Owen Sound Attack 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)
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PensFan101
Forever Champions.
The 30 win season streak ending could be a huge blessing for this team in the long term. After seeing such a good team on paper throw away a once promising season, I'm hoping changes can be made and the team will stop accepting mediocrity.
Enough guys played themselves out of pro contracts on this team this season that they deserve better. And the fans have shown that they won't unconditionally support the team if there's no hope, no forward progress.
Enough guys played themselves out of pro contracts on this team this season that they deserve better. And the fans have shown that they won't unconditionally support the team if there's no hope, no forward progress.
I think you're right. It presents an opportunity for reflection and change from the top to bottom of the organization. Whether it's roster construction, play style, personnel changes, draft strategy I think everything should be on the table and up for review. We know they have to rebuild next year and enter the season as clear sellers so we basically have a clean slate on the horizon. I think, as you stated, they should aim higher for what constitutes success.
I would love to see them add a second round pick in the coming draft. We have our first, which looks like will be 7th overall, and two 3rd rounders for the coming draft. The unsigned 06/07 draft classes don't look like they will be impacting our roster so the 08 class is all the more important, especially having traded our 07 first rounder. The youth movement is coming, might as well embrace it in my opinion. There will be growing pains without a doubt but the hope is that it can accelerate the player growth with the enhanced roles/responsibilities early on in their careers.
Th
It's incumbent on the ownership/management / coaches to provide the best guidance they can .
There's been past seasons we had a lot of fun watching youngster develop and work hard.
It's incumbent on the ownership/management / coaches to provide the best guidance they can .
For me personally, when you take the wins and losses out of the equation, the enjoyment of seeing the young players come into the league and grow and develop and evolve their games is one of my favorite parts of junior hockey. With the right coaching/systems, a young team can still compete and be entertaining to watch, even if the win/loss column at the end of the year isn't great. I know I can certainly live with that, I think the average fan can live with it as well provided they see the growth and can start to imagine a contender down the road by the end of the season. I don't expect things to turn around overnight and I imagine it will take some patience for everything to get sorted out but it would be great have some optimism injected back into the organization by the time camp rolls around next season with what will hopefully be a good draft and a good hire behind the bench.
Who were you talking to. As i said, good job by the organization honoring your OA's. Here's hoping that you guys win a game or two. Completely blown season, don't you agree. You are sensitive these days. I understand why.
if George can play like he did before Christmas and the top 6 can score, and the PP clicks, maybe, just maybe
There supposed to but I see a lot of mouthguards hanging out of the players mouths. Remember a couple years ago there were misconducts coming out the ying yang for it but I guess it's not priority now.
That one is hilarious, I remember a span of about 2 weeks where there were 20-30 10 minute misc handed out for that and then never again. Mccue could sit all night in the box, if they were calling it
This team needs a new GM and a head coach.. what a let down this season was.. I’m tired of seeing this team finish 7th or 8th in the conference.. changes need to be made.
I'm going to try a more optimistic look at the playoffs for the Attack. I think the playoffs presents a clean slate and allows the team to turn the page on what's been a very tumultuous regular season. Both Saginaw and Owen Sound enter the series on an even playing field as both teams start square at 0-0 in a best of 7.
A few key points in my mind entering Game 1 Thursday:
1. Saginaw is going to be a motivated bunch entering the playoffs. They've made it clear they intend to enter the memorial cup through the front door and win their way in. Can the Attack match their intensity early on? The Attack have had trouble at times this season with poor first periods and starting on time in game 1 is really important. Shouldn't be too difficult with all the excitement and emotion the playoffs brings.
2. Will we see the best of Carter George? He's seemingly hit a wall the last couple weeks of the regular season. If the Attack get saves it can put some wind in their sails with some much needed confidence. This has been a fragile group of late and seeing the elite Carter George we've seen for the majority of the season would be huge.
3. Speaking of fragility, can the team make an attitude adjustment? They have an opportunity to flip the script on the season and demonstrate that they are more the contender that everybody thought they would be at the start of the year instead of the underachiever that finished 7th in the conference. Standings aside, they need to attack Saginaw with the mentality that they are in the same class.
4. Depth scoring. The Attack reunited the trio of Goure-Burroughs-Barlow to wrap the regular season. This line has been excellent this season but in order for the Attack to be successful they need the other three lines to contribute. The top line is going to get the primary focus of Saginaw's best defensive players. Both teams have strong special teams which has the potential to nullify any advantage in that department. Guys like Guindon, Petrovsky, McCue and Hookey have to find a way to factor into the offense.
5. Will we see the Attack D find another level? There's no time to make any significant adjustments to team structure or systems at this stage. Everybody on the back end needs to grab a chunk of rope and pull in the same direction. This group is going to be asked a lot with the pressure Saginaw will bring and will be in tough to protect the net but can they rise to challenge?
I know most prognosticators have this being a short series in Saginaw's favor but the Attack have the pieces and the talent to make this a competitive series.
A few key points in my mind entering Game 1 Thursday:
1. Saginaw is going to be a motivated bunch entering the playoffs. They've made it clear they intend to enter the memorial cup through the front door and win their way in. Can the Attack match their intensity early on? The Attack have had trouble at times this season with poor first periods and starting on time in game 1 is really important. Shouldn't be too difficult with all the excitement and emotion the playoffs brings.
2. Will we see the best of Carter George? He's seemingly hit a wall the last couple weeks of the regular season. If the Attack get saves it can put some wind in their sails with some much needed confidence. This has been a fragile group of late and seeing the elite Carter George we've seen for the majority of the season would be huge.
3. Speaking of fragility, can the team make an attitude adjustment? They have an opportunity to flip the script on the season and demonstrate that they are more the contender that everybody thought they would be at the start of the year instead of the underachiever that finished 7th in the conference. Standings aside, they need to attack Saginaw with the mentality that they are in the same class.
4. Depth scoring. The Attack reunited the trio of Goure-Burroughs-Barlow to wrap the regular season. This line has been excellent this season but in order for the Attack to be successful they need the other three lines to contribute. The top line is going to get the primary focus of Saginaw's best defensive players. Both teams have strong special teams which has the potential to nullify any advantage in that department. Guys like Guindon, Petrovsky, McCue and Hookey have to find a way to factor into the offense.
5. Will we see the Attack D find another level? There's no time to make any significant adjustments to team structure or systems at this stage. Everybody on the back end needs to grab a chunk of rope and pull in the same direction. This group is going to be asked a lot with the pressure Saginaw will bring and will be in tough to protect the net but can they rise to challenge?
I know most prognosticators have this being a short series in Saginaw's favor but the Attack have the pieces and the talent to make this a competitive series.
Funny thing about a goalie, if hes on, he can change a series. Im an old St Louis Blues fan from my time in the area, i remember the Blues taking on the Blackhawks in 1993 and Curtis Joseph basically winning the series by himself. Not sure if George has it in him or he's run out of gas (not his fault) but if he can steal the first game, that could be a big reset. That said, the odds are really against it, but as you said, both teams are 0-0 right now.
George has been the team MVP for me this year and will have to be in this series for Owen Sound to have a shot. If he can reset and refocus mentally and physically for Thursday he's certainly talented enough to steal a game, maybe steal a series. The funny thing with goalies is they can get in the heads of the opposition when they are on the top of their game. The opposition gets tight and starts to overhandle pucks, overpass, trying to get a better scoring chance because they feel it's necessary to score. A strong game 1 from George would be a major boost for the Attack.
Goaltending is the only position the Attack have an edge, let’s hope Carter gets a reset and some quick momentum
ohloutsider
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You have an edge on the PP as well but whistles are hard to find in the playoffs.
Fair, I think in the NHL they say that there’s just as many penalties, but I’m not sure that’s the case in the OHL
One other thing of note is OS did have a much better away record this season then home.. and with Saginaw having home ice maybe it gives the boys a slim shot.. I know regular season has no bearing on the post season other then making it there but just a thought.
There's a lot of boys who don't want to go home maybe that will motivate them .
I would hope that is the case for you guys, but alot of guys have played lately like they do want to go home. Countdown is on. I would guess they leave today after a skate.
Love this post. I too choose to remain positive. Strange things can happen in playoffs and all the pressure is on Saginaw. If EVERYONE in our room does there job effectively who knows.
Isn't the playoffs where these amazing stories play out?
That's the reason they play the games, right? Nobody gets a free pass in the playoffs. Pay window is open, time to go earn it.
Isn’t that what fans do, cheer their team on and have irrational hope. Fan is sort for fanatic, which means ‘a person filled with excessive and single minded zeal’. What’s wrong with that?
We can all dream! Hopefully the boys can put up a fight against a tough opponent. The OS crowd will be behind them.
donjohnson
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- Jan 29, 2013
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Looking forward to a good series...while most of the Saginaw fans were hoping to avoid Flint, I was hoping to play Flint and avoid you guys. It will be very interesting to see what teams show up from each side. Looks like George may have run out of gas (he played a TON of games) but he's been really impressive all year so I firmly believe that he can steal a game or two.
It will be really difficult for the Attack to withstand our depth...I think right now Sapovaliv is playing on the 3rd line and he was our best player by far in the playoffs last year so there's no breaks climbing over the boards.
Since you only saw us twice this year, our achilles heel is giving up odd-man rushes and leaving our goalies out to dry. I'm hoping with the intensity of the playoffs that we'll lock down a little more (we seemed to last year) but Lazary loves getting the dmen involved and Dionicio and Parekh spend more time in the offensive zone than on defense.
My prediction is a 4-2 Spirit series but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on that. We have the firepower to sweep but at the same time we give up enough 2on1s that OS can get a lead and have George lock it down.
Should be fun to watch...I won't get up there for a game but I've been there before and talked with a handful of really nice fans...hopefully some of you can make the trip around the lake.
It will be really difficult for the Attack to withstand our depth...I think right now Sapovaliv is playing on the 3rd line and he was our best player by far in the playoffs last year so there's no breaks climbing over the boards.
Since you only saw us twice this year, our achilles heel is giving up odd-man rushes and leaving our goalies out to dry. I'm hoping with the intensity of the playoffs that we'll lock down a little more (we seemed to last year) but Lazary loves getting the dmen involved and Dionicio and Parekh spend more time in the offensive zone than on defense.
My prediction is a 4-2 Spirit series but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on that. We have the firepower to sweep but at the same time we give up enough 2on1s that OS can get a lead and have George lock it down.
Should be fun to watch...I won't get up there for a game but I've been there before and talked with a handful of really nice fans...hopefully some of you can make the trip around the lake.
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