IceDogs ready to get to work
There will be no short cuts, no easy way out for the Niagara IceDogs this season if head coach Ryan Kuwabara has his way.
The IceDogs, coming off a well publicized 2022/23 season that saw them finish in last place with only 12 wins, begin the Ontario Hockey League regular season Friday in London and Kuwabara makes no bones about what the identity of this year’s team needs to be.
“How are we going to be able to win hockey games on a consistent bases? I think with our work ethic and compete, that’s going to be our hallmark,” Kuwabara said. “If we’re not doing that, I don’t think we’re going to be able to play against the big boys. If we’re just sitting back and not playing on our toes, we’re going to be watching the game instead of dictating.”
The IceDogs jump right into the deep end with Friday’s game followed by Saturday’s home opener versus the perennially strong Knights.
”For those guys coming up they have to learn the game at this level and they’re going to be in for a shock once we get there to London and it gets ratcheted up, the game and the intensity and the speed and talent of the players,” Kuwabara said. “Hopefully with our hard work and our compete and getting out there and keeping it simple we’re going to have a good game against them, which I believe we will.
“We work hard all the time. I’m confident in that area, we just need some bounces to go in.”
The IceDogs went 2-3 in the pre-season, which helped Kuwabara and his staff figure out some things.
“I think we’re still young but we’re going to battle hard though and some of the guys started to get some roles which is good for us looking forward,” he said. “You need depth to win in this league. As you go forward and into the playoffs it takes four lines to win because it’s pretty easy to shut down if you have just one or two lines.”
In goal, the IceDogs appear solid with the return of former Knight Owen Flores. Marcus Vandenberg, a 19-year-old picked up from Kitchener in the off-season, will act as back up.
“They’ve been great. They’re older guys. Flo’s been at NHL camp a couple of times now and he’s seen what it takes to get there. To get there is a credit to his work ethic and talent,” Kuwabara said. “I’m confident in both goalies.”
The IceDogs also have depth at the junior B level in goal when Hayden Jeffery (St. Catharines Falcons) and Charlie Burns (Fort Erie Meteors) have both played well so far this season.
On defence, overagers Daniil Sobolev and former Knight Connor Federkow will provide experience while Kuwabara cited Andrew Wycisk and import Urban Podrekar as rearguards he is expecting offence from.
“The other guys will step up when they can but it we have two decent guys who can step up to move the puck and then we have some bigger guys to maybe play against their top lines and be able to shut them down. That’s going to be a benefit for us,” he said.
Holdovers Bronson Ride and Ryan VanNetten along with rookie Artem Frolov round out the defence.
Up front, Zakary Lavoie, Kevin He and Gavin Bryant have all shown the ability to put the puck in the net at the OHL level.
“They can all score,” Kuwabara said. “It’s just a matter of not being predictable for other teams. If we have just one guy scoring it’s pretty easy to pre-scout. For me, I want to keep the structure where we’re predictable for each other. We know where we have to go and we’re able to fill in all the different lanes and different zones to score.”
Overager Ryan Humphrey, another ex-Knight, has big game experience playing in the league finals last season in London and winning a championship with Hamilton the year before while Alex Assadourian showed tremendous promise last season after arriving in a trade with Sudbury.
First-round picks Ryan Roobroeck and Ethan Czata will get plenty of ice time to develop while Andrew Vermeulen, Evan Klein, Christopher O’Flaherty, Ivan Gallyanov, Mathieu Paris, Mike Levin, William Stewart and Michael Podolioukh round out the forwards.
Kuwabara, who didn’t come on board last season until late November, feels last year is behind them, both on and off the ice where the organization also had its share of mishaps.
“I think so. It was a great learning experience to go through what kind of culture we need to create and I think the guys have been positive and created a different culture. The guys are ready to work hard for each other and play hard.
“Last year was last year and we’re on to the new season.”
Kuwabara reports no injuries heading into the opening weekend and that a captain will be named soon.
“We’re in the process,” he said.
Forwards
Alex Assadourian
Kevin He
Ethan Czata
Mike Levin
Gavin Bryant
William Stewart
Ryan Humphrey
Ryan Roobroeck
Zakary Lavoie
Michael Podolioukh
Mathieu Paris
Evan Klein
Andrew Vermeulen
Ivan Gallyanov
Christopher O’Flaherty
Defence
Daniil Sobolev
Connor Federkow
Bronson Ride
Ryan VanNetten
Artem Frolov
Andrew Wycisk
Urban Podrekar
Goaltenders
Owen Flores
Marcus Vandenberg
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