A year after winning their third Sutherland Cup title in as many years, the Caledonia Corvairs are faced with a daunting task: A complete rebuild. ?

"Usually every year, you change maybe eight or 10 guys," said Corvairs coach Mike Bullard. "This year we're starting over from scratch. I have 20 new players."??

Last season in their quest to become the first Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team to win three consecutive league titles, the Corvairs loaded up with 20-year-olds and players with Ontario Hockey League experience.

By the time they hoisted the Sutherland Cup, they had amassed 17 overagers, and 1,325 games of OHL experience from 12 players.

"We went for it last year," Bullard said. "We knew there were going to be consequences for going for it, but we didn't think the consequences were going to come from the league with all these new rule changes."

In March, GOJHL teams voted 21-5 to pass what has become known as the "Caledonia Rule," limiting how many 20-year olds and former major junior players a team can have. For the first time, the Corvairs have had to build with younger players. ?

"We haven't had a young player on our roster since Connor Murphy (in 2012)," Bullard said. "I've told all my young guys, 'Don't worry about how old you are, just go out there and play the best you can.'"??

This year's version of the Corvairs has just five 20-year-olds. Six players on the team have OHL experience, totalling 714 games, just over half what the team boasted last season.

One hundred of those games come from team captain Quentin Maksimovich, one of two returning players from the 2016 championship team. He's especially motivated to prove himself in his final year of junior hockey.

"I want to prove to everybody that doubted me at higher levels that I can compete and that I can be a top player." ??

He added that more will be expected of himself and Ryan Punkari, the lone returnees, as leaders. ?

"It's different this year. Not a lot of guys came back. We just have a couple guys to show the others how to be a Corvair."??

Bullard said that he's confident with his selection of Maksimovich as captain, citing familiarity as a big factor in his decision. ?

"He played with us last year. He's a hard worker, and I know what I'm getting from him every night. He's not the most vocal guy, but he leads by example."

Maksimovich leads the Corvairs in scoring, with 17 points in 11 games. Last season, he averaged over a point per game with 43 points in 40 games. ?

Between the pipes, Caledonia is relying on rookie goaltender Daniel Chenard, a 17-year-old from Kitchener. With eight games under his belt, Chenard sits in the top-10 in the league in wins, goal-against-average, and save percentage, and has the Corvairs sitting in first place in the Golden Horseshoe Conference with a record of 9-2-1-0.??

The Ancaster Avalanche are also rebuilding, but it's not going as smoothly as Caledonia's rebuild is.

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Head coach Ryan Kuwabara had one word to describe his team: "We're young. We have to go through the process, much like when I first started here four years ago.

"We're going to make a lot of mistakes. It's going to be one of those years where you have to develop guys, take your lumps a bit, and hopefully be really good in January."??

The Avalanche lost a number of players from last year, with 15 new faces in the lineup. Notably missing are their top nine scorers from 2015-16 and their number one netminder.

Kuwabara said getting so many new players on the same page can be challenging. ??

"It's tough. I'm trying to put some accountability in there. It's getting them adjusted to the speed, to the systems, and being accountable for their actions on the ice."??

The Avalanche are looking to 17-year-old rookie Zach Bramwell on offence. He currently leads the GOJHL in rookie scoring is tied for eighth overall in the league with 19 points in 11 games.

The Avalanche currently sit sixth in the GOJHL's Golden Horseshoe conference, with a 4-5-0-2 record.

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