Scherban understands next season will be a tough one for Wolves

Joel Scherban likes to think a two-game sweep in the first round of the OUA hockey playoffs was simply a bad stretch, not a sign of things to come.

But the second-year Lakehead Thunderwolves coach knows it won’t get any easier next year, with two key cogs lost to graduation in captain Jordan Smith, the anchor of the blue-line, and high-scoring Brock McPherson, a leader on and off the ice.

Also heading out are goalie Kyle Moir and defencemen Andy Zulyniak and Pierre-Marc Guilbault, who departs after just four seasons; second-year forward Arron Alphonso, sidelined by a concussion, is also up in the air.

But with 17 players eligible to return, and 11 of those entering their second or third season, Scherban said he’s confident the Wolves won’t lose a step, especially if a promising recruiting season works out as planned.

“We need to fill some holes. We need more depth up front. We want to add some more skill level. We want to be a harder working team. On the point we have quite a few spots we have to fill. Right now it looks pretty good.

“I’m confident that we’ll get the players we need.”

That said, he admitted it’s not always easy convincing prospects to make Thunder Bay home for the next four or five years.

“Recruiting is tough. When you look at major junior, you have three leagues and roughly 40 overage players per league. You’re looking at a little over 120 to begin with and at least half of those will go pro,” Scherban said.

“The trend last year has been a lot of players have been accepting two-way AHL-ECHL contracts rather than going to CIS.”

In the OUA West last September, he pointed out, only seven OHL overage graduates made the jump, including defenceman Mike Quesnele and forward Jadran Beljo who joined the Wolves.

Forward Ryan McDonald, who said he plans to return next year, said there were just too many bumps in the road for the team to mount a serious challenge, but he was wary to lay blame.

“There are a lot of things you can point fingers at, but at the end of the day pointing fingers is usually not the right thing to do,” the Sault Ste. Marie native said.

“Definitely we have to recruit well this summer because we’re going to lose a bunch of big pieces on defence. And definitely there’s the possibility of losing more guys, guys who already have their degree and are opting not to come back.”

Fourth-year forward Kris Hogg is expected to be back, but the possibility of a pro contract overseas always looms, while Matt Caria, the team’s best player –and it’s most undisciplined at times – has already had one NHL training camp tryout and a second is not out of the question.

Scherban wasn’t sure what Caria’s plans are at this stage.

“We haven’t held our exit meetings yet. We’ll ask everyone in those meetings what their plans are for next year. He’s certainly an incredible talent and has the ability to go pro if he wants, just like he has the last two years,” Scherban said.




Claw marks: Smith, named hockey’s athlete of the month for February, said he’s undecided about his hockey future. He’s been approached by at least one KHL team, but is weighing his options between playing in Russia or continuing his education at Lakehead.