Training camp opens as Greyhounds look to fill the graduation void

The team will have a bit of a different look, but the Soo Greyhounds have shifted into high gear ahead of the 2019-20 Ontario Hockey League season.

The team opened training camp Tuesday morning at the GFL Memorial Gardens with fitness testing ahead of skill sessions and goalie sessions Tuesday afternoon and the team will look to fill the void left by the graduation of some key players.

The hope is that younger players will step into the roles opened due to the graduation of some key players from a Greyhound team that finished second in the OHL’s West Division with 96 points.

Gone from that team are the likes of high-scoring forward Morgan Frost, veteran defencemen Mac Hollowell and Jordan Sambrook, and goaltender Matthew Villalta.

As tough as they are to replace, Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said the hope is that returning players will fill the roles by committee.

“We talked about it a lot over the summer in terms of you’re not replacing one guy with one guy with anybody that we’ve graduated,” Raftis said. “It’s going to be as a group.”

If Tuesday’s fitness testing is any indication, some players look like they’re ready to step in to begin to fill the holes left by graduation.

"Overall, it went really well,” Raftis said of the fitness testing. “It always helps with some of the young players when we do the equivalent testing in June at our development camp, so they get their feet under them. You get to set the bar for where they’re at at the start of the summer and where they’re at at the end of the summer.

“A couple of the returning guys really stepped it up,” Raftis added. “Robert Calisti was one guy where every category you look at, he’s near the top or running away with it. It’s great to see because he was a player who was a little frustrated with the way his year ended. He took a lot of responsibility for it, which was very mature of him. When you see the work he put in in the summer, it’s exciting.”

With the opening of camp, the team has all 14 players selected in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection in camp, including defenceman Jacob Holmes and winger Marc Boudreau.

“We’re hoping for them to get their feet wet in the next little bit and see where they fit in with us as we continue through September,” Raftis said.

As for the rest of the draft class, Raftis didn’t close the door on the possibility of any of the other members of the 2019 draft class earning a roster spot out of camp.

“You don’t want to put any limitations on anybody, but they all have good backup plans in place for where they’re going to play,” Raftis said. “With the group we have returning in front of them, they’re in a good spot because we can be patient with them but at the same time, if they’re ready to push someone out of a position, we’re better for it as an organization.”

With forward Jaden Peca and netminder Christian Propp pencilled into overage spots this season, the Greyhounds have an opening for a third overage and have invited a pair of players with OHL experience to camp that could fill potentially fill the role, at least to start the season.

In camp are C.J. Clarke and Sullivan Sparkes, both of whom have played in the OHL.

Clarke, who broke into the league as a member of the Peterborough Petes in 2015, split the 2018-19 OHL season between the Flint Firebirds and Mississauga Steelheads.

After scoring six goals and 11 points in 38 games with the Firebirds, Clarke was dealt to Mississauga for a fourth round pick on Jan. 1 and scored four times and had 12 points in 32 games with the Steelheads.

Clarke has 36 goals and 77 points in 245 career OHL games.

A former fifth round draft pick of the Oshawa Generals, Sparkes played in 100 OHL games with the organization before joining the Quebec Major Junior League’s Charlottetown Islanders early in the 2017-18 season.

Sparkes split last season between the Islanders and the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior League.

Sparkes had 36 points in 79 games with the Islanders.

“When you look at our forward group as a whole, there are a lot of players that played in the league last year but it’s still a young group,” Raftis said.

“With both players coming in, I don’t think we’re looking at them to step into depth roles,” Raftis added. “If they can come in and push someone out of a job at the top of the lineup, then it helps us. At the same time, it’s moreso getting a free look at them because both players are CHL (Canadian Hockey League) free agents at this point. I’ve always liked bits of their games at certain points. It’s something that we have the week here to get a better sense of them.”

The Greyhounds lone selection in the 2019 CHL Import Draft, goaltender Nick Malik, isn’t with the team but remains a possibility to join the team

“I don’t think the ship has sailed on Malik,” Raftis said.

“It’s one of those situations where it’s not a pro contract that we’re trying to look for an out,” Raftis also said. “The timing (of Malik joining the team), could be at any point, which is nice from our side of it because there are times where you draft a kid and you deal with an agent, you have to deal with an out-clause with a pro team.

“This is just once Nick feels comfortable,” Raftis added. “In conversations, his family is really excited about it. His agent seems really good about it. He also represents Jaromir Pytlik and they’re really good friends. There are a lot of things playing in our favour but at the same time, it’s tough with a young player.”

After skill development sessions on Tuesday, the team returns to the ice on Wednesday morning with a goalie session at 9:30 a.m. and a practice at 10 a.m. The first scrimmage of camp is set for 11 a.m.