A changing of the guard is underway in the Ontario Hockey League this season.
The prevailing theme around junior hockey circles, is that smaller market teams can’t compete with the larger market teams. If that were true, early indications this year would be that the apocalypse is coming or that the theory doesn’t carry much weight.
Although the season is still in its infancy, the top three teams are some of the smallest markets in Saginaw, Owen Sound and Niagara. Larger market teams like those in Windsor, London and Kitchener are all looking up in the standings.
One of those early season success stories are the Attack, who got down to business rather than adopting the ‘woe is me’ attitude.
"Being a small market team, we can’t make excuses," Owen Sound head coach Mark Reeds said. "We’re on the same playing field and you have to go out and play."
The biggest point of contention in the argument, is the big three’s ability to lure top American and European talent that might not otherwise play in the smaller markets. Windsor, London and Kitchener are consistently able to lure top players, which does give some fuel to the fire for the argument.
But it’s easy to forget the small market Attack were once a top American destination. It’s not that long ago, the Attack boasted the likes of Americans Bobby Ryan, Bob Sanguinetti and David Kolomatis.
"It’s not that the American kids haven’t had some success here," Reeds acknowledged. "We bring in the players that want to play here and make the best of the situation."
The current players have certainly made the most of the situation in Owen Sound. The Attack is one of the quickest teams out of the gate this season, with a 10-2 record and will host the 11-2-1 Spirit on Friday.
It’s a positive change for the Attack, a team that has notoriously started slowly the past couple seasons.
"They say it in every sport, it’s always tougher as the year goes on to win those games at the end of the year so to get off to a good start has been good for the psyche of the players that have been here," Reeds said. "We wanted to try to change the attitude. Those last three years we’ve kind of had the sand kicked in our face."
Another factor working in Owen Sound’s favour, is the core group is not only veteran-aged, but players that are born and bred into the system within the organization. The group in Owen Sound consists of Joey Hishon, Garrett Wilson and Scott Stajcer, all of whom have been in the organization for at least three seasons.
"You want to get to the point where you’ve built your organization from within," Reeds said. "Having gone through a couple of years being in the same program you’re hoping just to add more pieces, not always having to revamp your whole squad. I think generally the organizations that have a lot of success are able to do that."
Junior hockey is cyclical in nature, and perhaps that is as big a factor as any other in the discussion. The Attack is receiving big contributions from their captain Wilson, a former third round pick of the Windsor Spitfires. Wilson was acquired from Windsor, in the trade that landed the Spitfires Russian forward Andrei Loktionov, with Owen Sound’s CHL import draft pick.
The trade worked out perfectly for both teams, as Owen Sound has a crucial component to their resurgence. Meanwhile, the Spitfires were able to capture the MasterCard Memorial Cup in 2009 thanks in part to Loktionov’s play.
"(The Spitfires) knew what they were giving up in Garrett Wilson, but they were looking at an opportunity to win two Memorial Cups so obviously it worked well for them," Reeds said. "But you have to give something to get something generally in a trade and obviously it helped them and it helped our future."
The changing of the guard might provide fans with the proof that smaller market franchises, can succeed and thrive ahead of the big market teams.
Whether it’s the nature of junior hockey’s cycle, or the just rewards for the franchises that are patient, have a plan and stick to it. The early season statistics seem to disprove, the notion of an unbalanced playing field.
"You’re always going to expect Windsor and London and Kitchener to have good teams," Reeds concluded. "It’s obviously nice for our fans in Owen Sound here to at least be up there on the leader-board and have success early in the season. But we have to continue that throughout the year and after game 68, that will be the telling tale."
