Battalion offence another struggle
BRAMPTON, Ont. – For a second consecutive season, offence was at a premium for the Brampton Battalion.
In 2009-10, the Battalion scored 167 goals, fewest in the Ontario Hockey League and in the club’s 13-year history. This season the Battalion was credited with 190, second-fewest in the league and third-fewest on its all-time list. The Troops scored only three goals in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Niagara IceDogs in an Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Stan Butler, director of hockey operations and head coach, said the Battalion still felt the impact of a run to the OHL Championship Series in 2008-09, when rookie forwards Josh Shalla and Michael Hasson were traded for immediate help. The Troops then lost centre Matt Duchene to the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche the following season as an 18-year-old.
“We were a little older up front than we were last season, but not as old as we’d like to be,” Butler said recently. “We had to move some guys who would have been 19-year-olds for us this season, like Shalla and Hasson. We plugged holes as best as we could, but those older guys we had up front weren’t the impact players we needed to have to be successful.”
Overage right winger Scott Tanski led the team in scoring with 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points in 67 games. A fourth-year veteran who was a 12th-round pick in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection, Tanski produced the lowest point total of any leading scorer in Battalion history. He finished his career 17th on the club’s all-time scoring list with 53 goals and 80 assists for 133 points in 219 games.
“He was put in a role this season that he was really not suited for,” said Butler. “He’s a good secondary player who’s a good penalty killer. I think he expected a lot more from himself, and sometimes that can hurt a guy more than it helps him. You could never doubt Scott’s work ethic. He worked really hard for us.”
After an injury-plagued rookie campaign, left winger Ian Watters emerged as the only Battalion member to play all 68 games. He contributed 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points, with all but three of his goals coming before Jan. 1. An eighth-round pick in 2008, he turned 19 on Dec. 27 and is a candidate for an overage spot next season.
“I’m sure at times this season was incredibly frustrating for him,” said Butler. “He had a great first half, but his second half was pretty disappointing. He needs to find some more consistency.”
Barclay Goodrow led the Troops with 24 goals and added 15 assists for 39 points in 65 games. A left winger who played all but a handful of games on the right side, Goodrow, who turned 18 on Feb. 26, was a first-round pick in 2009 and scored six goals as a rookie a year ago. He led the team with seven game-winning goals and tied Michael Santini for the team lead in power-play goals with eight.
“Barclay is a player who was better in the second half than he was in the first,” said Butler. “But for us to make the steps we need to make next season we need a really big season out of him.”
Centre Sam Carrick also earned 39 points, scoring 16 goals and adding 23 assists in 59 games. A first-round pick in 2008, Carrick, who turned 19 on Feb. 4, lost eight games in October to an ankle injury. He was a fifth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft last June.
“He’s a solid player, but a guy you always want more from,” said Butler. “Next season is a huge one for him because the Maple Leafs will be making a decision about a contract for him.”
Santini, who turned 20 on Feb. 22, parlayed a commitment to conditioning last summer into a strong first season as an OHL regular, producing 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 56 games. Santini, who recorded a team-high nine-game points run early in the season, missed nine games in February with an ankle injury.
“I was really happy with his season for the most part,” said Butler. “Santini and Watters both did a good job of working out last summer, and that helped them make some gains, but both guys fell off a bit in the second half. Michael needs another really good summer to show the coaching staff that he deserves consideration for an overage spot.”
A second-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, right winger Philip Lane battled injuries in his second season, contributing 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points in 54 games. Lane, who turns 19 on May 29, now is with the San Antonio Rampage, the Coyotes’ American Hockey League affiliate.
“Phil has to become more consistent, on a shift-to-shift and period-to-period basis,” said Butler. “I’m sure the Coyotes will be looking for that too.”
Overage left winger Stephon Thorne, the 10th captain in club history, chipped in with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 61 games in his third season. A seventh-round pick in 2006, he scored two of the Battalion’s three playoff goals.
“He squeezed everything he could out of his career,” noted Butler. “He’s a guy who got where he got by working hard and being determined. He always gave us everything he had.”
First-year Swedish centre Jonathan Johansson missed 17 games after being felled by mononucleosis in November. A first-round pick in the Canadian Hockey League’s Import Draft last June, he had three goals and eight assists for 11 points in as many games before being sidelined. Johansson, who turns 20 on June 30, had four goals and six assists for 10 points in 35 games the rest of the way.
“He got off to a really good start, and we were very excited about how he was playing,” said Butler. “But, like Cory Emmerton a few seasons back, I don’t know if Jonathan ever really recovered from it. I doubt we can tell how much mono really affects guys, but in Jonathan’s case it really put him behind.”
Second-year centre Domenic Alberga had eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 67 games. A fifth-round pick in 2009, he turns 19 on July 28.
“He’s a guy who shows flashes of being a good player,” said Butler. “The biggest challenge for him is to find consistency every game.”
Forward Craig Moore was another player who had a healthier season after being limited to 42 games in 2009-10. Moore, an eighth-round pick in 2007 who turned 20 on Feb. 14, had six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 60 games.
“Craig has given us three pretty good seasons, even if his numbers didn’t show it,” said Butler. “He had good leadership qualities and played whatever role we gave him and did the best he could at them. He was a good team guy and, even if he didn’t put up the numbers we thought he was capable of coming out of junior A, he brought a lot of character here. He’s a really good student, and we think he’ll move on next season to focus on his schooling.”
Right winger Matt MacLeod was sidelined for 16 regular-season games and the playoffs because of high ankle sprains. A third-round pick in 2009 who had five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 52 games, he turns 18 on July 13.
“I still think he’s going to be a good player for us,” said Butler. “He had a high ankle sprain, one of the toughest injuries in hockey, on both ankles. It was an extremely difficult season for him.”
Rookie forward Andreas Tsogkas scored two goals and added 10 assists for 12 points in 52 games. A 13th-round pick in 2009, he turns 18 on Aug. 13.
“He’s a guy who needs to have a great summer so he can come back and score for us,” said Butler. “We know he’s a skilled player, but he needs to get stronger to be successful.”
Left winger Alex O’Neil had four goals and three assists for seven points in 62 games. He led the team with 115 penalty minutes and is 10th on the club’s career list in that category. O’Neil, an 11th-round pick in 2008 who turns 19 on June 4, has played six games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
“He’s a valuable player to your team,” said Butler. “He’s a great team guy, but for him to be able to make the next step he needs to work hard on his fitness. He had a good start to the season, but he didn’t really keep his fitness at the level it needed to be.”
Left winger Adam Lloyd and centre Connor Jarvis, both chosen in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, saw action as callups.
Lloyd, a fifth-round pick from Orleans, Ont., played one regular-season game and the final playoff game. Lloyd, who turned 17 on Feb. 13, had 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points in 57 games with the junior A Gloucester Rangers.
Jarvis, a seventh-round pick, played seven regular-season games and also skated in the series finale against Niagara. A Toronto resident who turns 17 on Aug. 27, Jarvis had seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 45 games with the junior A Villanova Knights.
“Adam is a guy we hope can be a good offensive player. We think he’s a guy who needs to be grittier, but he has skill. We hope a guy like Jarvis can replace the guys like Tanski and Thorne in the sense that he’s a good two-way player who can kill penalties. He has the kind of speed that can really help our team.”
