New Look Dolphins open camp

It is looking to be a new era for the Dorchester Dolphins.

The Provincial Junior Hockey League club (junior C) returns to the ice with a new logo, new general manager and a renewed optimism for the upcoming season.

In addition, there will be plenty of new faces in the lineup when the Dolphins open the 2026-27 season at home, Sunday, September 13th, at 3:30 pm.

Main camp for the Dolphins hit the ice August 12-13 and continued August 18 and 19th.

"The skates have been good. We've had a lot of good competition. From the start, we wanted to build good camp rosters," Dolphins' head coach Jordan Fuller said. "We wanted good pace skates for the first ice times. We'll start practises next week and get them (players) all one or two exhibition games."

Camp continues the week of August 23, with preseason home games against Thamesford, August 27 and Mt. Brydges August 30.

"We have still have decisions to make," Fuller said. "We are looking to round out our bottom six roles, with physical, back-checking hard and being in the right spot guys, who can win wall battles. We're looking to add some toughness and meanness to our roster."

Fuller and his assistant coaches Kody Tremblay and Lucas Mastroianni, enter their second season behind the bench, with experience and lessons learned from their first run in junior hockey. The trio had coached minor hockey with much success, including a provincial title, prior to their arrival in Dorchester.

"I think our expectations were a little too high," admits Fuller, who gives a C to B-minus grading to himself and the bench for year one. "We all learned a lot last year. It's tough to adjust in one year. There's definitely a big learning curve. Bigger decisions to make and to make them quicker. Decisions on the bench are that much more important in junior hockey."

One lesson was understanding how competitive the hockey is in the Doherty division. The Dolphins were moved by the PJHL from the Yeck Division to the Doherty two years ago.

The Tavistock Braves made the PJHL final, losing to the Fergus Whalers and the Braves didn't even finish first in the Doherty. That was Woodstock, now in the Greater Ontario League (Junior B).

"That shows you getting out of this division is going to be tough. We had two of the top four or five teams in the entire PJHL," Fuller said "Our biggest improvement as an organization is understanding how good the Doherty division is. Going into last year we thought we had a solid team, because most of us only know the Yeck. I think we would have been more competitive in the Yeck, but Doherty is just a different division."

Last season, the Dolphins finished eighth with 10-26-4-0-2 record and lost in the first round in four games to Woodstock.

Now the Dolphins are building a roster to compete in the Doherty.

"We needed to play faster and smarter. Get up the ice quicker. We obviously needed the tools to do that too," Fuller said. "We brought in guys who have a lot of junior experience."

In charge of adding talent is new GM Bobby Rayne, an assistant GM last year, until becoming interim GM late in the season.

"I'm very excited. I think we're putting together a team that can compete every night and win," Rayne said. "I want to be an "in your face" hockey team and put the puck in the net."

Compete and accountability are two words Rayne stresses he wants to see on the ice.

"A lot of teams came in here and pushed us around last year and I don't want that happening again this year," Rayne said. "I want the compete level raised every night. Accountability for our own players. If you make a mistake, you'll be held accountable for that."

Rayne is looking for a top four finish in the division and to win at least one playoff round.

"I think that is an attainable goal this year," Rayne said. "Anything more than that is exceeding expectations."

The former goalie played in the OJHL and with North Middlesex in the PJHL, before joining the Fanshawe Falcons' men's hockey team. After his playing days, Rayne became an assistant coach at Fanshawe and has been their head coach for the past four seasons.

Rayne stepped down as Fanshawe head coach this past spring, after winning an Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) title.

Now Rayne hopes to bring a PJHL championship (Schmalz Cup) to Dorchester.

When the season opens, the players will be showcasing the new logo, with three less colours and the primary focus being the dolphin.

"We thought we needed a new look," Fuller said. "We went a little more simple and a little bit old school, back to a clean blue and white. It was a collaborative effort between ownership and the coaching staff."