Post by xx - Former Calgary Flames on Oct 15, 2020 16:11:46 GMT -5
Season Preview - Sudbury Wolves
Over the next few days, I will be scouring through the rosters of the CHL, trying to find strengths and weaknesses of the team, not only for my strategic advantage (which all of you know, I don't use strategy at all), and for anyone who doesn't know some schmoe from Europe. The goal is to have a team done per day, starting on October 10th.
The Team
Forwards
The Wolves core will be led by the sometimes forgotten third piece of that Tampa Bay trio, who is Brad Richards. Don't forget about him, though, because he is the ultimate playmaker. He knows how to find the open shot, whether it comes from himself or others. And he'll have the benefit of having Alex Frolov on his wing, who strives on scoring from great passes from great playmaking centers. Frolov is very much a player who will only succeed with great talent around him, but when he has that talent, he is absolutely deadly out on the ice. An unspoken leader on the ice might not come from Frolov or Richards, though. It seems like it will be coming from Michael Ryder, who is very much that lead-by-example leader. He plays the full 200-feet of ice better than anyone out there in the CHL today.
The Wolves also have some reliable talent in the middle of their forward group as well. Alex Ponikarovsky is one of those guys that plays like Frolov, and can succeed with the right guys around him. Shawn Horcoff is that gritty, big man style center who can make some plays of his own, so if Richards has a bad day, Horcoff can step up right behind him and contribute when needed to. Guys like Steven Reinprecht and Glen Metropolit are those no questions asked forwards who will do whatever it takes to benefit the team. Metropolit is another one of those forwards which I felt should have had a better shake in the NHL, less so than Joel Lundqvist, but he was a star in Europe, whether it be for Mannheim, Jokerit pre-KHL, or Lugano. He would have been a consistent bottom 6 forward for any team, I just don't quite understand how they wouldn't keep him long term.
Defense
The defense on Sudbury is very much an interesting combination, starting off with underrated quarterback Dan Boyle. It took him a hot minute in the league to pick himself up, but when he did, he gave himself a long and productive career. Behind him will be Brad Stuart, who I remember a lot from his San Jose days more than anything. Great, strong defender who is tough to topple over. With them will be a decent mix of grit, defense and puck movement, starting with Dmitri Kalinin, who is really known for his two-way game, and the red-haired wonder that is Mike Commodore, who in his prime was an excellent puck stopper and penalty killer.
The big question mark coming from Sudbury's defense will come to whether or not Kalinin and Boyle's puck moving style will be enough, because there is a lot of defense in the bottom, but not great puck movers. Douglas Murray was always strictly a defender, nothing more. Guys like Andrew Hutchinson and Kent Huskins are also in that same role, but can move the puck - albeit a little bit.
Goaltending
Craig Anderson. If one thing was changed in history, we'd most likely be calling him a Stanley Cup winning goaltender. However, it took a great while for Anderson to find his consistency and starting ability. It took him nearly a decade to have a consistent starting spot, and prove that he can be the guy moving forward. However, when he's on, he can prove he's one of the better goalies in the game. This season might depend on how well Anderson plays for Sudbury. His backup isn't anything to write home about, but we can't forget the whole story of how Sebastian Caron was at one point a regular starter for a few seasons. Now, that might have been for a historically atrocious Pittsburgh squad, but he kept himself on as a starter for the better part of 2 full seasons. After that, though, he was thrown to the waste, and never had a fair shake anywhere in the NHL level. He did, though, end his career dominating the German scene, posting absurd numbers with Hamburg and Iserlohn (.932, .920, .944 and .924 in 4 of his final 5 years). Caron is capable, but which version of Caron will show up in Sudbury?
The 'Real Season' of the Sudbury Wolves
Interestingly enough, all of the teams we have looked at from this point have either not made the playoffs, or did but couldn't get out of the first round. This isn't the case for Sudbury.
Sudbury, though, didn't have such a spectacular season. Ending up getting the last spot in the central division with a 25-34-7 record, the Wolves still had a very good offense. Led the way by relative unknown Jeremy Adduono, who had 106 points which was good enough for 2nd in league scoring. They also had a good amount of known names on the team. Guys like Mike Fisher, Paul Mara, Taylor Pyatt, Andrew Raycroft (8-16-3, yeesh) and for someone like me who can see the name of Derek MacKenzie and go 'Hey, I know this guy'. You'd think with that talent they would go far in the regular season. But, all those names mentioned were either 16 or 17 years old, so they didn't have that experience yet. Come back to me next season, though.
However, despite being the 5 seed in the central, they managed to beat Barrie (see my Colts preview) in six games, but got utterly dominated by the top seeded Guelph Storm in a series sweep. The Storm (Spoiler Alert!) would end up being the OHL Champions.
The Cieling
Brad Richards gets himself the lead league in assists, as he passes around to Frolov, Ryder, Ponikarovsky and others, and Sudbury is quietly the most potent offense in the CHL this season. The defense do their job, and stop the puck from getting into the net, and Craig Anderson proves to himself, and the league, that he is a real deal goalie, as the Wolves go further than many expect and raise the Memorial Cup.
The Floor
The floor for this Wolves squad will really ultimately come from Anderson. If he doesn't step up, and he is sloppy in net, and the Wolves have to rely on the spotty Caron in net, it just won't work out for them. They'll find themselves defending well, but the goalie work can't keep consistency. The Wolves have to rely on next season's bantam draft to improve.
The Wolves core will be led by the sometimes forgotten third piece of that Tampa Bay trio, who is Brad Richards. Don't forget about him, though, because he is the ultimate playmaker. He knows how to find the open shot, whether it comes from himself or others. And he'll have the benefit of having Alex Frolov on his wing, who strives on scoring from great passes from great playmaking centers. Frolov is very much a player who will only succeed with great talent around him, but when he has that talent, he is absolutely deadly out on the ice. An unspoken leader on the ice might not come from Frolov or Richards, though. It seems like it will be coming from Michael Ryder, who is very much that lead-by-example leader. He plays the full 200-feet of ice better than anyone out there in the CHL today.
The Wolves also have some reliable talent in the middle of their forward group as well. Alex Ponikarovsky is one of those guys that plays like Frolov, and can succeed with the right guys around him. Shawn Horcoff is that gritty, big man style center who can make some plays of his own, so if Richards has a bad day, Horcoff can step up right behind him and contribute when needed to. Guys like Steven Reinprecht and Glen Metropolit are those no questions asked forwards who will do whatever it takes to benefit the team. Metropolit is another one of those forwards which I felt should have had a better shake in the NHL, less so than Joel Lundqvist, but he was a star in Europe, whether it be for Mannheim, Jokerit pre-KHL, or Lugano. He would have been a consistent bottom 6 forward for any team, I just don't quite understand how they wouldn't keep him long term.
Defense
The defense on Sudbury is very much an interesting combination, starting off with underrated quarterback Dan Boyle. It took him a hot minute in the league to pick himself up, but when he did, he gave himself a long and productive career. Behind him will be Brad Stuart, who I remember a lot from his San Jose days more than anything. Great, strong defender who is tough to topple over. With them will be a decent mix of grit, defense and puck movement, starting with Dmitri Kalinin, who is really known for his two-way game, and the red-haired wonder that is Mike Commodore, who in his prime was an excellent puck stopper and penalty killer.
The big question mark coming from Sudbury's defense will come to whether or not Kalinin and Boyle's puck moving style will be enough, because there is a lot of defense in the bottom, but not great puck movers. Douglas Murray was always strictly a defender, nothing more. Guys like Andrew Hutchinson and Kent Huskins are also in that same role, but can move the puck - albeit a little bit.
Goaltending
Craig Anderson. If one thing was changed in history, we'd most likely be calling him a Stanley Cup winning goaltender. However, it took a great while for Anderson to find his consistency and starting ability. It took him nearly a decade to have a consistent starting spot, and prove that he can be the guy moving forward. However, when he's on, he can prove he's one of the better goalies in the game. This season might depend on how well Anderson plays for Sudbury. His backup isn't anything to write home about, but we can't forget the whole story of how Sebastian Caron was at one point a regular starter for a few seasons. Now, that might have been for a historically atrocious Pittsburgh squad, but he kept himself on as a starter for the better part of 2 full seasons. After that, though, he was thrown to the waste, and never had a fair shake anywhere in the NHL level. He did, though, end his career dominating the German scene, posting absurd numbers with Hamburg and Iserlohn (.932, .920, .944 and .924 in 4 of his final 5 years). Caron is capable, but which version of Caron will show up in Sudbury?
The 'Real Season' of the Sudbury Wolves
Interestingly enough, all of the teams we have looked at from this point have either not made the playoffs, or did but couldn't get out of the first round. This isn't the case for Sudbury.
Sudbury, though, didn't have such a spectacular season. Ending up getting the last spot in the central division with a 25-34-7 record, the Wolves still had a very good offense. Led the way by relative unknown Jeremy Adduono, who had 106 points which was good enough for 2nd in league scoring. They also had a good amount of known names on the team. Guys like Mike Fisher, Paul Mara, Taylor Pyatt, Andrew Raycroft (8-16-3, yeesh) and for someone like me who can see the name of Derek MacKenzie and go 'Hey, I know this guy'. You'd think with that talent they would go far in the regular season. But, all those names mentioned were either 16 or 17 years old, so they didn't have that experience yet. Come back to me next season, though.
However, despite being the 5 seed in the central, they managed to beat Barrie (see my Colts preview) in six games, but got utterly dominated by the top seeded Guelph Storm in a series sweep. The Storm (Spoiler Alert!) would end up being the OHL Champions.
The Cieling
Brad Richards gets himself the lead league in assists, as he passes around to Frolov, Ryder, Ponikarovsky and others, and Sudbury is quietly the most potent offense in the CHL this season. The defense do their job, and stop the puck from getting into the net, and Craig Anderson proves to himself, and the league, that he is a real deal goalie, as the Wolves go further than many expect and raise the Memorial Cup.
The Floor
The floor for this Wolves squad will really ultimately come from Anderson. If he doesn't step up, and he is sloppy in net, and the Wolves have to rely on the spotty Caron in net, it just won't work out for them. They'll find themselves defending well, but the goalie work can't keep consistency. The Wolves have to rely on next season's bantam draft to improve.
