Matt Nichols has a prime spot in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room, and from his vantage point he can easily survey all the faces that make up the squad.

Over his 2 ½ years as a Bomber many of those faces – some friends, others he barely got to know before they were gone – have changed. That’s pro football. That’s life in the ever-transient Canadian Football League.

Through all this change there have been two constants: First, his stall is flanked by the other quarterbacks; with the receiving corps lined up further to his right, the offensive line to his left. And second is what is most important – the core group from a team that has gone 23-13 over the last two years, and 21-9 in its last 30, remains largely intact.

“I talked about it at the end of last year and a couple times already this year… the main thing is we’ve kept a big core group of guys together,” said Nichols this week as the opening of main camp approached. “We fully understand what’s expected around here and what our ultimate goal is.

“We fell short the past couple of years where I felt like we were right there on the brink. Everyone understands and has put things in their offseason training to make sure we just do that one little thing that’s going to make the difference in winning a first-round game and moving on in the playoffs and ultimately winning a championship.”

“We know this group isn’t going to last forever, so we want to make it count. I know everyone is excited with full expectations of winning a championship and that starts with having crisp practices Day 1 of training camp and making sure we’re continuing to build on what we did well last year and get rid of the things we didn’t do so well and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

It’s right about now where yours truly is obligated to bring up the long Grey Cup drought dating back to 1990. But truthfully, the returnees in this group think of the drought in terms of how it relates to them.

And those losses in the last two West Division Semi-Finals have been excruciatingly painful, just as all the years previous have been for everyone in Bomber Nation.

What’s different this year as camp opens? The regular season success over the last two years – only the Calgary Stampeders have posted a better record – means expectations have changed, both inside and out of the locker room.

“It’s night and day, honestly,” said Nichols. “When I first got here… you still have the same message about wanting to work hard and do the extra things. I’m not saying that team (when he arrived in 2015) didn’t do those things, but now it’s so infectious that you don’t want to let your teammates down, guys are putting in more and more extra work.

“We feel like we have a championship team here. Overall, the feeling is we go into games thinking we’re the favourites no matter what. It’s an attitude that if we go in and play our game, we’re going to win. Before, it was ‘I hope we win today.’ It’s not quite the same feeling that there is here now.”

The first step in taking that next step as a franchise begins Sunday morning. And with that as the backdrop, here is our guide to the Bombers 2018 main camp…

WELCOME BACK

Starters from the 2018 West Semi-Final eturning for camp:

Offence: QB Matt Nichols, RB Andrew Harris, SB Weston Dressler, LT Stanley Bryant, LG Patrick Neufeld, C Matthias Goossen, RG Sukh Chungh, RT Jermarcus Hardrick.

Defence: DEs Tristan Okpalaugo and Jackson Jeffcoat, DTs Cory Johnson and Drake Nevis, LBs Jovan Santos-Knox and Kevin Fogg, CBs Chris Randle and Brian Walker, HB Brandon Alexander and safety Taylor Loffler.

Also returning is kicker Justin Medlock and long-snapper Chad Rempel.

Injured for WSF but returning: WR Darvin Adams, LB Maurice Leggett

EXITED, STAGE LEFT

Players who dressed for last year’s playoff game, but have since departed:

Offence: WRs L’Damian Washington and Matt Coates (both released); FB Christophe Normand (Edmonton); QBs Dominique Davis (Ottawa) and Dan LeFevour (retired); SBs Chris Givens (has not reported), Clarence Denmark (unsigned) and SB Julian Feoli-Gudino (Ottawa).

Defence: LBs Sam Hurl (Saskatchewan) and Kyle Knox (Montreal); DB T.J. Heath (Toronto), DT Jake Thomas (unsigned).

Also having departed: DE Jamaal Westerman (Montreal; injured for WSF)

6 KEY ADDITIONS

#22 Chandler Fenner, LB/DB: His arrival gives the Bombers more flexibility to move pieces around on defence. Both he and Maurice Leggett are athletic enough to pay the dime back and halfback. Plus, he’s a spectacular and passionate special teams player.

#12 Adarius Bowman, SB: He’s one year removed from a CFL All-Star campaign in which he pulled in 120 passes for 1,760 yards and nine TDs. The club hopes he has miles left on his treads and he can serve as a mentor to the young pass catchers.

#10 Nic Demski, SB: The Bombers chased Demski not because he is a local product. That’s just a secondary benefit. Management is convinced he’s just scratched the surface of his potential during his first three seasons in Saskatchewan.

#93 Craig Roh, DE: Winnipeg figures to employ an All-American defensive front and Roh is a solid quarterback sack specialist who will rotate with ends Tristan Okpalaugo and Jackson Jeffcoat and Canadian Trent Corney.

#23 Anthony Gaitor, DB: Played both halfback and corner in his two years with the B.C. Lions. Another ex-Lion, Steven Clarke, will also get a long look at a starting job in the secondary.

Adam Bighill, LB: Make this a sixth key addition and, arguably, the biggest. Bighill is the kind of force in the front seven of a defence that will make opposition quarterbacks, running backs and receivers cringe. He’s a thumper, experienced, and has one of those sideline-to-sideline linebackers that will instantly make him a fan favourite.

KEY CAMP BATTLES

Middle linebacker

The incumbent: left vacant by the exits of Hurl and Knox.

The challengers: Adam Bighill (no number assigned yet), #19 Kyrie Wilson, #45 Jovan Santos-Knox, #38 Ian Wild, #48 Jevaris Jones, #49 Quentin Gause.

Inside track: There’s a lot of buzz around Wilson as camp opens, but Santos-Knox and Wild might also be candidates here if they switch from the weak-side linebacker spot. But Saturday’s signing of Bighill, a perennial CFL All-Star, means the battle here now has less urgency and is a matter of getting the best group on the field at their best spots.

No. 2 QB

The incumbent: left vacant by the retirement of Darian Durant, the release of Dominique Davis (who signed with Ottawa) and the retirement of Dan LeFevour.

The challengers: #18 Alex Ross, #17 Chris Streveler, #4 Zack Mahoney.

Inside track: Only Ross has CFL or pro experience among the challengers as Streveler (South Dakota) and Mahoney (Syracuse) are both straight out of college. Unlikely the team would consider adding another until they get a real good look at what they have here.

‘Z’ Receiver

The incumbent: Vacant with the injury and subsequent release of Matt Coates and the departure of Julian Feoli-Gudino (Ottawa).

The challengers: #82 Drew Wolitarsky, #13 Rashaun Simonise, #71 Daniel Petermann, #83 Brendon Thera-Plamondon, #89 Tylor Henry, #73 Tyrone Pierre

The inside track: The Bombers plan to start two Canadians in the receiving corps – one at slotback, the other at one of the wide receiver positions opposite Darvin Adams. Wolitarsky spent the offseason working on his speed and it’s shown through mini and rookie camp. Simonise and Pierre have taken snaps there during rookie camp; Petermann is getting more of a look at slot.

Defensive halfbacks

The incumbent: Brandon Alexander and vacant, after T.J. Heath signed in Toronto.

The challengers: #31 Maurice Leggett, #22 Chandler Fenner, #3 Kevin Fogg, #29 Steven Clarke, #23 Anthony Gaitor, #5 Brian Walker.

The inside track: Alexander, the team’s top rookie last year, made starts at both halfback and the dime back spot. Walker lined up mostly as a corner, but could also get a look. But again, Fenner’s addition gives the team the option to line him or Leggett up at dime or halfback. And the arrival of two experienced CFLers in Gaitor and Clarke isn’t by accident.

CAMP NUMBERS

Quarterbacks: 4
Running backs/fullbacks: 7
Receivers: 18
Offensive linemen: 12
Defensive linemen: 13
Linebackers: 10
Defensive backs: 20
Specialists: 3 (Kickers: 2; long-snapper: 1)
Tallest: OL Patrick Neufeld, DL Larry Webster: 6-6
Shortest: SB Weston Dressler: 5-7
Heaviest: OL Manese Foketi: 338
Lightest: SB Weston Dressler: 168
Oldest: LS Chad Rempel: Turns 36 on May 23
Youngest: Chinedu Oparaku: Turns 22 on November 27