LACROSSE HOPEFULS in pursuit a spot on the 2010 edition of the Northmen Junior B squad found themselves put to the test early as the team opened their pre-season training camp at the Tony Rose arena this past Tuesday evening. Photo/MIKE MALONEY With winter rapidly giving way to spring, ice is not just disappearing on lakes and rivers but in arenas across the country as hockey cedes it's place to lacrosse.

No where is that more evident than in Northmen country where preparations for the upcoming season have been underway since the last revelers straggled home to Orangeville after celebrating their second straight Minto Cup championship by beating Brampton late last August.

And while the success or failure of any club does not rest squarely on the shoulders of any one individual, one person who may be the lightning rod but the conduit which that lightning strike travels through is the team's general manager.

In the case of the Canadian champion Rayburn Construction Junior A Northmen, that person is Bob Clevely.

Now in the fourth year of his second tenure as GM with the club, his first between 1991 and 1996, Clevely has been instrumental in bringing a number of talented players from other clubs to Orangeville. In 2007, he brought a young Adam Jones into the Northmen fold. In 2008, he acquired Stephen Keogh from Toronto Beaches.

Keogh went on to be named Minto Cup MVP in 2008.

So it came as no surprise to many when Clevely pulled the trigger on a couple of deals in the off season to shore up the Northmen roster. First he looked south to Brampton where he picked up Pat Saunders in exchange for their 2011 first round draft pick; before setting his sights towards Peterborough, where rumour had it that captain Brock Sorensen wanted to spend his last year of Junior A eligibility playing for a contender.

In addition, the Northmen also picked up some youth for the future by nabbing the number one pick in the OLA Midget entry draft, Shane MacDonald from Elora.

"We lost seven good ball players in 2009 that we needed to replace." said Clevely. "With a strong nucleus of players coming back this year and good chance for a Minto three-peat, we couldn't just sit on our laurels. We wanted to go out and get younger players for the future, but seasoned 21- year-old veterans are important, as well, for the present."

Working behind the scenes for their Junior B brethren, this season brings a face that is no stranger to Northmen fans; Josh Sanderson. As a player, Sanderson played his way up through the Northmen ranks before going on to play in the National Lacrosse League.

After a less than successful season in 2009, where they failed to make the playoffs for the first time, Sanderson is reluctant to make any predictions for 2010, "Our goal is to be tougher to play against, develop players and win."

Knowing he will have a strong core of returning players to work with, Sanderson is also looking towards a strong group of new guys making that step up from midget that are trying to earn a spot on the team this year.

One key to success on the floor this year though will as Sanderson says, "is to change the culture of the team. We want to be known as the hardest working team in the league and with that will come success. As to how far he expects the club to go this season, he would only say "We are definitely going to try and go as far as we can. That includes making the playoffs and once we are there, go as far as we can from there".

The season officially get underway for the Junior B's on Saturday April 24 when they will host Welland at the Tony Rose while for the Junior A's it will be Friday May 14th at home to the Peterborough Lakers.