Last season, the London Knights were hardly the team we've come to be familiar with in the past few seasons, bowing out early in the first round of the OHL playoffs against Owen Sound after finishing with only 73 points in the regular season, just good enough for eighth in the conference. It was the Knights' worst season since 2002/03, when they finished one point less at 72. Last year was a rebuilding season, but it seems like the Knights' rebuilding plans may already be over.

There are a lot of positives going into this season. The first is goaltender Michael Houser. In his third season with London, Houser is considered one of the best (and perhaps most underrated) goaltenders in the OHL. He's already playing well this year, making 45 saves in Guelph on September 29. London won that game 2-1 in shootout.

Another positive going into this season is that London's top three scorers from last year are all returning. Jared Knight, Vladislav Namestnikov and Seth Griffith scored a combined total of 200 points in 2010/11, all three playing in 68 games. They should each improve on last year's respective totals and could easily place in the top three in Knights' scoring again this season.

The biggest story of Knights' off-season, though, was the addition of Max Domi, Tie Domi's kid. He's a different player from Daddy Domi, as Max is known as a skilled centre who put up 57 points in 30 games playing midget hockey last season. Domi will be with the Knights for a few seasons and during that time should develop into one of their top offensive products. The Knights have a great history of producing high-calibre offensive talents, and Domi looks to be another addition to this list. He netted a hat trick in London's season opener against Saginaw on September 23.

On defense, Jarred Tinordi, who was drafted in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, is back for another season and will anchor the blueline. Tinordi is another offspring of a former NHLer. His father, Mark Tinordi, was a defenceman with the Minnesota North Stars. Elsewhere on defense, Olli Määttä, who went first overall in this year's import draft, should add more depth and skill to the back end.

Another positive addition during the summer was centre Bo Horvat, who the Knights drafted ninth overall in the priority draft. He played midget last season with the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. Horvat put up a goal and an assist in the Knights' season opener this year and should add plenty more points throughout the season. Domi, Määttä and Horvat are all inexperienced at this level of hockey but bring a ton of talent to the team, and all three should only improve with time.

This year's version of the Knights features many of the same faces as last year's, with a few notable additions. All of the returning players are a season older, however, and a season more experienced, and in junior hockey, one year's worth of experience can completely change a player. Last year's experiences should improve this year's record for the Knights and they should be able to easily surpass 2010/11's total of 73 points and have a better shot of going deep in the playoffs.