Bluelines Summer Edition: Niagara Icedogs poised for big year

"Bluelines: Summer Edition" 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.

They were the North Bay Battalion’s very first playoff opponent.

And they scared the dickens out of everyone. 

A pair of victories, at the squash court known simply as The Jack, gave the Niagara Icedogs control of the 2013-14 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series and, leading three games to one, they threatened to spoil what had been a yearlong honeymoon for the North Bay Battalion and their fans.  In the end, the Troops rallied, first recapturing lost ground to even the series, then battling back in the third period of Game 7, with the holy trinity of Barclay Goodrow and Ben Thomson conspiring to set up Nick Paul for what proved to be the game winning goal in a 2-1 cliffhanger. 

The city of North Bay was ecstatic, but the celebration was tempered by an unmistakable sense of relief, having barely escaped the upstart Icedogs who had seeded 7^th after very nearly missing the playoffs and yet, following such an inspiring series, few could deny that Head Coach and General Manager Marty Williamson was forging a team with a bright future.

By early March of this year they were clearly a team on the rise, and opinion around the League was unified:  no team wanted them in the playoffs, especially after the Battalion series the year before, and especially since they were one of the best teams in the League since the trade deadline.

Drawing the short straw were the unlucky Ottawa 67’s, a team that had made remarkable progress themselves, and though they were seeded higher than Niagara, they very much recognized the precariousness of living on borrowed time, playing a desperate style of hockey that can yield good results in the short term, but is difficult to sustain for any duration.  It took a while for the Icedogs to find their stride, and after a pair of false starts had them down 2-0 in the series, they returned home to sellout crowds at a brand new Meridian Centre for Games 3 and 4.

Newly acquired Josh Ho-Sang, selected 28^th overall by the New York Islanders in 2014, and who rightly or wrongly had been badged a difficult case in the popular press resulting in the decline of his draft stock, but who had been playing inspired hockey of late, setting a point per game pace upon arriving from Windsor, and Jordan Maletta, well-known to North Bay hockey fans as a rugged and imposing forward who, at 6-foot-3, plays particularly well down low, and who had also arrived via Windsor, albeit the year before, led a complete and utter dismantling of Ottawa in terms of X’s and O’s and, more devastatingly, in terms of the 67’s fragile confidence, which ebbed with each surrendered goal in a 6-2 loss.

As the series moved to Game 4, there was a sense that the 67’s were done…and they were, losing the next three in a row.

But In the very next series, against the Oshawa Generals, the Icedogs’ season took a calamitous turn.

However, before we get into that, more pressing matters are weighing on the minds of the Icedogs and their followers, that being deep concern over the health of Williamson, their leader, who was forced to step away from the bench during the second round series against Oshawa, and is now attempting to recover from cardiac surgery, and the grave complications that arise from such procedures.

To learn more, I spoke with Niagara Icedogs’ Assistant General Manager Joey Burke.

Ranjan:  Describe the shock of Marty Williamson’s illness on the eve of the playoffs…

Joey Burke:  The initial shock…it was something that wasn’t expected.  We were all sitting in there, preparing for Game 3, our first home game of the second round against Oshawa, and then all of a sudden…this bombshell was dropped on all of us, Marty included.  Obviously the first thing you think about is Marty and his family, and making sure everything is okay with them, and that he’s home and recovering and getting healthy.

Ranjan:  Were there earlier signs of possible problems?

Joey Burke:  I guess it all started a month previously.  His blood pressure was a little high and his heart rate was a little faster than the doctors would’ve liked.  But in a sense this came out of nowhere.  They outfitted him with a monitor that would beep if his heart rate got too fast, if his stress was too high.  But he went on without incident for about a month but, before Game 3, he fainted at his house while getting ready to go.  He came in and talked to our owners about it, and it was like, ‘Listen, if this thing is beeping, and it’s reading that your heart rate is too fast, then get yourself to the hospital, and make sure everything is okay.’

Ranjan:  But that was just the beginning…

Joey Burke:  It didn’t go so well from there.  Marty went in and found out that he would require heart surgery and that the stress levels were too high and that he would have to step away from the bench.  So he went to Toronto and had the surgery.  It was a success but, since then, he’s had a minor setback: the heart beating a little faster than he’d like.  So he was brought back in to Toronto and the doctors just wanted to monitor him there and make sure everything was back on track.

Then, in typical Marty fashion, last week he was able to convince the doctors to let him go home.  He actually made an appearance at our Rookie Day last Saturday, which was great to see.  So, from that perspective, he is back at home, and he is recovering and we’d like to think the worst is behind him, fingers crossed.

Ranjan:  That’s very good news, and please let Marty know that the entire North Bay hockey community is pulling for his speedy recovery.  But with Marty unable to continue, describe the work of assistant coaches Dave Bell and Billy Burke Jr. as they prepared to finish out the series, under trying circumstances, against the eventual Memorial Cup champions, the Oshawa Generals…

Joey Burke:  The mandate for the guys was that we’re going to have to do it for Marty, and do it without Marty, while he was recovering.  The job was on Dave Bell and Billy Burke to regroup and get us ready for an extremely tough task, down 0-2 to Oshawa at the time, coming home in front of a sold out Meridian Centre.  I commend those two on a great job in getting the guys focused and keeping to the game plan.  We were able to win Game 3 without Marty, but it was quite a scramble for those two to try to get everything together and keep everyone on the same page. 

Ranjan:  My broadcast partner, Greg Theberge, recalls Dave Bell as a tough, rugged defenseman.  Tell me about the mentorship capabilities that Dave brings to the organization…

Joey Burke:  I’m glad you asked me that.  Dave is just a great hockey mind as a defensive coach, and just has that old-school mentality.  He played several years in Ottawa for coaching legend Brian Kilrea, and apparently Brian commented that Dave was one of his favorite players to coach, in the sense of how Dave played the game, hardnosed and fearless, and how he thought about it.  Dave is such a team-first guy that it has translated very well to coaching.

What he’s done with our defense is just unbelievable, and how deep our back-end has become is a testament to the job that Dave does.  I find he commands so much respect wherever he is, talking with the players, or the parents.  We had our Orientation Day the other day, and the way he commands the room, and the way he explains things, and makes them feel so comfortable.  On the ice it’s his way or the highway, and that’s certainly the way we like it.  In Marty’s absence, we’ve been lucky to have Dave Bell, and he’s grabbed the bull by the horns.

Ranjan:  Joey, looking back, there was heightened anticipation heading into that 2014-15 season.

Joey Burke:  We knew what a strong team North Bay had the previous season and being the 7^th seed we knew what we were up against.  That was a huge series for us, and for our confidence going forward.  Certainly the play of goaltender Brent Moran, defenseman Vince Dunn, and forwards Carter Verhaeghe and Brendan Perlini throughout that series was very inspiring and gave us high hopes coming into last season.  I think we saw glimpses of our potential in that series.

Ranjan:  Not only were things looking up on the ice, but also a brand new state-of-the-art Meridian Centre was on the verge of completion as you prepared for the season.

Joey Burke:  That was a tremendous step for our organization.  It was long overdue and much needed.  The City and the Region were great in stepping up and allowing us to get that done and moving in here was fantastic.

We came from the Jack Gatecliff Gatorade Garden City Complex here which was a 3,100-seat facility built in 1938, and it really wasn’t geared towards today’s junior hockey.  The City was good about it, and we certainly made the best of things there, and the fans were unbelievable, the way they would pack in, but it just wasn’t an adequate facility.  In terms of the casual fan, and getting families out, and making it a night of entertainment, we just felt that we needed to get into a top-class facility. 

We were lucky enough to get Ball-Rankin Construction on the job, with the City and with everyone working together, the transition was fantastic and it was very well received.

Our facilities - the gym and training room - within the Meridian Centre are unbelievable, and as a recruitment tool, we tour guys through it now, and they’re impressed right off the hop.  I can’t overstate how important it’s been to our team and how great it is to have that facility.

Ranjan:  Many players on the Battalion have said The Jack was a tough place to play, and I think the coaches would agree.  I don’t know many teams that enjoyed playing at the The Jack…

Joey Burke:  Honestly, I think that would be echoed throughout the League.  That’s the one thing we weren’t too happy to lose: the great atmosphere at The Jack there.  In talking to opposing players and coaches, they felt that, every time you come in, you’ve got 3,000-strong right on top of you, just the way it was built, and everything echoed with the acoustics.  The Jack was one of those rare, old-time hockey atmospheres, and there aren’t too many of them, but we enjoyed it while we were in there.  But, as you said, I know some of the other teams didn’t enjoy it quite as much and the rooms and amenities weren’t so good for the guys.  At 190’ x 85’, it was slightly smaller than the usual NHL-size arena, and you noticed it most in the neutral zone, when all of a sudden there’s no room for transition.

Ranjan:  However, despite the great optimism, the Icedogs get off to a dismal start.  What happened?

Joey Burke:  We didn’t get the start we were hoping for.  The new building could have been part of it.  We played our first six or seven games on the road, and throughout the month of September we were practicing back at The Jack, and transporting our gear back and forth between the Meridian Centre and The Jack. 

But I think it goes beyond just that.  Even though we were geared more toward the upcoming 2015-16 season, as an organization we thought we would have a much stronger start than 2-13-0-0.  It’s a tough one.  You can never blame these things on injuries, or bad bounces, or things of that nature but…I’d never seen a string like our first 15 games this year.  How many times did we lose a one-goal game and the other goalie was the first star?  I think it happened ten times, running into hot goalies, we couldn’t find the back of the net, we were plagued by injuries, and certainly the bounces weren’t going our way.  In hindsight, had we gotten off to a better start, we might have avoided a team like Oshawa in the second round.

Ranjan:  Midway through the season, an epic reversal for the Icedogs.  Describe the turning point, and what lead to Niagara being one of the hottest teams in the League in the back half…

Joey Burke:  We made some moves and got some guys healthy again and things started turning around.  We added Brandon Hope in goal, and we picked up Josh Ho-Sang which provided extra scoring, and right about the same time Brendan Perlini, the first round pick of Arizona, came back, and all those things, clicking at once, helped to right the ship.  Then we started to get the bounces, started to get some confidence, and now we’re starting to win some one-goal games.

Ranjan:  He’s an elite player in this League.  Describe what kind of impact a player like Brendan Perlini can have…

Joey Burke:  If he had he been healthy all season, there’s no doubt in my mind he would’ve been a 50-goal scorer, the way he was shooting the puck, and the clip he was on, once he did get healthy.  I think a player like Brendan would be high on the World Juniors radar this year, as I think he should be, and I would think he’d be disappointed if he doesn’t make the Team Canada roster.  This will be a big year for him, to strive and show Arizona what he can do

Ranjan:  We’ve seen an entertaining and explosive style of play from Marty Williamson’s Icedogs these past couple of seasons.  Is there a particular NHL team whose style matches that of the Icedogs?

Joey Burke:  Just off the top of my head…the Detroit Red Wings come to mind, with how dynamic they are, and certainly the way they move the puck around on their powerplay.  I don’t think we intentionally model our game on them, but it’s always fun to watch the Red Wings’ offense and powerplay.

Ranjan:  One of the big questions every year is that overage basket of eggs from which you have to pick three.  With depth in the OA position, there are some tough decisions ahead.  Tell me about Mikkel Aagaard’s situation…

Joey Burke:  The only thing that’s tough with Mikkel is that he’s an overager, and he’s European, so he takes up two spots for us there.  It’s one of the things that I’m going to have to talk to Marty about, closer to the end of June, as we get to the European draft, and also talk to Mikkel and his agent, and just make sure we’re all on the same page.  Mikkel has done a wonderful job for us this year and, in my mind, he might be the strongest European player we’ve ever brought over.  There’s a lot of respect for him from our end.

Ranjan:  You have two potential high-impact OA players in Jordan Maletta, and Anthony DiFruscia, and to a lesser extent, a heart and soul player like Mitchell Fitzmorris…

Joey Burke:  Certainly Jordan and Anthony would be guys who are key to our plans for this year.  But it’s tough.  It’s one of those things about junior hockey…we’re in this situation where if these three guys weren’t 1995 births, they would all be on our team.

Ranjan:  I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about Carter Verhaeghe, because he's been such a big part of the Icedogs.  Is it highly unlikely that he returns?

Joey Burke:  Being optimistic, we’d like to think we’d have a shot at having him back.  But it’s just that he’s been signed, and is in Toronto’s system now, and the fact that he’s old enough, we would imagine that there’s a 99.9% chance he’ll be wearing a pro jersey of some sort next year so, unfortunately, we don’t expect to get him back.

Ranjan:  In the centre position behind Verhaeghe was Graham Knott, a 1997 birthday, emerging as an impact player…

Joey Burke:  Knotter is, in my mind, one of the more complete players eligible for the NHL Draft.  He seems to do everything so well, and he’s got that edge to him, where he’s not shy to go into a corner and battle to win a puck, and when he wins that puck, he’s got such a great head on his shoulders, now he’s looking, he’s analyzing exactly what to do, and he always seems to get the puck to the right spot, and follow up with support, or get himself to the right areas.  

He’s a good guy off the ice, and a great guy to have in the room.  If he gets past the third round on June 26^th, I would be shocked, and teams could be looking at a potential steal in the Draft, right there.  There’s no doubt in my mind that he could be a legitimate top-6 forward in this League.

Ranjan:  Josh Ho-Sang is a mesmerizing player, in the few times we've seen him up at Memorial Gardens in North Bay.  What can Josh do for the Icedogs this year?

Joey Burke:  That’s the best word you can use: mesmerizing.  When we had brought Josh in, we knew about the style of player he was, and I’d seen him play in Windsor a few times.  For us, he came in, and his first game was the Sportsnet game, against Erie.  I think he arrived midway through the second period, jumped out on the ice on his first shift he danced around two guys and had a breakaway, and the whole building was buzzing. 

That was certainly a nice welcome to the Region, and I really don’t think he ever looked back.  Ever since then, everyone was aware of him.  Anytime he’d pick up the puck and come streaking through the neutral zone there was noticeable electricity in the crowd.  In terms of skills and stickhandling, he is one of the most skilled players that I’ve seen in the League.  The vision he has, I mean, he’ll put a puck on a guy’s tape, and they’re not even considering the possibility that he’ll get the puck to them.  He’s high-risk, high-reward, but with him it’s worth the risk.

Ranjan:  Red flags seem to follow Josh Ho-Sang around, but these tend to be vague in nature, and rather non-specific criticisms.  What have the Icedogs seen?

Joey Burke:  Certainly nothing negative about Josh from our end.  He was great for us all year, and you hear about a certain reputation off the ice, and that sort of thing, but he was a treat to have with us, and we had no issues with him at all, on or off the ice.  We feel it was a great move bringing him in, and he’ll be a huge part of what we hope is a deep run this year.  I think Marty and Billy Burke have done a great job reeling him in defensively, and improving the way he’s been playing away from the puck this season.  We mandated when we traded for him that that was going to be huge focal point for us and for Josh.

Ranjan:  Brent Moran has earned a kind of reluctant respect from North Bay hockey fans, mainly because of his great goaltending in those playoffs two seasons ago.

Joey Burke:  Mo’ is the guy for us this year.  He was a huge reason for us taking a great North Bay team to seven in the 2013-14 playoffs.  Coming back for us last season, I don’t think he got the support that we would have liked to see for him.  And certainly it was a tough first 15 games stretch for everybody, and that means Moran as well. 

I think he was challenged in a pretty tough way when we brought in Brandon Hope, and I think he handled himself very well.  His demeanor off the ice was great, and there was no negativity towards the team, no sulking, or ‘woe is me’ attitude.  It was just, you know, this is the situation we’re in now, and if it’s better for the team then I’m all for it.   He’s been working extremely hard, and every time he did get in there it was pretty promising. We have pretty high expectations for Brent this year.  I would think that if he comes to camp ready to go, there’s no reason to think he shouldn’t be, at the very least, a top-5 goalie, numbers-wise, in the OHL.

Ranjan:  …and behind Moran this year?

Joey Burke:  We’ve been very high on Stephen Dhillon coming out of the Buffalo Regals minor midgets in the 3^rd round two years ago.  But Stephen didn’t see much game action, he was listed as a third goalie all year, and really only came in if there was an injury.  We’ve loved everything we’ve seen, and he’s practiced with us all year, and was great on that end, but it’s always tough to gauge a guy when he hasn’t been playing junior this past year, he’s just been practicing with us.  But it’s certainly going to be a big year for him, and a big month in September with training camp.

Our 5^th round pick this year was a goaltender named Colton Incze, who played for the Mississauga Rebels, and has just been wonderful in everything we’ve seen him in lately.  He was the MVP of the Gold Cup tournament in Kitchener, and received goalie awards throughout the year, and was great again at our Rookie Day.

Certainly Brent Moran has the starting job locked up, and he doesn’t have to worry about that.  Stephen Dhillon would be the favorite to be the number two right now, but Colton has played his way into the conversation, and there will be a lot of eyes on those two in September.

Ranjan:  One of North Bay’s strengths in 2015 was a blueline largely unchanged from 2014, except for the departure of Dylan Blujus.  Describe Niagara’s depth on the blueline…

Joey Burke:  The D-corps is the highlight of our season this year.  We’re so deep in that we’ve got first round picks who, at best, are going to be number 7 or number 8 defensemen for us this year.  That’s a good problem to have.  We believe that Vince Dunn should go in the first round of the Draft this month.  Then, with Aaron Haydon, Ryan Mantha, Blake Siebenaler being drafted or signed, and with Aleksander Mikulovich, just gritty and mean back there, we expect to get him back, we’re extremely deep defensively.  The guys think the game back there, and move their feet very well.