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| Courtesy of Ryan Noble |
Record after 10 games:
The Barrie Colts have come out this season with one of their best starts in recent years. They are currently tied in 1st place in the Eastern Conference with a 7-2-0-1 record. Their 15 points is enough for 2nd place overall in the OHL. Unlike previous years, the team looks like they could hold up and compete no matter what division they play.
Last season, the team had a 4-5-1-0 record, while the previous season they had a 6-4-0-0 record. That was a very skilled Colts team with guys like Andrew Mangiapane, Kevin Labanc and Justin Scott.
If the team was able to keep pace with their current record, they could finish the season with 96 points, which would have been a top 5 finish last season league wide.
Goals for VS Goals against:
Last season, the Colts scored 29 goals for and allowed 35 goals against.
Right now, the team has 44 goals for which is the most in the East and 2nd most in the league. Only Sarnia and Owen Sound have scored more. A huge jump from last season when the team had the 5th fewest league wide at this point. Rookie, Andrei Svechnikov currently leads the team with 10 goals which is also the most in the league. Last season, Cordell James led the way with 6 goals through 10 games.
The Ponies have allowed 28 goals against so far which is tied for the 2nd least in the East and tied for 6th fewest across the league. Every team in the West Division has allowed fewer. Last season the team allowed 35 at this point.
Special teams:
Barrie has gone 10 for 56 on the power play which is 9th best in the league with 17.9%. Andrei Svechnikov and Lucas Chiodo lead the team with 2 PP goals a piece. The team has a 16.1% success rate at home, while are 20.0% on the road. Last season at this time the team 9 for 47.
Colts are 9th in the league at killing penalties. Currently riding an 85.3% rate. With the team leading the league with the most penalty minutes, they are doing a great job when down a man. They struggle at home on the PK, however on the road they are 88.9% on the penalty kill. Last season, the team allowed 6 goals on 57 penalty kills.
Right now the Colts lead the league with 152 penalty minutes. They also have dealt with more suspensions than any other team with guys like Ben Hawerchuk, Tyler Tucker and captain Justin Murray missing several games due to suspension. Luckily the team has been good at penalty killing, but this is an area they will need to improve if they look to cause any damage in league standings.
Leading scorers:
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| Courtesy of the Official OHL website. |
Last season, Anthony Stefano led the Barrie Colts in points with 4 goals and 8 assists.
Goaltending:
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| Courtesy of the Official OHL website. |
Thoughts:
Last season was a hard one for Colts fans but this season has been the exact opposite. Bringing in Russian talent in Andrei Svechnikov and Alexey Lipanov has been a huge boost. The addition of them has seemed to give a spark to Kirill Nizhnikov, who struggled at times last season. Ryan Suzuki has shown great skill but you can't help but think as the season progresses, he is only going to get better.
The biggest surprise has been some of the depth on the team. Many of the guys from last season have come such a far way not only in production, but in just the compete level in their game. Curtis Douglas has been one of the teams best players and he really struggled last season at times despite improving late season. He has found a way to use his size to his advantage. His skating ability has shown huge improvement from last year. With him being in a draft year, and making the most recent Central Scouting List, I look for him to just gain confidence as the season progresses.
Zach Magwood and Jason Willms both have shown they can be used in any situation and produce. They can play with top guys, or bottom of the roster guys and they always find a way to produce. It is guys like that in any roster that you need to be successful and I only expect them to improve over the year.
Joey Keane has been outstanding. One of the leading scorers for defencemen and also is tied with Ryan Suzuki and Kirill Nizhnikov. Keane has been a horse on special teams and shows that he is able to make key plays. His ability to read plays at the blue line has been huge for the Colts and he will continue to be one of the teams most valuable players as the season progresses.
Leo Lazarev was such a solid pick-up for the Ponies. 6-1-0-0 on the season and not only is he great between the pipes but he brings great energy to the team. Some of his best moments are just watching him in his crease between shifts. Christian Propp is also showing consistency in the backup spot and has made it hard on opposing teams. I feel a very underrated aspect of the Colts game early this season is their goaltending.
Also look for the possibility of bringing in some OA talent. I mean, is there a better team for a OA to play than in Barrie right now? The BMC has been filled with NHL scouts this season and all the talent on the team makes Barrie a top spot in the league if you are looking to get attention from NHL teams.
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