Soo Greyhounds 2018 Offseason Thread

[EON]

Final 2016-17 Season Thread: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2206589

Begin offseason talk here.

Click to read more...

 

[scotty171]

Another tough playoff exit for the Hounds but they should return a decent core next year.

Katchouk Frost Kopacka
Gettinger Verbeek Hayton
Martin Makinen (?) Gritz
Fowler

I am not sure if Makinen will return or not. Some other guys I could see competing for spots up front would be:
Carroll, MacKay, Beecher (USNTDP), Boman, Hernandez, Hayami, Weir, Buckley, Trott

Carroll Timmins
Demeo Hollowell
Wale LeGuerrier
Calisto

Raaymakers
Villalta

There are a few D prospects going the NCAA route(Muzyka, Semik, Green) Don't expect to see them.
They have room to add an import and another OA.

 

[DWI Dale]

Here is my post mortem.

This years team never really had "IT".

I don't know what that is... But ultimately the consistency issues we had all year looked awfully familiar to those we saw in the playoffs.

There was just something about them that never clicked. Sure they were talented enough to score goals and that translated into some good winning percentages, but all year there was a nagging thought that they didn't have "IT".

Should be an interesting off season. Some aren't happy with bannister. His perceived non-chalance about pretty much everything doesn't sit well with the local crowd that demands discipline and accountability. And the same holes in our game in October sunk us in April, and that has to fall on someone. The inability to put together 60 minutes was a constant all season IMO. And meanwhile, I feel the local fanbase was far too wrapped up in skewering Joseph Raaymakers. While he had his struggles, he was being bombarded by HIGH QUALITY scoring chances early on in games as the team tried to get their game going. If he didn't bail them out he took the fall.

Ultimately Senny and Speers had nothing to solve the attack. And when you are counting on your 17 and 18 year olds to carry the team you're not going to contend for a championship.

Until Next Year Folks.

The Year of Boris.

 

[Gouin Street]

Always disappointing when we're knocked out of the playoffs. We battled hard against a very good team. It's too bad that both these teams are not moving on to the Conference Final. Owen Sound played the better series and deserved to move on. I really thought we were in great shape after winning our the first 2 games at home. I didnt think we would lose 4 of the next 5 games. I was wrong.....cause we lost 4 games in a row. It was a fantastic series to watch. It's rare that a fan will cheer for the team that knocked out his team, but that's what I''l be doing. I will continue to follow the Attack for the rest of the playoffs and maybe into the Memorial Cup. Good luck to the Hound players moving on and looking forward to next season.

 

[Savard18]

After watching the Greyhounds 12 times, 6 live this year I was completely unimpressed with Senyshyn and Speers THIS year. Bouramann to an extent too. But you're not counting on them next year. Kopacka, Katchouk, Frost, Verbeek, Timmins and others occasionally were really impressive and they should all be wearing red and white next year. I found it difficult to not like Kopacka and Verbeek's game more and more every time I watched them play. You might be losing some star names but the engine that drove the team in the playoffs will be back next year in my opinion.

 

[nelli27]

After watching the Greyhounds 12 times, 6 live this year I was completely unimpressed with Senyshyn and Speers THIS year. Bouramann to an extent too. But you're not counting on them next year. Kopacka, Katchouk, Frost, Verbeek, Timmins and others occasionally were really impressive and they should all be wearing red and white next year. I found it difficult to not like Kopacka and Verbeek's game more and more every time I watched them play. You might be losing some star names but the engine that drove the team in the playoffs will be back next year in my opinion.

I wouldn't be surprised if Katchouk is among the league's leading scorers next season.

 

[count35]

After watching the Greyhounds 12 times, 6 live this year I was completely unimpressed with Senyshyn and Speers THIS year. Bouramann to an extent too. But you're not counting on them next year. Kopacka, Katchouk, Frost, Verbeek, Timmins and others occasionally were really impressive and they should all be wearing red and white next year. I found it difficult to not like Kopacka and Verbeek's game more and more every time I watched them play. You might be losing some star names but the engine that drove the team in the playoffs will be back next year in my opinion.

Thank you Savard, very well stated. Appreciate your insight. It's always good to get someone else's opinion.

Since we never got ANYTHING from Speers and Senyshyn this playoffs hopefully the younger guys are more battle tested and ready to lead this team next year.

If Raaymakers picks up where he left off this playoffs we'll be in good shape in goal between him and Villalta pushing each other to be great. On D we'll have to hope Carroll comes back and i truly believe we need to make a move to acquire an OA on D...or even 2?

Up front with 98's, Kopacka, Katchouk and Gettinger leading the way and the emergence of Frost plus the rest of the younger players we should be in decent shape. Up front would be a great place to add 1 or 2 OA'S plus it would be nice to have an Import or 2 who can come in to make an impact.

For whatever reason Makinen just couldn't warrant enough ice time so if we drafted someone to replace him with more speed that would be preferable. Bouramaan is addition by subtraction and i'm not happy saying that about any young person. The coaching staff obviously loved him so we don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

All in all we should be in for another exciting year of hockey here in town. I hope that the Essar situation resolves itself and the Hounds can enjoy averaging closer to 4,000 per game next year....though i highly doubt that. It seems that there's something else besides just the local situation holding people back. If it IS the reason the management should seriously look at cutting back the ticket prices or it'll just get worse.

 

[Riverfront]

Don't want to get into this too much, but it needs to be addressed it is exactly what "DW1 Dale " posted earlier " This team never really had it ". It was a good regular season team and getting 100 points and finishing ahead of Windsor who is hosting the memorial cup is an accomplishment but Bannister could not get the most out of : speers and senyshen when he needed them the most. Speers was hurt most of the year and rumour I heard was that Raftis was prepared to trade the captain at the deadline but was shot down by one member of ownership being that he was a local kid and also that he was the captain, I know hindsight is 20/20 but Raftis needs to stick to his convictions and if he felt that the leadership that he needed from speers was not there then he should have traded him but maybe he needed approval from ownership for that to happen who knows. He certainly did not get the offense from speers in the playoffs that he needed and he was on the ice a ton. As for Senyshen his head did not seem into it all season, maybe thinking about Boston too much ?. I like what we have coming back in Timmins, Frost, Katchoek, Hayton, Hollowell, kopacka, raaymakers, these 7 should be our leaders, Carrol and Verbeek will be decent overage candidates as well. They should add a third impact overager as well as 2 import picks who can make a difference. Do not know if I would bring back Mackinon. Also I would explore what you can get for Gettinger in the off season. That is 2 years in a row where he disappears in the playoffs can't see him making an impact at playoff time in his final year. I think moving him for a solid D man will help.

 

[westfan]

Attendance at Essar - don't broadcast game on Shaw (i.e. black them out) unless the tickets are at least 90% sold out. Pretty simple.

 

[howndawg]

Complaints..... I can't believe you people!!! At least 15 other teams wish they could ice a team as exciting to watch. Fans in Sudbury and North bay would be beside themselves and be bragging if they could experience what you people are complaining about. They should be so lucky!!!

 

[DWI Dale]

Complaints..... I can't believe you people!!! At least 15 other teams wish they could ice a team as exciting to watch. Fans in Sudbury and North bay would be beside themselves and be bragging if they could experience what you people are complaining about. They should be so lucky!!!

i believe fans in north bay and sudbury ultimately want a championship just like us. we got more than 20 years of early playoff exits so at this point getting knocked out in the 2nd round isn't something to celebrate.

 

[DWI Dale]

Attendance at Essar - don't broadcast game on Shaw (i.e. black them out) unless the tickets are at least 90% sold out. Pretty simple.

They were showing them on tv a few years ago when we had sellouts and a waiting list for seasons tickets. not broadcasting games isn't going to change the local economy right now.

 

[count35]

Don't want to get into this too much, but it needs to be addressed it is exactly what "DW1 Dale " posted earlier " This team never really had it ". It was a good regular season team and getting 100 points and finishing ahead of Windsor who is hosting the memorial cup is an accomplishment but Bannister could not get the most out of : speers and senyshen when he needed them the most. Speers was hurt most of the year and rumour I heard was that Raftis was prepared to trade the captain at the deadline but was shot down by one member of ownership being that he was a local kid and also that he was the captain, I know hindsight is 20/20 but Raftis needs to stick to his convictions and if he felt that the leadership that he needed from speers was not there then he should have traded him but maybe he needed approval from ownership for that to happen who knows. He certainly did not get the offense from speers in the playoffs that he needed and he was on the ice a ton. As for Senyshen his head did not seem into it all season, maybe thinking about Boston too much ?. I like what we have coming back in Timmins, Frost, Katchoek, Hayton, Hollowell, kopacka, raaymakers, these 7 should be our leaders, Carrol and Verbeek will be decent overage candidates as well. They should add a third impact overager as well as 2 import picks who can make a difference. Do not know if I would bring back Mackinon. Also I would explore what you can get for Gettinger in the off season. That is 2 years in a row where he disappears in the playoffs can't see him making an impact at playoff time in his final year. I think moving him for a solid D man will help.

I totally agree with you on all this and thought the very same regarding Speers...that they wouldn't trade him because he's local and the C.

My argument was we'd done what we'd done without him to that point and if we could have gotten a dynamic younger player or picks we'd be smiling even more thinking about next year.

As for Senyshyn and Gettinger they were 2 players i thought we could get even more picks and possible impact player/s for and still done just as well this season. I was disgusted watching Senyshyn in these playoffs, and i believe Bannister moved him down the lineup or benched him in some cases because he was so visibly bad. Gettinger is also frustrating because he plays so much smaller than his size and disappeared in the playoffs...again!

So, while we applaud the team for doing as well as they did this year, we're left wondering what "might have been." Imagine OS if Palmu and Suzuki and even Centorame played as poorly as these 3 did!!! The line between championship and going home after 6 games in Round 2 are that small.

 

[howndawg]

i believe fans in north bay and sudbury ultimately want a championship just like us. we got more than 20 years of early playoff exits so at this point getting knocked out in the 2nd round isn't something to celebrate.

At least the Soo can say they have won!!! 3 times!! Battalion and Wolves 0 combined!! If you had about 3 million profit every year like London things would look much brighter

 

[Fastpace]

I would like to complement on the Greyhounds successful and exciting year, yes it is sad to watch your team lose but they played to the very end and went down fighting.

As the disappointment sets in it will be time to remember all accomplishments the Greyhounds has done this season, what I have noticed the most in the few times I seen them played is how well and quick this team gelled. It took some road trips to put it all together by Christmas they were not a team to be reckoned with, if anything they may have peak a little too soon by the time playoffs came around other teams knew what to expect, overall it was a successful season for the Greyhounds.

It's time to prepare and look forward to next season, to all my Soo fans I wish you all a great & safe summer break !!!

 

[Buttsy]

In fairness to your GM it was a season similar to London experienced. How do you sell at the deadline when you have a 100 point team ranked Top 10 for a large part of the season. I think in hindsight London probably would have been better served to sell off and look forward to next year. BUT they finished with 99 points albeit mostly accumulated by beating up on the weaker teams. Also for the Soo who imagined your big guy Senyshen would have struggled so badly? Tough calls I can see both sides of it......

 

[The Prophet]

At least the Soo can say they have won!!! 3 times!! Battalion and Wolves 0 combined!! If you had about 3 million profit every year like London things would look much brighter

When the Hounds come to North Bay every season, it is a game that I never miss, their brand of hockey in great, speed, skill and puck possession. So you folks have a entertaining brand of hockey to watch every week, with many NHL drafted players to boot.
Just try and watch the Battalion day in day out for 4 years....wins and loses aside, painful.....slow, no skill and dump and chase, and don't even try to watch the Wolves vs Battalion, that's another level of pain.
London, Erie, Owen Sound, Windsor, Soo and even Saginaw have a much better brand of hockey.
An early exit from the playoffs is disappointing ,but you have a great team in my opinion.

 

[DWI Dale]

I'm fairly confident that a fan can both support and appreciate his/her favourite team while acknowledging the shortfalls that led to their demise. Isn't that what an offseason thread is for?

 

[Fastpace]

When the Hounds come to North Bay every season, it is a game that I never miss, their brand of hockey in great, speed, skill and puck possession. So you folks have a entertaining brand of hockey to watch every week, with many NHL drafted players to boot.
Just try and watch the Battalion day in day out for 4 years....wins and loses aside, painful.....slow, no skill and dump and chase, and don't even try to watch the Wolves vs Battalion, that's another level of pain.
London, Erie, Owen Sound, Windsor, Soo and even Saginaw have a much better brand of hockey.
An early exit from the playoffs is disappointing ,but you have a great team in my opinion.

I tend to agree with you but not entirely, the Soo plays in the western Conference where the overall competition is stiffer than the Eastern, by playing stronger teams many times over your team tend to learn to play better as it goes. What would be best for the over all league competition is for the east to play the west more often, by doing this it would elevate all competition from the east to match the west, if that makes any sense. Right now the Battalion and the Wolves or other teams from the east are playing just hard enough to beat one another and are at a lost when stiffer competition from the west comes in. Now don't get me wrong there are some good teams in the east that can beat teams from the west I am just speaking in the general term.

 

[The Prophet]

I tend to agree with you but not entirely, the Soo plays in the western Conference where the overall competition is stiffer than the Eastern, by playing stronger teams many times over your team tend to learn to play better as it goes. What would be best for the over all league competition is for the east to play the west more often, by doing this it would elevate all competition from the east to match the west, if that makes any sense. Right now the Battalion and the Wolves or other teams from the east are playing just hard enough to beat one another and are at a lost when stiffer competition from the west comes in. Now don't get me wrong there are some good teams in the east that can beat teams from the west I am just speaking in the general term.

Agreed, the West generally is a stronger division, and to compete a team has to elevate their game as you mentioned, but a team needs speed and skill to compete in the West, and North Bay would have to do a complete overhaul to compete in the West and their game is tough to watch week after week, where the Soo is a treat to watch , which was my point to the fans from the Soo.

 

[Fischhaber]

It troubles me to see our fans roasting Speers and Senyshyn after a bad playoff series. They have both had distinguished careers with the team and we should be celebrating their accomplishments. I wish them well in their NHL endeavors and will always remember them as all time greats with the Hounds despite a few off games in this series.

 

[bobber]

It takes a whole team effort to beat a team like the Attack. You can't place the blame on one or two kids. The Attack have top goal tending and some of the best forwards in Canada and some are not drafted yet. Soo was a great squad this year that battled right to the end. They did beat the other top teams this season. Something to be proud of. You have a great organization up there that is proactive.

 

[Fastpace]

It takes a whole team effort to beat a team like the Attack. You can't place the blame on one or two kids. The Attack have top goal tending and some of the best forwards in Canada and some are not drafted yet. Soo was a great squad this year that battled right to the end. They did beat the other top teams this season. Something to be proud of. You have a great organization up there that is proactive.

I fully agree with your post bobber !!!


It' a team game, win or lose you do it as a team !

 

[Fastpace]

It troubles me to see our fans roasting Speers and Senyshyn after a bad playoff series. They have both had distinguished careers with the team and we should be celebrating their accomplishments. I wish them well in their NHL endeavors and will always remember them as all time greats with the Hounds despite a few off games in this series.

I also agree with yours as well, Speers and Senyshyn have done so much for this organization, they are the type players that young players mirrors themselves by they both had very good junior careers, Soo's and OHL fans alike should be proud of what they have accomplished in this league !!

 

[IcemanTBI]

Blake Speers and Colton White have been called up by the Devils for the Albany Devils, while Gustav Bouramann has been called up by the Wild as a black ace.

https://www.sootoday.com/local-sports/ohl-notebook-greyhounds-trio-called-up-593943