Sudbury Wolves 2023-2024 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)

[frontsfan67]

No I agree with you, with the amount of talent on the team I would agree that last season wasn’t a success. But the failure to get out of the second round is a Shared Responsibility. I would say, Paps filled the roster with plenty of talent. Enough to win. If you believe what has been posted on here it looks like there was other high end talent he was close to obtaining but at the end of the day when those players have a choice to come to Sudbury or be guaranteed to play (and now win) the Mem Cup, I know what I’d choose. So now we have tons of talent, 8 NHL draft picks ( somebody needs some praise for that), but how that talent performed as a team and the style of play is another contributing factor to our playoff disappointment. IMO we got beat by a better TEAM. So lots of blame to go around. Player’s also share some of the responsibility as it was clear some didn’t play in all 3 zones. So, if you want to blame everything that went wrong on one person go at it! Everyone is entitled to have an opinion and I respect yours; however, please keep it clean and classy..

not to compare however kingston got beat out in 5 games and you guys got swept. You guys loaded WAY up and they didn’t have arnsby, divinctiis or Romani the whole series. No way in hell should you guys have been swept. Maybe beat in 6 or 7 but no way should you have done worse than kingston against North Bay

 

[djscooter]

No I agree with you, with the amount of talent on the team I would agree that last season wasn’t a success. But the failure to get out of the second round is a Shared Responsibility. I would say, Paps filled the roster with plenty of talent. Enough to win. If you believe what has been posted on here it looks like there was other high end talent he was close to obtaining but at the end of the day when those players have a choice to come to Sudbury or be guaranteed to play (and now win) the Mem Cup, I know what I’d choose. So now we have tons of talent, 8 NHL draft picks ( somebody needs some praise for that), but how that talent performed as a team and the style of play is another contributing factor to our playoff disappointment. IMO we got beat by a better TEAM. So lots of blame to go around. Player’s also share some of the responsibility as it was clear some didn’t play in all 3 zones. So, if you want to blame everything that went wrong on one person go at it! Everyone is entitled to have an opinion and I respect yours; however, please keep it clean and classy..

The two biggest weaknesses of the team were known all year, bad coaching, which they did nothing to address, and bad goaltending, which they spent two high draft picks to acquire a tandem goalie from the worst team in the OHL.

That much falls on Papineau. Not many GMs get as many chances as he does. Sudbury got beat by the better coach, that is in. North Bay was a shambling corpse with all their injuries, Ryan Ouhalen put on a coaching master class and has his team punching well above their weight. North Bay is lucky to have such an incredible group of personnel, Sudbury will never have a group at that level until ownership is willing to break open the bank and go beyond the current group.

Ultimately Rob Papineau has been the wolves GM for 6 seasons now, in that time he has 8 playoff wins. Not sure how many other GMs have been given that long of a leash.

 

[Wolf on a Wire]

not to compare however kingston got beat out in 5 games and you guys got swept. You guys loaded WAY up and didn’t have arnsby, divinctiis or Romani the whole series. No way in hell should you guys have been swept. Maybe beat in 6 or 7 but no way should you have done worse than kingston against North Bay

Agree

 

[Wolf on a Wire]

The two biggest weaknesses of the team were known all year, bad coaching, which they did nothing to address, and bad goaltending, which they spent two high draft picks to acquire a tandem goalie from the worst team in the OHL.

That much falls on Papineau. Not many GMs get as many chances as he does. Sudbury got beat by the better coach, that is in. North Bay was a shambling corpse with all their injuries, Ryan Ouhalen put on a coaching master class and has his team punching well above their weight. North Bay is lucky to have such an incredible group of personnel, Sudbury will never have a group at that level until ownership is willing to break open the bank and go beyond the current group.

Ultimately Rob Papineau has been the wolves GM for 6 seasons now, in that time he has 8 playoff wins. Not sure how many other GMs have been given that long of a leash.

I also agree, we need to be better. Everyone associated with the team needs to step up. I would also agree that owners will only put up with so much disappointments/losses and change will happen. That’s hockey, it’s a “what have you done for me lately” business. I would say the first trade this off season was a grand slam considering we HAD to move OAs. Paps needs to hit on a coach/coaching staff and euro draft…as North Bay taught us last year, a team that plays solid 3 zone hockey and play for each other can beat individual talent. That IMO is what the Wolves need to do. A Coach that plays everyone. Everyone knows their role. A team that prioritized defensive play. A team that has structure and discipline. A team that is held accountable. Big challenges ahead but it can be done..

 

[Howling In 16]

Heard Walton was being shopped as he was the one that blew the whistle on Villaneuv to his buddy in Barrie at least that was the rumour

 

[dirty12]

Walton for Leenders would make sense but is anyone capable of doing it?

walton +
when Leenders or any '06 goalie could have been selected at the spot K.Walton was. The kicker is he panic picked the #2 goalie of his U16 team at the end of round 2 because he had traded away his 3rd round pick prior to the draft.
How Papineau was not fired after round 2 of the 2022 draft is beyond me

I also agree, we need to be better. Everyone associated with the team needs to step up. I would also agree that owners will only put up with so much disappointments/losses and change will happen. That’s hockey, it’s a “what have you done for me lately” business. I would say the first trade this off season was a grand slam considering we HAD to move OAs. Paps needs to hit on a coach/coaching staff and euro draft…as North Bay taught us last year, a team that plays solid 3 zone hockey and play for each other can beat individual talent. That IMO is what the Wolves need to do. A Coach that plays everyone. Everyone knows their role. A team that prioritized defensive play. A team that has structure and discipline. A team that is held accountable. Big challenges ahead but it can be done..

players that can be held accountable; those that cannot, should not be named captain

 

[frontsfan67]

Heard Walton was being shopped as he was the one that blew the whistle on Villaneuv to his buddy in Barrie at least that was the rumour

Called this. Didn’t think it would be Walton though that did it. That kind of thing REALLY messes up a teams chemistry when they have to watch what they’re saying and they can’t trust their teammates.

Yeah it’s bad what Villenueve did however I’m sure worse gets said in group chats and off of social media.

 

[OHL4Life]

Heard Walton was being shopped as he was the one that blew the whistle on Villaneuv to his buddy in Barrie at least that was the rumour

walton has always had a bit of a question mark off ice, thats why he fell as far as he did. hes got elite talent, never plays consistantly thou. could dominate if he wanted too.

 

[Whoppy52]

walton has always had a bit of a question mark off ice, thats why he fell as far as he did. hes got elite talent, never plays consistantly thou. could dominate if he wanted too.

Thought he displayed a lot of talent and potential. However coach played on a consistent basis the same players regardless of their behaviors!
This is Kmac's style of coaching.

 

[frontsfan67]

walton has always had a bit of a question mark off ice, thats why he fell as far as he did. hes got elite talent, never plays consistantly thou. could dominate if he wanted too.

Sounds like Miedema

 

[howlman]

Papineau trying to save face with comments in article today. Don't blame him with all the fan opt outs. “With the draft picks we have been able to accumulate, our plan is to support our returning players to be a highly competitive team.” He said the team will “look to add the right pieces to give our fans another competitive team this year.” Clearly went half a** in last deadline, saved almost half of assets that could have been used, and gained more picks with recent offseason deal. Should have been the last dance for Papineau last year, sounds like Dario gonna give Paps one more go around. Dario wants deep playoff run. They are praying on San Jose and St.Louis. Might hit on one. If you hit with both you absolutely go all in. Sell off happens following year when Villeneuve/Walton are 19. But if Wolves struggle then sell off has to happen. Much stronger Eastern Conference next season. Wolves need a huge Import draft. Lots of holes to fill. OAs can be extremely elite with McCoy, DeAngelis and Delic. Way way better than the OA group of Anania, McCallum and Giroux (one of Papineau's biggest mistakes last season - OA group wasnt nearly good enough and needed better upgrades.) But all of this doesn't matter without a good coach and good goalie. Dario knows he needs to pony up to bring in someone reputable. Berehowsky is not the answer. Wolves need a good head coach, don't cheap out. Coach and Goalie are two of the biggest question marks right now. Can Krawchuk be the guy? Can they make a great hire and bring in a quality coach? And all these rumours of players wanting out lol. Enjoy the summer folks.

 

[djscooter]

Papineau trying to save face with comments in article today. Don't blame him with all the fan opt outs. “With the draft picks we have been able to accumulate, our plan is to support our returning players to be a highly competitive team.” He said the team will “look to add the right pieces to give our fans another competitive team this year.” Clearly went half a** in last deadline, saved almost half of assets that could have been used, and gained more picks with recent offseason deal. Should have been the last dance for Papineau last year, sounds like Dario gonna give Paps one more go around. Dario wants deep playoff run. They are praying on San Jose and St.Louis. Might hit on one. If you hit with both you absolutely go all in. Sell off happens following year when Villeneuve/Walton are 19. But if Wolves struggle then sell off has to happen. Much stronger Eastern Conference next year. Wolves need a huge Import draft. Lots of holes to fill. OAs can be extremely elite with McCoy, DeAngelis and Delic. Way way better than the OA group of Anania, McCallum and Giroux (one of Papineau's biggest mistakes last season - OA group wasnt nearly good enough and needed better upgrades.) But all of this doesn't matter without a good coach and good goalie. Dario knows he needs to pony up to bring in someone reputable. Berehowski is not the answer. Wolves need a good head coach, don't cheap out. Coach and Goalie are two biggest question marks right now. Can Krawchuk be the guy? Can they make a great hire and bring in a quality coach? And all these rumours of players wanting out lol. Enjoy the summer folks.

I don't think it's talked about enough but the Wolves need an upgrade at goalie coach. Hugely overdue as well.

 

[WE ARE WOLVES]

I don't think it's talked about enough but the Wolves need an upgrade at goalie coach. Hugely overdue as well.

I agree with this...I feel like we've had decent goalies that never improved over a season.

 

[djscooter]

How are folks feeling about the schedule? Feels a lot less balanced throughout the years then usual.

December absolutely jam packed of home games, same thing with early January having 5 home games in 10 days followed by only 4 home games in February

 

[WolvesFanInNorthBay]

How are folks feeling about the schedule? Feels a lot less balanced throughout the years then usual.

December absolutely jam packed of home games, same thing with early January having 5 home games in 10 days followed by only 4 home games in February

From someone who enjoys travelling to watch the team. I think it's ok. I have 2 weekends circled. Nov 1st, and Feb 14th. Can knock off 6 arenas off my list.

 

[agillarda]

I wonder what is going on with Savard, you would think if he was going to the leafs he would have signed by now

 

[frontsfan67]

How are folks feeling about the schedule? Feels a lot less balanced throughout the years then usual.

December absolutely jam packed of home games, same thing with early January having 5 home games in 10 days followed by only 4 home games in February

Probably benefits you guys in December and January if anything, you’ll be playing teams without their star players if they’re at the WJC

 

[OHL4Life]

I wonder what is going on with Savard, you would think if he was going to the leafs he would have signed by now

i dont think the leafs was ever legit, he was applying for head coaching jobs in the ohl well before calgary let him go. id just note that, he never stays anywhere for more then a year or 2, theres probably a reason for that.

 

[cobra9850]

When will Papineau announce a new coach.The clock is ticking.Does he not realize the importance of having a coach and his new staff getting acquainted with the players and introducing new systems to them.Maybe despite his public proclamations of icing a competitive team, he realizes that will not be possible this year.

 

[djscooter]

When will Papineau announce a new coach.The clock is ticking.Does he not realize the importance of having a coach and his new staff getting acquainted with the players and introducing new systems to them.Maybe despite his public proclamations of icing a competitive team, he realizes that will not be possible this year.

Maybe they'll have walk-on coach tryouts at camp too. An additional revenue stream, charge people 150$ to try out to be the next coach.

 

[justawolfan]

When will Papineau announce a new coach.The clock is ticking.Does he not realize the importance of having a coach and his new staff getting acquainted with the players and introducing new systems to them.Maybe despite his public proclamations of icing a competitive team, he realizes that will not be possible this year.

Maybe our goalie coach will be our next bench boss? Can't be as bad as he has been with our netminders.

 

[djscooter]

Looking forward to seeing who the winning "strong candidate" is.

 

[OHL4Life]

Looking forward to seeing who the winning "strong candidate" is.

hasnt he posted the same tweet for 6/7 years?

 

[agillarda]

hasnt he posted the same tweet for 6/7 years?

Considering there hasn't been one, I'm going with no, last one would have been for stillman. Don't recall duncanson being a long one, they made Ken interm then a couple weeks later brought in Derek, then replaced Derek with Ken again.

 

[I Loveallsports]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1804155784000913742