Andrew Abou-Assaly, Ottawa 67's

[HockeySauce]

I noticed he was listed on Ottawa's roster and I remember hearing about him ealier this year. What do people expect out of him this year? Is he considered a potential first round pick in 2014?

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[bruinsfan46]

Phenomenal OHL Cup numbers, I imagine he needs to play some OHL games before people can predict his NHL draft position.

 

[Lebanese Leaf]

He sounds Arabic, I'm curious, anyone know his background?

 

[le_sean]

He sounds Arabic, I'm curious, anyone know his background?

Shot in the dark here, but considering his last name, and the fact he's from the Ottawa region, chances are he's of Lebanese background.

 

[Leehh]

Shot in the dark here, but considering his last name, and the fact he's from the Ottawa region, chances are he's of Lebanese background.

As far as i know Abou is Moroccan surname and for me he looks more like Moroccan than Lebanese.

 

[le_sean]

As far as i know Abou is Moroccan surname and for me he looks more like Moroccan than Lebanese.

Fair enough. Just figured the name looked Arabic, and Ottawa has a huge Lebanese population.

 

[McManked]

He's a great player, watched him for a couple years.

Great natural goal scorer.

 

[A91]

My last name starts with abou and I'm lebanese, in fact I know a few people with that last name from Lebanon.

 

[Vaclav Varada]

I love how whenever a thread is started about someone with an 'unusual hockey name' it becomes a debate about ethnic background.

Still love the Tavares ethnicity thread. That was gold.

 

[Zeroknowledge*]

Andrew is most likely a Christian name, so probably Lebanese, Syrian or Egyptian, but due to the Lebanese community in Ottawa, odds are he is Lebanese.

 

[puckfan13]

I love how whenever a thread is started about someone with an 'unusual hockey name' it becomes a debate about ethnic background.

Still love the Tavares ethnicity thread. That was gold.

Well for people that are of Lebanese or Arab origin, it's probably really exciting to have a player of your same ethnicity potentially succeed. Hockey isn't exactly the most multicultural game, there are lots of ethnicities that are commonplace in Canada that haven't seen players or a lot of players in the NHL yet. When a player of an atypical background is successful I believe it's worthy of discussion. It helps the game grow.

 

[McManked]

I've watched Abou for years now. Both of his parents are Lebanese, for those who are wondering.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

He was the ODMHA Player of the Year last year. I see he followed that up with 6 pts (1g and 6a) in 66 games with the 67's. He was also was a -32.

I know the 67's were a horrible team, but I thought he'd do a bit better.

What gives? Does he have a chance to get drafted in 2014?

 

[Vaclav Varada]

Salituro was definitely more impressive this season. I didn't watch as many 67s games as I usually do (no fun watching your team get beat 8-1 on a nightly basis) but AAA seemed to play on the perimitre way too much. Also didn't have many veteran mentors on the team like we've had in years past (Prince, Toffoli, Smith, Mrazek, etc) to help guys like AAA transition into the OHL. Hopefully he can have a strong offseason and come back a different player.

 

[Blind Gardien]

I don't really follow players before they get to the OHL, but I guess I expected more from him just from the hype from the OHL draft. I felt he was pretty roundly overmatched and ineffective in his first OHL year. He needs to get stronger and a bit more confident. Obviously playing on such a weak team didn't help either. But it did give him more ice than maybe his level of play warranted, so there is a tradeoff there. Good article about him here:

http://centre-ice.ca/blog/2012/10/20/abou-assaly-a-standout-for-ottawas-lebanese-community

 

[sexytime]

Go Lebanon! Kadri, Assaly, who's next.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Every time i watched the 67's this year, he received limited bottom 6 minutes, no PP time and the bottom dregs of linemates. Not a surprise, given he has to earn his stripes and the 67's were horribly thin this year. Tough situation for him.

That said, I actually noted how much bigger he seemed than his vitals (I'm sure he's quite a bit bigger than 5'11 - 170 now - I'd guess 6'1 perhaps) and I was also impressed with how much gumption he showed. Was definitely trying to be physical and skated really well. Rarely got the puck with the linemates he had, but when he did, seemed dangerous. Through out the year, I kept waiting for him to get bumped up a line or two and break out and never happened. Wouldn't be shocked to see him break through next year. Still a concern he only potted the 1 goal, but still lots of promise there as far as I'm concerned.

 

[danishh]

Dude probably should have stayed on the ncaa track IMO.