shakeup

[curious]

Need something to get the bark going again. Team is playing horrible of late.

[chooch]

They are very short handed with injuries and suspensions. If they can get everyone back and stay healthy and out of the penalty box then they will be a good team. I hear that Matt Corrente's suspension is now over and Legein and Pietrangelo will start skating with the team this week, and Fletcher is also expected back soon. Patience my friend, patience.

[back2back]

Yes they have injuries but so does every other team. Does having 4 players out of the line-up give them an excuse to lose every game? Since Oct 18, the game against London, they have 4 wins, 10 losses. Some of those losses were with almost a full line-up and it did not seem to matter. They play one or two good games and then its back to the losses.

Why are the Dogs so bad?

1) They have too many small forwards. Their top line features Legein at 5'10", Caputi who is 6'3' but more finesse than toughness and tough guy Foreman at 5'10". By the way, how long will Foreman be out with a broken nose. Why was he even fighting a guy that was 6'2". Why didn't some of the bigger guys fight instead of Foreman. Oh ya, they have no big guys.

Then we have our second line of Swift 5'9", Bergeron 5'9" and Agozzino 5'7". This must be the smallest line in the OHL. They will be pounded every time they step on the ice.

Our gritty third line consists of Merrett 6'2", Sanderson 5'10" and tough guy DeSousa at 5'9". Like Foreman, DeSousa should only be fighting players under 6'. Smaller players do not have the reach that larger players have. But since they only have one tall tough guy (Fletcher), they are also expected to fight the big guys.

This team is getting literally pounded every game. The small ice surface at the Gatecliff only makes things worse. These players are all good players, but you can't have an entire line-up of light weights and expect to win consistently.

The injury bug will never get better. Players will be hurt all year due to the constant pounding they receive.

As a fan, its hard to watch the other team pound the heck out of our top players, and then watch his small teammates come to the rescue only to get pounded again in a fight. This team has a ton or heart, will stick up for each other, but in the end lose almost every fight due to their small size.

2) Bad trades. I would call the Foreman trade an even trade. Every other trade made has put the IceDogs into a worst position than before the trade.

3) No systems in place, or at least the appearance of no systems in place. Do they even have a system for their powerplay.

[pettione]

Good Morning Back2Back----Man you are dead on!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here we are drafting quick footed small forwards and D

Ideally we should be still stuck in that olde school of thinking----big quick footed drafts are always much better than small----


Small players as found in our lineup are dislodged from the puck too easily----(witnessed in Oshawa)

Small has short reach for penalty kill, short reach for forecheck and short reach for anythng offensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (witnessed in Oshawa)

Our GM I am afraid is great at assessing heart---but I do believe he followed the NHL philosophy of going small and quick when big and quick are still the more powerful and successful in the "O"-----man this is a no brainer----we are speaking of Physical Maturity Level----the big with quick feet will always have the edge!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Mr. Brown----now that we have selected small, short and quick for maybe 2 complete drafts how do you plan to right this ship so that this new franchise will survive your misjudgement and show some success!!!!!!!!!!

Remember management, success is always a feel good and positive-----the opposite will only lead to more frustration----

The season is young and I do believe that many have become frustrated with poor trades----picks given away----and malcontents added to a list of good hearted kids----give your heads a shake and start competing with the other GM's out there----never ever appearing weak for a deal----once labelled an easy mark in this league----and easy mark you will always be---if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck-----then it is not an ICEDOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!----Very Simple :o :o :o :o :o :o

[2manystripes]

Why is it always because of small guys. Its about speed, skill and heart. Why were the dogs ranked so high at the start of the season ? Everyone knew they had a small team but no one really seemed to care then. Who really cares if your 5'7" or 5'8" if you can skate and play thats all that should matter. Give this team some more time, wait at least until all the guys are back. You will find that things will change and it will get better with all the small guys.

[mia]

It is like I posted back in August of training camp this team will get banged around in the Jack.The injury bug has hit and they have nothing to back it up.Now some of their kids will be going to Russian series and the under 18 tournament and they will be short handed again.The Jack is not a place to play OHL hockey in.
I feel sorry for Loverock as he has played since day one with no rest.The back up is only there if Loverock gets hurt as he is terrible!I will say it again it will be a long season.

[zeus]

mia said:

It is like I posted back in August of training camp this team will get banged around in the Jack.The injury bug has hit and they have nothing to back it up.Now some of their kids will be going to Russian series and the under 18 tournament and they will be short handed again.The Jack is not a place to play OHL hockey in.
I feel sorry for Loverock as he has played since day one with no rest.The back up is only there if Loverock gets hurt as he is terrible!I will say it again it will be a long season.

Good points made by you and a few others in this thread.

After returning home from the Oshawa game and watching all of the previous others from the "JACK" and on TV, I think we can at least look forward to next year and a high 1st round draft pick. I hope I'm proven wrong but even with the return to a full lineup I don't think the Icedogs will go far this year.

[excanucksfan]

Zeus, so you think they should give up this year and trade away the older guys that are not coming back next year? They have some pretty talented 19 year olds that probably will be moving up next year (NHL or AHL) that would fetch some good young (tall?) talent for the IceDogs.

I'm not sure if I think they should give up this year or not. They seem to have the talent, but are not producing. If they don't have a legitimate shot at winning this year they should trade away the vets for some younger players, or make some trades that will give them a shot at the title this year.

The status quo doesn't seem to be working right now.

[hockey123]

Let this team get Legein, Petro, and Corrente back in the lineup and fill that overager spot and see how they look. This team either has to go for it this year or make several major trades, unloading talented vets for prospects. Caputi, Swift, Legein, Foreman, Corrente, Schiestel, Snow and more than likely Petriangelo and Fletcher will not be back next year. All should be moved if this team doesn't turn it around in a big hurry starting this week.

I would think Day would be one of the overagers for next year, so he will likely be back maybe even as captain.

[hockey123]

Not sure I buy into size being a problem. Most loses were because of poor discipline and mistakes.

[coldpooch]

hockey123 said:

Not sure I buy into size being a problem. Most loses were because of poor discipline and mistakes.

"Riddle me this Batman".

It seems to be a concern with having a small team, then why are all the big guys are hurt?

"Holy Peter Puck, Batman"

[coldpooch]

hockey123 said:

Let this team get Legein, Petro, and Corrente back in the lineup and fill that overager spot and see how they look. This team either has to go for it this year or make several major trades, unloading talented vets for prospects. Caputi, Swift, Legein, Foreman, Corrente, Schiestel, Snow and more than likely Petriangelo and Fletcher will not be back next year. All should be moved if this team doesn't turn it around in a big hurry starting this week.

I would think Day would be one of the overagers for next year, so he will likely be back maybe even as captain.

The first half of the year means Jack, when the trade dead line in December approaches we will see who are the haves and have nots.

Lets wait for this period in the season to see what road the Dogs take.

[jaskratch]

If size is such a problem with this team then why do they lead the league in penalty minutes by a wide margin? It must be because their small guys are soft? You guys talk about how they get pounded in a small rink and yet the three guys that are out with injuries right now were all injured on the road on much larger ice surfaces (Pietrangelo and Fletcher at St. Mikes, Legein in Barrie). The team is small and they compete hard, unfortunately they don't always compete intelligently especially on the defensive side of the puck and that is what is killing them.

[omhafan]

The lack of size is glaringly evident at the end of a game with the Dogs trying to hang on to a slim lead. Same old story all year, can't hang on with minutes to go. Size takes over and steal a game.

[hockey123]

Not buying what you are selling. The only 2 smallish players on this team that get exposed due to their lack of size are Maione and Bergeron. Neither of these two will play much of a roll on this team once they're healthy and certainly won't be on the ice late in the game up by a goal. This team really struggles against teams that sit back and wait for them to make a mistake. Too many ill advised long passes, poor pinches, turnovers, and bone headed penalties. Really have a lot of the same problems as the Leafs. They have too many games were they carry the play and badly out shoot the other team only to give up 3 times as many quality chances as they get.

[hercor]

Does anyone think that the problem might just be behind the bench rather than on the ice?
for a team that was considered to compete for the memorial cup , something is definitely wrong because the talent is there ,sure they are playing without some of their better players but that's where coaching comes in and use the players you have to your full advantage.
Speaking of being at a disadvantage the Jack is the biggest disadvantage they have ,the big player on the other team are crushing them the rink being so small that these bigger players are able to get to our smaller players before they have a chance.
Just my thought

[dogman]

hercor said:

Does anyone think that the problem might just be behind the bench rather than on the ice?

Could be, its hard to say since this is the first year we have had the opportunity to see these players play. If the team is as good as everyone was predicting, then coaching could be the problem. Or does the team lack the proper chemistry (Scorers, guys who can dig in the corners, tough guys, etc). But I agree, the Gatecliff rink does not suit this team well.