Sons of Hounds on Attack

Two current members of the Owen Sound Attack have a rather unique Ontario Hockey League history with the Soo Greyhounds.

That is, Owen Sound forward Daylon Groulx and Attack defenseman Andrew Perrott are sons of two former standout Greyhound players from many years ago.

Groulx is the son of Wayne Groulx, who is merely the all-time points leader in the 47 year OHL history of the Greyhounds.

And Perrott is the son of Nathan Perrott, who put up numerous points and penalty minutes for the Greyhounds during the 1996-1997 season after being acquired in an OHL trade from the Oshawa Generals.

The elder Groulx, who played four fabulous seasons for the Greyhounds from 1981 to 1985, put up mind boggling numbers as a 5-foot-9 center for the Soo.

Regular season and playoffs included, the now 54-year old Groulx scored 232 goals, 347 assists, 579 points in 328 games as a Greyhound. His 579 points are the third most of any player who has ever skated in the OHL.

Remarkably, those 579 points — which are the most of any Greyhound and the third most in OHL history — have yet to result in Groulx having his no. 9 retired by the Soo.

At any rate, after graduating from the Greyhounds as an OHL scoring champion, Groulx went on to play a game in the National Hockey League with the old Quebec Nordiques before embarking on a successful pro career overseas.

As for the elder Perrott, he was a fearsome presence on that 1996-1997 Greyhound team that also featured future NHL superstar Joe Thornton.

After being obtained from Oshawa for third round, sixth round and ninth round picks, the 6-foot, 200-pound Perrott was well worth the exchange as an overage forward for the Soo that ’96-97 season.

Regular season and a lengthy playoff run included, Perrott had 23 goals, 28 assists, 51 points in 48 games for the Greyhounds while racking up 180 minutes in penalties as one of the more feared fighters in the OHL.

The now 42-year old Perrott then went on to a lengthy professional hockey career that included 89 games in the NHL for a number of teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As for the sons of Groulx and Perrott, both are becoming established OHL players in their own right.

Young Groulx, who has a 2000 birth date, is coming off a 2018-2019 regular season in which he scored 19 goals, 19 assists, 38 points and racked up 97 minutes in penalties for Owen Sound.

Prior to this season, the hard-nosed Groulx, who plays bigger than his 5-foot-11, 175-pound build, scored 13 goals as a full-fledged rookie for Owen Sound in 2017-2018. He was a fourth-round pick of the Attack at the 2016 OHL priority selections draft and scored one goal in nine games as a call-up to Owen Sound during the 2016-2017 season.

As for the younger Perrott, he joined Owen Sound at this year’s OHL trade deadline after being acquired by the Attack from the London Knights for 50-goal, overage scoring star Kevin Hancock.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Perrott was drafted by London in the second round of the 2017 OHL priority selections draft and had 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points in 62 games as a 2001 birth-year rookie for the Knights in 2017-2018.

Perrott then had 0 goals, 5 assists, 5 points in 22 games on the Knight shift before being traded to Owen Sound earlier this 2018-2019 season. In 31 games with Owen Sound, Perrott put up 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points.

Now, with the first round of the OHL playoffs looming, both Groulx and Perrott will be lining up for Owen Sound as the sixth-seed Attack takes on the third-place Greyhounds in a best-of-seven series.

While both youngsters have those Greyhound roots from their dads, Groulx and Perrott are part of the present and the future of the Attack.

And it is now, while playing for Owen Sound, that Groulx and Perrott will be facing off against a Greyhound team that lists both of their dads as big parts of the Soo’s OHL history.

Got to love it.

PLAYOFF DATES

As noted, the Greyhounds and Attack will meet in the first round of the OHL playoffs.

The schedule in the best-of-seven, Western Conference series has been confirmed and is as follows.

Game 1, Thurs., March 21 at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07 p.m.

Game 2, Sat., March 23 at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07 p.m.

Game 3, Mon., March 25 at Owen Sound – 7:00 p.m.

Game 4, Wed., March 27 at Owen Sound – 7:00 p.m.

Game 5, Fri., March 29 at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07 p.m.*

Game 6, Sun., March 31 at Owen Sound – 7:00 p.m.*

Game 7, Tues., April 2 at Sault Ste. Marie – 7:07 p.m. *

(* if necessary.)

PHOTO: Owen Sound Attack forward Daylon Groulx.