Nothing comes easy for the Attack. (Photo: Greg Cowan, The Sun Times)

Greg Cowan is a veteran journalist working for The Owen Sound Sun Times, and he delivers smart, nuanced coverage of the Attack for readers across the Ontario Hockey League. Take a moment to read some of his excellent work here and here.  

How can you not want to read more of a story that begins like this? “When the puck is at the other end of the ice, one of the top goaltenders in the Canadian Hockey League stands in his crease and begins to sing.” 

Greg is visiting the OHL newsletter this week to walk us through the fate of the Attack, who are not precisely tearing through their regular season schedule. Below, he explains what is happening with the team, and where it might be heading.  

Overall 

It's rock-bottom or thereabouts for the Owen Sound Attack. With 13 games remaining in the regular season, this is about as bad as it gets for the Bayshore faithful. The small-knit Georgian Bay community just watched their favourite sons suffer a seven-game losing streak for the second time already in 2026.  

At the beginning of the year, the Owen Sound Attack could score with the best of them in the Ontario Hockey League and had one of the league's best power plays. Keeping the puck out of the team's net was always the problem. And now that the goal-scoring and power-play numbers have come down to Earth, well, it's all crashing down.  

Talk about high-event hockey. Owen Sound scores a lot, and they give up a lot. They're the most penalized team in the league, and they've drawn the most penalties in the league.  

So, if you're looking for a silver lining, it's been bad in the Scenic City, but it hasn't exactly been boring.  

Big question 

Will the Owen Sound Attack make the playoffs?  

When the Owen Sound Attack traded away Team Canada goaltender Carter George and team captain David Bedkowski at the trade deadline, they had a pretty big cushion on the non-playoff teams in the Western Conference. As of Tuesday, the Attack are only six points up on the ninth-place Sarnia Sting.  

It's fitting that the London Knights clinched a playoff spot with a win over Owen Sound on Family Day, extending their league-best consecutive playoff streak to a 25th season (counting the 2019-20 campaign, which was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic with a couple of weeks left in the schedule). 

Do you know which OHL team has the second-longest active playoff streak? The Owen Sound Attack, who have made the playoffs every season (excluding the Covid-19 shortened 2019-20 season) since winning the OHL championship in 2011.  

The franchise prides itself on punching above its weight and constantly being in the fight, but after five straight first-round exits and no playoff wins since the 2021-22 season, the Bears are bloodied.  

Big hurdle 

What's the benefit of being bad? A lottery ticket and a chance to get better. Owen Sound should have another high draft pick this year and a shot at a blue-chip prospect.  

In the past, team management and fans could at least lean into hope as they looked toward the future. The NCAA's rule change allowing CHL players to enter its ranks has changed the landscape. 

Theoretically, Owen Sound should be in excellent shape next season with Tristan Delisle, Harry Nansi, and Jake Crawford all returning as 19-year-old players. Pierce Mbuyi and Cole Zurawski, potential NHL picks this summer, are coming back as 18-year-olds. Nicholas Sykora and John Banks are returning for their second seasons in the OHL.  

All but one of those players (Harry Nansi) is committed to an NCAA school. In total, 11 players currently on the Owen Sound Attack roster have commitments to American colleges. So instead of marking names in ink on the depth chart, it's pencil — and prayer — for longtime Attack GM Dale DeGray.  

The outlook 

OK, enough gloom and doom.  

The Owen Sound Attack are struggling. They've been struggling. Stars like Colby Barlow and Carter George asked to leave before their junior careers ended due to those struggles. But, if we zoom out a little bit, the team has a stable ownership group, a committed and loyal fanbase, a good standing in the community and the best fries in the Ontario Hockey League (more on that in a future newsletter).  

All they need to do is figure out the on-ice part. Quickly.

If you want to learn about a rising OHL prospect, you will have to train your eyes north – no, further north than that. Thomas Perry has the story of a prospect from Timmins, Ont., who is drawing attention from scouts this winter.  

Writing in The Timmins Daily Press, he introduces readers to Tanner Adams, who might be called early during the 2026 OHL Priority Selection this June, in Kingston. 

“He is exceptional, probably the best player I have ever coached,” said Timmins Rock coach and GM  Brandon Perry. “He is just a physical specimen. He is big, he is strong, he is physical and he plays the game the right way. He is hard on his stick. He is good on face-offs. And, obviously, he has high-end skill level to go with all of that. 

Would the teenager have a preferred destination?  

“I would be happy to go anywhere,” said Adams “Obviously, a team in the north would be awesome, because it would be close to home, but anywhere would be good.” 

You can read the full story right here. 

 Ella Shelton, in Milan-Cortina. (Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

Ryan Pyette has a fascinating story in The London Free Press about that regions out-sized impact on the Canadian hockey teams competing at the Milan-Cortina Games.  

“There are 48 hockey players representing Canada at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games," he writes. “Six have close London ties. That’s a proud achievement for the puck-mad city in Southwestern Ontario that so often outperforms its population on the biggest sporting stages.” 

How? Pyette reports geography plays a role, along with the presence of the Knights, and also the approach of the local minor hockey associations.  

“We don’t want coaches who are yellers and screamers with kids scared to go to practice,” said Kevin Gardner, vice-president of hockey operations for the Jr. Knights. “The escape for a lot of these kids would be hockey. Come to the rink and have fun. For the most part, that’s what happens.” 

You can read the whole story right here.

(Photo:  Alexander Nemenov, Getty Images)

Mitch Marner, a former London Knight, scoring a goal you by now might have heard about at the Milan-Cortina Games.