SSM Greyhounds 2019 Offseason Thread

[soo hound girl]

Sandin leads all Dmen in the AHL playoffs in points

 

[HockeyPops]

Sandin is great, but he is probably still behind Rosen in competition for a Leafs opening next season. However with Rosen injured, Sandin has an opportunity to make a statement now as to why he deserves the spot. Should be an interesting training camp either way.

 

[hounds72]

Guelph. Wild! That's some major readjustments through out the playoffs. Wow. What a coaching staff and a team that just keeps getting better. I hope raftis and the boys are there taking notes

 

[count35]

I thought after the trade deadline that Guelph was the best constructed “playoff” team out there. I only wondered if their goaltending would hold up. It did!

They were the team that I wanted the Hounds NOT to have to face, which they didn’t having lost to Saginaw. Our possession style of play IS fun to watch but I still feel it’s not playoff style! Just my opinion!

Again congrats to the Storm and their fans!

 

[count35]

Against the 67's, most fans from other teams it seems to me, found it easy to cheer for the Storm against them. Must be that "top dog" thing where if a team is dominate over the whole season everyone wants to have them fail.....which Ottawa did.....and of course our Hounds have as well mostly recently last season.

I can understand how the other fanbases felt last year as our team just cruised thru the regular season. After the deadline deals in January we skated with a target on our backs, as Ottawa just did and when it got rough in the playoffs we stood toe to toe with both OS and Kitchener. Then we came up to an even bigger and rougher, fresher Hamilton team and you know the rest of the story.

The difference for Ottawa was they had NO ONE who could challenge them in the East. Give them a bloody nose and take it on the chin to see if you could shake it off and see what you're made of? Regardless whatever 67's superfan OMG67 spouted all year about how great his team was, it was the same argument the Hounds have to answer every year about playing in a weaker division and also the games with Sudbury and North Bay to pad our stats.

The end of another exciting season where once again things did NOT go as we thought they might! Good luck to the Storm in the Memorial Cup!

 

[NOA]

Against the 67's, most fans from other teams it seems to me, found it easy to cheer for the Storm against them. Must be that "top dog" thing where if a team is dominate over the whole season everyone wants to have them fail.....which Ottawa did.....and of course our Hounds have as well mostly recently last season.

I can understand how the other fanbases felt last year as our team just cruised thru the regular season. After the deadline deals in January we skated with a target on our backs, as Ottawa just did and when it got rough in the playoffs we stood toe to toe with both OS and Kitchener. Then we came up to an even bigger and rougher, fresher Hamilton team and you know the rest of the story.

The difference for Ottawa was they had NO ONE who could challenge them in the East. Give them a bloody nose and take it on the chin to see if you could shake it off and see what you're made of? Regardless whatever 67's superfan OMG67 spouted all year about how great his team was, it was the same argument the Hounds have to answer every year about playing in a weaker division and also the games with Sudbury and North Bay to pad our stats.

The end of another exciting season where once again things did NOT go as we thought they might! Good luck to the Storm in the Memorial Cup!

No doubt the east is weaker. The west has now won 11 of the last 13 championships or 15 of the last 18.. that is not a coincidence folks.. it’s a trend. Ottawa was a really good team but I just always thought they lacked star power and playing in the east offered them no adversity all year

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

I thought after the trade deadline that Guelph was the best constructed “playoff” team out there. I only wondered if their goaltending would hold up. It did!

They were the team that I wanted the Hounds NOT to have to face, which they didn’t having lost to Saginaw. Our possession style of play IS fun to watch but I still feel it’s not playoff style! Just my opinion!

Again congrats to the Storm and their fans!

I hear you. Puck possession is nice, but there's a dogged, hard-hitting element missing that Soo fans are trying to live without.

Need more size and tenacity in the mix.

Congrats to Guelph!

 

[count35]

BeliveauFan4ever i concur. I just feel that at playoff time the refs, who are directed by the league, tend to revert to Don Cherry "old time hockey". They put the whistle away for ticky tacky things that might have gone punished in the regular season. So unless the Hounds executive and Kyle Raftis start to mold a team that can play both styles i feel we're doomed to being great in the regular season but will get the snot kicked out of us in the playoffs! Again just my opinion.

 

[HockeyPops]

KYLE RAFTIS - 100.5 Fresh Radio - Omny.fm

Jeff and Ryan catch up with SSM Greyhounds General Manager and former OHL'er Kyle Raftis.

 

[three dog night]

No doubt the east is weaker. The west has now won 11 of the last 13 championships or 15 of the last 18.. that is not a coincidence folks.. it’s a trend. Ottawa was a really good team but I just always thought they lacked star power and playing in the east offered them no adversity all year

Do not know I see a team that went in all in like Guelph and a Ottawa team who only made a few tweaks.

 

[thetank247]

Do not know I see a team that went in all in like Guelph and a Ottawa team who only made a few tweaks.

I agree Guelph brought in at least 8 new players and a little bit of luck goes a long way meaning they not once but twice got to face the backup goalies fo Saginaw and Ottawa. But it is what it is and people will say doesn't make a difference, but it does you se a teams play a little different in front of their backups because they play differently. Anyways congrats to them .

 

[NOA]

I agree Guelph brought in at least 8 new players and a little bit of luck goes a long way meaning they not once but twice got to face the backup goalies fo Saginaw and Ottawa. But it is what it is and people will say doesn't make a difference, but it does you se a teams play a little different in front of their backups because they play differently. Anyways congrats to them .

Do not know I see a team that went in all in like Guelph and a Ottawa team who only made a few tweaks.

Meanwhile Niagara went all in and lost in round 2.

The west has won 15/18 in the last 18 years. That’s a trend or a pattern not a coincidence...
I’m not saying the East never has good quality teams but the West just tends to have the elite top teams and it’s a stronger overall conference each year. You actually made my point with Ottawa. They only made a few small tweaks (though I don’t agree when they added Dipietro) and won 50 games and went 12-0 vs the east in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Niagara loaded up and Oshawa was supposedly a good team. But neither of them even came close to competing for a title this year.

I personally felt you guys in the Soo had a top 4/5 team in the league with Saginaw, Guelph, London, Ottawa. But unfortunately, you played in the west which each year is just a tougher conference to win imo

 

[three dog night]

Meanwhile Niagara went all in and lost in round 2.

The west has won 15/18 in the last 18 years. That’s a trend or a pattern not a coincidence...
I’m not saying the East never has good quality teams but the West just tends to have the elite top teams and it’s a stronger overall conference each year. You actually made my point with Ottawa. They only made a few small tweaks (though I don’t agree when they added Dipietro) and won 50 games and went 12-0 vs the east in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Niagara loaded up and Oshawa was supposedly a good team. But neither of them even came close to competing for a title this year.

I personally felt you guys in the Soo had a top 4/5 team in the league with Saginaw, Guelph, London, Ottawa. But unfortunately, you played in the west which each year is just a tougher conference to win imo

A lot of factors in the series lost a hot netminder and being undisciplined.

 

[HockeyPops]

Why Mac Hollowell is becoming a Maple Leafs right shot to watch

 

[HockeyPops]

Marchment comes up big for Marlies in series opener

The best defenceman in the game might have been Marlies rookie Mac Hollowell, who stayed in the lineup despite Calle Rosen’s return, with Joe Duszak getting scratched. Hollowell probably saved two goals in the first period, breaking up a slot pass with a Checker open and sweeping a puck off the goal line. His body position for a 5-foot-9 blueliner was excellent all evening.

 

[louis]

Marchment comes up big for Marlies in series opener

Just WOW! I wish the rookie camp was here. We always go, but not to Toronto.

 

[HockeyPops]

Two more chances to watch Soo graduates Sandin, Hollowell, and Keefe.

FTB: All eyes on the Marlies

Tonight’s game will not be broadcast on TSN, but Thursday and Friday’s games will be shown on TSN2.

 

[HockeyPops]

Anybody heading to Toronto this weekend to see the Greyhounds Development Camp at the Mastercard Center?

 

[soo hound girl]

Two more chances to watch Soo graduates Sandin, Hollowell, and Keefe.

FTB: All eyes on the Marlies

Sheldon Keefe signs a new 2 year extension with the Marlies
He is just waiting for the axe to fall on Babcock or for him to move on ,he will be the next Maple Leaf coach

 

[count35]

If there’s anyone attending the Hounds Orientation Camp this weekend please feel free to post your thoughts on the kids there? Thanks.

 

[Fischhaber]

Hounds ink another free agent

It was hard not to pick up on how excited Soo Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis was on Friday.

The team had just announced the signing of free agent Tanner Dickinson, a 17-year-old (2002 birth year) centre from Perrysburg, Ohio.
In order to join the Hounds, Dickinson, a six-foot, 155-pounder, walked away from a previous commitment to attend The Ohio State University.
“I’m thrilled. I’m very pleased,” said Raftis, whose team will welcome Dickinson to its 2019 Orientation and Development Camp, Friday and Saturday at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto.
Reached via cell phone, Raftis was asked where he sees the newcomer fitting in on the 2019-2020 Greyhounds.
The GM spoke of how the team is “excited about his creativity. With his skill set, he’ll get a good opportunity to show what he can do. And he adds to our depth at centre.”
Dickinson was never drafted by an Ontario Hockey League team.
Asked about that, Raftis spoke of how it’s difficult to pinpoint a reason.
He talked about how some American players can get lost in the shuffle. There’s also the option many US-born players have of competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level.
“Tanner had a good minor midget year, but I think he had an exceptional season this year,” Raftis added. “He grew and matured.”
Dickinson played this past season with Belle Tire Major Midget U18s, producing 36 goals and 67 assists for 103 points in 71 games.
He also appeared in eight games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League.
And Dickinson was a member of Team USA’s under-17 entry at the Five Nations Cup in Piestany, Slovakia.
He becomes the club’s fourth free agent addition in the last five years.
In a prepared statement, Raftis was quoted as saying Bill Warren, the Greyhounds director of U.S. Scouting, “has had the opportunity to follow Tanner’s development. Tanner is very smart, creative and an extremely-skilled centre.”
“I’m thrilled to sign with the Soo Greyhounds. The team has had some of the game’s best players be a part of this organization and I believe it will be a perfect fit for me,” Dickinson said. “This is a great opportunity for me and I’m going to give everything I’ve got to live up to the expectations. I can’t wait to get started with the Greyhounds, especially knowing that the team is a potential contender year after year.”
Without mentioning The Ohio State University by name, Raftis spoke in his prepared statement about the fact Dickinson had other options.
He also talked about how Dickinson is the “type of player we covet through his high hockey IQ. . . we look forward to adding him to our future lineup.”

 

[HockeyPops]

Barrett Hayton news watch:

Analysis: Arizona Coyotes prospects are young, promising

What's next: There is a chance Hayton could make the Coyotes' roster out of training camp next season (he did so in 2018-19, too) but the fact he played in just 39 games in the OHL could give the Coyotes enough reason to return him to the Greyhounds for 2019-20. Per the terms of the CHL-NHL agreement, Hayton is ineligible to play in the AHL at the start of next season.

The Coyotes inked Nick Schmaltz and Christian Dvorak to long-term deals and still have Derek Stepan signed through 2020-21. With Brad Richardson also under contract through next season, it could make sense for Hayton to take one more year of development before joining the roster as a mainstay at center.

 

[three dog night]

Are the Greyhound rebuilding this season

 

[HockeyPops]

We don't rebuild.

 

[Fischhaber]

Are the Greyhound rebuilding this season

We were the second youngest team in the league last season after Flint. The rebuild has already been started in a sense and things will only get better as the young group grows together.