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They’re confident, no question about it.
Ask any member of the Soo Greyhounds and they’ll tell you the same thing as the team opens the 2022 Ontario Hockey League playoffs on Thursday night.
The team kicks off round one on Thursday at home against the Guelph Storm and there’s no secret what the players think they’re capable of.
“We’re capable of winning a championship,” said defenceman Ryan O’Rourke as the regular season wound down. “We have everything here to do that. We just have to play the right way. We need to trust what’s got us here and if we keep going on the track, we are right now with the way we’re playing and the way we’re doing things right now, I think we can surprise a lot of people.”
The common theme throughout, especially among the veterans, is what the team is capable of when playing well.
“We’re capable of whatever we choose,” defenceman Jack Thompson said. “When we’re playing out best game, I don’t think there’s a team in the league that can beat us, especially through a seven-game series. It’s up to us on playing our style and just having fun.”
Overage forward Cole MacKay agreed.
“The sky’s the limit,” MacKay said. “We’ve all seen glimpses and stretches of what hockey we can play and how good it can be. There’s no one in our division or conference, or even the league, that scares us.”
“We’ll take it one game at a time here, but I like the way we’re trending right now going into the playoffs,” MacKay added.
Forward Rory Kerins, who finished second in scoring during the regular season, spoke of how nothing is a given in the Western Conference.
“The Western Conference is so wide open, it doesn’t really matter where you finish,” Kerins said. “All of the teams in the bottom four are good and all of the teams in the top four are pretty equal on paper and head-to-head. It’s definitely a bit of a different year. You usually have those two or three teams that are just way better than everyone and are going to just fly through the playoffs. This year is really tight. I don’t think anyone is scared of anyone else to be honest. It’s going to be really fun and really cool to see how it pans out.”
That said, overage defenceman Robert Calisti talked about just what the expectation is amongst the players.
“We expect a lot,” added overage defenceman Robert Calisti. “We have a lot of good players and guys that are hungry. The harder that we work and the more that we prepare everyday, Deaner (Greyhounds coach John Dean) says it a lot that nine times out of 10, if we show up, we like our chances.”
As is the case with most coaches, Dean expressed confidence in his group with a toned-down optimism. Dean did add that there remains the potential for something bigger.
“I will temper it because the way the league is built this year, the parity is incredible,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “By saying that, I’m also telling you that there’s potential for the sky being the limit, but there’s going to be no easy round, that’s for sure.”
“Teams that are battling for (playoff spots) have beaten teams that are (top in the conference),” Dean added. “The expectations are that if we do things the right way, if we get some bounces, if we compete properly and continue to grow, we think there’s a real possibility that we’re fighting for something at the end here.”