CREDIT: THECHRONICLEHERALD.CA
Knights Captain Scott Harrington hoists the J. Ross Robertson Cup following the 2012/13 OHL season.

Come September 20, the London Knights will embark on one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history. It's the one that they've been planning for since the turn of the decade, slowly assembling a top notch side, with the aim of repeating the success of the 2004/05 season where they won the Memorial Cup on home ice.

This season also ends with the Memorial Cup at the Budweiser Gardens between May 16 and 25, but for the majority of the returning players, it won't be their first taste of Memorial Cup action.

It'll be their third.

The Hunter brothers — head coach Dale and general manager Mark — haven't really fallen into a rebuild mode, unlike other franchises. That being said, they've always had a plethora of top prospects to step up when the regular players are away. The reason behind their success is simple: smart, intelligent drafting with the odd calculated risk here and there.

Newly drafted NHL prospects Max Domi and Bo Horvat have two Memorial Cup trips under their belt and they're both only 18 years old. Horvat has a shiny OHL Playoff MVP to add to his cupboard — an award previously won by the likes of Derek Roy, Corey Perry and Taylor Hall to name but a few.

San Jose prospect Chris Tierney returns up front as well along with the meddlesome Ruperts, Matt and Ryan. Both Seth Griffith and Alex Broadhurst could move on to their professional careers, Griffith with the Boston Bruins and Broadhurst with the Chicago Blackhawks, despite both being able to return for one final OHL season, as overagers. That said, Broadhurst looks the more likely player to don a Knights jersey for another year, having called the Memorial Cup berth “a pretty nice pillow to be able to fall back on, if necessary,” last spring.

On the blueline, the Knights will miss Captain Scott Harrington, who's off to begin his professional career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fellow Penguins prospect Olli Määttä will be back as one of the teams import players along with big Russian Nikita Zadorov.

Handyman Tyler Ferry along with Londoner Tommy Hughes also move on, having graduated from the OHL following their overage seasons, but the Knights have tons of depth on defence as well — Santino Centorame is a name that pops up often having played a few games with the Knights in previous seasons. London also has a number of highly rated defensive prospects committed to various NCAA programs and the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) but if recent history is anything to go by, giving up on an NCAA scholarships to join the Knights isn't very difficult.

The Hunters dove into the NCAA market and signed Montreal Canadiens first-round pick Michael McCarron as well as Christain Dvorak from their respective college programs. McCarron will easily slot in on one of the top lines and he will make his presence felt. Dvorak, on the other hand, will play more of a depth role, but that isn't taking anything away from his potential.

Last season's ‘depth players' Remi Elie and Kyle Platzer were both drafted to NHL teams, Elie going in the second round to Dallas, and Platzer going to Edmonton in the fourth. Expect both to take on a bigger role, along with the team's sole Londoner Brett Welychka, who despite an impressive showing in the OHL finals last year and the Memorial Cup remains one of the most underrated players on the team.

Or, in his own words, “I really like flying under the radar ... I've always done it.”

It's in goal that the Knights should not have too many huge issues as both Anthony Stolarz and Jake Patterson are eligible to be back. Liam Herbst is another highly rated goalie prospect but he's on the bounce back from knee surgery, so don't expect him to be rushed into game action anytime soon.

The 2013/14 OHL season is just days away and the other 19 teams are aware of the threat posed by the “New York Yankees” of the OHL. A number of franchises have gotten better since last season.

This group of Knights will be scrutinized every step of the way. There will be numerous comparisons with the 2005 squad who won it all as well as with the OHL winning sides of the last two seasons. The Knights will also be part of Sportsnet's Quest for the Cup, which will follow the Knights' every step of the way. Distracting? Possibly. But these are very exciting times indeed for the boys in green and gold.

The Knights know they will be at the Memorial Cup, but just like in 2005, they don't want to take the easy “back door” entry to the competition.

They want to earn it.