Colts want to be the ‘top dog’ in the 30th anniversary season

In a year the Barrie Colts are celebrating their 30th anniversary season and are just a small step from a franchise milestone, the big plans don’t end there.  

After a rebuild last season and some big acquisitions this off season, the Colts believe they have taken a big step forward and are ready to contend for an OHL championship.

“I think we are,” Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson said of being a contender ahead of Friday night’s season-opening contest against the Wolves in Sudbury. “It’s a confident team, it’s a team that knows we can play with anybody any night, and we have to be one of those teams that learns to win in different ways and continue the growth.

“We want to keep improving and hopefully peak at playoff time and Memorial Cup time. But to have the base that we have right now, to see the growth of our players, besides the players we traded for, is pretty exciting for what kind of year we can have.”

The Colts will certainly have some serious competition for the top of the Eastern Conference standings this season. The Brampton Steelheads are the favourites with the addition of Seattle Kraken sniper Carson Rehkopf from Kitchener and top NHL prospect Porter Martone.

The defending conference champion Oshawa Generals return a big part of their roster, while the Brantford Bulldogs boost a deep, talented roster led by Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis. 

Williamson believes the Colts have plenty of motivation with those teams being favoured ahead of them and then being left off the CHL Top 10 Rankings last week.

“It’s a great motivational tool for us,” he said. “We want to be the top dog, so if the pundits need to see us beat those teams, then that’s what we’re going to go do. It’s a great test, and I think what’s going to be the chore for this team a little bit, is the mental toughness to win night in and night out and not be one win and one loss.

“To be a consistent hockey team, and I think that’s where we’ll earn the respect from the league.”

Barrie will wear special 30th-anniversary jerseys on selective home nights as the Colts will pay tribute to the history of the franchise. They kicked it off in 1994-95 becoming the first CHL expansion team to make the playoffs and 30 years later the club is looking to make some noise once again.

 “It’s a great hockey town,” said Williamson. “The Colts have been a staple in Barrie for those 30 years. Jamie Massie (first team owner) and the last 20 of them from Howie Campbell. They’re a big part of the community. These players always love Barrie when they come here and play.

So many of them have met their wives and girlfriends who turn into wives here. It’s one of those great CHL stories.”

The Colts also enter the 2024-25 season just five wins away from 1,000 franchise wins. 

“I didn’t know that. Those are great numbers, I think we’ll be able to get that this year,” said Williamson, before bursting out laughing. “It’ll be a big night for whenever we celebrate that.”

With a roster that already included NHL prospects Cole Beaudoin (Utah) Riley Patterson (Vancouver), top NHL draft prospect Kayshawn Aitcheson, and captain Beau Jelsma, the Colts acquired a trio of Dallas Stars prospects in Triston Bertucci, Brad Gardiner, and Emil Hemming (in CHL Import Draft), while getting Edmonton prospect Beau Akey back on the blueline after missing most of last season.

With U.S. national junior team goaltender Sam Hillebrandt expected to be among the top goaltenders in the OHL this season, Barrie doesn’t appear weak at any position.

That’s not even mentioning fifth overall pick Parker Vaughan who has certainly turned heads in camp and exhibition games with his play. 

“I think we’re going to be a tough team to shut down,” said Williamson. “Everybody in this league has got a couple of good defencemen and a good line that they hope to build from there, but when you have a year where you have three lines and five or six defencemen and a goalie and a capable backup goalie, those are tough teams to beat.

“I think that’s one of our strengths. Maybe we don’t have the scorer like a Rehkopf or a Lardis or what even Oshawa has, but I think our guys are right there with them. Plus we have depth. We have more of them. That’s what excites me about this group.”

Williamson is also happy with the chemistry he’s seen in the room. While the new additions will take some time to become familiar with their teammates on the ice, he’s happy with what he’s seen in the short time they were here in training camp.

They push each other in practice, they seem to have their head on their shoulders and that’s what I like to see,” he said. “Similar to the team that played in the playoffs last year. We came with a pretty good game plan for each game and the guys executed, and I think we’re going to be that kind of a team this year with more talent.”

Williamson admits it is fun coming into seasons like this one.

“These are the kind of years you build for and that’s what this league is all about,” he said. “We had a lot of fun last year. It was about a team getting into the playoffs and then having some excitement in the playoffs.

“We checked those boxes and now it’s time to win consistently and be at the top of the standings and hopefully with the top teams in Canada.”

Game time Friday night at Sudbury Community Arena is 7:05 p.m.

ICE CHIPS: The Colts return to the Sadlon Arena on Saturday night for their home opener against the North Bay Battalion. Game time is 7:30 p.m. . . Winger Michael Derbidge will miss the contest after being suspended for a game during preseason play. . . Beaudoin, who will miss this weekend, has impressed at Utah’s NHL camp. The 24th overall selection in this year’s NHL draft in one scrimmage against the Vegas Knights won the battle for the puck against two men in the corner and then walked out front and scored on a backhand.