Greyhounds see 'competitive nature' with first cuts looming

With the threat of the first round of cuts looming, the third day of training camp for the Soo Greyhounds brought with it more of what management and the coaching staff saw in the previous two days.

Pace, enthusiasm, and competitive were the three words used by Greyhounds coach John Dean and general manager Kyle Raftis to describe the day, which was the first day in which cuts were made by the team.

“It was another exciting day,” Dean said. “Good pace, good enthusiasm. Practice was very sharp. The games were extremely competitive.”

“And the teams are getting into it,” Dean added. “You can already see the competitive nature.”

Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis echoed Deans thoughts on the competitive nature of the third day of game.

“Sometimes you worry that guys are getting a little bit worn down (because) of a busy week, but it was really good energy,” Raftis said.

Veteran forward Bryce McConnell-Barker sat out of Thursday’s evening scrimmage, but Raftis said it wasn’t injury related and a case of the returnee being under the weather.

Meanwhile, the team announced Thursday night that 13 players had been released from camp or reassigned following the final scrimmage prior to the annual Luke Williams Memorial Red/White game on Friday.

The players no longer in camp include:

• Goaltenders Cameron Boville (free agent) and Reid Thomas (15th round pick in 2023)
• Defencemen Michael Zuyev (11th round pick in 2023), Evan Roach (15th round pick in 2022), and Aiden Farr (free agent)
• Forwards Callum Mainville (12th round pick in 2023), Brayden Russell (9th round pick in 2022), Andrew Hopley (14th round pick in 2022), Ryan Scriven (12th round pick in 2023), Mason Morden (free agent), Sergey Suschenko (free agent), Elijah Lilja (12th round pick in 2022), and Noah Aboflan (free agent)

Forward Jesse Venturo, whom the Greyhounds selected in the first round of the 2023 OHL U18 draft, was slated to be in camp, but did not compete all week.

For Friday’s game, a 7:07 p.m. start at the GFL Memorial Gardens, Dean and Raftis each have expectations for the contest.

“I want guys to take every day they’re here in Sault Ste. Marie with a Soo Greyhounds symbol on the front of their chest, I want them to take it with a huge responsibility,” Dean said.

Raftis said the additional hope for Friday is to see “more of the same.”

“The young guys have been good, but the returning guys have been taking it seriously out there,” Raftis said.

Following Friday’s Red/White game, Raftis said the team will get down to around 26 players heading into Sunday’s exhibition opener against the Sudbury Wolves.