Sarnia Sting starting from the bottom: OHL Burning Questions

Starting from the top of last season's standings, it is time for OHL Burning Questions. For your consideration, the Sarnia Sting.

Last season went like — The Sting fulfilled expectations, in a matter of speaking. There was full acknowledgment it would be a development year and they finished eight points clear of the 19th-place Kitchener Rangers.

2013-14, by the numbers — 17-44-2-5, .301 point pct., 209 GF/336 GA. Tenth, Western Conference. .

Drafted — D Anthony DeAngelo (Tampa Bay Lightning, first round), LW Nikolay Goldobin (San Jose Sharks, first).

On the junior-or-pro bubble — Each of the first-rounders is still with his NHL team; Goldobin had a two-point night for the Sharks on Tuesday.

2015 NHL Draft watch — C Pavel Zacha is a legitimiate top 10 hopeful and RW Nikita Korostelev is projected second or third-rounder in NHL Central Scouting's estimation.

1. Why should they start to demonstrate improvement?

Sting coach Trevor Letowski has stressed "doing a lot of teaching" with a team that gave up nearly five goals per game last season. Sarnia, provided players opt in, has the trappings of an adequate back end now that Chychrun, who was a clear consensus first overall pick, is joining physical defenders such as overage Josh Chapman, 18-year-old Kevin Spinozzi (who is in his first full season in Sarnia) and 17-year-old Connor Schlicting.

DeAngelo, who has had three head coaches in four seasons of junior, should come back from Tampa Bay with a stronger grasp of the risk/reward concept, which is what made him a polarizing prospect. He is a hands-down favourite to be the league's top defenceman scorer. Sarnia could be in position to be in a playoff berth, but deal its two 19-year-olds to contenders for immediate help rather than more picks.

2. What will be the nature of Zacha's effect on the Sting?

Sarnia, of course, has been the stepping stone to stardom for Steven Stamkos, Alex Galchenyuk, Nail Yakupov and, most recently, DeAngelo and Goldobin. Stamkos' draft season, 2007-08,was the lone time that such star power launched a playoff run, as the Sting reached Round 2 prior to losing out to eventual league champ Kitchener.

Zacha, in time, could be able to improve the lot of his teammates. The 17-year-old Czech does not come advertised as a purely offensive player, possessing the disposition to play physically and play the penalty kill when needed. The Sting could use more of an all-around talent, although Zacha also has a strong chance to win the rookie scoring title. Anyway, time will tell.

3. Will complementary scoring, or lack thereof, prove to be a problem? 

Beyond the aforementioned, the next highest-returning scorers is Vladislav Kodola (seven goals, 28 points across 67 games). Candidates for that job of being the 20- to 25-goal man on the second line abound. Eighteen-year-old Hayden Hodgson is a promising power winger who was bumped down the depth chart last season in Erie and 16-year-old second-round selection Jordan Kyrou, despite his youth, had a strong preseason.

Based on having some star power and a modicum of upgrades to the defence and goaltending, where Taylor Dupuis is the overage starter, Sarnia should run a tighter ship. Rome was not built in a day, though.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.