Owen Sound Attack 2024-25 Season, Part I

[OSAttackFan88]

Realistically...do you want that this year???

I want zurawski and mbuyi on the same line for the rest of the season

 

[PensFan101]

Mbuyi with a statement game in a must-win. What a player!

And great effort by the whole team.

 

[leafsrdue]

Best game of the year? Crowd was into it. Solid third period after giving up late goal in second

 

[Millpond]

After a mediocre performance in Kitchener the boys played with heart and what a thrilling finish .

Pierce Mbuyi continues to grow .

Who needs the Barlow Bomb ?

Now we've got the Mbuyi Bomb !

 

[frontsfan67]

Mbuyi with a statement game in a must-win. What a player!

And great effort by the whole team.

Predicted this kid would be great based off OHL cup performance.

Maybe I should be replacing the seats of some OHL scouts that thought otherwise.

What a player. Next year I think he’s going to have a big breakout.

Zurawski will be good too but I think the real star is Mbuyi

 

[StingUpdates]

Mbuyi is gonna be a helluva player! Little Travis Konecny vibes with him.

Fitting Hookey got the shootout winner in his final game vs his hometown squad.

GL rest of the way.

 

[ohloutsider]

After a mediocre performance in Kitchener the boys played with heart and what a thrilling finish .

Pierce Mbuyi continues to grow .

Who needs the Barlow Bomb ?

Now we've got the Mbuyi Bomb !

I'm also impressed with the play of Mbuyi but he needs to tone it down abit. He will start to draw the attention of some bigger stronger players. Last thing you want is your star sitting in the sin bin after a fight or even worse being on the sidelines. He needs to let the other guys do the dirty stuff and he can just focus on the hockey. He is and will be a good one. Be safe.

 

[Sounder76]

I'm also impressed with the play of Mbuyi but he needs to tone it down abit. He will start to draw the attention of some bigger stronger players. Last thing you want is your star sitting in the sin bin after a fight or even worse being on the sidelines. He needs to let the other guys do the dirty stuff and he can just focus on the hockey. He is and will be a good one. Be safe.

Trust me as a fan who loves this kid, he plays with an edge to get him into the game. He is smart enough to pick and choose the level of aggressiveness he plays with as the flow of the game dictates it seems. He never yells or acts inappropriate so to speak lol, but goddamn he is special. I like the Konecny vibes comp, very accurate. I love his smirk when he "falls" into the opposing goalies too lol. Mbuyi bomb is right! He is a much more complete player than Colby was here.

 

[PensFan101]

Another great episode of Bear Tracks by JC which is quickly becoming required viewing.

In the interviews with both imports, you can really get a sense of how hard it is for both of them. Max speaks decent English and Rafik has come along way since he first got off the plane here, but in addition to the culture change and the smaller ice, they're having to communicate in a second language and in Rafik's case you can see that he understands much more than he can speak, but it's really, really early.

Obviously that's an issue for almost all imports (unless you're one of the prodigies like Landeskog back in the day who spoke fluently with an American accent), but I wanted to bring it up because of the investment and time needed for teams to integrate new imports and the opportunity cost involved in having to replace them.

I'm a proponent of bringing both guys back next year and the possible improvement in English for both, combined with a year's experience, would be a big reason why. As they get more comfortable, that can only help their game, and you'd have to think that any import coming in likely has to start from scratch like they did in September.

I can certainly see a world where one of them is gone in the summer in favour of a higher import pick in June, but given the adjustment period for almost all of them, unless the new kid coming in is an NHL draft pick and is from say Sweden or Finland where English proficiency is highest, I'm hoping the team sticks with them and leans into that deep 07 group we've got in place.

 

[OSAttackFan88]

Moving up the power rankings. Home they take advantage of this home game stretch.

 

[Frankie The Suit]

Another great episode of Bear Tracks by JC which is quickly becoming required viewing.

In the interviews with both imports, you can really get a sense of how hard it is for both of them. Max speaks decent English and Rafik has come along way since he first got off the plane here, but in addition to the culture change and the smaller ice, they're having to communicate in a second language and in Rafik's case you can see that he understands much more than he can speak, but it's really, really early.

Obviously that's an issue for almost all imports (unless you're one of the prodigies like Landeskog back in the day who spoke fluently with an American accent), but I wanted to bring it up because of the investment and time needed for teams to integrate new imports and the opportunity cost involved in having to replace them.

I'm a proponent of bringing both guys back next year and the possible improvement in English for both, combined with a year's experience, would be a big reason why. As they get more comfortable, that can only help their game, and you'd have to think that any import coming in likely has to start from scratch like they did in September.

I can certainly see a world where one of them is gone in the summer in favour of a higher import pick in June, but given the adjustment period for almost all of them, unless the new kid coming in is an NHL draft pick and is from say Sweden or Finland where English proficiency is highest, I'm hoping the team sticks with them and leans into that deep 07 group we've got in place.

On paper we have 6 returning defencemen next year without Roy and Jet Kwajah who are coming and without any draft pick from this coming year. So I am not sure if Max has a spot?

 

[OSAttackFan88]

On paper we have 6 returning defencemen next year without Roy and Jet Kwajah who are coming and without any draft pick from this coming year. So I am not sure if Max has a spot?

I’d keep Max and trade Petrovski and how realistic is it that both those guys report next season?

 

[PensFan101]

On paper we have 6 returning defencemen next year without Roy and Jet Kwajah who are coming and without any draft pick from this coming year. So I am not sure if Max has a spot?

There's definitely going to be competition next fall and we can't keep them all so he's going to have to earn it, but there's absolutely a scenario where one of those 08's do not break through. While Kwajah's battled through injuries this season, neither him or Roy have exactly lit it up - and for Roy, his OJHL production has been average enough that we shouldn't be expecting a high end player.

So on one hand, Bleicher likely needs to show improvement down the stretch and develop over the summer (especially his skating) to avoid being on the bubble, but the team would have the same issue if they go for a different import. If it's another import D coming in, they're still pushing out one of Smith, Roy, Kwajah (I assume Arnett is safe no matter what), and I expect they'll carry 0, max 1, 09 defenders next season unless we get one in Round 1.

Edit: and to the point directly above mine, I have to give credit where it's due, Petrovski has really stepped up since the deadline and is doing better managing the power play - I think he's very likely back as an OA and given the replacement costs, I'd imagine the team leans towards keeping him.