Sudbury Wolves mull over disappointing OHL season, attendance woes
The Sudbury Wolves' brass sat in front of a group of reporters Tuesday afternoon to discuss a season that went off the rails from the start.
It wasn't supposed to be this way said both head coach and longtime former NHLer Cory Stillman, as well as general manager Rob Papineau.
"In September, our hopes were to be in the playoffs," Papineau said.
"As this weekend went by, the reality became that this year we're not going to be in the playoffs."
The Wolves currently sit last in the 20-team Ontario Hockey League (OHL), with a 14-37-8-0 record, with nine games to go in this season.
The team has scored just 171 goals, while giving up 254 over that time.
Papineau and Stillman each blamed a non-stop string of injuries for the team's season-long lack of consistency.
"You know, it sort of stings," Wolves' owner Dario Zulich said at the news conference.
"It stings when I hear the coach say we're a last-place team," he said.
The players seemed to accept the reality of their season prior to January 10 trade deadline.
No less than five players — forwards Dmitri Sokolov, Michael Pezzetta and Troy Lajeunesse, defenceman Reagan O'Grady and goaltender Mario Culina — were each shipped out over a three-day stretch.
In return, the Wolves ended up with a slew of extra draft picks to either deal in the off season or to stockpile for upcoming drafts.
Fan support historically low
The Sudbury Wolves' attendance figures currently sit at 2,941 people per game. It's the first time in at least 20 years the team has threatened to attract below 3,000 fans on average.
Sudbury Wolves' attendance, 2013-2018 (Numbers from hockeydb.com)
2017-2018: 2,941
2016-2017: 3,266
2015-2016: 3,108
2014-15: 3,729
2013-14: 3,787
But Zulich said he wasn't concerned, even with plans for a new $100 million arena to be built as part of a multi-use complex on the Kingsway.
"I'm not worried at all."
"Maybe this is justification, but the fall was very warm, so people are not going to come out. We had a very cold winter, which causes people not to come out, higher snowbanks and so on. And the (lack of a) winning team too," Zulich said.
"I still believe we have the No. 1 brand [in the OHL]. I'm comfortable with our team, and the future and the arena," he added.
Zulich noted he's been the team's owner for only 18 months, and said he hopes to create a new found excitement in the community for the team, come the start of next season.
"That energy transfers down to the ice, so I'm telling the fans not to give up. It's only been 18 months, and one year from now, we're going to see a big difference. This is the start of a dynasty, I believe," Zulich said.
Finding hope
All but two players on the Wolves' roster are eligible to return to the team next year.
"Every position [on the roster] is open going into next season," Stillman said.
Stillman and Papineau each pointed to promising young players like Blake Murray, Kirill Nizhnikov, Liam Ross and Anthony Tabak as reasons to have hope for the team's future.
"That's exciting because it will create a really good, healthy competition for roster spots. Over the last nine games, we will be evaluating that with even more scrutiny," Papineau said.
Both Stillman and Papineau received a vote of confidence from the team owner, Zulich ahead of next season.
"The program that the coach and the general manager have put together, I have a lot of confidence in that program, and I'm going to stand behind it," Zulich said.
"We are building our team from the ground floor up," he added.
"I truly believe we're going to be a Memorial Cup contender in three years. We have the best youngest team in the league."
With files from Benjamin Aubé