Actually, it started when the Soo Greyhounds swept Saginaw out of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last month, well before the official beginning of summer on Saturday, June 21.

The moment the final horn sounded March 27 in TheDow Event Center's Wendler Arena, following a 4-2 Soo victory, planning for the Spirit's 2008-09 roster got under way.

Saginaw General Manager Don Edwards and coach Todd Watson didn't sit down and talk that night, but you know both were thinking immediately about what they could do to get the Spirit into the second round or beyond in next year's playoffs.

The biggest question marks surround who Saginaw will bring back as 20-year-old over-agers. The Spirit's top two scorers from this past season, Jack Combs and Ryan McDonough, are eligible to return.

Saginaw undoubtedly wants them back, but do Combs and McDonough want to return for one final kick at the can in the OHL?

''It's real difficult,'' Watson said. ''Those kids want to try and move on and you can't blame them. You want them to do well and if they get the opportunity to move on, they will. Just think if neither of those guys are back. Where does that leave the team?

''Yeah, that is the biggest question because you want to figure out, your over-age situation.''

Will the Spirit pressure Combs and McDonough to make a decision sooner rather than later?

''I don't think that's fair to the kids,'' Watson said. ''It would be great to know, but in fairness to the players, you can't ask or, at least, demand an answer.''

Unquestionably both would like to sign free-agent contracts with a National Hockey League team and move on to that club's American Hockey League affiliate. Will that happen? That's difficult to answer, but more than likely NHL squads will wait to see if Combs and McDonough can duplicate their outstanding seasons.

The knock on Combs is he's too slow, while at 5-foot-9, McDonough is tagged as too small.

But if Combs returns to Saginaw and again posts 100 points (42 goals and 58 assists) and McDonough improves on his 89-point season (45-44), NHL teams will give them a contract.

There was talk right after the end of the Spirit's season Combs might head to an East Coast Hockey League team, but Watson said he talked to the talented forward and since Combs didn't end up in the ECHL, it appears Combs listened to his coach.

In addition to Combs and McDonough, Chris Chappell, Brad Smith and Ryan Daniels also could come back as over-agers. Of the three, Chappell is the only one I see coming back if Combs and McDonough return.

Why not Daniels? Watson wouldn't come out and say unequivocally the goalie who was drafted by the Ottawa Senators wouldn't be asked to return. But he spent several minutes talking about how 17-year-old Eddie Pasquale would be the Spirit's No. 1 goaltender next year.

''Eddie will be given a chance to take charge goaltending,'' Watson said. ''It's up to him. He has to have a good summer and come ready. We also have lot of defensemen coming back. We only lose Garrett (Sinfield). Really, the holes are up front.

''I'll be really blunt. The team we have going into next year on paper doesn't match up to the team we had on paper going into 2007-08. I think that's a fair statement. I don't think it's a criticism of this year's team. But look at some of the players we had going into 07-08, not what we ended up with, and then look the team we have going into 08-09.''

The challenges facing Watson and assistant coach John Kisil are formidable, and Watson was straight-forward when talking about them.

''Our core of players have to get better, they can't stay the same,'' Watson said of players such as Tyler Murovich, Jordan Szwarz, Joe Pleckaitis, Daniel Pachis, Nick Crawford, Adam Comrie, T.J. Brody, Joe Underwood and Chris Breen.

''The year they played is huge going into next season. Look at what Szwarz, Murovich and Pachis and the rest of them experienced this year: A full training camp, a regular season and a playoff round. That's experience you can't buy.

''But we all should be cautious about the coming year. Can this team coming in get 33 wins like last year? You don't know about Eddie, you lose a steady guy in Sinfield and you potentially have those holes up front.

''There certainly will be a lot of coaching involved next year.'' v

Mark Constantine is a writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him by calling 776-9769.