Some may think four days is not enough time to make a solid evaluation of your team, but with 15 returning players from last season, Tri-City Americans coach Jim Hiller said it didn't take long to get the roots back in the ground.

"We had a pretty good sense early because we return so many players," said Hiller, who led the Americans to their third straight U.S. Division title and first Western Conference title last season. "It was more an evaluation if they got bigger, stronger, more consistent and more confident. We got a good look at the guys who didn't play a lot last year and the new guys. They are all good players."

Hiller will get a better look at the whole package this weekend with three games at the Everett Tournament, starting at 3 p.m. today against Spokane and former coach Don Nachbaur.

Dan Mulhausen  Tri-City Americans

KENNEWICK, WA - Tri-City Americans' Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that the team has signed 16-year-olds Justin Hamonic, Dylan Fluter and Gage Rapitta to standard WHL Players Contracts.

Hamonic (pro. Ham-in-ick), a 6'2 190 lb. defenseman from Winnipeg, MB, was a 5th Round (102nd overall) pick by Tri-City in the 2009 Bantam Draft and spent last season with the Winnipeg Monarchs AAA Midgets. Hamonic appeared in 34 games for the Monarchs, totaling six goals, 21 points and 54 penalty minutes. The Monarchs finished 4th in the Winnipeg AAA Midget standings, compiling a 22-13-0-1 record.

Dan Mulhausen  Tri-City Americans

KENNEWICK, WA - Tri-City Americans' Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that seven Americans skaters will be heading off to NHL Training Camps this September. The players receiving invites this pre-season are goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy (Pittsburgh), defenseman Spencer Humphries (San Jose), along with forwards Justin Feser (Columbus), Patrick Holland (Calgary), Brooks Macek (Detroit), Jordan Messier (Columbus) and Brendan Shinnimin (New York Rangers).

"As an organization, we are very proud of our players accomplishments...team success brings individual success," said Tory. "This is the most players we've ever had attend NHL camps in one season and it speaks volumes about our players, scouts and coaches."