Sudbury Wolves 2018-19 Season Thread (Part 2)

[Wolfman Jack]

Ah the sound of John Melloncamp still resinating in the arena rafters from Wednesday night " And the walls come tumbling down and the walls.... come tumbling downnnnnnn" As I have been saying all along another strong Dman and vet forward that can help finish. This wait and see approach has stung the Wolves in the you know what. Now the kicking tires on a potential dman out of Flint if true the price has gone up. Trading when you are winning is much cheaper as you are not desperate to make a move. Back to reality!

WJ

 

[I Loveallsports]

I didn't say a word about the Barrie game, I've stated previously I didn't watch it all that closely like I normally would. Our players didn't play great and both teams are better then us but I think it could have been a closer game today. Stillman is a good coach, but like anyone in any role at the OHL level he has some small things to work on, such as the player in the box and probably lines and pairings as well as PP. If he was a perfect coach he wouldn't be here. I care for the small details in a hockey game, I watch and I pick apart the tiny things that could affect the play if done differently, and with Stillman for me it would be lines, and that blunder with the box, well Mike Babcock made it last year so everyone does it but again, small things.

I want a sniper.

Also I've heard we're kicking tires on a D out of Flint, though like anything else, take that with a grain of salt.

My friend- Mike Babcock could not do anything with this lineup/lines.

This team lacks offensive punch. Unfortunately most of the play is dump and chase. There is little creativity (except for Byfield). Defensively rarely you see the puck out of their zone quickly. Usually takes them a few tries before they succeed. Breakouts are rarely clean. Off a leg, off a stick , or boards.

It's not their fault or the coaches, it is what it is. Its about talent and hockey IQ. Is Cory perfect, nobody is.

You can juggle the lines ten times over and you will mostly get the same result.

I want a sniper or two.

 

[cub]

I didn't say a word about the Barrie game, I've stated previously I didn't watch it all that closely like I normally would. Our players didn't play great and both teams are better then us but I think it could have been a closer game today. Stillman is a good coach, but like anyone in any role at the OHL level he has some small things to work on, such as the player in the box and probably lines and pairings as well as PP. If he was a perfect coach he wouldn't be here. I care for the small details in a hockey game, I watch and I pick apart the tiny things that could affect the play if done differently, and with Stillman for me it would be lines, and that blunder with the box, well Mike Babcock made it last year so everyone does it but again, small things.

I want a sniper.

Also I've heard we're kicking tires on a D out of Flint, though like anything else, take that with a grain of salt.

How many games did we come from behind and won? to me that's a great sign that the team is not quitting on the coach and putting an honest effort.

Every Wolves game I have watched the team gives an honest effort every game. I agree, yes we can do better in all aspects of the game from the PP or PK. Setting up of lines, etc.

Coaching is not the an issue on this team, because I be first one to be vocal on it. We are team still a work in progress, and need some of the vets to step up. Carson has played 7 games no goals, he has been snake bitten, I actually saw him hit the post on wide open net, I could not believe he missed it and so did he. He is playing first line minutes and top PP, hopefully it turns around for him he has scored 30 goals in this league. Levin is our top scorer on this team with 9 points, take a look at the scoring leader board that is 46th place on scoring board.

This team has been winning by a whole team effort with quality goaltending, coaching is getting the best out of them.

 

[I Loveallsports]

Wonder when they will name a captain. Byfield rooms with Carson on the road he takes all ceremonial faceoffs. Not saying he'd be my first choice but not sure why the delay.

 

[Wolfman Jack]

I would be more worried about when Carson is going to score his first goal of the season! The change in number surely hasn't done it. This team needs to find someone in this league who can come in and help create some offence.

WJ

 

[dirty12]

Ah the sound of John Melloncamp still resinating in the arena rafters from Wednesday night " And the walls come tumbling down and the walls.... come tumbling downnnnnnn" As I have been saying all along another strong Dman and vet forward that can help finish. This wait and see approach has stung the Wolves in the you know what. Now the kicking tires on a potential dman out of Flint if true the price has gone up. Trading when you are winning is much cheaper as you are not desperate to make a move. Back to reality!

WJ

The offer would have to be really good for the most likely sellers (Erie & KGN) to trade their best graduating players right now.
You’ve mentioned Paquette a lot. The F that can finish and is RW, is Robertson. I really want to watch that.
Would Gihula, Hutcheson, & Ross; plus, ‘20 (ER 3rd & 5th), ‘21 (Miss & Osh 3rds), & ‘22 KGN 3rd be enough to get that trade done? That is every extra pick the wolves posses, including met conditional picks.

 

[dirty12]

My friend- Mike Babcock could not do anything with this lineup/lines.

This team lacks offensive punch. Unfortunately most of the play is dump and chase. There is little creativity (except for Byfield). Defensively rarely you see the puck out of their zone quickly. Usually takes them a few tries before they succeed. Breakouts are rarely clean. Off a leg, off a stick , or boards.

It's not their fault or the coaches, it is what it is. Its about talent and hockey IQ. Is Cory perfect, nobody is.

You can juggle the lines ten times over and you will mostly get the same result.

I want a sniper or two.

Seems to me those are mostly problems one of the top seven coaches could fix in short order. Just look at where the players Papineau acquired were drafted and the price paid plus his picks UPL, Byfield. And look at the hold overs Papineau inherited; Levin, Bulitka, Carson, Gihula, Hutcheson, Murray, Ross, Tabak, tenacious twins ... you don’t think a coach like Hunter would have this team playing like a contender or pretender, at least with a deadline D acquisition?

 

[hockieguy]

The Pilons have to go, or at least one of them does. Talents like Byfield, Murray and Tabak are a complete waste playing with North/ South dump and chase guys. They are taking up 2 O/A spots and talent is what the Wolves need. These two could be traded for a good defenceman and a better forward than they are.

I still believe the wolves will have a tough time getting to the playoffs, and if they do they will have a tuff time getting through the first round.

Nobody cares who is out of the gate first, its who crosses the line first that counts.

 

[WaW]

Breaking news: we are not the best team in the OHL.

Oh well. We're 6-4, I'll refrain from overreacting about the 0-2 weekend.

Still alot to be excited about, but this season is never going to be the year.

 

[hockeynorth]

We all knew we weren’t staying in first. But honestly I can’t see a world where we miss the playoffs. I feel we’re the fifth best team in the east. The pilons were among our better players yesterday, especially drake.

 

[dirty12]

Ottawa, Niagara, ... Oshawa, Peterborough, Barrie, Hamilton, Sudbury can finish anywhere from 3-7 ... Miss has to sell?

 

[WaW]

Ottawa, Niagara, ... Oshawa, Peterborough, Barrie, Hamilton, Sudbury can finish anywhere from 3-7 ... Miss has to sell?

I'd imagine Missy will probably be looking to move Tippett and McLeod to teams that will be going all in like Guelph and Niagara.

 

[WE ARE WOLVES]

The line shuffling is driving me nutz !!! Especially against Barrie. I swear Stillman was just rolling out players instead of lines. I get that "tinkering" needs to happen at times but this has been going on all of last season and now a month into this season. These boys have no idea who they're playing with from Shift to Shift. Chemistry is non-existent.
The power play is ineffective because its a different PP line every time we have the man advantage.

On another note... I know this is an unpopular opinion but ....Ross is the worst Dman this team has. His play was atrocious vs Niagara and not much better vs. Barrie. He can't keep the puck in on the offensive side and Stillman might as well put a Florescent orange jersey on him in the Dzone with the way opponents simply skate around him. He has great size but plays like he's 5' tall on skates.

And somebody has gotta knock the Bobby Orr complex out of Candella....

 

[MGOBlue]

The Pilons have to go, or at least one of them does. Talents like Byfield, Murray and Tabak are a complete waste playing with North/ South dump and chase guys. They are taking up 2 O/A spots and talent is what the Wolves need. These two could be traded for a good defenceman and a better forward than they are.

Yep, been saying this all year and it is so obvious. The Pylon's are a couple of 3rd/4th line plugs that don't make anyone around them better. Get rid of them, or at worst play them on the 3rd line with Bulitka and keep them away from Byfield/Murray. As for Candella, he has been somewhat frustrating, but I don't care what anyone says.. he is still far and away our best defenceman (whether that is a good thing or not is up to you). Agree that Serensits would be a good partner to try him with. Seems like a lot of over reaction after losing to one of the OHL's top contenders... we are not at that level.. I am not sure why people think we are. Also, I think Robertson would be awesome to have, but I don't think is the year to go all in.. that would be next year (in theory). The Wolves have had a tough schedule to open the year.. they have been playing nothing but supposed contenders, aside from Erie. That being said they have overachieved, done very well and it should start getting a little easier now hopefully.

 

[Wolfman Jack]

Yep, been saying this all year and it is so obvious. The Pylon's are a couple of 3rd/4th line plugs that don't make anyone around them better. Get rid of them, or at worst play them on the 3rd line with Bulitka and keep them away from Byfield/Murray. As for Candella, he has been somewhat frustrating, but I don't care what anyone says.. he is still far and away our best defenceman (whether that is a good thing or not is up to you). Agree that Serensits would be a good partner to try him with. Seems like a lot of over reaction after losing to one of the OHL's top contenders... we are not at that level.. I am not sure why people think we are. Also, I think Robertson would be awesome to have, but I don't think is the year to go all in.. that would be next year (in theory). The Wolves have had a tough schedule to open the year.. they have been playing nothing but supposed contenders, aside from Erie. That being said they have overachieved, done very well and it should start getting a little easier now hopefully.

News flash somehow I think we won't be that team next year either. Yes they lost to Niagara who is the better team in the East along with Oshawa and the Petes. But Barrie sure knows how to be competitive year in year out. When have the Wolves managed to win the season series vs them. They play each other 8 times a season. They play the Soo 6 times, North Bay 8 times. They need to win 16 of those 22 games to be considered a playoff team. If they can't win vs those teams forget about it. The Soo is going to give them headaches with the powerful offensive threat they have even after emptying the cupboard last year to make a run. Same goes with Barrie. These teams know how to reload or find a piece to get the offensive game clicking. Same could be said about North Bay. As much they will have a tougher time this year they will score more often then Sudbury will. That might make them win more games vs the Wolves. If you can't put together consistent scoring in this league then you are in trouble regardless if you have a solid goalie in net. The offensive creativity is just not there. Carson with 0 goals is a huge factor. Niz, Murray, Byfield, Pilon twins, Gihula, Hutchison, Levin nobody has been consistently getting on the game sheet other than the penalty side of things. Our GM needs to make some moves. He needs to get an injection into the line up. Shuffle a couple of things up. After this weekend we now know that Ukko isn't going to be able to last the slaughter fest of shots he has been facing. He is human after all. So hopefully management used this weekend as a measuring stick to figure out what needs to be done immediately to get them back on track as well with what needs to be done in the near future.

WJ

 

[Wolfman Jack]

The line shuffling is driving me nutz !!! Especially against Barrie. I swear Stillman was just rolling out players instead of lines. I get that "tinkering" needs to happen at times but this has been going on all of last season and now a month into this season. These boys have no idea who they're playing with from Shift to Shift. Chemistry is non-existent.
The power play is ineffective because its a different PP line every time we have the man advantage.

On another note... I know this is an unpopular opinion but ....Ross is the worst Dman this team has. His play was atrocious vs Niagara and not much better vs. Barrie. He can't keep the puck in on the offensive side and Stillman might as well put a Florescent orange jersey on him in the Dzone with the way opponents simply skate around him. He has great size but plays like he's 5' tall on skates.

And somebody has gotta knock the Bobby Orr complex out of Candella....

I would tend to give the second year regard a little more of a leash because defence is harder to learn at this level. However guys who are in their 3rd, 4th and even 5th year seem to be doing more damage to this team. There is a time to pinch. Not every single shift! When is our defence going to learn to play a solid stay home game. Stop forcing plays. As well reviewing the highlights from yesterday Stratis looked like he was wearing the orange jersey on that goal where the player skated right around him. How he can go from playing so well last week to horribly bad the next is incredible. Not sure if our new defensive coach is really the right guy for the job. Starting to see the loss of Smith IMO.

WJ

 

[I Loveallsports]

I would tend to give the second year regard a little more of a leash because defence is harder to learn at this level. However guys who are in their 3rd, 4th and even 5th year seem to be doing more damage to this team. There is a time to pinch. Not every single shift! When is our defence going to learn to play a solid stay home game. Stop forcing plays. As well reviewing the highlights from yesterday Stratis looked like he was wearing the orange jersey on that goal where the player skated right around him. How he can go from playing so well last week to horribly bad the next is incredible. Not sure if our new defensive coach is really the right guy for the job. Starting to see the loss of Smith IMO.

WJ

To me it comes down to hockey IQ and experience for the younger playing on the D. Coach cant be on the ice during games.

Her is the other problem IMO. Wolves have very little assets for trades besides picks. I'd like to see some movement but at what cost. I just don't see a high return for player's that could be available.

This is why you might of seen perhaps over payment in trades with Barrie and Ottawa last season.

 

[justawolfan]

Yep, been saying this all year and it is so obvious. The Pylon's are a couple of 3rd/4th line plugs that don't make anyone around them better. Get rid of them, or at worst play them on the 3rd line with Bulitka and keep them away from Byfield/Murray. As for Candella, he has been somewhat frustrating, but I don't care what anyone says.. he is still far and away our best defenceman (whether that is a good thing or not is up to you). Agree that Serensits would be a good partner to try him with. Seems like a lot of over reaction after losing to one of the OHL's top contenders... we are not at that level.. I am not sure why people think we are. Also, I think Robertson would be awesome to have, but I don't think is the year to go all in.. that would be next year (in theory). The Wolves have had a tough schedule to open the year.. they have been playing nothing but supposed contenders, aside from Erie. That being said they have overachieved, done very well and it should start getting a little easier now hopefully.

Good points overall but to address the thought that some feel we're contenders this season; I think it's apparent we don't have the most talented team at this point but to see them play like individuals rather than using the "team" principles is what really disappoints me. These are kids and they're a young team at that, but if they move on to eventually make a playoff appearance they have to start to work as a team rather than a bunch of individuals and that has to be coached. It seems they did more of that on the road trip and ended up with good results! Even with a younger, less experienced team we can make it work.

 

[Lycanthrope]

watched game, veterans got to produce, we had some good scoring chances, but terrible finishing, can't hit the net.

Levin deserved to be benched today, he had a terrible game, according to the broadcast he was chirping with Stillman. For me if they traded Levin for a good return, it wouldn't bother me. Also not a fan of having Levin at centre can't play two way game in that position.

I thought Serentis had a good game, I would like to see him used more on PP because he has hard shot and try to get this PP going because it was terrible on the weekend.

Barrie and Niagara, to me are stronger teams at this point than the Wolves, unless UPL standing on his head to get a chance to win against them.

Still work in progress.

I agree about Levin but I’ve heard they’ve never been offered what they consider a fair return, so that tells you something. Really like to see that Pilon hit again. It looked like a blindside?
Line combinations and some decisions are hard to follow. Ukko back down to earth in a big way and yes I don’t expect to finish ahead of either Niagara or Barrie as they are further along in their program at this point.
Wolves generated a lot of chances but as said they couldn’t finish to save their lives. I think it’s sqeezing the stick a little too hard.
Let’s forget rankings and get back to playing good sound hockey before we waste our good start.

 

[Lycanthrope]

We all knew we weren’t staying in first. But honestly I can’t see a world where we miss the playoffs. I feel we’re the fifth best team in the east. The pilons were among our better players yesterday, especially drake.

Curious as to which five teams you place the Wolves ahead of?

 

[WaW]

Curious as to which five teams you place the Wolves ahead of?

I agree with him on us being 5th, and I'd place us ahead of Peterborough Kingston, Hamilton, North Bay, and Missy

 

[hockeynorth]

Curious as to which five teams you place the Wolves ahead of?

I think we definetly finish ahead of the Batts, Fronts, and Steelheads, I don't think the Petes maintain this pace for the whole season and I just don't love their roster, and I think we can out play the Bulldogs. Though I'll say, I didn't realize how good the Petes were doing.

 

[Lycanthrope]

I agree with him on us being 5th, and I'd place us ahead of Peterborough Kingston, Hamilton, North Bay, and Missy

Peterborough? Not sure about that, especially if they get goaltending. What about Missy? I’m not sure their strong start will last. I’ll buy Kingston and North Bay. Hamilton isn’t a pushover either. We’ll see.

 

[WaW]

Peterborough? Not sure about that, especially if they get goaltending. What about Missy? I’m not sure their strong start will last. I’ll buy Kingston and North Bay. Hamilton isn’t a pushover either. We’ll see.

I think going 6-4 with arguably the toughest first 10 game schedule in the leagueis very impressive, and over that stretch there has been more good than bad. But we'll see.

 

[OHL insideout]

Hello Wolves fans; I'm not sure if things were "good" when Alan Lyszczarczyk was traded away to Owen Sound but he has spoken kindly of his time spent in Sudbury when previously asked. On all accounts in Owen Sound, Alan has been a great teammate and great in our community. It's too bad there isn't an open OA spot on your roster in Sudbury because he just might fit back in nicely here. (we have a log jam with our OA's - still carrying 4)