OHL 20 in 20: Owen Sound Attack
There’s always a buzz around Owen Sound each September as Attack hockey returns to the Bayshore. This year’s squad looks quite different from last year’s, but the Attack do boast one of the league’s top goaltenders and, ideally, its most lethal goal-scoring threat (more on that in a minute). While the 2023-24 season had its frustrations, a new season marks a fresh start in a town that loves its OHL hockey. Let’s see what a new-look Attack team, with a first time head coach at the helm, can get done this season.
| NOTABLE DEPARTURES | KEY ADDITIONS |
| F Tomislav Brennan | D Elliot Arnett (3rd Rd. ’24) |
| F Ethan Burroughs (StFX U.) | D Max Bleicher (1st Rd. ’24 Import) |
| F Deni Goure (Calgary, AHL) | F Trent Gates (1st Rd. ’24 U18) |
| F Cedrick Guindon (Trade KGN) | F Ethan Kindree (3rd Rd. ’24) |
| F Servac Petrovsky | F Pierce Mbuyi (7th Ov. ’24) |
| D Sam Sedley (Lehigh Valley, AHL) | F Bruce McDonald (Trade ER) |
| D Madden Steen | F Easton Mikus (4th Rd. ’24) |
| F Jackson Stewart (Bloomington, ECHL) | F Rafik Varosyan (2nd Rd. ’24 Import) |
| G Corbin Votary (Haliburton County Jr. A) |
Five Questions Heading Into 2024-25:
1. What becomes of Barlow?
Well, to be fair, it’s the question everyone’s asking. Attack captain and Winnipeg Jets first round pick Colby Barlow didn’t attend the club’s training camp, instead opting to focus in preparation for attending NHL camp with the Jets. The rumour mill is swirling, with a couple high calibre Eastern Conference teams interested in the back-to-back 40+ goal-scorer. The Attack could sure use those goals as Barlow, who sits 17 goals back of Bobby Ryan’s Attack franchise goal-scoring record, is expected to be one of the OHL’s top offensive threats should he return for a 19-year-old season. Stay tuned.
2. How do the Bears fill the minutes of three experienced OA’s?
Ethan Burroughs, Deni Goure and Sam Sedley were three of the OHL’s most experienced players last season, and all three are moving on along with top-six centreman Cedrick Guindon who went to Kingston via trade. That’s a lot of minutes and responsibility to fill. Expect some of Owen Sound’s depth players from last season to see time in higher leverage situations as new head coach Scott Wray examines what he has in the early weeks of the season.
3. Will George solidify himself as the OHL’s best in the crease?
Ask some observers and they’d make a case that he already is, but fresh off being taken by the LA Kings in the second round this summer, Carter George will be back in the Owen Sound crease after impressing under a heavy workload in 2023-24. George will be a candidate for Canada’s National Junior Team after backstopping his country to gold at both the U18 Worlds and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Last year’s Scholastic Player of the Year has brains and bright future in the game – the Attack, who are clearly in transition and trying to develop some new front-line talent, will need him to be at his best this season.
4. Can McCue continue to build off last year’s progress?
Sam McCue was one of last year’s good stories for the Attack. Acquired from the Peterborough Petes, the former OHL champion brought sandpaper and some timely offence to the Attack lineup as he put together 21 goals and 14 assists between the Attack and the Petes. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected McCue in the seventh round of the NHL Draft this past summer. He’ll be given every opportunity to play a big role with the Bears this season.
5. Are the Attack a playoff team?
It’s a bit of a strange question given Owen Sound hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2010, the year before their unforgettable OHL Championship season. There’s a lot of questions moving into 2024-25 though with a good number of veterans moving on. Perhaps Scott Wray and his assistants, Brandon Shaw and Reagan O’Grady, can identify some players on the cusp of a breakthrough such as former first round pick Ben Cormier, returning second rounder Jake Crawford or 6-foot-3 winger Harry Nansi, and the Attack find their way into the postseason for another crack at the Robertson Cup.
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