Heedful Hounds high on newbies
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
To say the Soo Greyhounds are impressed by Carson Andrew would be an understatement.
And the emergence of the 16-year-old (2008 birth year) winger, if he justifies the club’s faith in him, couldn’t come at a better time.
Taken in the fourth round of the 2024 OHL Priority Selections, the early showing of the St. Louis native has helped take some of the sting out of a disappointing summer leading into the 2024-2025 campaign.
When they begin the regular season on Friday against Saginaw (7:07 p.m. at GFL Memorial Gardens), the Hounds roster will be minus first-round draft choice Ryder Cali and second-rounder Callum Croskery.
Both have plans, at least for now, to eventually play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Hounds recently dealt Cali’s rights to North Bay and haven’t given up on convincing Croskery to eventually report.
But for now, the talents and potential of Andrew, 17-year-old (2007) defenceman David Holub (first round, 2024 CHL Import Draft) and 17-year-old (2007) centre/winger Brady Smith (fifth round, 2023 OHL draft), have given the club confidence in its group of first-year OHLers.
“I think he could have been a first-round pick in our league,” Hounds head coach John Dean said of the nearly six-foot-two, 184-pound Andrew. “He’s a true natural goal scorer with an instinct for putting pucks in the back of the net.”
Dean went on to say how he feels, eventually, the newcomer is “going to have a huge impact in this league.”
“Carson Andrew is someone who can step right in and contribute to this lineup,” added general manager Kyle Raftis, who selected Andrew No. 78 overall. “Sometimes an American player can slide a little bit in the draft and people kind of sleep on him a little bit.”
A season ago, Andrew skated for the Shattuck-St. Mary’s 15U AAA club in Faribault, Minn., posting a 28-38-66 stat line in 56 games.
Meantime, at five-foot-nine, 180-pounds, Holub looks to be a highly-competitive player who combines hockey IQ and a solid defensive presence.
Dean said the goal is to “extract more offence from his game.”
“He picks things up very quickly and plays with an edge,” Raftis said of the native of Lichnov, Czech Republic, chosen 54th overall in the Import Draft.
Holub captained Ocelari Trinec U17 last season, putting up a 5-23-28 stat line in 28 regular season games.
“As soon as he gets comfortable playing the North American game, I think he’s going to eat up a lot of minutes for us,” the GM added.
Raftis said he’s also highly impressed by what Smith has shown him.
“He’s coming off of a phenomenal season as a 16-year-old in Jr. B,” said the GM, who watched the nearly six-foot, 173-pounder score 11 times and assist on 25 others in 49 regular season games for the Listowel Cyclones of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Smith added two goals and 14 assists in 22 playoff tilts as the club went on to win the Sutherland Cup championship.
“He combines work ethic, speed, skill and a shot. All of those things will be huge for us,” Raftis added. “He’s a guy who can play up and down the lineup.”
Seventeen-year-olds (2007) Hunter Solomon and Keegan Gillen, both rearguards, have also caught their general manager’s eye. Solomon was a fourth-round choice and Gillen a 14th-rounder in 2023.
Raftis called the six-foot, 180-pound Solomon “someone who plays a mean, heavy style defending. He reminds me of Caeden Carlisle when he was coming in as a 17-year-old.”
Seventeen-year-old (2007) free agent Erik Muxlow also bears watching, the GM said. The five-foot-10, 183-pound winger played with Hounds second-year winger Travis Hayes two seasons ago as members of the Detroit Compuware 15s.
Muxlow suffered a serious knee injury that season and was not drafted into the OHL.
“But he’s very creative with good speed and he’s smart,” Raftis said. “If we can get him to play with more pace, there’s a lot to work with.”
Meantime, of those who aren’t here, the Hounds were stunned by Cali’s early-August decision to make a verbal commitment to Harvard University instead of joining the Greyhounds.
A month later, the club dealt Cali’s rights to North Bay for a sixth-round draft choice in 2025 and three conditional selections. They include a second-rounder and fourth-round choice, both in 2028, and a seventh-round pick in 2027.
The conditional picks are to be conveyed to the Soo only if Cali reports to North Bay.
Also, by dealing Cali, a first-round selection who opted not to join the Greyhounds, the club receives a compensatory first-round choice in the 2025 OHL draft.
“He was the right guy to take going into the draft and there were never any issues about him not reporting,” Raftis said of Cali, selected 18th overall in April.
Critical to the trade, Raftis added, is the fact the Hounds will remain eligible to receive the conditional selections regardless of when Cali might opt to join the Battalion.
The Hounds took a calculated risk selecting Croskery, who had previously signed a tender agreement with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. He has verbally committed to play at Boston College.
“At times with a great player you have to take a chance,” Raftis said of selecting Croskery. “We’ve had some great conversations over the summer and we’ll see where it goes.”
Asked about the Soo’s goaltending situation with overage Charlie Schenkel, certainly a valuable trade chip, and 18-year-old (2006) Landon Miller, the general manager spoke of how there are a lot of overages available to OHL teams as the season begins.
“A lot of clubs are sorting the OA situation out,” he added. “Both guys have earned the right to be No. 1 goalies. Right now we really like our depth in goal. But at the same time, a trade is something we’ll definitely consider down the road.”
As for the club’s prospects moving forward this season, Raftis was asked to assess the Greyhounds chances.
At a minimum, he said he “definitely” expects the 2024-2025 squad to make the playoffs.
“It’s all going to come down to this: How fast can we get these young guys up to speed in terms of taking on bigger roles with this team,” he continued. “We just can’t count on the older guys every night. It’s crucial the guys coming in take big steps.”
