"Bluelines" is written by Ranjan Rupal (right), the play-by-play voice, and Greg Theberge (left), a former Memorial Cup winner and Washington Capitals defenseman and hockey analyst for The OHL Tonight on TVCogeco.  Photo by Lindsay Sarazin.

Bluelines: Battalion ushers in the Brady Lyle era

The Brady Lyle era is officially here.

I can say that with a reasonable amount of certainty, after watching Kenny Appleby and his Oshawa Generals skate off with the 2014-15 Bobby Orr Trophy.  Though we didn’t care for the big, bad Generals whatsoever, we had a soft spot in our hearts for Kenny, a likeable North Bay kid, who may have punched his own ticket to the big show.

So when Brady Lyle was announced as North Bay’s first round pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection, it was a landmark decision for our city.  Now one of our own will carry the flag into battle for the North Bay Battalion.  That’s never happened before, and I can imagine Brady wearing number 4, in keeping with the style of play of another number 4, whose name graced the trophy that was handed out on Sunday afternoon.

But I digress…

Ranjan:  Greg, the dust has hardly settled on the end of the second full season of OHL hockey in North Bay…

Greg:  The Battalion organization has definitely forged its identity and has already established a high standard of play, giving the North Bay fans, in the last two years, seven playoff rounds, and 18 home playoff games, a few upsets, and some very exciting hockey to watch.  They played as well as could be expected.

Ranjan:  What stands out in your mind from the 2014-15 season?

Greg:  A couple of things: one of them was how well the Battalion played without their marquee centreman, Nick Paul, while he was away at the World Junior Championships and also while he was out, suffering from dehydration, following the Worlds. Other players responded well and picked up the slack, especially Mike Amadio. 

The other thing were the trades the Battalion made.  Stan Butler and his assistant GM, Matt Rabideau, were responsible for bringing Ryan Kujawinski over from Kingston, and also the acquisition of Nick Moutrey which, at the time, didn’t seem like it was impactful but as the season wore on, and as a games got closer, was a huge part of the success of the Battalion.  These trades took a lot of pressure off Mike Amadio, Nick Paul and Zach Bratina to get the job done up front.

The third thing that sticks out in my mind is seeing this team come together and peak at the right time, just before the playoffs.  They went on a bit of a run and the team chemistry started to look good.  All the signs were pointing in the right direction, so a good job by the whole organization in putting on a fine display of OHL hockey here in North Bay.

Ranjan:  Losing out to Oshawa is disappointing.  But each year, for 18 teams in the OHL, there won’t be a trip to the OHL Championship Series.  Fans in North Bay got a taste of elimination for the first time.

Greg:  Well, yes, the fans finally get the bitter taste of elimination, but they really should appreciate how the North Bay Battalion has made it to the final four, back-to-back.  Sometimes, up in the broadcast booth, we just take it for granted that there’ll be hockey in the latter stages of April and early May.  But that’s not always the case.

Ranjan:  In the post-game presser, Coach Butler mentioned that his team was unable to make the most of their chances in the series, and certainly in the final game…

Greg:  Well, first of all, you're not going to score off the rush against the Oshawa Generals very often, so when you don’t capitalize on the few odd man rushes you do get, then you have to try to take the path to the net, or establish small cycles down low, and work your way to the net with the puck.  They did that a few times, where we saw Nick Paul come across the goal crease, once in the second period, and again in the third period, where the puck rolled on end, and you saw Hunter Smith come in late and take Nick Paul’s stick away with a nice check.  The Battalion needed some puck luck around the net, maybe some lucky tips or, you know, some lucky re-directs.  Sometimes you get the bounces and sometimes you don’t.

Ranjan:  It just goes to show you, as Coach Butler has often said, this is a really tough League to win games in.  I think after that first season, we didn’t fully appreciate what he was saying.  Maybe we have a better idea, as to the meaning of that message, following this series?

Greg:  Yes, Coach Butler is exactly right.  This is a tough League to win games in, whether in the regular season games or certainly in the playoffs.  It’s such a grinding League, where sometimes you're playing back-to-back nights, as we saw up here in North Bay, and it gets so emotionally and physically draining. There’s the travel fatigue and there’s the game-preparation fatigue.  So although these players are still in their late teens, they’re still very young adults, and for them to have to be consistent on a nightly basis, and be accountable for all their shifts on the ice, and be accountable off the ice and go to school and be a student athlete, it’s a tremendous amount of pressure put on these kids at a young age.

Ranjan:  You’ve monitored the OHL for over 30 years, what does it take to win in this League?

Greg:  It’s a formula based on coaching and evaluating your draft picks, and knowing what your team needs at Priority Selection time, and developing those draft picks.  It’s hard to tell what a 16-year-old is going to be when he’s 19 and 20.  You have to make the right decisions, develop your picks well, and give your draft picks every opportunity to blossom.  In some cases there are late developers and I’ll tell ya, in my case, at 17-years old, I felt like I was a bust.  I didn’t have a good first season in the ‘O’, so sometimes it takes players just a little bit longer to mature, and to find their game.

I also feel that you need good, strong, team chemistry.  Everybody has to be on the same page and that’s really important.  You need a good room, and a leadership core where everybody knows their own roles.  This is very important also.  Nobody is more important than the team, and it’s up to the coaching staff to put the leadership group in place.

Finally, you have to keep restocking that pipeline.  When a player graduates, you have to have another piece, a concrete player, to rebuild that foundation.  Whether that’s a goaltender like Mathew Woroniuk, or a defenseman like Riley Bruce, or a potential top scorer like Zach Poirier, those are the keys to retooling a successful team and eventually winning a championship in the OHL.

Ranjan:  Sunday afternoon saw an emotional farewell to some of the finest hockey players we’ve seen around these parts in a long time.  Marcus McIvor, Brenden Miller and Ray Huether…

Greg:  Marcus McIvor is a household name in North Bay.  He a true Battalion player, like a work horse, where he comes to play every night, and you know he doesn’t get a whole lot of credit at the end of the game, because his name’s not on the score sheet.  He’s such a trustworthy player and every coach needs a Marcus McIvor.  It’s no coincidence that Josh Brown, the captain of the Oshawa Generals, resembled McIvor to a ‘T’.  They were leaders and they put their bodies on the line for their teams. 

Then you have Brenden Miller, who wore his heart on his sleeve, was a very emotional player and he gave it his all, every game, for the Battalion.  He was a very inspirational player, and if he wasn’t on the score sheet for a goal or assist, he was on there for either mixing it up with a duster, or taking a good team penalty.

And what about Ray Huether?  I think he got better and better as the season went on.  He was able to find his spot as a third line centre and contribute some clutch playoff goals.  Ray was a good mentor for players like Brett McKenzie and Zach Poirier, and other players too.  They watched his work ethic and his ‘never complain’ attitude.  Those three players certainly paid their dues in this League and will be missed in North Bay.

Ranjan:  You’ve been through the emotion of playing your final game in the OHL.  And you’ve also been through it as a hockey Dad, when your son Brett Theberge wrapped up a solid 4-year career with the Peterborough Petes.  What does the end feel like, as a player, and as an OHL Dad?

Greg:  Well, for one thing, as a player, my final days were at the Memorial Cup tournament with the Peterborough Petes, so it certainly didn’t end on a sad note.  Also, I was rated to go into the NHL Draft, a sure thing, or so I was told, so I had plenty to look forward to in my last days as a junior player.  Now, on the other hand, as a hockey Dad in the OHL, watching our son Brett play his last game, it’s about not knowing what the future holds for him, and I’m sure a lot of hockey players and OHL parents have the same type of feeling, where you invest such a large part of your life for such a short window of time, and you just hope that the hard work in the last four or five years pays dividends.  But in the end, these players must be able to apply the work ethic that they learn in the OHL to everyday life.  The habits they develop, and I think that’s where Coach Butler and the staff do a really good job, not only prepare them well as hockey players but, I think, they prepare them for life after the OHL.  It’s part of the Academy, that what I call the Battalion organization.  They take care of their players and, as you know, the players work hard for the organization.  I think that’s what it’s all about, on the ice, and in life.

Ranjan:  The off-season begins right away for the coaching staff.  Fans who are experiencing withdrawal will soon get a chance to reunite with the Battalion because, in three weeks, on Saturday May 24, the newest company of Troops will attend Orientation Camp, with on-ice sessions open to the public on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning…

Greg:  Right.  You don’t get much of a layoff when it comes to OHL hockey.  It’s a competitive business so, like most year-round businesses, very little down time.  I hope to see some good prospects at that Orientation Camp, especially with Brady Lyle on the radar now.  Ranjan, I know you’re putting a lot of faith in this defenseman.  A lot of folks in this town will want to take a good look at him.  And Jacob Ball from Peterborough…he’s got some size, and also Bradley Chenier out of Sudbury.  We chatted with Ball and Chenier in the broadcast booth.  They’re both great kids, respectful and courteous.  That’s the way you need to be if you want to play on Coach Butler’s team.  But at every Orientation Camp there’s always a surprise, someone who comes out of left field, a free agent maybe, so let’s wait and see which player is going to raise a few eyebrows.

Ranjan:  The big question: Greg, given what we know right now, and there’s a lot of moving parts here, propose a possible 2015-16 roster for the North Bay Battalion…

Greg:  You might not like the word rebuild, but the Battalion needs to address the future.  As we know, every season is different.  This year, we managed without Barclay Goodrow and Ben Thomson, and next season we won’t have Marcus McIvor, Brenden Miller and Ray Huether and who knows, maybe not Nick Paul or Zach Bratina and some other good, high-scoring, top-6 forwards. 

Who can the Battalion bring over from Europe to replace Alex Henriksson and Hampus Olsson?  What does the future hold for Jake Smith?  There are a lot of questions right now, and variables such as who gets signed to pro contracts are beyond the team’s control.

My first unit is going to be Zach Bratina, Mike Amadio at centre or left.  Brett McKenzie elevated his game in the playoffs.  Will he be our top line centre? I’m going to insert Zach Poirier on the second unit.  He showed me something in these playoffs.  Of course, Ryan Kujawinski is on my wish list, but it’s unlikely he’ll return to the OHL.  New Jersey is undergoing change at the executive level so whether it’s with them or another club, most likely Kujawinski is in the AHL next season.  Same goes for Nick Paul in Binghampton with the Senators.

As an OA, Mathew Santos is a guy who held his own against the Generals.  He can be on my team any day of the week. I’m going to insert Mike Baird in there, on the second unit, for some sandpaper.  We’ll have to see what a year of seasoning with the Powassan Voodoos did for David Sherman and Kyle Moore.  The fourth unit is our future: Jacob Ball and Bradley Chenier will get a chance, and learn the game the same way Zach Poirier did this year.  Let’s not forget the Euro Draft.  The Battalion will have a chance to insert some very interesting possibilities.  We don’t know who they’ll be, but probably a ’96 and a ’97, and hopefully a couple of guys with the ability to contribute 20 goals, like Alex Henriksson did this year.

On the back end, just like Kooj, I’d like to have Miles Liberati coming back as an OA defenseman, with Kyle Wood.  Riley Bruce has matured before our eyes, and Brady Lyle is our first rounder from Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Mark Shoemaker is a black-belt athlete and tough as nails.  I like him up there and we’ve all seen the kind of fearlessness that Zach Shankar displays.  That’s how I see the back end at this point.  A bit thin so we need to find some depth players who will watch and learn, and step in from time to time.

Of course, I’ve got Jake Smith returning as overage goaltender.  Will he get a pro contract?  I don’t know.  Should he?  Absolutely.  A lot depends on whether that happens or not.  If not, I liked what I saw from Jake Kment, who went 6-0 with a 2.14 and 0.910 in the few starts he got.  He plays big and moves well.

I know the Battalion is going to give young Mathew Woroniuk a serious look.  He was a ’99 with the Don Mills Flyers and I watched him play in the 2015 OHL Cup.  I thought he was spectacular in that tournament and against the Marlies in the championship game.  He’s a big type goaltender.  He’s got a big body that covers a lot of net and he’s got a high compete level.

Here's what I've got so far, and I'm sure Coach Butler and his staff still have a few aces up their sleeves...