Eastern Conference:
1- Brampton - Have a big cupboard of picks to add multiple elite players to go with what they have.
2- Oshawa - Assuming the Barlow rumours are true, they will have 3 of the best 6or7Fs in the entire league + Danford & Oster.
3- Barrie - Actually really like this roster. Great top-6, defence is elite. Hilbrandt steady.
4- Brantford - Love their T9 Fs, but don't love D. Jiricek be a massive get.
5- Kingston - feel there's a big drop off here from 4 to 5, but KGN has some good pieces. Need good goaltending.
6- Sudbury - No clue what to make of the Wolves. If they sell they'll fly down the standings if not battle for 5th.
7- Niagara - lowkey don't hate the roster which I haven't been able to say about NIA in sometime.
8- Ottawa - don't love what I see but Cameron will have them playing structured & they r good in net.
9- North Bay - 3 deep runs in a row eventually catches up to you. think it does now.
10- Peterborough - some great young talent, but not enough veteran talent to keep them afloat. Playing OSH BRT KGN a ton won't help.
Winner - Barrie - They are built for playoff hockey. If they get the import D from NIA like reported there won't be a better top 4 in the league.
Western Conference:
1- London - Truthfully don't love the roster, but I think Cowan is back & they can roll out arguably 4 of the 10 best players in the league in Barkey, Cowan, Bonk, Dickinson.
2- Windsor - Not many in the west will be able to match their top-9 Fs. D remains iffy as does goaltending. Wouldn't shock me if this ends up making me look like an idiot.
3- Erie - Solid roster. No true weakness as long as the import goalie is steady in net. Good veteran talent.
4- Saginaw - Getting Epperson & Chernyshov (once he's back) was massive for them. Makes the Top6 lethal & gives them 3 good lines. Hate their Defence. I assume they try to patch work it.
5- Flint - Solid roster with not many weaknesses. Wont be very fun to play with Mania, Collins, Smith on D. Question where they get consistent production in big games.
6- Guelph - NGL, not a fan of this roster. I just don't see it past Luchanko & Gilleppsie. but maybe Allen, Namestnikov finally tap into the potential everyone thought they once had & they get some surprise breakouts.
7- Sarnia - wanted to put them ahead of GUE, but thought that might just be my bias since everyone else views them as a solid team. Promising but very young Fs. Like the defence. Goaltending will decide ultimately if they can push for 6th, or if they r battling for a playoff spot.
8- Kitchener - Love Romano, Lam & Reid but they lack F depth, D depth. Parsons should be huge for them. Question is how hard do they fall off post TDL.
9- Soo - went for it & took players who didn't report. Killer combo.
10- Owen Sound - simply don't have the Fs to keep up even with George.
Winner - London - *sigh*.... In a weak conference they'll just find a way. Cowan Barkey Dickinson Bonk won't come off the ice, they'll find a stable goalie & Dale/Mark will figure out the rest,
Finals-
London vs Barrie.
Barrie gets its revenge from 2013 & take it in 7. As I said they are built for playoff hockey. Wont be a better T4 D in the league. Beaudoin, Patterson, Hemming, Jelsma, York, Moses will be a strong T6 that I imagine they try to add to.
Look forward to being dead wrong & looking like an idiot. Best of luck to everyones teams!
Reminder predictions close WED at 7:00.