SSM Greyhounds 2024 - 25 Season Thread, Part I

[Squirrel88]

I know angst is what sports is all about, but maybe take a deep breath about the draft. Look at Kitchener's '06 draft if you want to feel a little better. First and second round picks didn't show, third rounder (Bottineau) is underperforming his draft slot and 4th rounder left the team and seems to be out of hockey. Not great, bob.

Time for your management to get creative and look for players that are not getting opportunities on stronger teams that they can get on a discount. Ellinas is looking good in blue, and Campbell and Dirracolo each play a role. Opportunities are out there.

 

[Savard18]

our '08 draft is an unmitigated disaster. i have no problem with our fans or anybody elses fans pointing this out.

in my opinion the organization, whether it's Raftis or Lukenda, owes the fanbase an explanation of how things went so wrong, and what they plan to do to fix it. our arrogance and poor asset management has really caught up to us and it feels like we're circling the drain.

unfortunately our local media is too closely tied to the team, and function as nothing but a PR outfit because at this moment in time an independent media would be asking some tough questions.

With the way things are going…..just because he’s NCAA committed doesn’t mean he still can’t show up in the Soo and then go NCAA.

 

[Gouin Street]

Glad to see Miller starting today. Statistically not playing well. Opportunity this afternoon to gain some confidence and start improving the GAA and Save %.

 

[DWI Dale]

I know angst is what sports is all about, but maybe take a deep breath about the draft.

I feel ya. But our bad draft/players is more the symptom of a larger philosophical corner the franchise has cornered itself in. But there's still time to build a team around our promising '07s, but the margin for error has been reduced to almost 0.0%.

 

[Houndzfan20]

Our linesman are still the worst in the league this year. Quesnele is just as useless doing the lines as he was when he was on the hounds.

 

[Fischhaber]

Not bad for a team that can 'barely be considered OHL caliber'. Andrew is looking looking like a gem of a pick so far. Credit to our scouts for finding a first round talent that was overlooked due to his location.

 

[StingUpdates]

Our linesman are still the worst in the league this year. Quesnele is just as useless doing the lines as he was when he was on the hounds.

Shockingly bad today. Bad icing calls. Calling icing on you when Sarnia passed it back... Taking forever to drop the puck. Missed a puck going into the netting in the 1st I believe. Called an icing when Surzycia played it. They were gonna call an icing on a PK before Surzycia played it a different time. Horrid.

Gibson is gonna fetch a nice return. Andrew is definitely a stud in the making.

 

[OHLfan200]

Super pumped for Miller to get that W. He battled all throughout that game, props to him. Another gutsy performance by the players as well. Good for them, here for it!

 

[Houndzfan20]

Shockingly bad today. Bad icing calls. Calling icing on you when Sarnia passed it back... Taking forever to drop the puck. Missed a puck going into the netting in the 1st I believe. Called an icing when Surzycia played it. They were gonna call an icing on a PK before Surzycia played it a different time. Horrid.

Gibson is gonna fetch a nice return. Andrew is definitely a stud in the making.

Dude it's been so bad for the last number of years...since one current linesman stepped on our goalies leg and blamed it on him. Seriously see 8 to 10 wrong calls a game here. They're terrible lol

 

[DWI Dale]

Not bad for a team that can 'barely be considered OHL caliber'.

Probably planning the parade route in your head already eh Fischy?

 

[Fischhaber]

Some thoughts through 10 games:

Overall:
People seem pissed off at the quality of the roster, but a .500 record is a reasonable expectation for a very young team that went all in last year and lost most of their key veterans and had several key injuries. I expect that we will see significant improvement between now and the deadline.

Defense:
- Carlisle and Gibson are such defensive studs. They make it easy for the young defensemen that they are paired with (mostly Evans and Solomon) and take pressure off of guys like Holub by taking the difficult assignments. We're really going to miss them going forward, but I feel like Evans is ready to step into that kind of role.

- Hopefully Brodie is back soon, as our lack of veteran depth has been exposed at times. I haven't been impressed with Velliaris and I think Gillen could use more development.

Goaltending:
- The aforementioned lack of defensive depth has put some pressure on our goaltenders. Schenkel has really stepped up and been great. I still maintain that it would be smart to trade him, but this stretch has only improved his value. I'm really happy that he has become a great starter after years of struggles.

- Miller started off with 2 stinkers and bounced back with 2 good games. He'll be the goalie on our next contending team and is NHL drafted for a reason, so we will have to get him more playing time at some point.

Forwards:
- I like what I've seen from the top half of the roster and the young players. Martin and Hayes look every bit like the elite studs that will lead this team for the next 3 seasons. Cloutier, Hilton, and DeZoete are doing what you would expect of veterans.

- Smith and Andrew are really nice young players that could develop into impact guys going forward. I've been really impressed by both, as well as Muxlow to a lesser extent

- My biggest indictment of Raftis' roster construction is not that he whiffed on a first round pick. It's the lack of players coming from the later rounds who can fill roles on this roster. I think it's really concerning that we are picking up guys like Bowness, Cardona, and Velliaris and giving serious ice time to guys who aren't OHL caliber, simply because we didn't draft well. The same goes for Vader and Brown, whose development has taken a nosedive. This needs to change fast if we're going to contend with the Martin-Hayes-Miller core.

 

[JoeSchmo]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1848393842510446900

 

[DWI Dale]

that's awesome! incredible really!

The fanbase needed a W!

And our PP instantly improves!

 

[JoeSchmo]

hounds are set up to get some serious assets at the deadline….

 

[DWI Dale]

i guess the question in his case would be who has an open import slot or a young import they'd be willing to upgrade on? a highly touted 17 year old import would be a great return

Are import deals common at the deadline? i can't remember a ton in the past, but then again, my brain has been operating at 40% the last 6 weeks hahaha

 

[Houndzfan20]

i guess the question in his case would be who has an open import slot or a young import they'd be willing to upgrade on? a highly touted 17 year old import would be a great return

Are import deals common at the deadline? i can't remember a ton in the past, but then again, my brain has been operating at 40% the last 6 weeks hahaha

Imo anyone other than saginaw should be open to exchanging/cutting their current import. Nordh should be a massive upgrade in the import department.

 

[DWI Dale]

anybody seen any other news on Allard?

some transparency on that situation would be nice, not that i expect any.

 

[Fischhaber]

hounds are set up to get some serious assets at the deadline….

In the meantime, having him and perhaps Mignosa adds a pair of top 6 wingers to a team that desperately needs it. If we get Allard back, I expect the team to be quite good. That would probably scare you, given Raftis' track record of not selling.

I love DeZoete's work ethic, but he's far more effective in a bottom 6 role. Hopefully Brown will do better with a veteran on his wing instead of a rookie. This just pushes players into more appropriate roles. We're probably 7-3 if these guys are playing from the start. We've got to build a buffer of wins because post-deadline could be rough if we deal Nordh, Carlisle, Schenkel, Gibson, and perhaps Allard.

 

[JoeSchmo]

In the meantime, having him and perhaps Mignosa adds a pair of top 6 wingers to a team that desperately needs it. If we get Allard back, I expect the team to be quite good. That would probably scare you, given Raftis' track record of not selling.

I love DeZoete's work ethic, but he's far more effective in a bottom 6 role. Hopefully Brown will do better with a veteran on his wing instead of a rookie. This just pushes players into more appropriate roles. We're probably 7-3 if these guys are playing from the start. We've got to build a buffer of wins because post-deadline could be rough if we deal Nordh, Carlisle, Schenkel, Gibson, and perhaps Allard.

Win games till deadline. Nordh, if he’s being moved, has limited time in the Soo. He’s a WJC player, so a month or so with the Soo and if he does end up being traded that’s it lol

Win what we can now. Move Gibson, Nordh, Allard 100%, anyone else after that is just extra and I’m not too concerned about but those 3 should be 100% sell offs. Look what Saginaw did .. they’re STILL set up.

Could move charlie too but I wouldn’t be mad if they didn’t if they moved the three above mentioned.

After deadline I don’t see the Hounds being able to compete with real contenders and no matter how good we may be currently, we don’t have the firepower to add lol. Raftis would be proving all of us right if he did this and show his incompetence.

anybody seen any other news on Allard?

some transparency on that situation would be nice, not that i expect any.

Just my opinion,
He’s hurt so he can’t be sent down currently but because there has been no contract signed I would assume it’s a matter of time before he’s return to the OHL(once he heals).

 

[Houndzfan20]

In the meantime, having him and perhaps Mignosa adds a pair of top 6 wingers to a team that desperately needs it. If we get Allard back, I expect the team to be quite good. That would probably scare you, given Raftis' track record of not selling.

I love DeZoete's work ethic, but he's far more effective in a bottom 6 role. Hopefully Brown will do better with a veteran on his wing instead of a rookie. This just pushes players into more appropriate roles. We're probably 7-3 if these guys are playing from the start. We've got to build a buffer of wins because post-deadline could be rough if we deal Nordh, Carlisle, Schenkel, Gibson, and perhaps Allard.

We would be 7-3 if we started charlie anyway.

I'd only be dealing gibby and nordh and allard if comes back.
Everyone else is more important than what we would get imo

 

[Kristina Hazzard]

Some thoughts through 10 games:

Overall:
People seem pissed off at the quality of the roster, but a .500 record is a reasonable expectation for a very young team that went all in last year and lost most of their key veterans and had several key injuries. I expect that we will see significant improvement between now and the deadline.

Defense:
- Carlisle and Gibson are such defensive studs. They make it easy for the young defensemen that they are paired with (mostly Evans and Solomon) and take pressure off of guys like Holub by taking the difficult assignments. We're really going to miss them going forward, but I feel like Evans is ready to step into that kind of role.

- Hopefully Brodie is back soon, as our lack of veteran depth has been exposed at times. I haven't been impressed with Velliaris and I think Gillen could use more development.

Goaltending:
- The aforementioned lack of defensive depth has put some pressure on our goaltenders. Schenkel has really stepped up and been great. I still maintain that it would be smart to trade him, but this stretch has only improved his value. I'm really happy that he has become a great starter after years of struggles.

- Miller started off with 2 stinkers and bounced back with 2 good games. He'll be the goalie on our next contending team and is NHL drafted for a reason, so we will have to get him more playing time at some point.

Forwards:
- I like what I've seen from the top half of the roster and the young players. Martin and Hayes look every bit like the elite studs that will lead this team for the next 3 seasons. Cloutier, Hilton, and DeZoete are doing what you would expect of veterans.

- Smith and Andrew are really nice young players that could develop into impact guys going forward. I've been really impressed by both, as well as Muxlow to a lesser extent

- My biggest indictment of Raftis' roster construction is not that he whiffed on a first round pick. It's the lack of players coming from the later rounds who can fill roles on this roster. I think it's really concerning that we are picking up guys like Bowness, Cardona, and Velliaris and giving serious ice time to guys who aren't OHL caliber, simply because we didn't draft well. The same goes for Vader and Brown, whose development has taken a nosedive. This needs to change fast if we're going to contend with the Martin-Hayes-Miller core.

of course 18 wouldn’t he’s been playing RW he is a defense man

Let him play defense and then judge