A fresh sheet of ice, an empty scoresheet and endless possibilities bring in the 2015-16

The NHL dug into the ice for the first time over the last few days, home openers in many markets, new faces behind benches and on the ice heralding change and for many optimism as expected with every new season.

For the Canadian teams, as it does every year, October holds much in the way of promise, something that builds and builds, for some that anticipation that "this is the year" heads on through the winter months, while others quickly learn that some of those warning signs from training camp really were things to worry about.

As we start up our hopeful quest to follow the NHL season through to someone lifting Lord Stanley's Cup we'll try to pace our entries in a more reliable fashion, rebuilding some of our past features, coming up with some new ones and offering more original content than we had last season.

Like a team taking to the regular season with a quick push off the bench, that's the goal, with luck we don't end up at the end of the bench, with reduced iced time and a lack of production.

We'll start off with some simple links to the rosters of the teams, a chance to re-introduce ourselves to the new season, the new players and coaches and the new focus for everyone that October delivers.

For easy access for Canadian fans (we are after all a Canadian based hockey blog) we'll lead off the parade with the teams above the border crossing line.

The Canadian Teams

Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Winnipeg Jets
Calgary Flames 
Edmonton Oilers
Vancouver Canucks
Quebec Nordiques (well OK, we're hopeful)

For the USA based teams, we'll offer them up according to their Divisions, with their Canadian additions included for the sake of accuracy.

The Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs


The Metropolitan Division

Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

The Central Division

Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets

The Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Vancouver Canucks