Only a few weeks ago, the Newfoundland Growlers thought their time in the province was over. Today, they have 31 players on the ice as they begin training camp in Ontario.

The Kelly Cup champs have three Newfoundlanders in the lineup: Zach O’Brien, Marcus Power and James Melindy. Adam Pardy of Bonavista played last year with the team but has retired. Ten of the 31 are returning players from last year.

Reflecting on the 10-year agreement with the Growlers and the Edge, Growlers president and CEO Dean MacDonald says he thought at one point that there would be no future here.

MacDonald says he thought the team was done and didn’t think there was any hope a deal would get done because economics were so bad.

They lost significantly in year one, and couldn’t continue on year-after-year suffering losses. It didn’t make sense and he says the Maple Leafs didn’t want to be in that position either. He says he assumed in mid-summer it was over and was working actively to find a home for the team after this season at the Mile One.

Meanwhile, the owner of the Edge, Irwin Simon is promising an NBL championship this year. The Edge lost to Moncton in last year’s final.

Simon promises they will bring a championship home this year in the NBL Canada and says he can’t wait to see everybody at games.