No current member of the Varsity Blues men’s hockey has won an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoff series, despite U of T having qualified for the playoffs each of the last five seasons. The once unparalleled men’s hockey program has not captured an OUA title in two decades, and hasn’t won a Canadian Interuniversity Sport title since 1984.

In spite of this, it is difficult not to be at least somewhat optimistic about the team’s future. The Blues qualified for the playoffs this season even though the season was being usedeffectively as a rebuilding year for the team and they had been moved to the intensely competitive OUA West Division. Of the 27 players on the roster this season, just two are graduating. Though the loss of captain Blake Boddy and veteran defender Tyler Turcotte will certainly be felt, the core of the team will remain largely intact.

Up front, leading scorer Michael Markovic will be back for a fifth season, as will sniper Jeff Brown for his fourth season. Tyler von Engelbrechten, who showed significant improvement this year, going from 5 points in the 2012–13 campaign to 24 this past season, will round out the high-flying trio. Potential captain and excellent two-way forward Paul Van De Velde will likely anchor a solid second line with Tyler Liukkonen and sophomore standout Andrew Doyle. After recording 8 points in his rookie season, Doyle doubled his output in 2013–14, despite playing just 21 games.

Places on the bottom two forward lines will be fought over in training camp, though it seems likely that the grinding all-rookie line of Casey Knight, Dean Klomp, and Russell Turner will stay together. The rookie forwards played a crucial role in energizing the team this year, earning themselves more and more ice time as the season wore on.

Defense will likely be what makes or breaks the Blues next season. The team allowed 34.4 shots per game on average, 1.5 more than they took. More importantly, they allowed too many high quality scoring chances on their goaltenders. It is difficult to recall a goal let in by a Varsity Blues goaltender this past season that legitimately should have been stopped. Too often, it was the heroics of Brett Willows or Garrett Sheehan in goal that secured a victory or kept a match within reach.

The top pairing of stay-at-home defenseman Dylan Heide and two-way defender Lane Werbowski will be back, with both entering just their third season with the team. They will likely be required to carry a significant defensive load. The loss of Turcotte will be a disadvantage for the Blues, and the performance of defenders Cameron Bernier, Marcus Yolevski, and Charlie Connell may well determine if U of T keeps its streak of post-season appearances alive. Connell in particular will be interesting to watch; a rookie this season, he had become a mainstay on the blue line by mid-January, being known for his simple, mistake-free hockey.

In goal, there is little to be concerned about. For the past several seasons, the Blues have rotated goaltenders Garrett Sheehan and Brett Willows. Both are excellent keepers who rarely let in bad goals, keep their composure under pressure, and would be undisputed starting goaltenders for the vast majority of OUA teams. With Sheehan injured down the stretch this season, Willows rose to the occasion, recording two shutouts and a 43-save win over the Ryerson Rams in his last four starts to secure U of T a spot in the post-season.

If the team advances past the first round of the playoffs next year, and it is not far-fetched to believe that they might, goaltending will be key.