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Here is Community New's bold predictions for the 2008-2009 IHL season and the Port Huron Icehawks.

Standings

1st: Muskegon Lumber Jacks (New name, new faces. They have a solid squad and are playing with a purpose because of the Jason Baird incident. Goal tending is an issue but Clayton Pool is solid and Issac Reichmuth is a capable back up)

2nd: Fort Wayne Komets (The Komets bring back a lot of solid pieces from last years championship run. They have a solid 1-2 goal tending combo again. They are very young this year though so I don't foresee a first place finish.)

3rd:Port Huron Ice hawks (boy this was tough for me because this is a very great team probably the best we have had here in a long time and probably the best team on paper in the league. But all the off ice distractions and everyone pretty much against them will be a test for this team. Its hard for me to put them higher without just being a homer. Especially if Rob Valicevic retires soon its going to be very tough for this team to bounce back. This will be tough for Stan Drulia to keep his team focused on the ice and not all the controversy going on around it. If he finds a way to get this team to finish in the top 3 through all that, then he deserves coach of the year by far.)

4th: Flint Generals (They put together a pretty good squad. They do have a lot of question marks, but if they all turn out good for the Gens they could be higher than this. I'm not to high on Peter South but I think he gets them to play well enough to place 4th)

5th: Kalamazoo K-Wings (They are going to miss the playoffs by far I have a feeling. There will be no fight near the end from the bottom 2. They just don't have the talent to compete with the top 4. Even the Gens have more talent by far. The K-Wings could beat a couple teams though to change around positioning in the top 4. They have a good goalie in Jason Tapp. Some forwards in Jan Jas and Jeremy Stevenson. But they just don't have the depth to hang.)

6th. Bloomington Prairie Thunder. ( I thought they were going to be so much better this year but they dropped the ball. They started out good signing a former NHLer's Goaltender Scott Fankhouser and D-man Jeff MacMillan, but besides bringing back Don Parsons they really didn't make a whole lot of noise. The Thunder fans deserve better then that. The only hope for them is that they have a good chemistry or its going to be a long year for the Thunder)

Icehawks Awards:

MVP: Jeff Zehr: He is going to step up and be the leader. Actually he has to, especially if Valicevic leaves. Alot rides on him this year and he has to play well in all the games, not just against the Generals. He has to continue to succeed on the power play. I think he will.

Most underrated: Jeff Bateman: a lot of people aren't giving this guy a good look. He took a couple years off professionally and now he is back. He's gonna dish the puck around well and is a DEFINITE upgrade over Rich Hansen. He will continue to be overlooked throughout the season.

Most impressive: Rory Smith: not for his skill but if Stan lets this kid go do what he has to do he could make alot of people forget Robert Snowball (if he doesn't come back) really quick. This guy has a short fuse and loves to fight which is what we need here in Port Huron. If he goes all out and doesn't play scared, he could really be something. Other fans will hate him. This is the guy I'm seriously most interested to see. He has to play with that edge though and not hold anything back. Staying healthy is another key too, something Snowball had trouble doing.