What a difference a year makes.

As Ottawa Fury FC wrapped up its first week of on-field training in Gatineau on Friday, there's a different feeling around the squad that goes beyond the eight new faces signed during the off-season.

This time last year, the expansion Fury arrived in the same training spot as they are now -- Gatineau's Complexe Branchaud-Briere -- and started putting together the pieces of a first season with its share of ups and downs.

While some players from the first Fury team were familiar with each other, the club was what you would think of as a typical expansion team, a club pieced together from what was the best available at the time.

It also took until the end of training camp, when Fury was in Florida preparing for its first match against the Fort Lauderale Strikers, for the roster to be complete. Former Fury players like Maykon and Vini Dantas didn't join the club until much later because of visa issues and the club had a steady stream of trialists vying for a couple open roster spots.

Fast forward to this season and the difference is striking. Fury brought back its veteran core, promising young players a shot while mixing in a number of new faces improving the club at nearly every position.

The biggest early difference seen at camp this week is pace. While the high intensity head coach Marc Dos Santos demanded last year has returned early in camp, the players, overall, have come back more fit than the inaugural Fury group.

"We've very happy with the first week," Dos Santos said after Friday's session, which wrapped up with a spirited 9 vs. 9 game. "In Florida (last year), a lot of guys arrived not fit. Now it's not the case. I'm very happy with the level of fitness, the level of intensity, the mentality of the group."

Yes, it's a little early to start predicting how Fury will fare in a league where most teams seemed to take a step or two forward in the off-season and Ottawa can't compete with big budget teams like the New York Cosmos when it comes to tossing big dollars at players in a league with no salary cap.

But Dos Santos nonetheless made a bold statement with his activity over the past few months, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by returning players.

"You can see the quality's much higher than it was last year," said defender Mason Trafford, who returned to a familiar spot on the back line next to Drew Beckie in training on Friday. "Even myself last year, I don't think I was here until mid-March. That makes it more difficult for sure, when you're trying to form a team and there's so many new faces every day.

"This year to have everyone in, you can already see from Day 1 we're starting as a team."

Midfielder Nicki Paterson said having the team spend last week together in the gym gave the guys a good base to start training on the pitch.

"There's already quite a strong bond there," Paterson said. "Last year, half the team you didn't know who anybody was (at first).

"I think the intensity is something we had last year but now there's quality with that as well and I think that's a huge benefit to us. I think we feel like we've been around for a while now and there's a strong core and a strong leadership on the team and that will make a big difference."

Pre-season around the corner

While the regular season is still a ways off, Fury FC only has a few more days of training before hitting the pitch for its first pre-season game.

Fury will train in Gatineau until next Wednesday before heading to Toronto to face TFC II at the Kia Training Centre on Friday. Ottawa will follow up with games against the Rochester Rhinos (March 13, Branchaud-Briere), FC Montreal (March 20, Olympic Stadium), Syracuse University (March 28, Syracuse University) and Wake Forest University (March 31, Wake Forest University).

Defender Mason Trafford said the players can't wait to get a game in.

"I think there's a lot of guys here (Friday) that can already play at least a half and get right into it," he said. "The guys took care of themselves in the off-season and we're chomping at the bit to get going against Toronto.

Fury kicks off the NASL regular season in Carolina April 4 and opens at home April 11 against Atlanta.

Twitter: @chrishofley