fine a coach as you'll find in the league. By playoff time you can be sure his club will be playing outstanding positional hockey.

And Williamson is the Sam Pollack of Jr. 'B' general managers.

If he can pick up a couple of goal scorers before the trade deadline, I still think the Legionnaires will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.