Petes coach to roll with four lines as much as possible
Petes coach Rob Wilson wants to use four lines as much as possible this season and he’ll try to spread veterans throughout the forward groups.
Wilson said most successful teams over the long haul utilize four lines.
“If you run three lines all the time and then get some injuries the guys who play on the fourth line have no confidence,” Wilson said.
“They go into a situation with very little confidence because they haven’t been playing that much. Secondly, you risk a lot more injuries when you run three lines than when you do four. Guys have a better chance of getting hurt when they are tired.”
With Semyon Der-Arguchintsev away the lines looked like this: Robertson-Gallant-Timleck; Kirk-Paquette-Butler; IsaacsonHinz-Gogolev; Partridge-Cermak-Denault.
Wilson has also deployed John Parker-Jones, who played mostly forward on the fourth line last year, on defence with overage defenceman Austin Osmanski to start the season. Wilson loves the size and reach of the six-footseven Parker-Jones and his chemistry with Osmanski in the pre-season.
“We were pleasantly surprised how well he played and he’s really taken on the role very well,” Wilson said.
Declan Chisholm and Cole Fraser started together with Matt McNamara and Adrien Beraldo making up the other pair.
SDA at Leafs camp
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev remains the lone Petes players away at an NHL training camp. He practised with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday but has yet to appear in one of their preseason games.
Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star wrote that he is the youngest player in Leafs camp having just turned 18 on Saturday. That, coincidentally, was the last day to be eligible for the 2018 draft. The Leafs took the skilled, if undersized at five-foot-ten, 160 pounds, in the third round.
“It feels great to be around
NHL guys,” Der-Arguchintsev said. “It’s a great experience to learn as much as I can here. It’s going to be good for me to go back to junior and dominate
“I learn the way guys work on the ice, and off the ice. Little things, like make hard passes, do everything right.”
He said he’s looking to have a big year with the Petes.
“I hope I’ll play a little bit more, have a bigger role,” Der-Arguchintsev said. “My goal is to be a dominant player in the OHL.”
He said he models his game after Mitch Marner.
“I’m not even close to that. He’s really good,” Der-Arguchintsev said.
Roster notes
Liam Kirk arrived back from Arizona Coyotes camp and Nick Robertson from the All American Prospects Game in Minnesota in time for the home opener.
Scratches on opening night due to numbers were forward Dustin Hutton and defencemen Shawn Spearing and Cameron Supryka.
CHL Top 10
The CHL released its pre-season Top 10 rankings on Wednesday with three OHL teams in the mix. The No. 1 ranked team is the QMHL’s Halifax Moose heads followed by the OHL’s London Knights. Rounding out the top 10 in order are Lethbridge Hurricanes, Drummondville, Voltigeurs, Niagara IceDogs, Spokane Chiefs, Portland Winterhawks, Saginaw Spirit, Rimouski Oceanic and Ottawa 67’s.
Honourable mention went to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Vancouver Giants and Oshawa Generals.