LEWISTON – Youth is the word after the Lewiston Maineiacs announced their first major cuts Sunday night after four days of training camp at the Colisee.

The coaching staff, scouting staff and owner Mark Just met on Sunday afternoon and pored over the names of the players left in camp and pared down their list to 20 forwards, 14 defensemen and five goaltenders, leaving 39 skaters in Lewiston.

“There is a lot of youth here on purpose,” said coach and general manager Clem Jodoin. “They showed a lot of fire in camp this year, and we have been able to evaluate them well.”

The biggest concern for Jodoin and other scouts was the class of veterans. In all, 11 19-year-olds and three 20-year-olds survived the first round of cuts, even though Jodoin has said that he wants only eight or nine on the final team.

“My biggest problem right now is with the older guys,” said Jodoin. “With them, we haven’t decided who is on or off the team yet, but our biggest question right now is which older guys to keep on the team.”

There have been some surprises in camp, at least so far, for Jodoin, including Derek Bailey of Plymouth, Mass., and Colby Gilbert of Auburn, both 19.

Among the rookies, Jodoin has been impressed by Eric Castonguay and Pierre-Luc Champagne, who is just 16.

Some returning players, such as Alex Bourret (18) and Mathieu Aubin (18), have played well in camp, according to Jodoin, but not all of the veterans are on solid ground.

“We know we cannot take anything for granted,” said returning forward Olivier Legault (18). “He told us all this in the meeting we had with him. Part of our job as veterans is to help the younger players along, and we have to do that on the ice, too, by playing well.”

Some players on the list, like Maxime Brunet (18) and Kevin Talbot (18), were with the team last year but sent home midway through the season due to an over-stock of players.

“It was great here last year while I was here,” said Talbot. “This year I came back in good shape with no fat, and I think I had some pretty good games. Clem said he wanted warriors, so I have even gone out and played with a small injury, playing through the pain. You have to do that sometimes.”

As for Jodoin, he is targeting the end of next weekend for his final cut. Then, he will pare the roster even further, cutting to 14 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders for a total of 24 players, the maximum allowed on the roster. Most of the forward cuts figure to come from the older players, as currently eight of the forwards are either 19 or 20, while there are still two goaltenders that are 19 – Brandon Verge and Jaroslav Halak.

“We will learn a lot about the players this week,” said Jodoin. “We have seen them play, now we will see them off the ice, and see how they work.”