Sloppy start, but the expectations are there

Perhaps it says something about the growing expectations around the 2017 Hamilton Bulldogs team that after an Opening Night loss, head coach John Gruden said he wasn’t pushing the panic button.

In fact, he said so three times in a five-minute interview. “It’s one game,” he said. That’s 100-per-cent true. In a 68game season, this loss to Niagara will likely end up being essentially meaningless. Nobody will remember it in April. So, of course, nobody’s panicking.

But these are different days. In the first two years of the local Ontario Hockey League franchise nobody expected much more than competing for a playoff spot so there would be no reason to publicly manage a loss like this.

Yet, here on Night One, the panic button analogy was on the tip of his tongue. Gruden knows this team is different from the two that went before.

There are expectations now. Many of Hamilton’s top players are reaching their OHL prime and are now veterans of the league. Some have been drafted by NHL teams.

This team has talent and depth. It should be a contender for a top two or three spot in the Eastern Conference. It should be primed for a deep playoff run.

So when it comes out for the season opener and can’t buy a goal for the longest time, some may wonder if something’s wrong rather than simply tipping the cap to Niagara’s Stephen Dhillon who was simply excellent in net.

When a defenceman falls allowing an IceDog a clear path to the net and a goal, some might wonder if the blue line is overrated.

Rather than simply acknowledging the ice was soft and guys fall sometimes.

When two Bulldogs bump into each other at their own blue line allowing a Niagara forward to pick up the puck and skate in on a breakaway, some might wonder if this team isn’t really ready. When all three game stars come from the visiting team — that hardly ever happens in this league — some might wonder if this team is missing something.

We’ll find out if there’s anything to those concerns in time. But panic? No.

Remember, this is a team that was missing three of its top players on Saturday. Mackenzie Entwistle and Ben Gleason were hurt. Matt Luff is still with the Los Angeles Kings and it’s looking like he won’t be back. Put two of those three in the lineup and it’s impactful.

There are no guarantees in hockey but the Bulldogs should end up being one of the better teams in the league. “There’s no excuses here,” Gruden said. “We’re deep enough.” Again, he’s correct. But with that come expectations. Squeaking into the playoffs won’t be good enough this time. Gruden knows that. As a result, there’s pressure on the roster. And on him.

But they should be better. They have to be better. That’s the progression of an OHL team that has its sights set on big things.

Gruden isn’t panicking. But his words suggest he’s very aware of the new, heightened expectations. And you know what? That’s not a bad thing. That’s not a bad thing at all.