Two seasons ago, the Providence Bruins won 55 games and ran away with the Atlantic Division. Last spring, they reached the Calder Cup semifinals. This year, there’s every indication that the good times will roll again.

The Bruins have replaced one top goalie, Tuukka Rask, with another, Dany Sabourin. The defense –– even without Johnny Boychuk, the best defenseman in the league last year –– is deeper. The offense will miss high-scoring Martin St. Pierre, but should reap increased production from an impressive crop of good young forwards.

As long as they aren’t decimated by injuries, callups or trades, Providence should be in the hunt for the division title.

Before the puck is dropped Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin Donuts Center, here are five things you should know about this year‘s team:

PROSPECTS

From Quebec to British Columbia, Finland to the Czech Republic, Alaska to New England, Boston’s scouting and drafting department is on a hot streak. The big league roster is sprinkled with homegrown talent like David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Mark Stuart and Matt Hunwick. And there are more players in the pipeline. No P-Bruins team in recent memory has had as many good young prospects as this year’s team. There are top 10 draft picks like Zach Hamill out of the Western Hockey League, and late-round picks from Eastern Europe such as Vladimir Sobotka. Jeff Penner was playing college hockey in Anchorage before signing with Boston as a free agent. No team in the Atlantic Division has as deep a list of prospects: Sobotka, Hamill, Penner, Brad Marchand, Jeff LoVecchio, Mikko Lehtonen, Jamie Arniel, Adam McQuaid.

GOALTENDING

As good as Rask was the past two years, he never won the AHL’s best netminder award, as Sabourin did in 2005-06. The 6’4” netminder spent a good part of last season in the NHL –– he played the bulk of the games while Pittsburgh starter Marc-Andre Fleury was injured. Still only 29 and on a one-year contract, Sabourin should be motivated to have a big year and try to earn another shot in the NHL.

COACHING

If there were an award for rookie coach of the year in the AHL, Rob Murray would have been a strong candidate last season. Murray’s assistant, Bruce Cassidy, was an NHL head coach in Washington at age 37. There aren’t many coaching tandems as good in the AHL.

TOUGHNESS

Not a problem. With Guillaume Lefebvre, Lane MacDermid, Drew Fata, Brett Clouthier and McQuaid, the Bruins won’t be pushed around.

WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION

Brad Marchand drives opponents nuts with nonstop trash talk. Just ask the Worcester Sharks, who were thrown off their game by his antics during last spring’s playoffs. Marchand can play the game, too. He has better than average hands and might be the team’s fastest skater. Expect the 21-year-old winger to see some time in Boston this year.