‘Next-man-up’ mentality for Greyhounds
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
They’ll be without two of their top players.
But if the head coach of the Soo Greyhounds has his way, the absence of defenceman Ryan O’Rourke and centre Tanner Dickinson will be a non-factor this week.
“We won’t even talk about it. It’s next man up,” said John Dean, whose club is slated to begin a two-game road trip on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) in Windsor. “Let’s go, let’s go. Things don’t change for us. We know how we have to play.”
O’Rourke, the Greyhounds captain, is a member of Team Canada, preparing for the Dec. 26 start of the 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.
On Tuesday afternoon, USA Hockey confirmed Dickinson was one of 25 players to make the American squad, the defending gold-medal champions.
Due to the lineup openings, “other guys are going to see more minutes,” Dean added. “And they’re going to have to capitalize on those opportunities.”
In North Bay last Thursday, Jacob Holmes, who typically plays alongside O’Rourke, was paired with rookie Caeden Carlisle on the Soo defence.
Dickinson normally centres a line which includes Tye Kartye on the left side. When asked by Independent Media, Dean was noncommittal about his plans for line combinations.
The team’s other centres are Rory Kerins, who has 12 points over his last four games, Bryce McConnell-Barker and Owen Allard.
However, without Dickinson and minus injured wingers Kalvyn Watson (wrist) and Tyler Savard (ankle), Dean will dress just 11 forwards, while also going with seven defencemen.
To fill O’Rourke’s spot, the Hounds will use defenceman Andrew Gibson on this trip. Taken by the Soo in the fourth round (No. 67 overall) of the 2021 Ontario Hockey League draft, the six-foot-three, 190-pounder has been starring for the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Soo Thunderbirds.
A native of LaSalle, Ont., near Windsor, Gibson is leading the T-Birds in scoring with 13 goals and 14 assists, good for 27 points in 20 games.
“Obviously, he’s had a fantastic start with the Thunderbirds and it’ll be good for us to get him into a few games,” said Hounds general manager Kyle Raftis. “It’s exciting he’ll get a chance to play at home on Thursday.”
The Soo takes a 14-9-1-0 mark, tops in the West Division, into Thursday’s clash. That’s just one point up on the second-place Spitfires (12-8-2-2), who haven’t lost in regulation in six straight games (4-0-2-0).
“Windsor is a good hockey club. We all anticipated they’d be good this season,” said Dean, whose club is also slated to visit Kitchener (7:30 p.m.) on Friday, before entering the Christmas break. “They had some growing pains at the start of the year, but they have a lot of veteran players and they’ve added two veterans recently.”
Via trades, the Spits have bolstered their lineup with forwards Jacob Maillet (from Guelph) and Alex Christopoulos (from North Bay).
However, Windsor will also be missing a key player. Nineteen-year-old winger Will Cuylle (18-7-25 in 22 games) joins O’Rourke as a member of Team Canada.
“I want us to keep rolling. I like the way we’re going right now,” said Dean. “We’re a team that’s all about process. Especially in these last two games before Christmas it’s important for us to put a stamp on things.”
Dean went on to say he’s pleased with the level of consistency his club has shown of late.
“Especially over the last four games or so,” he added. “We need to keep this thing going.”
Despite the fact focus – especially for first-year players – can be a problem in the final games before Christmas, Dean said he’s not overly concerned.
His plan is to stress the importance of these games, rather than the fact the club is about to get a break from the OHL grind.
Holmes, a Dallas Stars prospect, talked about how it can be difficult when players get wrapped up in the excitement of seeing family and friends over the break.
“But if we channel that in the right direction, it can be a positive,” Holmes added. “We need to maintain our focus and know we have a job to do before we go home for Christmas.”
