Some news, notes and observations from the North Bay vs Guelph match-up in the OHL Championship series:
– Since being pulled in Game 4 vs Erie, Guelph’s Justin Nichols is 3-0-1 with a 2.24 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.
– Five years from now, seven-to-eight players from this Guelph team will be in the NHL.
– For Guelph’s Scott Walker, the wins and losses are way more stressful as a coach and owner than they were as a player.
– We will see just how much size matters depending on where Robby Fabbri goes in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
– In Guelph’s trio of Horvat-Bertuzzi-Auger, Walker has a line that can play a puck possession game, a more physical style, or a goal-scoring game. Of the seven teams still in contention for the MasterCard Memorial Cup, no other third line is as multi-faceted.
– After watching the first three games of the series, it’s easy to see why the North Bay Battalion defeated Oshawa in four straight games, and are considered a legit OHL contender.
– Battalion owner Scott Abbott, one of the founders of the board game Trivial Pursuit, is also the owner of the Caledon Golf Club. Several members from the Devil’s Pulpit Golf Course were on hand in Guelph last week.
– The CHL is full of characters, but there are few better than North Bay head coach / GM Stan Butler.
– Matt Rabideau, formerly of the OHL/CHL office in Toronto, is now the Assistant GM/Director of Player Development in North Bay. His duties are plentiful, including doing video for the team while on the road in the playoffs.
– Mathew Santos was a free-agent signing out of the Vaughn Kings program.
– North Bay is not built like a typical Butler team. In years past, first-round picks such as Raffi Torres, Brent Burns, Rostislav Klesla, Wojtek Wolski, Cody Hodgson and Matt Duchene have all donned the military green.
– North Bay’s power play, which was ranked last in the OHL during the regular season, has found a way to click against Guelph. Through three games, the Battalion PP is four-of-nine (44.4 percent), while the penalty kill has been almost perfect, allowing just one goal when shorthanded.
Stat Trick: North Bay Power Play
Kingston situation
Whispers about Todd Gill’s tenure with the Kingston Frontenacs surfaced in November, so when the Fronts blew a 3-0 series lead against rival Peterborough in Round 1 of the playoffs, it was just a matter of time before his dismissal became reality.
Gill had trouble translating the way he played and was coached to his players in Kingston. And when his coaching tactics didn’t work, or when it took too long for his players to execute what he was preaching, he became frustrated and the message got lost in the noise at times. The old-school mentality is quickly becoming a thing of the past. With social media, agents and parents heavily involved (and what I refer to as the “entitlement era”), coaching in the CHL is tougher than it’s ever been.
Rumours of Doug Gilmour’s departure to the KHL had substance, but an opportunity to stay home, the security of a long-term deal and the re-upping of top aide Darren Keily were all too good for Gilmour to pass up. The former NHL star has done a great job of wheeling and dealing, and his job as GM allows him time in the Toronto area to scout and attend NHL Alumni functions. Behind the scenes, Keily is key for Kingston taking care of the day-to-day hockey operations. The two have found great synergy.
My understanding is that the search process for a new head coach is in full-swing, with names such as Gord Murphy, Trent Cull and Paul McFarland having all been mentioned.
Twohey out of Oshawa
When Jeff Twohey was hired as general manager of the Oshawa Generals in 2012, it surprised many when he selected DJ Smith to lead his team as coach. It seemed more like the odd couple than the dream team. Having said that, the two became good friends and each took a little of the other’s character to make things work well in Oshawa.
However, Twohey had little (if any) input on his scouting staff, and some believe even Smith’s hiring was “strongly suggested.” As a result, Twohey continued to do his thing as he saw fit, not always in-step with everyone else in the organization.
Not making any significant moves and getting swept by what many thought was a weak North Bay team made for a perfect exit strategy for owner Rocco Tullio. He and Twohey didn’t see eye-to-eye, but it was hard to rock the boat with the team in first place, and why would an owner want to? With former owners Peter DeBoer and Adam Graves out of the picture, Twohey had no buffer.
Remember, the MasterCard Memorial Cup rotation has changed. The Cup will return to Ontario in 2018, and Oshawa could be an ideal host when celebrating its 100th anniversary. That responsibility now lies in the hands of Roger Hunt, who leaves the bench to handle the GM job on a full-time basis.
No “off-season” for Babcock
The last guy I expected to see on a flight from Montreal to Val d’Or was Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock. After spending just 10 minutes with him, it’s not hard to figure out why he’s one of the best coaches in the NHL. Just a short time into his off-season, he’s in Val d’Or to watch Detroit first-round pick Anthony Mantha. The Red Wings prospect made his mark with three points in the game, and he kept getting better as the night went on. Mantha, who slipped to 20th overall in the NHL Draft last summer, has 77 goals in 77 games (including the playoffs) this season.
This and that
– Danny Dupont has been hired as a consultant by the London Knights. Similar to the situation Shawinigan faced in 2012, the Knights wanted some advice on what to do with a month off before hosting the MasterCard Memorial Cup. Dupont was an assistant to Eric Veilleux on the Cataractes 2012 staff. Most recently, Dupont was let go as the head coach of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
– It was a good sign for Edmonton Oil Kings fans that Tristan Jarry looks like he’s rediscovered his “A” game, while Mitch Moroz and Curtis Lazar picked up their first points in the series.
– Steve Begin has been a guest coach for the Val d’Or Foreurs. Begin won a President Cup with the Foreurs in 1998.
– Don Hay’s move back to Kamloops had been rumoured for some time. Hay has family in Kamloops and some of his best coaching memories were made there in the early ‘90s. Hay will work with his former assistant coach, Craig Bonner, who is the brother of his former GM Scott in Vancouver.
Hot Questions
Does Portland’s Mike Johnston get a job in the NHL?
Will Marc Crawford end up coaching in Vancouver (but not with the Canucks) again?
Will Kirk Muller return to his Kingston roots and take the head coaching job under his good buddy Doug Gilmour?
Will Colin Priestner anoint himself GM in Saskatoon?
Will Danny Flynn re-unite with Ted Nolan in Buffalo?
Will Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifan play in the QMJHL next season?
Completely Off Topic
#BringBackOurGirls
Friday Night Hockey
This week: Game 5 between North Bay and Guelph.
More CHL
Be sure to check out Patrick King’s latest column, on Don Hay hoping to restore the glory days in Kamloops.