LEWISTON – Some were too slow. Others not in shape.

Some were young, and could use a bit more work, and others were too old for the particular skill set they showed.

For whatever reason, the Lewiston Maineiacs bid adieu Sunday afternoon to 10 players as they continued the process of piecing together this year’s team.

“We had to let go of some good players, and we’re going to have to let go of some more good players by next Saturday, too,” Maineiacs’ Head Coach and General Manager Ed Harding said.

Of the more notable players asked not to return was Rob McCarthy. He played for the Maineiacs two seasons ago as a 16-year-old, and was asked back this year, given a second chance to play for the team.

But he wasn’t ready.

“We gave him the opportunity, and he cut himself,” Harding said. “He knows it as well. He was not in shape and he wasn’t prepared to battle for a spot. It actually made the decision easy.”

Also on the first sheet of cuts was goaltender Mike Muir. A late-camp cut last season, Muir improved greatly in the last year, but it wasn’t quite enough to impress the coaching staff this time around.

“He has improved quite a bit, and he’s pretty close,” Harding said. “Unfortunately, he’s in a situation where, obviously with (Jonathan) Bernier and (Peter) Delmas, we don’t have much room there.”

Others making the final cut list included Samual Metevier, Hubert Joncas, Jared Wilson, Damien Pinheiro, Alexandre Fontaine, Marc-Andre Sauve, Stephen Horyl and Dan Hogan.

The Maineiacs’ training camp is now down to 38 players, though several of those players remain away from the team. Stefano Giliati is at a Carolina Hurricanes conditioning camp. David Perron and Jonathan Bernier are with Team Canada, preparing for the Canada-Russia Challenge, and Peter Delmas is returning from Slovakia, where he helped Canada’s U-18 team to a fourth-place finish in the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament.

Also still missing are Stefan Chaput and Sebastien Piche, who Harding said are still home, “resolving personal issues.”

The team returns to action tonight, and again Tuesday night, with a pair of games in Bathurst, New Brunswick, against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The team will face the Titan at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Friday and Saturday in its first two home preseason games, and Harding is expected to cut several more players then, dropping the total number of players left in camp to the high-20s.

“We want to pare down somewhere between 25 and 28 at that point,” Harding said.

Currently, 22 forwards, 12 defensemen and four goalies remain on the potential roster.

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