The Niagara IceDogs wasted no time putting together their roster this training camp.

The IceDogs took only a couple of days to cut from the 44 players that began camp down to a more manageable 23.

“Usually after 48 hours (we make the cuts) to keep eligibility for some of the young guys,” Niagara head coach Ryan Kuwabara said. “If they’re not in the mix, we’d rather they just head back to their home schools and get their family life going and get on the next teams they are going to be playing on.”

Kuwabara also feels this strategy gives the team more time to work with the players who are going to start the season.

“It’s key, really,” Kuwabara said. “We’re going work on a lot of different systems, tweaks and stuff, and try some other guys in different spots. That’s the key to this training camp and exhibition series, the ability to allow the guys to play in situations they might normally do in the regular season and get used to it.”

The IceDogs opened the exhibition season Saturday night with — barring any trades — what is expected to be essentially their opening night roster and came away with a convincing 7-1 victory over the Peterborough Petes in front of a sparse crowd at Meridian Centre.

Kuwabara loved what he saw.

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