After winning their first SJHL championship in 23 years, the Estevan Bruins are in the midst of a busy off-season as they prepare to defend their title in the 2022-2023 season.

Here's a look at some of the player movement over the last month:

Who's out

The eight 8 graduating seniors, namely Mark Rumsey, Olivier Pouliot, Eric Pearce, Eric Houk, Mikol Sartor, Dayton Deics, Nolan Jones, and Boston Bilous, have all aged out of junior hockey and will be moving on. Rumsey, Houk, and Bilous have all committed to play hockey at Canadian universities this coming season.

Forward Keagon Little also won't be back. Little, who turns 19 on Sunday, has committed to play at Briercrest College in Caronport, Sask., near where he grew up.

The Bruins back-end will also look drastically different this season. Gone are Damon Byers, who was recently acquired by the Humboldt Broncos via trade. Ditto for Kian Calder, who is headed back to his hometown of Portage la Prairie, Man. to be a part of the Portage Terriers' Centennial Cup season.

Forward Jamie Valentino has also departed to Portage.

Who's in

Bruins head coach and GM Jason Tatarnic has been using his strong recruiting ties to bring in several new faces.

Forward Thomas Perivolotis, 18, has committed to the Bruins for this season. The Massachusetts native previously played for the East Coast Spartans UAAA program, along with Shattuck St. Mary's U18 AAA program.

Also on his way to Estevan is forward Max Roby. The 17-year-old is fresh off his high school career with the Brainerd High School Warriors in Minnesota.

Eighteen-year-old forward Emile Tremblay has also been recruited. Tremblay, who is from the Montreal area, scored 34 goals in 31 games for the Westlake Bourget College Volts U18 program last season.

The back-end has also been bolstered in recent weeks after several key departures on defence. Six foot three defenceman Robbie Stewart was acquired in a trade from the Ottawa Jr. A Senators. Stewart appeared in all four games for the Sens at the 2022 Centennial Cup in Estevan.

Estevan has also brought in defencemen Brennan Boyce (6'3), and Eithan Grishin (6'2), both of whom are right-handed shots.

In net, it appears returnee Cam Hrdlicka has the inside track on the starting job after a strong 2021-2022 campaign, while former Estevan Bears netminder Jackson Miller will also be in the fold.

The Bruins open training camp at Affinity Place on Saturday August 27.