Greyhounds recognized ahead of regular season

With the Ontario Hockey League regular season opening on Thursday night with three games, the Soo Greyhounds are getting plenty of attention.

The team is considered by many to be one of the top teams in the league as the season begins.

In a recent poll of media throughout the league conducted by the OHL, the Greyhounds were the consensus pick to finish in top spot in the West Division.

The Greyhounds have been deemed a team “loaded with returning talent.”

Veteran defenceman Conor Timmins was selected by 45 per cent of respondents as the league’s top defenceman while Drew Bannister was the leading pre-season candidate as the OHL’s top coach.

As Saturday’s regular season opener at the Essar Centre against the Oshawa Generals approaches, the Greyhounds continue to get players back from NHL camps.

Noah Carroll (Carolina), Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay), Morgan Frost (Philadelphia), and Tim Gettinger have returned but the status of Timmins (Colorado), goaltender Matthew Villalta (Los Angeles), and forward Jack Kopacka (Anaheim) remains up in the air.

SooToday sister-sites BarrieToday and GuelphToday have full OHL previews puslished. Click on the corresponding links to read each preview.

BarrieToday preview by reporter Shawn Gibson.

GuelphToday preview by Community Editor Tony Saxon.