Max Martin's shoulder is as good as new and Josh Anderson's back is bearing the burden.
That's great news for the Prince George Cougars, who are counting the two defencemen to stay healthy after injuries cut short their seasons last year.
Anderson had already emerged as a leader on the Cats' blueline at the time he cracked a vertebra last January in Vancouver when Giant forward Radovan Bondra sidestepped Anderson's check, sending him crashing face first into the boards,
His fearless habit of using his six-foot-three, 220-pound frame as a battering ram gained him a reputation with opposing forwards as the kind of defenceman you don't like to cross paths with. Combined with his skating abilities and the wicked slap shot he possesses, he made it onto NHL Central Scouting final list and was taken in the June draft by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round, 71st overall.
But Anderson only played 39 of 72 games for the Cougars in 2015-16 and without him, they were a different team. After gaining Canadian Hockey League honorable mention status in late December, the Cougars lost more games than they won the final three months of the season and were swept out of the playoffs by Seattle in a four-game series.
Martin's injury, a torn labrum which required surgery last October, limited the Winnipeg native to just 10 games in his rookie WHL season. Picked in the second round of the 2014 bantam draft, the Cougars didn't get much of a chance to see how Martin would adjust to playing major junior hockey after starring with the Winnipeg Wild major midget team.
He captained Team Manitoba in March 2015 to the bronze medal at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George and expectations ran high he would continue to develop his skills as an slick skater and exceptional puck-mover in the WHL. But it turned out the separated shoulder he suffered in December 2014 never healed properly and surgery was required.
Fans who gathered at CN Centre Monday night for the Cougars intrasquad game saw Anderson and Martin playing together on Team Black in an 8-5 win over Team White for the Rob Charney Memorial Cup and for both players the fast action on the ice served as reassurance they're ready for regular duty again.
"It was the first high-intensity game I've had for a while, it feels good to be back," said Anderson, a native of Campbell River who celebrated his 18th birthday Aug. 29.
"It was a tough season to overcome but as the summer went on I started getting healthier and I started refocusing my mind on this season and coming back ready to play. The injury is always in the back of your head but I've been good about keeping it back there so I'll keep moving forward with it."
Martin has worked to recover from his injury long enough now to know the joint is stronger than it ever was.
"My shoulder is feeling good, there's no questions about it so I'm feeling good going into the year," Martin said "My goal is to play as many games as I can, hopefully all 72, and get to the top of the D-corps and just make a good impression this year. I'm hoping to get power-play time and penalty-kill time and hopefully end the season successfully and get drafted."
Assuming they continue to progress, expect head coach Richard Matvichuk to pile on the ice time for Anderson and Martin.
"They're two mainstays - you look at Josh, a drafted kid, big size, he's going to play that physical shutdown role," said Matvichuk. "I haven't ever seen Max play but the way he can skate and the way he handles the puck, he's definitely going to be in our top three and he's going to play big minutes this year."
Martin played just one game last September before his injury acted up but he returned to the ice two months after his surgery to practice with the team. He ended up playing nine regular season game and one playoff game.
"I got surgery in October but I finished the year off and that was nice," said Martin. "I got to watch the ins and outs of the whole season and see how it plays out and I don't want to say it's a positive but there were some positives from it. You see different things.
"I probably wouldn't realize how much time I really had out there (when holding on to the puck) if I was to start the year full swing, but you have more time than you think. You just have to get your head up and realize that."
Known as an offensive catalyst, Martin contributed to the quick tempo of the intrasaquad game Monday and set up Josh Curtis for the opening goal for Team Black.
"It felt good - this was our fifth game of the weekend (including training camp scrimmages) but this one was a little more up-pace and a little more game-like," Martin said. "Lots of guys were getting a little heated at each other but some inner-team competitiveness is always good."
Anderson certainly wasn't holding back. He nailed Team White forward Kody McDonald in front of the net midway through the first period and hit his Cougar teammate hard enough to knock McDonald out of the game.
Martin says he likes working with new Cougars coaches Matvichuk and Steve O'Rourke, who have brought fresh ideas to develop into game plans they figure will make the Cougars' season a success.
"I think we can be really competitive with the top teams in the league if not be the top team in the league - it should be good with the new coaches, we should be fighting for the top," Martin said.
"Richard has been in our spot. He's played at the highest level and that should be good for all of us."
The coaching change which ended Mark Holick's affiliation with the Cougars after 3 1/2 seasons is creating a different culture around the dressing room and on the bench and so far Anderson likes what he sees.
"The atmosphere is great, we want to be at the rink every day with the guys and the new coaches, it's great to be back here," said Anderson. "The way we're going now with the guys buying into the new systems and everybody enjoying being here, I think we're going to make a great run in playoffs this year. I'm pretty excited for the postseason.
"We definitely have the team to make that push here so I think we just have to go game by game and be ready to go each night."
Matvichuk played junior hockey as a defenceman in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades and went on to play in the NHL for 15 years, winning the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999. His words of wisdom are not lost on Anderson.
"He's been through it all and everything," Anderson said. "He's a great guy to rely on so I just have to take everything he says to me and just use it in my game. With him being there as a D-man I think he's going to buy in to the defence-first type system and some people will definitely have to overcome that."
Cougars forward Jansen Harkins says the Cougars are in good hands with Anderson and Martin back on their blueline posts alongside veterans Tate Olson, Shane Collins, Shaun Dosanjh and Joel Laukusta.
"Both Max and Josh are really good players, really good D-men," Harkins said.
"Everything starts from the back and our back end is really strong right now and that's huge for the forwards, being able to get us the puck quick and on the tape. is really good for us. We have awesome depth up front this year and if you play with anyone you'll be able to do some good things n the ice and make chances."
The Cougars open the preseason Friday afternoon (1 p.m. PT) in Red Deer against the Edmonton Oil Kings, followed by a Saturday afternoon encounter with the Calgary Hitmen, also in Red Deer.
