Five Questions: North Bay Battalion

 

The sting of a second straight Eastern Conference Championship Series exit still lingers in North Bay. The Troops suffered a Game 6 road loss in overtime before falling to the Peterborough Petes at home in Game 7, a series that had everyone on the edge of their seats to the very end.

It’s a credit to Battalion GM Adam Dennis and head coach Ryan Oulahen that, after two consecutive Central Division titles and a pair of third round playoff exits, we come back to the Troops as a competitive presence in the Eastern Conference once again. Finding offensive solutions will be more challenging no doubt, but with strong goaltending and a capable defence corps, teams can have a lot of success in the OHL.

Five Questions takes a closer look at the North Bay Battalion:

1. Do the Troops have the league’s best returning defensive group?

Starting in net, reigning OHL Goaltender of the Year Dom DiVincentiis is slated to return for his 19-year-old season behind a defence corps led by Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson, the first overall pick of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection. Nelson is a big game player with a big personality and will serve as a leader on a blue line group that also includes shutdown Detroit Red Wings prospect Tnias Mathurin, and depending how the overage situation shakes down, potentially last year’s OHL plus/minus leader in Paul Christopoulos. Other back end possibilities would include overage candidates Brayden Hislop and Luc Brzustowski along with 6-foot-5 sophomore Wyatt Kennedy. The Troops have already received a commitment from second round 2023 CHL Import Draft pick Alex Cajkovic out of Slovakia, who will step in to replace Alexander Lukin as he returns to play in his native Russia.

"The OHL is the best junior hockey league in the world for a reason. There's fantastic goaltenders in this league, and I'm honoured and humbled to receive this award."@NHLJets prospect Dom DiVincentiis enjoyed a record-setting season for the @OHLBattalion.

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) June 22, 2023

2. Who is back as an overager?

The Battalion have some solid names to sift through on the overage front, with a pair of former NHL Draft picks without contracts in Pasquale Zito and Justin Ertel in the mix. Captain Liam Arnsby was a 2022 pick by the Florida Panthers who has yet to sign and could be back in green this fall while the aforementioned Christopoulos played big minutes for the Battalion last year, helping them win a second straight Central Division title with a league-best plus-51 rating. Other 2003-born names from last year’s squad eligible to return include defencemen Luc Brzustowski and Brayden Hislop along with forward Nikita Tarasevich. Josh Bloom (Vancouver) and Matvey Petrov (Edmonton) have both graduated after signing NHL contracts.

Pasquale Zito gives the Troops their first lead of Game 2! 🪖#OHLPlayoffs | #NBvsMISS pic.twitter.com/xHoi2qn3yj

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 2, 2023

3. Where will the goals come from?

The Troops lose a lot to graduation offensively, with four of their top five scorers moving on including overage veterans Kyle McDonald (Dallas) and Kyle Jackson (Seattle). Dalyn Wakely brings 30 goals back to the lineup and is likely to move up the depth chart along with winger Anthony Romani, who lit the lamp 23 times last season. Fan favourite Owen Van Steensel never takes a shift off and will look to build off his 28-point (11-17–28) sophomore campaign in 2022-23. Former first round pick Ethan Procyszyn will be given plenty of opportunity to tap into some of the offensive flair he showed as a member of the North Central Predators U16 program in 2021-22.

ANTHONY ROMANI TIES THE SERIES IN DOUBLE OT! 👀

The #NHLDraft prospect plays a give-and-go with Wakely and the @OHLBattalion take Game 4 🎥#OHLPlayoffs | #NBvsBAR pic.twitter.com/ha2xMheRox

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 21, 2023

4. How does North Bay stack up in the Central?

It really depends where some of the chips fall in the early going. Getting Arnsby back into the lineup would be a massive boost. The Battalion start the season with four of their first five games on the road, so that will provide a good early test. Division rival Barrie is also losing some big names to graduation, but the Sudbury Wolves, who the Battalion face eight times during the regular season, are going to be a tough two points. With the loss of so many impact forwards, the Troops probably wouldn’t be considered an early favourite to three-peat as Central Division champions, but as we’ve learned so many times over the years, anything can happen in the OHL.

One of two #OHL players to finish first in three different categories, @FlaPanthers prospect Liam Arnsby was voted the Eastern Conference's Best Body Checker, Best Defensive Forward and Best Penalty Killer. https://t.co/IJiWnnM62J pic.twitter.com/lCH0ym8bWG

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 10, 2023

5. Is Sarge the coolest mascot in the league?

He has his detractors, but the battle-hardened soldier who made his way up from Brampton 10 years ago gets a lot of love around the league. Sarge does his part to get the 7th Man fired up at the Gardens and comes off another short summer as the Troops made a second consecutive Eastern Conference Championship Series appearance. Rest assured, he’ll be ready for combat come training camp.

Sorry for traffic, Sarge is busy. pic.twitter.com/5qkAHONcUJ

— North Bay Battalion (@OHLBattalion) May 5, 2023

Five Questions is put together by Josh Sweetland (@joshsweetland). Follow along throughout the summer for an offseason look at all 20 OHL clubs.