Playcaller Jeff Hutchins sees Belfast Giants as a totally different proposition to the other sides Dundee Stars have faced so far this season.
The champions visit Tayside tonight in a Challenge Cup and Elite League double-header.
The Northern Irish side are formidable opposition. They include Dundee-born Stephen Murphy, their No 1 netminder, and two other high-flying Scots.
Mark Garside from East Kilbride, a former Edinburgh Capitals star, and Glasgow-born Colin Shields, a former sixth round draft pick by National Hockey League outfit Philadelphia Flyers, both operate up front.
They are experienced Great Britain internationals and the match starts Belfast’s Scottish triple-header which also includes a joust at Braehead Clan on Saturday and a visit to Murrayfield to play Edinburgh Capitals on Sunday. Both games are in the Challenge Cup.
The Irish side are seeking maximum points after a tough pre-season and Hutchins, who iced in 54 games for Giants in the 2006/07 season, collecting 36 goals and 33 assists, has prepared his side the best he can for the test.
Hutchins said: “Belfast play a different style to what we’ve seen so far.
“Our games against Italian side Asiago and, particularly the double-header against Edinburgh Capitals, were totally different games from what we’ll get from Giants.
“They’ll play a Canadian style. Take Edinburgh, they sat back and capitalised on our mistakes and we just couldn’t find the net.”
Hutchins added: “Currently, we’re trying to get everybody together, getting everybody on the same page.
“We’ve trained hard on and off the ice and we’re working on systems and things will happen, I’m confident of that with the quality of player we have.
“It all, however, takes time and we’re looking to get over the Belfast game and then we have a week to prepare for the next one.”
The Stars next clash is at Coventry Blaze in the Elite League on Saturday September 13.
Meanwhile, at Kirkcaldy, Fife Flyers are gearing up for their Elite League opener against Coventry Blaze on Saturday.
Coach Todd Dutiaume believes the sides match-up well and he is looking for four points.
He’s also keen to erase the memory of last Sunday’s 8-3 defeat by Danish tourists Aalborg Pirates at Rosslyn Street and said: “It was heavier than we would have liked.”
Dutiaume and associate player-coach Danny Stewart take positives from the double-header against Pirates, particularly Saturday’s victory.
He said: “The guys are a lot better prepared this week and, of course, we’ll see a different style of hockey from Coventry than we saw last weekend.
“We match-up well with Coventry and there is a lot of pride in the room and the guys want to make an emphatic start to our season with two wins this weekend.”