Stamps kick off regular season against the Alouettes on Thursday

The long training camp is finally over. 

For players, it's a grind and a lot to take in.

But now, the regular season is just around the corner. 

The Calgary Stampeders take to the field on Thursday night at home against the Montreal Alouettes.

Running back Ka'Deem Carey says he's ready to get this season rolling.

"We're definitely ready to get this thing kicked off," he said.

"It was a long training camp but we're excited. Game one is coming on Thursday so we're pretty pumped."

PREPARING FOR THE SEASON OPENER

The first game of the season is always a little harder to prepare for because you haven't seen your opponent since last year.

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell says the Stamps will have a good game plan for the Als.

"I think game one is always hard to predict," he said.
"You're going to look at tape from last year and you're going to watch the pre season.

"But you know they had a whole off season to watch us and prepare for us. We expect to see some things we've never seen before."

GOOD MIX

The Stampeders are bringing back a lot of veterans this year, but they've also added some new blood to the team.

Defensive back Raheem Wilson believes the mix will be a good one.

"Those young guys come in with that mindset, that hunger, and it pushes everybody around them as well," he said.

"Then the veteran experience that we have allows us to put those two together and hopefully you know it brings us some wins."

NEED TO BE CLICKING

The Stamps only have a few days to prepare for the Alouettes.

Head coach Dave Dickenson was pleased with training camp, but says he knows his team still has a lot of work ahead.

"I never sensed our players not being into it, which is good because there are a lot of distractions early in camp, a lot of people talking about things that are not really important," Dickenson said.

"I never sensed that our team lost focus… but we're not there. 

"We've got so many areas we can improve on, and I told them at the pre-season we're not clicking like we want to click. But it's still week one, I think we can get there."

Kickoff for Thursday night's game is at 7 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.