SSM Greyhounds 2021-22 Season Thread

[PuckLife]

I'm looking forward to the NHL Draft - feels weird not seeing these kids last year. Hope Holmes, Calsiti and maybe even Boudreau keep up the Greyhound swagger.

 

[PuckLife]

Not a banner year - but what can we expect ?

 

[HockeyPops]

Ok, time to get back into the swing of things here. It's been way too long since we've been able to do this.

Just the latest bust for Raftis IMO. Inherited a top team he got way too much credit for and it's been a long line of questionable decisions since.
Some recent examples? Malik and Pytlik were busts. Wasted picks on guys like Cole Caulfield, John Beecher and Rutger McGroarty that are never going to report. And failing to recoup any picks when we had the opportunity to rebuild are a few big ones that immediately come to mind. How about another season with no starter? Is Ethan Taylor worth an OA spot to you guys?

I know his ever-shrinking fan club is going to come after me as always but Raftis has done nothing to deserve much praise since acquiring Raddysh.

I don't know if I could disagree with this more, lol. I wasn't really a fan of the Raddysh deal at the time, I thought he overpaid and wasn't convinced that we had the need at the time. But most of the stuff since I haven't minded too much overall. Wasting a pick on Cole Caulfield? I guess if you really think a late round pick could have been better used some other way. I am also ok with the Beecher and McGroarty picks. These guys will never ever report if you don't draft them. He doesn't waste many premium picks on these fliers, but it's good to make them every once in a while.

Malik and Pytlik were not busts. Had we played last year, Pytlik was probably getting >1.2 pts per game, and Malik was a legit starter. Pucek was a bust, but at least Raftis walked away from him after a season. Other GMs would have stubbornly stuck with their choice for a second season.

The goalie situation is a little concerning. The article in the paper made it sound like Raftis had planning on taking a goalie in the import draft, but that he had to change gears last minute. Not sure if his guy was taken out from under him, or if the agreement fell through last minute, but we do need a goalie. But I don't want him to pay much to get one, as I don't think this season is going to be anything to write home about. We do have a few goalies in the pipeline, but not sure where they are at with their development, or even if they plan on coming to camp. It would be too bad if we have to use an OA spot on Taylor, as we have so many good OA players to choose from this season.

 

[HockeyPops]

SSM PROSPECTS TRACKER - this post

2020-21 Season stats
I am going to try to keep this updated with our prospects and links to any current season stats that we can find on each. I would like to crowd source this information, so if you find a link to someone's stats please post below and I will update this post with it accordingly.

2005 Prospects
2021, 1st - Cloutier, Justin R (RW)
2021, 2nd - Mignosa, Marco R (RW)
2021, 3rd - Montroy, Ethan L (LW)
2021, 4th - Gibson, Andrew R (RD) - Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL)
2021, 5th - Scott, Blair L (LD) - Kitchener Waterloo Siskins (GOJHL)
2021, 7th - Lewinski, Charlie L (C) - Compuware AAA 16U
2021, 8th - Campbell, Stephen R (C) - Hamilton Kilty B's (GOJHL)
2021, 9th - Ciaramitaro, Anthony L (LD) - Windsor Junior Spitfires AAA U18
2021, 10th - Campbell, Ty L (LD) - Smith's Falls Bears (CCHL)
2021, 10th - Ziskie, Noah R (RD) - Oakland Junior Grizzlies 16U
2021, 10th - Clattenburg, Connor L (LW) - Renfrew Wolves AAA U18
2021, 11th - Fellinger, Austin R (RD) - Soo Greyhounds AAA U18
2021, 13th - Corte, Zack L (LW/RW) - Ajax-Pickering Raiders U18 (ETA)
2021, 14th - Shore, Owen L (LW) - Waterloo Wolves AAA U18
2021, 15th - Paddington, EJ L (LW)


2004 Prospects
2020, 1st - McConnell-Barker, Bryce L (C)
2020, 3rd - Toms, Connor L (D)
2020, 4th - McGroarty, Rutger L (C) - USNTDP, Michigan commit ('23-'24)
2020, 5th - Carlisle, Caeden L (D)
2020, 5th - Schenkel, Charlie R (G)
2020, 6th - Bellwood, Jax L (LW)
2020, 7th - Allard, Owen L (C)
2020, 8th - Varner, Justin R (LW) - MSU commit ('23-'24)
2020, 8th - Davis, Nathaniel R (RD)
2020, 9th - Hookey, Landen R (RW)
2020, 10th - Spurrell, Justin R (RW)
2020, 11th - Dunn, Nolan L (G)
2020, 12th - Ryan, Jackson L (C)
2020, 13th - Van De Ven, Caleb R (RD) - Powassan Voodoos NOJHL ('21-'22)
2020, 14th - West, Owen L (LD) - MSU Commit ('23-'24)
2020, 15th - Muszelik, Tyler L (G) - USNTDP, UNH commit ('23-'24)
2021I, 1st - Kudryavtsev, Kirill L (RD)
2021I, 2nd - Lutz, Julian L (LW) - EHC München DEL ('21-'22)
2021U, 1st - Johnson, James R (RW)
2021U, 2nd - Donaldson, Colton L (G)
2021U, 3rd - Brandes, David L (RD)

2003 Prospects
2019, 1st - Holmes, Jacob (D)
2019, 3rd - Boudreau, Marc (F)
2019, 4th - D'Intino, Jordan L (C)
2019, 5th - Parsons, Owen R (RW)
2019, 6th - Brzustowski, Luc L (D)
2019, 7th - Taylor, Coulter L (G)
2019, 8th - Haymes, Luke L (C)
2019, 9th - Chiddenton, Rhys L (LW)
2019, 10th - Brown, Hunter R (D)
2019, 11th - Savard, Tyler L (LW)
2019, 12th - DiPasquo, Luca R (G)
2019, 13th - Miller, Connor R (C)
2019, 14th - DeVries, Luke L (D)
2019, 15th - Heroux, Logan R (D)
2020U, 1st - Ivanov, Samuel L (G)
2020U, 2nd - Williamson, Cole L (LD)
2020U, 3rd - Brock, Henry (C)

2002 Prospects
2018, 1st - O'Rourke, Ryan (D)
2018, 4th - Kerins, Rory (F)
2018, 5th - Watson, Kalvyn (F)
2018, 7th - Mufarreh, Dominic (F)
2018, 7th - McGuire, Cole (D)
2018, 8th - Tomasini, Tyson (F)
2018, 8th - Mann, Nate (F)
2018, 9th - Halushak, Matthew (D)
2018, 10th - Parker, Owen (G)
2018, 11th - Brown, Finn (F) - RPI Commit ('22-'23)
2018, 13th - McIntyre, Justin (G)
2018, 14th - Gorton, Jack (F)
2019U, 1st - Frechette, Alexandre (F)
2019U, 2nd - Zeppa, Noah (G) - Soo Thunderbirds NOJHL ('21-'22)
2019U, 3rd - Timchenko, Alexander (F) - Sakhalinskiye Akuly (MHL)
FA - Dickinson, Tanner (F)

Note on junior leagues:
BCHL, CCHL, NOJHL, OJHL, SIJHL are Junior A leagues.
PJHL, GOJHL are Junior B leagues.
Tier 1 in the US is called USHL. HPHL is not junior - it's midget.

Here is our approximate depth Chart by position.

LW	C	RW		LD	RD		G
OA Kartye L (01)	Kerins L (02)	OA MacKay R (01)		Holmes L (03)	O'Rourke L (02)		Ivanov L (03)
Boudreau L (03)	Dickinson L (02)	Watson R (02)		OA Calisti L (01)	Kudryavtsev L (04)		Schenkel R (04)
D'Intino L (03)	McConnell-Barker L (04)	Mignosa R (05)		Toms L (04)
Savard L (03)	Allard L (04)	Cloutier R (05)		Brzustowski L (03)
Montroy L (05)		Hookey R (04)		Carlisle L (04)
				Halushak L (02)
Lutz L (04)	Campbell, S R (05)	Corte L (05)		Scott L (05)	Gibson R (05)		Donaldson L (04)
Clattenburg L (05)				Campbell, T L (05)	Fellinger R (05)		Dunn L (04)
Paddington L (05)				Ciaramitaro L (05)
Shore L (05)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2019-2020 Season stats - See Old Prospects Thread, post #2

2021 Training Camp Rosters: Training Camp to kick off Monday, August 30th – Soo Greyhounds
2021 Reshuffled Rosters: https://cdn.ontariohockeyleague.com.../2021/08/31194843/TC_Updated_Rosters_2021.pdf
2021 Red and white roster
https://cdn.ontariohockeyleague.com.../02213255/2021_Red_White_GM_LineUp_Colour.pdf

 

[HockeyPops]

So, it looks like there will be spots up for grabs at training camp for all positions. Not including OAs, we have the following players currently signed:

Forwards (10):
Kerins ('02)
Watson ('02)
Mufarreh ('02)
Dickinson (02)
Boudreau ('03)
Savard ('03)
D'Intino ('03)
McConnell-Barker ('04)
Cloutier ('05)
Mignosa ('05)

Defense (5)
O'Rourke ('02)
Halushak ('02)
Holmes ('03)
Brzustowski ('03)
Toms ('04)

Goalie (0)
(none)

Notable unsigned in each position:
Forward: Ethan Montroy ('05) - highest drafted unsigned player (3rd round)
Defense: Kirill Kudryavtsev ('04) - Raftis indicated he expected this import to be at training camp
Goalie: Charlie Schenkel ('04) - Greyhounds haven't drafted a goalie this high (5th round) for a long time

My thoughts on this roster are: there are a lot of holes. If Kudryavstev signs, that helps out a great deal solidifying our top two defensive pairs with only one OA. Our forwards are looking very thin with only Kerins, Dickinson, and McConnell-Barker a shoe-in for the top 6 (maybe Boudreau too). If there was any way we could bolster our forward corps with 2 OAs it would help out a ton, but they might opt to bring back Ethan Taylor to shield whichever goalie prospect emerges out of training camp. I wonder if they would ever consider signing 3 unproven goalies rather than bringing back Ethan Taylor? If they tried something like that, they would be able to keep 2 OAs in the forward group. I am imagining an opening day roster something like this:

Kartye (OA) - Kerins - MacKay (OA)
Dickinson - McConnell-Barker - Watson
Boudreau - D'Intino - Cloutier
Savard - Mufarreh - Mignosa
*one more forward to sign

O'Rourke - Constantinou (OA)
*Kudryavtsev - Holmes
Halushak - Toms
Brzustowski
*one more defense to sign

*Schenkel - *Donaldson - *C. Taylor

Thoughts?

 

[PuckStop75]

So, it looks like there will be spots up for grabs at training camp for all positions. Not including OAs, we have the following players currently signed:

Forwards (10):
Kerins ('02)
Watson ('02)
Mufarreh ('02)
Dickinson (02)
Boudreau ('03)
Savard ('03)
D'Intino ('03)
McConnell-Barker ('04)
Cloutier ('05)
Mignosa ('05)

Defense (5)
O'Rourke ('02)
Halushak ('02)
Holmes ('03)
Brzustowski ('03)
Toms ('04)

Goalie (0)
(none)

Notable unsigned in each position:
Forward: Ethan Montroy ('05) - highest drafted unsigned player (3rd round)
Defense: Kirill Kudryavstev ('04) - Raftis indicated he expected this import to be at training camp
Goalie: Charlie Schenkel ('04) - Greyhounds haven't drafted a goalie this high (5th round) for a long time

My thoughts on this roster are: there are a lot of holes. If Kudryavstev signs, that helps out a great deal solidifying our top two defensive pairs with only one OA. Our forwards are looking very thin with only Kerins, Dickinson, and McConnell-Barker a shoe-in for the top 6 (maybe Boudreau too). If there was any way we could bolster our forward corps with 2 OAs it would help out a ton, but they might opt to bring back Ethan Taylor to shield whichever goalie prospect emerges out of training camp. I wonder if they would ever consider signing 3 unproven goalies rather than bringing back Ethan Taylor? If they tried something like that, they would be able to keep 2 OAs in the forward group. I am imagining an opening day roster something like this:

Kartye (OA) - Kerins - MacKay (OA)
Dickinson - McConnell-Barker - Watson
Boudreau - D'Intino - Cloutier
Savard - Mufarreh - Mignosa
*one more forward to sign

O'Rourke - Constantinou (OA)
*Kudryavstev - Holmes
Halushak - Toms
Brzustowski
*one more defense to sign

*Schenkel - *Donaldson - *C. Taylor

Thoughts?

Unlikely O'Rourke returns, it sounds like players who had 20+ AHL games last year will have the option of staying at the AHL level.
The balance of the lineup looks about right, there will be interest in the extra OA's - translate to picks; the picks could then be used in trade. The team needs a goalie, relying on a 17 yo rookie is asking a lot, expect a lot of moving parts to start the season depending on how they chose to address this need.

 

[DWI Dale]

be a good year to recoup some picks methinks.

my only worry is goaltending, doesn't seem to be a strong point in Raftis' drafting.

 

[HockeyPops]

Maybe he has another Free Agent goalie up his sleeve?

 

[HockeyPops]

Yes, if O'Rourke sticks in the AHL, we might need both Calisti and Constantinou or risk being really thin in the top two pairings. Maybe Toms is ready, but it's a lot to ask. I was already relying on Kudryavstev being ready for top 4 assignments.

In retrospect, it's probably better to keep both OA dmen to start the season. Our young dmen have a lot of promise based on where they were drafted, but sheltering to start is better than trial by fire. Lots of moving parts.

 

[Hardcore Techno]

Who ever makes the team

 

[HockeyPops]

0/17 on producing a bonafide starter is pretty bad no? it shouldn't be considered "spouting off" to talk about these things

Dale, I believe context is important when having these types of discussions. When you spew this type of garbage without context, it weakens your argument. Let's explore what I mean.

Let's talk about goalies under Raftis' watch. I believe Raaymakers was selected by Dubas right before the change of the guard. So he was in no immediate hurry to draft a starter. These were Raftis' subsequent 17 goalie picks:
2015, 12th - Newhouse, Dougie
2016, 6th - DeRidder, Drew - USNTDP
2016, 9th - Mamone, Adriano
2017, 9th - Taylor, Ethan
2017, 15th - Porter, Owen
2017U18, 3rd - Nelson, Pierce
2018, 10th - Parker, Owen
2018, 13th - McIntyre, Justin
2018U18, 1st - McNair, Kyle
2019, 7th - Taylor, Coulter
2019, 12th - DiPasquo, Luca
2019U18, 2nd - Zeppa, Noah
2020, 5th - Schenkel, Charlie
2020, 11th - Dunn, Nolan
2020, 15th - Muszelik, Tyler - USNTDP
2020U18, 1st - Ivanov, Samuel
2021U18, 2nd - Donaldson, Colton

0/17 on drafting a starter. While technically true, let's now talk about context:
- you conveniently left out our import draft where we were successful 1/1 in drafting a starter (Malik)
- players drafted 2019 or later have not really been given a shot to make any roster because of covid.
- how often do you expect a flyer pick to report (ie. USNTDP players/NCAA commits)?
- how often do you expect an U18 pick to make the roster?
- how often do you expect a late round pick (Rds 10-15) to make the roster?
- Raftis landed Villalta as a free agent, so had no urgency to find a goalie during the 2015-2018 stretch through the draft.
- Once Villalta had proven himself, Raftis traded Raaymakers to London for a nice return.
- Even factoring in the draft capital we gave away for a few goalies on the trade market (Peccia, Propp, Brkin), the Raaymakers return dwarfs what we gave away.

Looking back on how Raftis has managed the goalie situation, he has actually done a fine job. Maybe if he hadn't found Villalta it would be a different story, but you can't rewrite history. He hasn't burned many early/mid picks (through draft or trade) to get competent goaltending. You could certainly argue he has done much better than Dubas (Dubas traded away the farm for Jack Campbell in 2011 and it didn't pan out).

If you want to gripe about burning a 6th round pick on a flyer for DeRidder, I would suggest filing that grievance against taking flyer picks rather than not being able to draft a starter. If you want to complain about the two 9th round picks used on Taylor and Mamone power to you, but with Taylor you still got 34 OHL games out of him (and that with missing over a season for covid).

Context is everything. As shot caller said, there are plenty of valid criticisms of Raftis. This is simply not one of them.

 

[HockeyPops]

Representative hockey update. Didn't see this posted here yet. The following Hounds and prospects were selected and recently participated for their country:
Ryan O'Rourke - CAN U21, summer showcase
Rory Kerins - CAN U21, summer showcase
Tanner Dickinson - USA U21, summer showcase
Bryce McConnell-Barker - CAN U18, summer showcase
Julian Lutz (unsigned) - GER U18, Hlinka
Kirill Kudryavtsev (unsigned) - RUS U18, Hlinka

Congrats to all.

 

[HockeyPops]

 

[MarkusKetterer]

What’s the word on this guy?

 

[HockeyPops]

LD Kirill Kudryavtsev - Loko Yaroslavl, MHL (2022 Draft)

Here is his prospect thread

 

[HockeyPops]

Here is a scouting report:
OHL Prospects: 2021 CHL Import Draft Review

Here is an article from when Raftis selected him:
Raftis predicts big things for Kudryavtsev | Sault Star

And I will just leave this here too:

 

[HockeyPops]

A couple of articles by Brad Coccimiglio clear up a few things on our depth chart. Ethan Taylor and Drew Wawrow have been waived, and apparently we still have rights to Jaromir Pytlik, although he is not expected to come. Also, apparently Kudryavtsev plays the right side even though he's a lefty, so I have moved him over there.

Greyhounds overage situation slowly taking shape - Sault Ste. Marie News
Greyhounds ink Russian blueliner, status of German import remains unchanged - Sault Ste. Marie News

 

[DWI Dale]

HP,
I respectfully disagree with your assessment of Raftis' goaltending record as well as your suggestion that I leave out context. It's been a positional hole since villalta left and going into this season we don't have a starter yet. You an spin that however you like but it's fact.


p.s. this includes Nick Malik. he was a bust, no ther way to describe his short tenure.

 

[HockeyPops]

Nick Malik was fine, Bailey Brkin was fine. Malik would have come last season and been our starter. I know it seems like Villalta left ages ago, but we have played less than a season since he left.

I am sure many teams are in the same boat as us after more than a season of downtime. Have patience, we haven't even had a training camp yet.

 

[wings5]

Any word on if Julien Lutz may be signing ?

 

[shot caller]

Any word on if Julien Lutz may be signing ?

I would imagine it will be unlikely. He for sure will not be signing without time spent in the DEL. There would be no point as he would only sign here if he wasn’t capable of maintaining ice time in his draft year. All indicators point to him being able to compete in the German top league. He has already played with men in the Alps league and had 26 points in 30 games. He will most likely be able to maintain some sort of regular shift in the DEL, if not ice time that actually contributes. For these reasons, I see no chance he signs.

 

[DWI Dale]

Have patience, we haven't even had a training camp yet.

I'm pretty patient and i don't have any expectations for the team this season beyond seeing some fresh faces.
But I'm steadfast in my opinion that our drafting of goaltending has been subpar under Raftis. There's a whole season ahead of us for someone in the system to prove me wrong!

 

[HockeyPops]

I guess my take on goalies is that Raftis hasn't really gone for the big fish yet in the draft. The highest pick he has used on a goalie is the 5th rounder on Schenkel and a 7th rounder on C. Taylor. If neither work out and it leaves us with a huge hole, I will start to sour on our approach to drafting goalies. But they have not yet been given a chance. The other goalies we have drafted that didn't pan out were taken pretty late in the draft.

I am also quite pleased with Malik. What other 17 year old import goalies have come into this league and played better? He did fine and would have had much better numbers with better defensive play in front of him. I expected great things out of his second season, which, unfortunately for Covid never happened. But we can't blame Raftis for covid.

But I agree, the "proof will be in the pudding" this season.

 

[DWI Dale]

we can talk all day but the game is played by the young men on the ice.

I honestly can't wait just to watch a game.

 

[shot caller]

Absolutely love it.

OHL vaccination policy expanded to include fans - Sault Ste. Marie News