Lisnagarvey get their EYHL campaign under way with an away trip against Avoca on Saturday afternoon.
Garvey will be without former captain James Corry and Jonathan Bell, who both retired at the end of last season.
Without any incomings, the Hillsborough side will instead be relying on some of their young players to make the step up with John Cunningham, Milo Thompson and Tom Archbold among those likely to play a part this season.
Last season, Erroll Lutton’s side put in a strong performance as they came second in the division while also winning the Kirk Cup, Irish Senior Cup and EuroHockey Club Trophy I.
However, with fierce rivals Banbridge pipping them to the League title, they will be out to go one step further this season.
Their opening game sees them go up against newly-promoted Avoca who will be out to take a major scalp on matchday one.
Trevor Dagg’s side have had a summer of change with an influx of new players including former Glenane trio Shane O’Donoghue, Neil Byrne and Brad Venter.
Despite their recent promotion, their experienced additions make them a potential opening-day banana skin for their Ulster opposition.
There is also one game in the Anderson Cup as Annadale host Bangor in Quarter-Final action.
The EYHL side relied on run-ins to get past Premier League side Kilkeel just last weekend following a 1-1 draw in normal time whereas Bangor received a bye in the previous round.
It is Dale who come into the game as heavy favourites as the team from the higher division but they are in the middle of a transition.
Having lost the likes of Fergus Gibson and Michael Robson in the summer, the side have the tough task of replacing some key players.
With the season still in its infancy, they will be relying on new additions Kent Irwin, Tom Crothers and Adam Norris to get off to a quick start in white.
They face a Bangor side who have also had a difficult summer with a number of their young stars from last season departing.
Sam McMillan and Ben Law are amongst those who have left the club to go play for Queen’s University with Bangor now looking to fill the void.
However, coming into their first game of the new season there is still reason to be optimistic as brothers Seb and JJ Holley are amongst the youngsters still at the club while captain Ryan Burgess will provide a constant threat from penalty corners.
With a Semi-Final place up for grabs, the winners of this tie will meet Queen’s University for a place in the decider.