LEWISTON – Marc-Andre Cliche. Chad Denny. Jonathan Bernier. Kevin Marshall. Danick Paquette. Peter Delmas.

Each of these Lewiston Maineiacs played with the team as a 16-year-old.

Each of them was drafted by a National Hockey League team.

No pressure, right?

This year, thanks to a blockbuster trade that sent Marshall to the Quebec Remparts, the Maineiacs selected three players in the first round of this year’s entry draft. All three of them have shown up in top shape, each believing they can make the team.

Nobody has told them different so far.

“What we saw today is what we thought,” Maineiacs’ Head Coach and GM Ed Harding said. “They look comfortable out there right now.”

“The players, they’re strong, they’re fast, but I see myself fitting in right now,” 17-year-old Etienne Brodeur said in his native French. “I’ll find my place if I play hard.”

Garrett Clarke (6th overall), Michael Chaput (9th overall) and Brodeur (14th overall) took the ice together in the first practice session of this year’s training camp Friday morning. Afterward, none of them was prepared to give up.

“You have to come in, try to beat out the older guys,” Chaput said. “That’s really about it.”

Clarke even went so far as to say this was, well, typical.

“It’s right about what I expected, really,” Clarke said. “I’ve seen a lot of junior camps over the years, and I grew up watching the Moncton (Wildcats’) camps, so I kind of knew what to expect. It might take a little bit to get used to the game speed, though.”

Chaput, meanwhile, was familiar with most everything. His brother, Stefan, played for Lewiston for three years, and has been in camp with the team this week.

Perhaps the most pressure on this group falls on the broad shoulders of Brodeur. Passed over in 2007, Brodeur is looking to prove he belongs in the league this time around.

“I don’t worry too much about that, though there is a little bit of extra stress from that,” Brodeur said.

Brodeur also has the uphill battle of learning English while competing for a job, though on the ice, that’s hardly seemed to slow him down.

After one day of grueling off-ice tests in addition to a nearly two-hour practice, the three got to showcase their skills in a few 4-on-4 intrasquad games Friday night.

Chaput and Brodeur flashed their speed, Chaput showcased his snipe of a shot, and Clarke played steady defense with grit and character.