Owen Sound Attack 2024-25 Season, Part I

[SoupNazi]

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

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[Millpond]

Let's start things off by saying the new coaching staff is doing a great job instructing and encouraging the boys.

Rafik Varosyan arrived in the Scenic City this week after a 26 hr trip from eastern Russia.
He watched yesterday's practice .
Digger is 2 for 2 in the import dept., getting both Rafik and German Max Bleicher into the Bayshore .

 

[Stellar29]

Let's start things off by saying the new coaching staff is doing a great job instructing and encouraging the boys.

Rafik Varosyan arrived in the Scenic City this week after a 26 hr trip from eastern Russia.
He watched yesterday's practice .
Digger is 2 for 2 in the import dept., getting both Rafik and German Max Bleicher into the Bayshore .

26 hours of travel and a 14 hour time difference. Talk about change... Hard not to like what's been accomplished over the offseason.

 

[Stellar29]

FYI, Attack Rap returns on Tuesday September 10th. First guest, Dale DeGray.

 

[Millpond]

Varosyan #18 on the ice

 

[Millpond]

Today's lineup

 

[Stellar29]

Today's lineupView attachment 905767

Those are some rather intriguing line combos in the forward group. I didn't expect to see Varosyan in a game yet with the travel and lack of ice with the team but they obviously decided he's ready to go. This would be a fun one to watch.

 

[LDN]

What’s the expectation of Nansi?

 

[Stellar29]

What’s the expectation of Nansi?

I'm not sure what a reasonable expectation is for him. He's 6'3" and a pretty strong skater with some pretty high end puck skill and playmaking ability. If he puts it all together he has the potential to be a very exciting player I think.

 

[frontsfan67]

Madden steen playing with Charlottetown in pre season action today- got an assist

 

[AttackSound]

Well two pre-season games in the books so far and from what I've seen on the ice, this team has started the pre-season very well all things considered.

Okay we can look at the results and say it would've been nice to win in Barrie and again this afternoon in North Bay and yeah as fans we expect to see some wins, but even though we haven't seen a win yet out of this group there are certainly things that are very noticeable.

The biggest thing I've seen so far is the compete level from all hands has been very exciting to see through 2 games. Every one is competing for 50/50 puck battles and playing a more controlled defense style of play in the defensive side of the game.

Add in the simple fact that the lineup is very much a more inexperienced lineup as very few have more then a season of experience to lean on for "veteran play" in the lineup the up and the incoming kids that round out the lineup so far have shown that they have a bit more bite in battling thus far and from what I've seen I like what I've seen on the ice.

The results may take a bit longer to see on the final scores but with the way we're trending that won't be too long to see... step in the right direction.

 

[Stellar29]

I'm not really concerned about wins and losses in pre-season play. These games don't count for anything in the grand scheme of things. Sounds like the coaching staff is throwing the kids into the fire and testing what they have and what needs work, which is exactly what I feel they need to be doing. Now is the time to find out while you have ample time to address any potential areas of weakness in practice.

Obviously it's only pre-season and a very small sample size but it would appear Owen Sound will have a great tandem in net this season. The improved blueline and focus on compete and defensive play should greatly benefit what will be the strength/back bone of this team this year.

 

[KFawcett]

I'm not really concerned about wins and losses in pre-season play. These games don't count for anything in the grand scheme of things. Sounds like the coaching staff is throwing the kids into the fire and testing what they have and what needs work, which is exactly what I feel they need to be doing. Now is the time to find out while you have ample time to address any potential areas of weakness in practice.

Obviously it's only pre-season and a very small sample size but it would appear Owen Sound will have a great tandem in net this season. The improved blueline and focus on compete and defensive play should greatly benefit what will be the strength/back bone of this team this year.

Totally agree. I've been saying all summer there are going to be some growing pains and a definite learning curve with all the new faces. 2 games that sound like very good efforts is great. Coach the other day in his talk at the end of practice emphasized that everyone in this league has skill what will separate you is hard work. I also love how the coaches really push high tempo. I'm a believer in you play how you practice.

 

[Stellar29]

Totally agree. I've been saying all summer there are going to be some growing pains and a definite learning curve with all the new faces. 2 games that sound like very good efforts is great. Coach the other day in his talk at the end of practice emphasized that everyone in this league has skill what will separate you is hard work. I also love how the coaches really push high tempo. I'm a believer in you play how you practice.

I think with the Attack's goaltending and the coaching staff's focus on defensive zone play, the team will be in most games this season. If they can be in those games they will eventually figure out how to convert that into wins. It's all going to be part of the process as these young players figure out the league. I think there's certainly lots to like in this young roster and the coaching staff is seemingly hitting all the right notes so far. I've said this before but I wouldn't at all be shocked if this team wins more games than last year's squad even with a weaker roster on paper.

 

[Millpond]

At one point in yesterday's game, during a defensive zone faceoff, I think I counted 14 games of OHL experience on the ice..
The coaches are doing a remarkable job.
So far their zone exits are quick and decisive. I've seen the ladder used twice or three times in two games, both on the PP.
There's plenty of players in situations they've never been in, and getting more comfortable.
Koprowski has looked great .

Varosyan fit in well . Someone wrote Arnett will make us forget all about the 2nd rounder who didn't report. He made a thundering hit yesterday, he will quickly be a fan favorite. Mbuyi reminds me of a young Joey Hishon .

There is a positive upbeat attitude around the team .
I'm really liking what I see.

 

[Stellar29]

At one point in yesterday's game, during a defensive zone faceoff, I think I counted 14 games of OHL experience on the ice..
The coaches are doing a remarkable job.
So far their zone exits are quick and decisive. I've seen the ladder used twice or three times in two games, both on the PP.
There's plenty of players in situations they've never been in, and getting more comfortable.
Koprowski has looked great .

Varosyan fit in well . Someone wrote Arnett will make us forget all about the 2nd rounder who didn't report. He made a thundering hit yesterday, he will quickly be a fan favorite. Mbuyi reminds me of a young Joey Hishon .

There is a positive upbeat attitude around the team .
I'm really liking what I see.

Love that detail about the zone exits. That was by far and away the most frustrating thing for me with last year's team. They just played so slow with the stagnant zone exits. Exiting with speed is so key to generating at 5 on 5.

 

[Millpond]

Love that detail about the zone exits. That was by far and away the most frustrating thing for me with last year's team. They just played so slow with the stagnant zone exits. Exiting with speed is so key to generating at 5 on 5.

They are still working on getting solid offensive zone control, but it'll come.

They don't look panicky in the d zone, even when playing without the puck .

Definitely work in progress, but refreshing to see everyone buying in .

Things are starting to click .

 

[KFawcett]

Love that detail about the zone exits. That was by far and away the most frustrating thing for me with last year's team. They just played so slow with the stagnant zone exits. Exiting with speed is so key to generating at 5 on 5.

Two things contribute to the quicker exits IMHO. Youthful exuberance and I'm going to give full credit to the Coaching staff. With there pushing up tempo in practice there's even a hurry up mode going from drill to drill. If your like me and 100% believe you play how you practice uptempo is key. There will obviously be some growing pains but I'm liking what I see and fully believe this team will exceed the expectations I had.

 

[Stellar29]

Two things contribute to the quicker exits IMHO. Youthful exuberance and I'm going to give full credit to the Coaching staff. With there pushing up tempo in practice there's even a hurry up mode going from drill to drill. If your like me and 100% believe you play how you practice uptempo is key. There will obviously be some growing pains but I'm liking what I see and fully believe this team will exceed the expectations I had.

I think we're definitely in the same boat with that line of thinking. I think last year was more a structure/systems issue that led to the slow exits. They always had a player standing still on the sidewall as a zone exit option which meant when they got the puck they had to move it almost immediately and then because they weren't in motion they were always behind the play which led to near zero rush offense chances. When you don't exit with speed, you can't exploit any numbers advantages you might have off the rush. I think this year's roster has a lot of talent and skill which will benefit from that higher end pace as it should help them best utilize their strengths. The younger players haven't matured physically yet so I don't expect them to find success grinding it out along the walls in the cycle game.

 

[Stellar29]

Pretty good Attack Rap episode with DeGray. Some pretty interesting info. Seemed to imply both Gates and Therrien will be on the team this year. Also mentioned Arnett as someone the fans will love this year, hard to do that if he's playing in Listowel so it would seem pretty apparent where he's playing this year. That said, there will obviously be more moves to come to make all the pieces fit.

 

[Spills]

Pretty good Attack Rap episode with DeGray. Some pretty interesting info. Seemed to imply both Gates and Therrien will be on the team this year. Also mentioned Arnett as someone the fans will love this year, hard to do that if he's playing in Listowel so it would seem pretty apparent where he's playing this year. That said, there will obviously be more moves to come to make all the pieces fit.

That was a good interview.

 

[Spills]

Great interview

 

[PensFan101]

Pretty good Attack Rap episode with DeGray. Some pretty interesting info. Seemed to imply both Gates and Therrien will be on the team this year. Also mentioned Arnett as someone the fans will love this year, hard to do that if he's playing in Listowel so it would seem pretty apparent where he's playing this year. That said, there will obviously be more moves to come to make all the pieces fit.

Loved this, some very good insights into the new guys.

Also Dale got Bleicher's name wrong both times. Easiest way to pronounce it is pronouncing the ei like the word 'eye,' so Bleye - sure, or if you want to make it a little more German sounding Bleye-sha also works.

 

[cruickshankd]

Loved this, some very good insights into the new guys.

Also Dale got Bleicher's name wrong both times. Easiest way to pronounce it is pronouncing the ei like the word 'eye,' so Bleye - sure, or if you want to make it a little more German sounding Bleye-sha also works.

About the only thing he has got wrong since the end of last season....fantastic off season!!!

 

[Stellar29]

About the only thing he has got wrong since the end of last season....fantastic off season!!!

I think he can be forgiven lol. I never get the pronunciations right the first time around. I always have to be corrected with the official explanation on how to say the names correctly.

Absolutely been a great off season for Dale and the organization.