Newcastle forward Pat Nadin says there is a similar feeling among this year's Northstars campaign to when the team won back-to-back national titles in 2015-16.
A veteran of the side who played his 150th game earlier this year, Nadin was part of both championship-winning teams and said ahead of two exhibition games in Brisbane this weekend he believed the second-placed Northstars were on track to contend for their seventh Australian Ice Hockey League title.
"I definitely get the same vibe," he said.
"It's a great group of guys.
"We're a little bit younger this year ... but it's a really competitive team and we've still got a lot of veterans their leading the way."
Nadin, one of the side's most experienced players, is an assistant captain this year.
The Floraville product, who started playing ice hockey when he was nine and spent a couple of his high school years in Canada, said it was a "big honour" to have the leadership role.
"It doesn't feel like that long ago that I was a rookie," the 26-year-old forward said.
An electrician now living in Merewether, Nadin said his teammates head to Brisbane buoyed by Sunday's win over Canberra following a loss to the AIHL leaders on Saturday.
The Brisbane Lightning are seeking entry to the AIHL in 2023 and are required to prove themselves in a series of exhibition matches this year.
Queensland hasn't had a side since the Gold Coast Blue Tongues in 2012 and Northstars general manager Garry Dore said the Lightning had presented a strong case.
"Right now, it's very positive," he said.
The Northstars will be without Patrick Ward and Robert Malloy in Brisbane.
