Owen Sound Attack 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)

[ktownfan]

Adjustments, yes for sure. But this team hasn't made any major adjustments all year. Maybe they will surprise you. Putting G Smith in should have been done during the reg season, not now, a kid who has played 11 games this year shouldn't be in the lineup against a top CHL team. Sag is in Barlows' face all night, Haight has gotten in his kitchen since he reverse hit him in game 1. Geoge has let some soft ones in, needs to be the George you love. The little fight Mccue had in game 1 negated a PP and you can use all the PP time you can get. Goaltending is Sag weakest spot, need to get puck possession in the O zone and get some shots to the net, get some traffic in the crease. Not many seem to want to physically engage with Sag. Here's hoping for a win tonight, if not you might as well mail in the last game.
Good luck, my Fronts are getting abused in much the same fashion, so not a good weekend for me!!

 

[Stellar29]

Adjustments, yes for sure. But this team hasn't made any major adjustments all year. Maybe they will surprise you. Putting G Smith in should have been done during the reg season, not now, a kid who has played 11 games this year shouldn't be in the lineup against a top CHL team. Sag is in Barlows' face all night, Haight has gotten in his kitchen since he reverse hit him in game 1. Geoge has let some soft ones in, needs to be the George you love. The little fight Mccue had in game 1 negated a PP and you can use all the PP time you can get. Goaltending is Sag weakest spot, need to get puck possession in the O zone and get some shots to the net, get some traffic in the crease. Not many seem to want to physically engage with Sag. Here's hoping for a win tonight, if not you might as well mail in the last game.
Good luck, my Fronts are getting abused in much the same fashion, so not a good weekend for me!!

"Major adjustments" won't happen at this point. It's not reasonable to expect that in between games of a playoff series but there are some simple, minor changes that they could make, especially with home ice giving them the last change to influence match ups. I would have preferred if G.Smith and Ethier had more opportunity in the regular season but we are where we are with that. G.Smith played game 1 in the series and I thought he was effective in his limited minutes, enough at least for me to think he could stick and contribute. Oke has been pretty solid for the most part, maybe one or two in game 1 he wouldn't have liked, but the Attack do need to get to the net front and work for some greasy ones whether it's screens, deflections or banging in a rebound.

There's a balance in the physical play in my opinion. Offsetting minors with 4 on 4 play favors Saginaw in my opinion with how good they move the puck. Saginaw has as good or better special teams and sitting in the box hurts the Attack. Being physically engaged while staying out of the box is the game within the game. There's less wiggle room on that front with the Attack being down 2-0. First rule is don't hurt your team with dumb penalties. Based on how the Attack special teams have looked through the first two games they likely have to win the 5 on 5 play.

 

[Millpond]

Tonight is MUST win .
They need to play that way from puck drop, there is absolutely no hope if they go 0-3 in the series.

As we know, with most junior coaches, they have their favorites, and will ride them like mules.

Based on the entire season, I'm not sure we will see anything dramatically different tonight .

 

[Stellar29]

Tonight is MUST win .
They need to play that way from puck drop, there is absolutely no hope if they go 0-3 in the series.

As we know, with most junior coaches, they have their favorites, and will ride them like mules.

Based on the entire season, I'm not sure we will see anything dramatically different tonight .

While I agree with your post, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. This really is an adapt or die kind of game. Saginaw made an adjustment in the third period of game 1 and has really stifled the Attack offense since. People smarter than me(or at least I hope lol) have to figure out a counter to those adjustments.

 

[ktownfan]

There will be no adjustments. Goure, Burroughs, Sedley, Guindon, Barlow, will get 23 minutes each, George will be needed to make 40-45 saves. As the previous poster said... "insanity". Throw some physicality in to the mix and maybe, just maybe you can force Sag to make some mistakes. But 0-3 will end up 0-4 quickly. Good luck to the Bayshore faithful.

 

[nelli27]

Steve Ritchie singing the anthems tonight?

 

[leafsrdue]

I'm hoping for the girl that sings really slowly, might put the Spirit to sleep!

 

[OSAttackFan88]

Maybe don’t take stupid penalties and allow shorthanded breakaways.. this team has no structure.. Barlow seems disinterested.. kinda sums up the entire season really..

 

[Kingpin794]

Stick tap to Carter George. Amazing effort to nearly steal one.

 

[Stellar29]

Tough loss. The boys laid it all out there. Carter George turned in a heck of a performance. Nansi stepped up with his best game. Barlow put one in the net. The physicality was there. The special teams were solid. Just wasn't enough tonight.

 

[leafsrdue]

Carter George was great. Barlow had a lot of jump tonight. That was the one game available to steal. The difference between the way the Spirit play the game and the way the Attack play is painful to watch. One side has structure and a plan, the other is playing pond hockey.

 

[Millpond]

By far the best game of the series for the Attack.

The difference was two ten second bursts .
What a Heartbreaker.

 

[Bear in the Woods]

The only reason that was a one goal game was because of Carter George. Otherwise the Attack were handily outplayed by Saginaw.
I feel bad for Carter, this may be his only playoff series in the OHL, would be nice to get at least one playoff win before he moves on.

 

[DCruickshank]

The only reason that was a one goal game was because of Carter George. Otherwise the Attack were handily outplayed by Saginaw.
I feel bad for Carter, this may be his only playoff series in the OHL, would be nice to get at least one playoff win before he moves on.

There's optimism for ya.......

 

[HLLYWD99]

That late Sedley whiff.

 

[Bear in the Woods]

There's optimism for ya.......

This is the reason most of the original Attack posters have left this board.
I was stating a very likely fact and how I think a kid as good as Carter deserves better.
Instead of a well thought out post with actual meaning.....this is the type of response you get.
It is impossible to talk real hockey on this thread.

 

[AttackBeacher]

This is the reason most of the original Attack posters have left this board.
I was stating a very likely fact and how I think a kid as good as Carter deserves better.
Instead of a well thought out post with actual meaning.....this is the type of response you get.
It is impossible to talk real hockey on this thread.

Why doesnt post here anymore? There's a handful of guys who have posted for the last 2/3 years every 6 or 8 weeks just to complain about something, which is human I guess. There's the Kingston guy who comes on daily telling us how dump we all are and you need to redo everything about the organization.

Other then that I don't know of anyone who doesn't post here? I don't post as much because its been an awful year, but it is what it is. Just as those guys who come on here to bitch at everyone are allowed to do that, so is someone allowed to reply.

What real hockey talk would you like to engage with, im sure that myself or Stellar would be happy to do so.

Suggesting that this would be Carter's only playoff series is a bit silly. Next year they may or may not sneak in, but there's lots of reasons to believe they can and will be back when he is 19, and to be honest, if they are not, Carter will be traded and he will get his run then. So no, its not his only playoff run, im sure you see that.

 

[AttackBeacher]

Only thing I can say is that I wish this level of compete and 'want' was there from puck drop game 1, not game 3. This game was a coin toss, Carter played a role but the team worked hard, credit where its due. But everyone elevated tonight, Carter included. Carter could have 'sole' game 1, but he was average that one, but credit to him, he stepped up here, but so do alot of others.

It'll be interesting, do they bring this same level of desperation Wednesday or do they fold up shop. Could be the last game for lots of guys on that bench, would like to think they will bring it.

 

[ktownfan]

Why doesnt post here anymore? There's a handful of guys who have posted for the last 2/3 years every 6 or 8 weeks just to complain about something, which is human I guess. There's the Kingston guy who comes on daily telling us how dump we all are and you need to redo everything about the organization.

Other then that I don't know of anyone who doesn't post here? I don't post as much because its been an awful year, but it is what it is. Just as those guys who come on here to bitch at everyone are allowed to do that, so is someone allowed to reply.

What real hockey talk would you like to engage with, im sure that myself or Stellar would be happy to do so.

Suggesting that this would be Carter's only playoff series is a bit silly. Next year they may or may not sneak in, but there's lots of reasons to believe they can and will be back when he is 19, and to be honest, if they are not, Carter will be traded and he will get his run then. So no, its not his only playoff run, im sure you see that.

Kingston guy watched his team play with desperation and win last night. Just firing up the replay on you guys now. Must've played a little better

 

[OSattackfan]

Why doesnt post here anymore? There's a handful of guys who have posted for the last 2/3 years every 6 or 8 weeks just to complain about something, which is human I guess. There's the Kingston guy who comes on daily telling us how dump we all are and you need to redo everything about the organization.

Other then that I don't know of anyone who doesn't post here? I don't post as much because its been an awful year, but it is what it is. Just as those guys who come on here to bitch at everyone are allowed to do that, so is someone allowed to reply.

What real hockey talk would you like to engage with, im sure that myself or Stellar would be happy to do so.

Suggesting that this would be Carter's only playoff series is a bit silly. Next year they may or may not sneak in, but there's lots of reasons to believe they can and will be back when he is 19, and to be honest, if they are not, Carter will be traded and he will get his run then. So no, its not his only playoff run, im sure you see that.

And then there is you who tell everyone what we should all think as your opinion is always the right one. You talk stats which means S#@t which this team has proven don't matter. Ktown only speaks what he feels and you slam him every chance you get. So what that he likes Stewart, alot of people like his style and grit unlike a certain Dman that only play's for records .
This team has alot of talent, but the coaches killed this team. Young D guys just sitting in the stands or bench, very limited playing time and no development. Same old plays that every team has picked up on. Same old lines etc.
I feel bad for the carreers of some of these player who had poor coaching the last few years. Time for Dale to get some real coaches. I got nothing bad to say about Dale except these two bad coaches.
So now you can slam me and complain about my bitching

 

[AttackBeacher]

And then there is you who tell everyone what we should all think as your opinion is always the right one. You talk stats which means S#@t which this team has proven don't matter. Ktown only speaks what he feels and you slam him every chance you get. So what that he likes Stewart, alot of people like his style and grit unlike a certain Dman that only play's for records .
This team has alot of talent, but the coaches killed this team. Young D guys just sitting in the stands or bench, very limited playing time and no development. Same old plays that every team has picked up on. Same old lines etc.
I feel bad for the carreers of some of these player who had poor coaching the last few years. Time for Dale to get some real coaches. I got nothing bad to say about Dale except these two bad coaches.
So now you can slam me and complain about my bitching

The Kingston poster is fine to post an opinion, but when it gets personal, which it did last year when a poster (not me) said something he didn't like about Stewart, it got personal, so I got my back up and continue to get my back up. Especially when he lectures us on how to run a team without understanding the Owen Sound dynamic. I've asked him not to direct responses my way and not to poke the bear so to speak, so far not working, but that's out of my control, and I'm not alone, he seems to feud with many on different boards. I'm not going to get into a troll fest, if you want to, that's your call. I debate and go back and forth with most on here with zero problems and will continue to do so.

There is no question, the coaches have killed the team, ive said it all year and agree. I don't know why, I don't know what goes on in the room, I don't know what the mix is, but yes, no questions about it.

My overall opinion will always be that the managers built a team that was rated 4th in the OHL in the preseason polls (generally meaningless but shows the strength of the team on paper, which is all we can judge a team heading into a year) and any manager that can do that without tanking is impressive. The scouting staff does a great job for the most part outside of a few whiffs, and I'm pretty sure with the right coach and the right selling moves, they can sneak into the playoffs and do very well the following season, Cater is only going to get better and at 19, they may only need to score 3 goals a game to win.

My point with the 30 wins thing, I don't have a strong opinion either way, but I get it as a business owner. I don't understand why anyone complaining on a message board things they are effecting change. If you TRULY want the ownership group to change their vision, posting on a message board isn't going to do anything. You may feel good within the moment, but what did you accomplish? So if you TRULY want to accomplish something, do something other then make a post on here, because that's like pissing into the wind, you just get yourself more pissed off and don't change anything.

 

[Stellar29]

I personally don't think Dale DeGray is going anywhere. It wouldn't make any sense to let Dale run this year's draft and then part ways. If you were going to make a change you'd have done it by now so the next guy can take "his guys" in the draft. It would be pretty awkward to bring in a new GM post draft which presents the biggest opportunity to influence change on a roster.

The summer presents an opportunity to reset. This feels a lot like the Ryan McGill situation where you get a strong coach to take over a rebuilding team and develop the next wave. This going to be a much younger team next season and essentially presents a blank canvass for a coach to instruct and develop his systems and influence the culture and play style they want to run. It's really paramount that they get the right people behind the bench. The one quibble with DeGray is he's had more misses than hits on coaching hires. I don't know exactly how things played out in the summer but it seemed pretty obvious DeGray wanted to move on from Walters and whether or not ownership stepped in to block it or DeGray chose to try and make it work it was a matter of when, not if, once the season started that Walters got the boot. It seemed pretty clear there was a very short leash on Walters when Rumble got hired. Ultimately, that feels like the biggest mistake of this past season.

I'm not entirely sure this can be turned around in a single season. The 06 group is what it is, there's not really any other draft pieces from that group that would seemingly join the team and make any impact. Letourneau is going the USHL/NCAA route and would be the only exception but about a 0.0001% chance of happening. The 07 group is also likely what it is, they got Crawford, Nansi, Smith and Koprowski but no other drafted player from that group really stands out after moving Addy and Prud'homme committing to the NCAA route. The 07/08 draft groups development will be the deciding factor on when the next competitive window opens in my opinion. They should grab a good player at #7 but have no picks until the third round after that. I wonder if you could flip a future 2nd(likely have to add a sweetener) to a team like Brantford or Missy, maybe Oshawa, who may trade you their 2nd to add a pick that could be used in trade next year as the player they would draft with that pick can't be traded when they are in the midst of a championship caliber run. There's going to be a bunch of grads off the roster at the end of this season and it will likely be a season next year where you could take four 16 year old players.

The Attack haven't picked as high as #7 overall in a long time. There appears to be a number of higher end forward options that project to be available at that spot which happens to coincide with a number of forward grads for the Attack. Getting a building block type of player with the first pick would definitely go a long way in rejuvenating the fan base. This season has left a sour taste in many mouths this year. A solid coaching hire and a promising group of 08 players would go a long way to rebuilding hope and optimism around the Bayshore.

 

[AttackBeacher]

I personally don't think Dale DeGray is going anywhere. It wouldn't make any sense to let Dale run this year's draft and then part ways. If you were going to make a change you'd have done it by now so the next guy can take "his guys" in the draft. It would be pretty awkward to bring in a new GM post draft which presents the biggest opportunity to influence change on a roster.

The summer presents an opportunity to reset. This feels a lot like the Ryan McGill situation where you get a strong coach to take over a rebuilding team and develop the next wave. This going to be a much younger team next season and essentially presents a blank canvass for a coach to instruct and develop his systems and influence the culture and play style they want to run. It's really paramount that they get the right people behind the bench. The one quibble with DeGray is he's had more misses than hits on coaching hires. I don't know exactly how things played out in the summer but it seemed pretty obvious DeGray wanted to move on from Walters and whether or not ownership stepped in to block it or DeGray chose to try and make it work it was a matter of when, not if, once the season started that Walters got the boot. It seemed pretty clear there was a very short leash on Walters when Rumble got hired. Ultimately, that feels like the biggest mistake of this past season.

I'm not entirely sure this can be turned around in a single season. The 06 group is what it is, there's not really any other draft pieces from that group that would seemingly join the team and make any impact. Letourneau is going the USHL/NCAA route and would be the only exception but about a 0.0001% chance of happening. The 07 group is also likely what it is, they got Crawford, Nansi, Smith and Koprowski but no other drafted player from that group really stands out after moving Addy and Prud'homme committing to the NCAA route. The 07/08 draft groups development will be the deciding factor on when the next competitive window opens in my opinion. They should grab a good player at #7 but have no picks until the third round after that. I wonder if you could flip a future 2nd(likely have to add a sweetener) to a team like Brantford or Missy, maybe Oshawa, who may trade you their 2nd to add a pick that could be used in trade next year as the player they would draft with that pick can't be traded when they are in the midst of a championship caliber run. There's going to be a bunch of grads off the roster at the end of this season and it will likely be a season next year where you could take four 16 year old players.

The Attack haven't picked as high as #7 overall in a long time. There appears to be a number of higher end forward options that project to be available at that spot which happens to coincide with a number of forward grads for the Attack. Getting a building block type of player with the first pick would definitely go a long way in rejuvenating the fan base. This season has left a sour taste in many mouths this year. A solid coaching hire and a promising group of 08 players would go a long way to rebuilding hope and optimism around the Bayshore.

They should add a very good 07/08 when they move Barlow this year. Maybe a good 08 and a decent 07 in the same deal.

 

[Stellar29]

They should add a very good 07/08 when they move Barlow this year. Maybe a good 08 and a decent 07 in the same deal.

If you're getting a player back for Barlow, I want an 08. If you're not getting a player I'm taking a boat load of picks. If somebody is offering an 07 it's not likely going to be a player who can make the impact you're looking for in that trade. Playing match maker, Brantford and Missy are the two best positioned to contend and have a war chest of picks to make a deal from. You'd have to wait for the trade window for 08 players to make that move but I'd take picks if somebody is willing to meet my asking price and make the deal sooner. That's their biggest trade chip and they need to maximize the return. Just my two cents.

 

[AttackBeacher]

If you're getting a player back for Barlow, I want an 08. If you're not getting a player I'm taking a boat load of picks. If somebody is offering an 07 it's not likely going to be a player who can make the impact you're looking for in that trade. Playing match maker, Brantford and Missy are the two best positioned to contend and have a war chest of picks to make a deal from. You'd have to wait for the trade window for 08 players to make that move but I'd take picks if somebody is willing to meet my asking price and make the deal sooner. That's their biggest trade chip and they need to maximize the return. Just my two cents.

I could see both Kingston and Oshawa offering something as well. Looking at 07s, Owen Griffen plus 4 picks, or Tyler Hopkins and 4 picks would probably be realistic?

I don't think Hamilton would consider moving O'Brien, and Mississauga has Ivankovic, who is an outstanding goaltender, but a luxury that the Attack don't need.

Guelph would be a great partner, as they have a few very good 07s that probably would help make the team competitive in short order.

I figure both Smith and Guindon would be worth 4-6 decent pics, 2-4ths or so.