Worst Start In Recent Years
With only 16 points in 19 games and only 5 Wins in that span GM Kyle Raftis is really at the point of no return in my opinion.
I can’t remember a start this bad in probably a decade and if the organization wants to make some dough by getting in a few games in the playoffs they had better make a move and right this ship.
The issue is quite obvious and a scoring and playmaking forward is needed. On the backend the Hounds are decent with some strong defenseman including rookie Andrew Gibson and one of the most underrated players on the team Kirill Kudryavstev; not only is he solid in the Hounds defensive zone but he is as smart as they come and has offensive skills that most people probably overlook.
Anyway after another loss last night against Flint and only being able to score 1 goal, the Hounds are going to have to adjust their roster like Sudbury just did.
The Wolves two weeks ago fired coach Craig Duncanson and replaced him with Derek McKenzie after GM Rob Papineau assessed that a start of 3-8 was not going to cut it and the team should have gelled by that time.
Whoa Whoa Whoa !
Of course I am not suggesting that coach John Dean should be relieved of his duties; he is one of the best out there, I am just saying that the current roster is not working and a player transaction needs to be had. The team is barely scoring over 2 goals a game and that will not get you a playoff spot. If the playoffs were to start today the Hounds would most likely be getting their golf clubs out. Sitting 8th in the conference looks nice but they have played three more games than a couple of teams that are within reach and I am sure with the games equaled out, the Greyhounds would lose their ranking.
I think the Hounds are pretty decent in net with Charlie Schenkel and Sammy Ivanov and quite frankly they have kept the team in front of them in the game on many a night.
A scoring forward is going to have to be announced very soon via an acquisition or it is going to be too late.
With the Christmas break quickly approaching I would hate to be going into it being on the outside of a playoff spot and having to scramble and scrap for every single point from January on.
It would make most sense to me to pull the trigger before going into the break and give the new blood a bit of time to adjust before the break.
I am not sure who is available and what the Hounds can afford to give up in return, but with Owen Allard out for the season and his absence very obvious, Kyle Raftis needs to get on his phone and spit out a deal.
I have been following the Import situation and it doesn’t appear that anyone is coming over the pond anytime soon. I would have hoped that Julian Lutz from Germany would be here by now as he has still only played in 6 games out of 20 and I believe that stat has been stuck there for about 1 month. Is he injured or just sitting? I couldn’t tell you but let’s just hope that if he is sitting; Kyle can convince the kid to come to North America.
Anyway, bright spots last night were Charlie Schenkel, Tyler Savard (6 SOG), and rookie D man Andrew Gibson with 4 shots on goal.
When your rookie defenseman has the second most shots on goal in a game; “Houston we have a problem”
Coming up the Hounds host Kingston tomorrow night.