OHL 20 in 20: Peterborough Petes

Wednesday September 17, 2014

By Evan Mathias @EvanMathias61

Building on last season’s successes is what Peterborough Petes fans can expect from their team this year.

Following three straight ninth place Eastern Conference finishes, the Petes made strides last season earning a sixth place playoff seed and a date with the Kingston Frontenacs in the first round.  The Petes were underdogs but persevered in the most unlikely fashion becoming just the fourth OHL team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a dramatic playoff series victory.

The man at the helm of the Petes, General Manager Mike Oke, knows he needs to keep his club steering in the right direction to be successful again this year.

“This year with so many guys returning from last years team, they’re looking to take another step forward in the process of winning a championship,” said Oke. “We’re excited to begin where we left off and see how we can progress and build over the coming year.”

The Petes have 17 skaters eligible to return to this year’s squad, none more coveted than 2014 tenth overall NHL draft pick Nick Ritchie. The six-foot-three 229-pound power forward and Anaheim Ducks prospect had an impressive draft year posting 74 points in 61 games last season, the same as his previous two seasons combined.

Third-year winger Eric Cornel and Petes’ first-round CHL Import Draft pick Dominik Masin join Ritchie as NHL draftees both chosen in the second round. Cornel joined Buffalo’s prospect pool and Masin is a draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“It’s exciting knowing that they’ve been recognized at the NHL level as being elite players, having been selected where they were,” said Oke. “We’ve got five guys going to (NHL) camp, those three plus Connor Boland is going as a free agent to Edmonton and Greg Betzold as a free agent to St. Louis… It’s exciting for them to get the opportunity to move forward.”

Last season the Petes’ forward corps received a boost when they acquired Hunter Garlent from the Guelph Storm who finished second on team scoring with 69 points. He returns for a fourth OHL season, while overagers Michael Clarke, and Josh MacDonald who came over from Barrie early last season, will also help carry the load offensively.

With so much returning talent to the team, who had success last season, Oke knows the time to capitalize in a tight Eastern Conference is now.

“I think our asset, quite frankly, is the fact we have so many players coming back from last year. To win the series against Kingston the way that we did shows the type of players and the character and the commitment they have. Being down three-to-nothing, to come back and win in seven games and win the seventh game on the road it takes a high level of commitment and determination,” said Oke. “Knowing that we have those types of players coming back this year, who have displayed in the past the commitment and the character to have success that’s exciting for us.”

Peterborough’s first-round Priority Selection pick, Jonathan Ang, will have plenty of experienced players to lean on heading into his rookie campaign. The offensive centre compiled 33 goals and 51 points in 40 regular season and playoff games for the Markham Waxers last year and claimed MVP honours at the 2014 Telus Regional Cup Championship. The 16-year-old was invited to Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence Development Camp in July to compete for a spot on one of the three national teams for the World Under-17 Challenge.

On a team with so much experience, the Petes will have fresh faces between the pipes with the graduation of former Humanitarian of the Year Andrew D’Agostini. As a 19-year-old, Jason Da Silva is the veteran in the crease however the Milton native has only 27 games and five wins in his OHL career to date.

Preseason goaltending candidates also include 2013 ninth round Priority Selection pick Scott Smith, or this season’s 21st overall pick Dylan Wells from the Niagara North Stars who was the first goaltender chosen in April’s draft.

“The one area where we have a little inexperience is our goaltending. We like the goalies that we have in the system and the goalies that came to camp. They all are athletic and are good size,” said Oke. “The thing they lack is that actual OHL experience, but we think that we’re going to take a long look at them and moving forward… were going to do whats best.”

Oke said that as the youngest of the trio of goalies, Wells will get an opportunity to earn a full time spot but the determination will be made based on his pre-season and training camp performances.

In front of the inexperienced net minders stands a wall of blue liners. Not a single player on Peterborough’s defence core stands under six-feet tall. Six defenceman from last season are returning to this year’s Petes’ squad including sophomore Matt Spencer, a top 2015 NHL Draft prospect, who had an impressive rookie campaign accumulating 15 points and having a plus-five, plus/minus rating.

“For Matt, I thought the first couple months it was just a matter of adjusting to the new role and different style of game… As the year went on I thought he really got better and better. Especially in our playoff series against Kingston, he was one of our key players,” said Oke. “He had the opportunity and privilege to play for team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka and won a gold medal (alongside Petes’ head coach Jody Hull). We’re expecting for him to build off a solid playoff run and a championship with Team Canada to springboard into this year.”

Peterborough’s big defence grew even more in size during the off-season via the import draft. Masin comes to the team standing six-foot-one and their second round import pick, Artem Vladimirov becomes the tallest player on the Petes’ back end standing a hulking six-foot-four.

“They’re adding something to an already solid group.”

In such a skilled, tight East Division, Peterborough’s returning veterans will be invaluable, but their GM believes success is there for the taking.

“We have to be committed to working hard, each and every day, on and off the ice.”

ontariohockeyleague.com will feature one team each day in advance of the 2014-15 season which begins Wednesday September 24.

Read more OHL 20 in 20 previews:

West Division: Plymouth Whalers, Saginaw Spirit, Sarnia Sting, Windsor Spitfires

East Division: Kingston Frontenacs, Oshawa Generals, Ottawa 67’s,

Central Division: Mississauga Steelheads, Niagara IceDogs, Sudbury Wolves

Midwest Division: Kitchener Rangers, London Knights, Owen Sound Attack