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October 03, 2013

Preview: Soo Greyhounds @ Ottawa 67's

The Ottawa 67’s are coming off a big 3-2 regulation win over the visiting Niagara Ice Dogs on Sunday afternoon improving to a .500 winning percentage.
Fresh off serving his one game suspension, Joseph Blandisi scored a pair of goals to lead the 67’s to the win.  Blandisi has proven to be a clutch scorer so far this season.  He has three goals in three games; two are game-winning goals and one was a game tieing goal. 

Blandisi will continue to play an important role on the squad as the club waits news from Sean Monahan who will miss more OHL games as  he made it onto the Calgary Flames opening season lineup.  On a side note,  our eyes will also be on the Flames game tonight when Monahan will make his NHL debut.  He is projected to centre the third line with Sven Baertschi & David Jones.
The Sault Ste Marie (Soo) Greyhounds stroll into Canadian Tire Centre after suffering their first loss of the regular season.  Sergey Tolchinsky scored a hat trick but it was not enough and they fell 4-3 to the Barrie Colts after a brief shootout.  Most ironic out of this loss is that 5 of 6 shooters scored but the only one not to was Tolchinsky, ultimitely leading to their demise.
The Greyhounds struggled out of the gate last season.  GM Kyle Dubas has been vocal about the hiring of former Pembroke Lumber Kings bench boss Sheldon Keefe and credits him for their late success.  When Keefe joined the coaching staff, the team moved out of 9th place in the West and improved to a .640 winning percentage.
This season they are off to a better start (2-0-0-1).  The Greyhounds will get a big boost to their lineup after  1st round pick, Darnell Nurse, was returned to juniors from the Edmonton Oilers.  This will add some leadership to the blueline with Ryan Sproul moving on into the Detroit RedWings system this season. 
In addition, the Greyhounds also lose Nick Cousins, Brandon Alderson and Colin Miller.  Along with Sproul, those are the Greyhounds top 4 scorers in the 2012-13 OHL season – that’s 95 goals and 288 points.  Luckily for them,  returning is Sergey Tolchinsky who was signed as a free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes this season.  Tolchinsky was passed over in the draft this June but impressed the Hurricanes after being invited to their rookie camp and becoming the leading scorer of the prospects tournament in Traverse City.  Tolchinsky currently sits 2ndin OHL scoring with 9 points in only 3 games.
Check the list below for more of the Soo Greyhounds the departing and returning players.
2013-14 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67's:  2-2-0-0
Soo Greyhounds:  2-0-0-1
2013-14 Pre-season Record
Ottawa 67's:  3-1-1-0
Soo Greyhounds:  0-3-1-0
2012-13 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67's:  16-46-0-6
Soo Greyhounds:  36-26-3-3
2012-13 OHL Playoffs
Ottawa 67's:  Did not qualify
Soo Greyhounds: Eliminated in the Quarterfinals by the Owen Sound Attack in 6 games
Players To Watch
Ottawa 67's
Joseph Blandisi - drafted 6th round to Colorado in 2013
Jacob Middleton - NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting B list
Alex Lintuniemi - NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Travis Konecny - 1st overall pick in OHL,  NHL draft eligible 2015
Soo Greyhounds
Darnell Nurse – drafted by Edmonton Oilers, 1st round in 2013
Matt Murray – drafted by Pittsburgh Penguins, 3rd round in 2012
Tyler Ganly – drafted by Carolina Hurricanes, 6th round in 2013
Mitchell Dempsey – drafted by Boston Bruins, 7th round in 2013
Sergey Tolchinsky – signed as a free agent by Carolina Hurricanes in 2013
Jared McCann – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting A list
Kyle Jenkins – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Brandon Halverson – NHL draft eligible 2014, NHL Central Scouting C list
Overagers
Ottawa 67’s: Ryan Van Stralen, Philippe Trudeau
Soo Greyhounds: Andrew Fritsch, Tyler Gaudet, Patrick Watling
Leadership Squad
Ottawa 67’s: Sean Monahan (C), Taylor Fielding (A), Ryan Van Stralen (A), Joesph Blandisi (A)
Soo Greyhounds:  Darnell Nurse (C), Alex Gudbranson (A), Andrew Fritsch (A), Tyler Ganly (A)
Potential Scratches
Ottawa 67's:  Sean Monahan (NHL camp), Michel Vlajkov (injury),
Soo Greyhounds:  ?
*follow us on twitter (@msconduct or @A_Quevillon) for game day scratches
Soo Greyhounds
Who's Gone?
Dylan Mascarin – now playing in the BCHL
David Broll – Toronto Maple Leafs system
Nick Halagian – at home waiting for a trade
Brandon Alderson – graduated from OHL
Michael Schumacher – LA Kings system
Nick Cousins – Philadelphia Flyers system
Colin Miller – graduated from OHL
Chris Buonomo – graduated from OHL
Ryan Sproul – Detroit Redwings system
Justin Nichols – acquired by the Guelph Storm for Plymouth's 3rd round pick in 2015.
Who's New?
Jorgen Karterud – 1st round pick 2013 CHL Import Draft
Blake Speers – 1st round pick 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Brandon Hughes – 14th round pick 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Michael Bunting – 9th round pick 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Colton White – 2nd round pick 2013 OHL Priority Selection
Brandon Halverson – 7th round pick 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Patrick Watling – acquired from the Guelph Storm
Ottawa Connections
Medric Mercier – native of Gloucester,  played with the Hawkesbury Hawks (CCHL) last season
Alex Gudbranson – native of Orleans, previously played for the Brockville Braves (CCHL – was CJHL at that time)
Sheldon Keefe – former head coach & GM of the Pembroke Lumber Kings (CCHL)
2012-13 Head-To-Head Stats
Record: 1-1-0-0
Combined score: 7-5 for Ottawa
Top scorers
Ottawa 67's
Tyler Graovac - 3 goals, 0 assists in 2 games
Steven Janes - 1 goal, 2 assists in 2 games
Jake Cardwell - 1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games
Soo Greyhounds
David Broll – 1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games
Dylan Staples – 1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games
Nick Cousins - 0 goals, 2 assists in 2 games

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