Battle Report
The pack is going to run wild tonight.
The Sudbury Wolves square off against the Sault Ste. Marie
Greyhounds for their second exhibition game at the Sudbury
Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm.
The Wolves will be without the services of several prominent
players, most notably Marc Staal and last year's leading scorer
Nick Foligno. Both are at pro camps with New York and Ottawa
respectively.
Expect the full lineup to see plenty of ice time as head
coach and GM Mike Foligno and company are still seeing where
certain players fit in.
During training camp, the management raved about the superb
shape the players arrived in and how it has reaped rewards.
Sudbury went to Poland and won three straight games over
Polish, Czech and Russian junior squads.
Seeing players in tip-top shape has made the organization
proud.
"The conditioning factor played a big role in our success
over in Europe," said Foligno. "The players took the initiative
and really stepped it up in the summer to make the commitment
to get into shape. It helped because it allowed us to work on
different parts of their game right away instead of getting
them into shape. It was a noticeable improvement."
Veterans came to camp ready to rock-and-roll, which
immediately set the tone for all rookies and fresh faces.
"Our older players set the precedent and led by example,"
said Foligno. "It showed our young guys what will be expected
here every fall. It allowed the young players to come in and
step up their game as well."
The Wolves top four 2006 draft picks, Jared Staal, Justin
Larson, J.K. Gill and Kyle Tarini all made the grade in camp,
forcing Sudbury to sign all four to the club.
"It was incredible how quickly they felt they could compete and showed what they could do," said the bench boss.
"There was a comfort zone created from our rookie
camp...They knew what to expect and thrived. These kids aren't
great yet, but they will be great down the road. These four
guys will be top guys in this league down the road."
Fourth round pick and local product Tarini made people stand
up and pay attention to his skill.
"Kyle really surprised me," said Foligno. "We didn't know if
he would need more time before he showed well at our camp. He
came in and played every shift hard and showed me he really
wanted to be here. He earned a contract."
Players such as Akim Aliu, who went through the ringer last
season, also showed tremendous desire to be a cut above.
"Akim impressed us with his work ethic on and off the ice," said Foligno. "He really wants to be a leader and wants to be a go to guy. He has a strong mindset and is a powerful individual and skater. It's nice to see that take charge attitude in your players."
With some players still at pro camps, all four lines and six
defencemen will be rolled in the game.
"We're giving our kids as much ice time as possible," said the GM. "It's all about giving them as much experience as possible right now. We looked tired against the Greyhounds last time, but this is a team that will get better every day.
They will grow together and fans will see some exciting
hockey."
In other Wolves news...
Marc Staal is making waves with the New York Rangers and has
earned the right to go to the main camp.
"He's as sure thing a prospect as we have in our organization", says Ron Malhoney, vice-president of Player Personnel and Assistant General Manager, in a news release from the Rangers posted on the Wolves website. "He does so many of the little things in the game well, that poise that he plays with, the puck movement, his presence on the ice. If he needs to be physical, he can be physical."
With all the praise rolling in for Staal, he still has a good
chance of being returned to Sudbury for another year of junior.
"We're going to be very, very cautious," says Malhoney. "The last thing we want is for Marc to turn pro, be in New York, and not play. If we can be sure he'll play nine of every ten games, then he'll play."
Enemy Line
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are trying to set a feverish
pace for their 2006-07 season.
The Greyhounds came out flying in the pre-season by blasting
the Sudbury Wolves 6-3 last week. They followed by dropping a
3-1 decision to Saginaw, but rebounded by thumping the same
team 6-4 a few nights later.
Sault Ste. Marie has plenty to be excited about as they have
solid players in key positions, which should allow them to
compete with most teams.
It all starts in net for the Greyhounds as they will, again,
rely heavily on Number One goalie Kyle Gajewski.
The 19-year-old puck stopper was the backbone for the squad
last season, going 29-23-3-5 with three shut outs. He had a
respectable 2.82 goals-against-average and .904 save
percentage.
Gajewski and the Greyhounds showed a lot of promise at the end of last season, finishing strong with a 7-2-1 record.
Gajewski was a big part, going 5-2 with a sizzling 1.98 GAA
and .929 save percentage.
The Greyhounds brass would love to see Gajewski carry over
his play from the last month of the 2005-06 season, as he could
challenge to be the top goalie in the OHL.
Overage winger Cody Thorton showed what he will be counted
on for all season against the Wolves: scoring goals.
The five-foot-11 winger recorded the hat trick versus
Sudbury and after scoring 26 goals and 48 points in 68 games
last season, he could be poised for a break out campaign.
Thorton also plays with an edge as he racked up 98 minutes
in penalties last season.
Lively native Andrew Desjardins was supposed to have a break out season last year. It didn't exactly happen as the 20-year-old fell victim to some bad luck at the Los Angeles Kings camp (he had to have his appendix removed) and never really seemed to get his season back on track. He finished last season with just 12 goals and 28 points in 66 games. In 2004-05, Desjardins recorded 17 goals and 34 points in 68 games.
A return to form will be expected from the centre.
Defenceman Andrew Campbell has enjoyed a stellar camp and
exhibition season so far.
The 18-year-old scored two goals and added an assist in three exhibition games and could also be poised to bust out and score a lot of points. In 2005-06, he played 31 games, registering one goal and four points.
