Defenseman is the only position Bismarck High’s Ben Peterson has played since he first donned hockey skates.

This season, he’ll go on the offensive.

Peterson is set to play at a forward position his senior year and skate alongside classmates Calvin Krueger and Carson Winkels, a pair of high-scoring veterans.

“I’m excited about it. It’s something totally different from what I’m used to, but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Peterson said. “And it’s going to be a lot of fun skating with Calvin and Carson. They’re good players who can create a lot of opportunities to score.”

Bismarck coach Mike Peluso said Peterson is a top-notch defenseman, but felt he would be a better fit at forward this season.

“We talked about that during the offseason. We thought the switch would benefit the team more,” Peluso said. “Ben’s very capable. He has the skills. He’s a tough, physical kid who is fundamentally sound. And he and those other two guys have good chemistry. They’ve been buddies for a long time and they know each other well. Watching them the first week of practice, it looks like they’re going to do just fine. We’re excited.”

Peterson said he’ll miss being a defenseman, but likes the idea of being more involved in the offense.

“Defenseman is an important position, but it’ll be fun getting in on more of the action and being one of the go-to guys,” said Peterson, who had four goals and 11 assists last season.

Peterson can’t think of two better linemates to start with than Krueger and Winkels. Krueger had 11 goals and 22 assists last season, while Winkels had 10 goals and 16 assists. Peterson said the two have helped make his transition a smooth one.

“It’s been good,” he said. “We skated together a lot in summer league, so we weren’t too concerned about whether or not we would click. They’ve helped me since day one. They’re confident this is going to work.”

Peluso is looking to the threesome to carry much of the load while the Demons develop more scorers.

Bismarck graduated a host of scorers from a team that went 24-2, won the West Region tournament title, and finished second behind Grand Forks Red River in the state tournament.

Four of last year’s seniors, Patrick Anderson (26), Tyler Richter (20), Jared Hochhalter (14) and Grant Mindt (13), combined for 73 goals and 147 points.

Not all of Bismarck’s personnel losses came via graduation. Nick Romanick, who scored 17 points (7-10) as a junior in 2008-09, is playing for the Fargo Force of the USHL. Adam Peterson, a foreign exchange student and a junior last season, returned to his home in Sweden. He scored nine goals and was credited with eight assists.

“We’re looking at around 90 goals gone, which is mind-boggling,” Peluso said. “We’re going to lean on Ben, Calvin and Carson heavily early on — not just to score, but to teach the younger kids how it’s done. We lost so many key players, but we have a lot of kids with potential.”

Peterson hopes Bismarck’s dream season of 2008-09 will help inspire the newcomers.

“Even if they didn’t play a lot last year, they saw what it took to accomplish all we did,” Peterson said. “There’s a good attitude here. Everybody’s working hard. Last year was a lot of fun and we want to experience that again.”

Peterson, Krueger, and Winkels were members of the Bismarck High football team, which won a second straight state championship earlier this month. There wasn’t much time to celebrate as hockey practice began the Monday after the championship game. Peterson, who played wide receiver, said he didn’t mind the short layoff.

“There are a few other football players who play hockey, and we all wanted to get right to work,” he said. “Coming off a championship season, you want to keep the momentum going.”