Familiar forwards, young defensemen and a backlog of solid goaltending highlight the 2013-14 Portland Pirates’ roster released over the weekend. With only a few days before the team drops the puck on its 21st season — and first full season at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston — the players and coaches are eager to get things started.

To that end, veteran forward Tim Kennedy issued a preseason refrain familiar to players, coaches and front offices across the American Hockey League:

“The expectations are certainly still to make the playoffs, and the ultimate goal is to win the Calder Cup,” Kennedy said. “That’s how you go into every year with that as your main goal.”

Kennedy, 27, is one of the older players on this year’s Pirates’ roster. He led the team in scoring with 67 points during his rookie campaign of 2008-09 before spending the next full season with the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, then the Pirates’ parent club. Kennedy has played for the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks’ organizations, as well, before being resigned this season by the Pirates’ parent club, the Phoenix Coyotes.

“It’s uncommon to be one of the oldest guys on a team at 27, but this team went really young. that’s something I like,” Kennedy said. We have a good group of guys here, a good group of forwards, a good group of young ‘D’ and two good young goalies.”

The Coyotes also signed Brandon Yip, a veteran of 172 NHL games, mostly with the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators. Yip played collegiately at Boston University, where he won an NCAA Division I title in 2009.

They join third-year pro Andy Miele, the 2011 Hobey Baker Award winner as NCAA hockey’s best player, as leaders on the front end of a Pirates team that will rely heavily on the leadership they can provide.

“We’ve added Tim Kennedy and Brandon Yip, guys that will produce for you,” Edwards said. “Guys like (Jordan) Szwarz and (Ethan) Werek and (Brett) Hextall and (Brendan) Shinnimin and (Jordan) Martinook and (Phil) Lane and (Darian) Dziurzynski, those are all guys who are going to have to step up and find a way to get things done.”

Brandon Gormley, a second-year pro who plied his trade for four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Moncton and then Shawinigan, is now a veteran leader of the team’s defensive unit, alongside former QMJHL adversary and fellow all-star Mathieu Brodeur, who actually has 114 games of AHL experience.

The remaining four defensemen listed on the Pirates’ roster have never played a full season of pro hockey, and only James Melindy — who won’t turn 20 until December — has even played in an AHL game, having played in two at the end of last season.

“We have a lot of young guys on defense, we have to make sure we’re on our toes every game.” Gormley said. “We obviously have great goaltending, too. I think once those first few games set in, our ‘D’ corps will settle down and get used to playing the pro game and we’ll be fine.”

In net, Mark Visentin and Mike Lee are two of a three-headed minor-league goaltending monster of which Pirates’ coach Ray Edwards is particularly proud.

“(Louis Domingue) is going to play some games in the AHL, no question,” Edwards said of the final goalie cut from camp. “We have three really good, young goalies, and we just signed another one in (Chris) Rawlings. We feel like we have an opportunity in the next few years to really develop some good, young goalies.”

Domingue and Rawlings will begin the season with the team’s ECHL affiliate in Gwinnett, Georgia.

Around the AHL

Across the AHL, there was some movement this year in terms of affiliation, in addition to the lengthy list of player transactions. Three teams the Pirates won’t see this season unless it’s in the playoffs either relocated or changed affiliation, with the Houston franchise finding its way to Des Moines, Iowa (now the Iowa Stars), the Utica Comets returning to the league and affiliating with the Vancouver Canucks, and the Chicago Wolves becoming the affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.

The addition of Utica means that the AHL is once again in a one-to-one ratio with the National Hockey League, and each NHL franchise has its own AHL affiliate.

The Pirates’ schedule includes games against 13 different opponents this year, with all but one opponent’s home ice located in New England, New York or Pennsylvania. The lone exception is a four-game series with the Norfolk Admirals, two in Lewiston and two in Norfolk.

As for which teams the Pirates should be most cautious about, Edwards took a diplomatic approach.

“The way I look at it is, they’re all going to be good,” Edwards said. “Every team is good, and if you’re not ready to play, you won’t win. If you’re not doing your work every day during the week, you’re not going to have success. We feel like there’s no team out there that you can just throw your skates on and go play. Coaches have to do their jobs, players have to be prepared and if we’re not, we won’t have success.”

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