Erie Otters 2022-23 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)

[dirty12]

Agree. The order is probably, as of now,
Sova, Fimis, Alfano, Lalonde, Smith/McDonald.

Erie *could* be in a decent spot for 2024-25 if they have Sova/Fimis/Alfano here and they land a top import

Spence (3rd yr) / Terrance (4th) / Import
Molnar (4th) / Fimis (OA) / Alfano (OA)

Sova (OA) / Schaefer (2nd)
Henry/Holomego (3rd)

Gibbons (3rd)

Now the trick is, and trust me when I say it’s a fancy trick, is the team actually wins some games this year. Getting to 33-35 wins and playing some playoff games is so crucial for the culture it cannot be understated. BUT Erie also needs to recoup some assets for 2025, which is bare thanks to the Fimis trade, and recoup assets so they can properly make a run one year. In an ideal world, Terrance, Spence, Molnar, and an unknown import take off next year. There is some good to great ceiling there and Erie needs things to start clicking and showing up in the win column/stat sheet

If Gilmartin returns, I think Erie should trade them. Will they? Probably not. But they should consider it because it might allow them to retain conditionals from London trade and/or recoup a few assets. He probably doesn’t have much value though. Maybe they look to flip someone like Fimis at the deadline? Idk but I do think they need to sell a little to try to get 2/3 high picks back especially if the young kids start showing the star potential

I can’t imagine Fimis traded. Gilmartin is the type that could attract interest from a team with long playoff aspirations imo.
If Butler has any say, expect a player for player trade. Something like Sova for Petrovski + (if Schaefer is selected).

Terrance (3rd) / Spence (2nd) / Import
Bressette (OA) / Fimis (4th) / Molnar (3rd)
Alfano (4th) / McDonald (4th) / Saganiuk (OA)

That’s not a bad forward group and I think allows you to move on from Gilmartin, save yourself those conditional picks in the original trade OR flip someone like Alfano/Fimis. Fimis still has more upside and is a true center so I doubt he’s not here but considering Terrance/Molnar might be NHL picks by the summer, Terrance coming off a 30 goal season, Spence is a projected 1st round NHL pick at this stage, Fimis/Saganiuk/Bressette all have limitations but also some areas of top skill that made them top OHL prospects. Plus a 1st overall import pick. Combined with 2 goalies you spent high picks on, one who signed a FA NHL deal, and some solid options on the backend - if you can’t be a middle of the pack team then something is so inherently flawed with the development here.

The inherent flaw might be drafting 5’5” 145 lb players year after year thinking they can be effective OHL players prior to year 4 or 5. Three such players (drafted round 3 or later) over five years might be too many.

Seriously. Time to start winning some damn games…

The goaltenders need to play up to their high potential. I can see McDonald playing a larger role in year two under SB.

 

[Mata]

Agree. The order is probably, as of now,
Sova, Fimis, Alfano, Lalonde, Smith/McDonald.

Erie *could* be in a decent spot for 2024-25 if they have Sova/Fimis/Alfano here and they land a top import

Spence (3rd yr) / Terrance (4th) / Import
Molnar (4th) / Fimis (OA) / Alfano (OA)

Sova (OA) / Schaefer (2nd)
Henry/Holomego (3rd)

Gibbons (3rd)

Now the trick is, and trust me when I say it’s a fancy trick, is the team actually wins some games this year. Getting to 33-35 wins and playing some playoff games is so crucial for the culture it cannot be understated. BUT Erie also needs to recoup some assets for 2025, which is bare thanks to the Fimis trade, and recoup assets so they can properly make a run one year. In an ideal world, Terrance, Spence, Molnar, and an unknown import take off next year. There is some good to great ceiling there and Erie needs things to start clicking and showing up in the win column/stat sheet

If Gilmartin returns, I think Erie should trade them. Will they? Probably not. But they should consider it because it might allow them to retain conditionals from London trade and/or recoup a few assets. He probably doesn’t have much value though. Maybe they look to flip someone like Fimis at the deadline? Idk but I do think they need to sell a little to try to get 2/3 high picks back especially if the young kids start showing the star potential

Terrance (3rd) / Spence (2nd) / Import
Bressette (OA) / Fimis (4th) / Molnar (3rd)
Alfano (4th) / McDonald (4th) / Saganiuk (OA)

That’s not a bad forward group and I think allows you to move on from Gilmartin, save yourself those conditional picks in the original trade OR flip someone like Alfano/Fimis. Fimis still has more upside and is a true center so I doubt he’s not here but considering Terrance/Molnar might be NHL picks by the summer, Terrance coming off a 30 goal season, Spence is a projected 1st round NHL pick at this stage, Fimis/Saganiuk/Bressette all have limitations but also some areas of top skill that made them top OHL prospects. Plus a 1st overall import pick. Combined with 2 goalies you spent high picks on, one who signed a FA NHL deal, and some solid options on the backend - if you can’t be a middle of the pack team then something is so inherently flawed with the development here. Seriously. Time to start winning some damn games…

I too think at this point Gilmartin sealed his fate and will likely be traded and/or released.

Returning next year, our glaring hole is the back-end. We have 3 candidates who return in net and are on fairly equal footing, none of which were consistent or stood out. They were overall about as average as average could be. It needs to change. Our only hope in net is there is a ton of competition which will separate 1 or 2 of them as a clear favorite.

On the back line, while Morton and Kulakov certainly weren't the best defenders in the league by any means, given our team they are probably the 2 most important people to replace. Morton from a big body and leadership perspective and Kulakov from a big body and the fact Erie loves the kid. Unfortunately Cohen and Sedore didn't break out as we hoped and we have pieces in place right now that should fill their production.

Defensively Sova, Daviault, and Johnston (OA?) will need to be better, especially Daviault. He showed some signs of improvement but isn't the type of puck moving defender I had hoped for when we got him in trade. Alboim and Sauder had a ton of game time and hopefully beef up a little this off season. They will likely be the ones to occupy the house as our steadfast defenders. Henry and Holomego will also likely be given a shot. In their limited play time last season, Holomego was VERY shakey. Henry looked more poised and confident. Either one of those two could also be stay at home defenders, but I think Henry also liked to move the puck and showed some versatility in the few games he had.

Offensively we have some really good pieces, but will they click?

Bressette was my biggest surprise and his jump in production has me believing if he stays injury free he can put up Golod like numbers in his OA season. Carey Terrance took a huge jump as a leader and in production. Alfano, Fimis, Molnar, and Spence need to solidify their games with regards to consistency, make jumps, and produce how they should, otherwise the season will be a bust. Artichuk, Messier, Smith, McDonald, Edwards and hopefully Saganiuk (OA?) will grow and provide consistency and depth.

Our draft pick this coming Thursday will likely reveal how our management sees us and fill in a piece of the puzzle. I don't recall any other offensive talent we sent to minors outside of Lowe and defenders Henry and Holomego. Gibbons had stints everywhere, even on another OHL team.

 

[Mata]

The inherent flaw might be drafting 5’5” 145 lb players year after year thinking they can be effective OHL players prior to year 4 or 5. Three such players (drafted round 3 or later) over five years might be too many.

Here is a scenario I have tried to run through my head as to how to best utilize these smaller players because we can't get rid of them all:

Watching this past season, Saganiuk and Artichuk IMO had some of the most relentless forechecking on the team. Yes, they are smaller but given the right match ups they could be hell on ice to try and play against. You could have flexibility in maybe a bigger body like Messier to hold down the middle ice or you could even stay small and shifty and force these teams to expend a ton of energy getting out of their own zone. A 3rd line that is definitely not as skilled as line 1 or 2 but has the energy level of those elite lines could pose to be a game changer given what we have.

 

[NOA]

I can’t imagine Fimis traded. Gilmartin is the type that could attract interest from a team with long playoff aspirations imo.
If Butler has any say, expect a player for player trade. Something like Sova for Petrovski + (if Schaefer is selected).

The inherent flaw might be drafting 5’5” 145 lb players year after year thinking they can be effective OHL players prior to year 4 or 5. Three such players (drafted round 3 or later) over five years might be too many.

Regarding your first point, yes it might be wise for Erie to swap Sova at the deadline. I wasn’t even thinking of him but if he has a big start combined with other players developing on the backend, he could be moved for a young player plus 3/4 high picks. That is actually probably best case scenario for Erie to get some real assets back. Similar to the Kyrou trade. Though Sova probably won’t be as attractive, he does have a bit better size and might be back as an OA. So he will have value

The second point we have been over at length. I will repeat - I don’t think Erie intentionally tried to get smaller. Rather, I think they were trying to use their limited assets to get as much pure skill/talent as they could and hope they developed and in some cases grew. Ultimately, guys who are small will fall in the draft despite maybe high quality traits like skating or vision. Now, DB and the scouts bungled the approach and it didn’t work out which I think we all agree. But tbh do I blame them for trying? Not necessarily. They were desperate given their lack of picks for a few years. And a lack of coaching didn’t help the situation for development. I mean if some of the kids developed properly, you could have swapped them out for assets/bigger players. But it just never worked out. They have since adjusted and have been outspoken about it. By 2024-25, they might only have 1 player on the roster who is 5’10 or below and that is Artichuk, listed at 5’10. The rest of the signed players eligible for that season are 5’11 or above. Compare that to 7 players that were 5’10 or below in 2021-22. And compare that to next year, 2023-24, when they will likely only have 3. They are addressing it, thankfully

 

[NOA]

I too think at this point Gilmartin sealed his fate and will likely be traded and/or released.

Returning next year, our glaring hole is the back-end. We have 3 candidates who return in net and are on fairly equal footing, none of which were consistent or stood out. They were overall about as average as average could be. It needs to change. Our only hope in net is there is a ton of competition which will separate 1 or 2 of them as a clear favorite.

On the back line, while Morton and Kulakov certainly weren't the best defenders in the league by any means, given our team they are probably the 2 most important people to replace. Morton from a big body and leadership perspective and Kulakov from a big body and the fact Erie loves the kid. Unfortunately Cohen and Sedore didn't break out as we hoped and we have pieces in place right now that should fill their production.

Defensively Sova, Daviault, and Johnston (OA?) will need to be better, especially Daviault. He showed some signs of improvement but isn't the type of puck moving defender I had hoped for when we got him in trade. Alboim and Sauder had a ton of game time and hopefully beef up a little this off season. They will likely be the ones to occupy the house as our steadfast defenders. Henry and Holomego will also likely be given a shot. In their limited play time last season, Holomego was VERY shakey. Henry looked more poised and confident. Either one of those two could also be stay at home defenders, but I think Henry also liked to move the puck and showed some versatility in the few games he had.

Offensively we have some really good pieces, but will they click?

Bressette was my biggest surprise and his jump in production has me believing if he stays injury free he can put up Golod like numbers in his OA season. Carey Terrance took a huge jump as a leader and in production. Alfano, Fimis, Molnar, and Spence need to solidify their games with regards to consistency, make jumps, and produce how they should, otherwise the season will be a bust. Artichuk, Messier, Smith, McDonald, Edwards and hopefully Saganiuk (OA?) will grow and provide consistency and depth.

Our draft pick this coming Thursday will likely reveal how our management sees us and fill in a piece of the puzzle. I don't recall any other offensive talent we sent to minors outside of Lowe and defenders Henry and Holomego. Gibbons had stints everywhere, even on another OHL team.

From a talent standpoint, assuming we can add an import and Molnar returns, this has to be the best returning roster since the rebuild, right?

The last 30+ goal scorer we had return was Maksimovich, coming back in 2018-19 but later traded at the deadline. Other than that? Nobody since the rebuild began. Hoping Terrance really can build off that. The last top NHL prospect we had in their draft year was Drysdale. Now we could have an unknown import. Spence the best young forward prospect we have had since at least Raddysh, probably Strome. It’s super critical that the bigger fish take off - Spence, Terrance, import and/or Molnar, Sova. The rest probably can become more steady complimentary pieces if they have better, consistent linemates around them. But it starts with 17, 10, 22, and the imports imo

 

[OttersFan]

I can’t imagine Fimis traded. Gilmartin is the type that could attract interest from a team with long playoff aspirations imo.
If Butler has any say, expect a player for player trade. Something like Sova for Petrovski + (if Schaefer is selected).

The inherent flaw might be drafting 5’5” 145 lb players year after year thinking they can be effective OHL players prior to year 4 or 5. Three such players (drafted round 3 or later) over five years might be too many.

The goaltenders need to play up to their high potential. I can see McDonald playing a larger role in year two under SB.

I think our draft scouting crew are so caught up on drafting smaller players. With how the competition went this previous year, it just doesn’t end well. We got lucky with DeBrincat with his smaller size and offensive talent as a FA if I remember correctly.

We need size and we need someone other than Fimis who can consistently win face offs.

 

[OttersFan]

Here is a scenario I have tried to run through my head as to how to best utilize these smaller players because we can't get rid of them all:

Watching this past season, Saganiuk and Artichuk IMO had some of the most relentless forechecking on the team. Yes, they are smaller but given the right match ups they could be hell on ice to try and play against. You could have flexibility in maybe a bigger body like Messier to hold down the middle ice or you could even stay small and shifty and force these teams to expend a ton of energy getting out of their own zone. A 3rd line that is definitely not as skilled as line 1 or 2 but has the energy level of those elite lines could pose to be a game changer given what we have.

This is how I see it as well. Keep those smaller players who have been in the OHL but moving forward, draft players with more size and grit.

Saganiuk and Artichuk were huge improvements this year and that’s a mountain I’m willing to die on. I might be slightly bias as I know the family, but under Butler they stepped up.

 

[NOA]

I think our draft scouting crew are so caught up on drafting smaller players. With how the competition went this previous year, it just doesn’t end well. We got lucky with DeBrincat with his smaller size and offensive talent as a FA if I remember correctly.

We need size and we need someone other than Fimis who can consistently win face offs.

You say that as if the scouts intentionally want small players, like they avoid size. Again, I don’t think Erie wanted small players - I think they just wanted to accumulate as much skill as possible and when you have limited high end picks it’s hard to do. You aren’t going to find many 6’0 players in rounds 2+ that skate really well and have great vision or other high end skills. But smaller players naturally fall in a draft, at any level in probably every sport because size is a known risk. See Connor Brown, Golod, Debrincat, etc. Erie took the risk but it was calculated. They were hoping to find a diamond in the rough but it never worked out

For what it’s worth - in 2022, Erie took just 2 players under 5’10 (7th/11th round). No players under 5’7. That ranked 2nd least among all 20 teams, many of which took about 5-6 players below 5’10 and many teams had at least one player below 5’6.

They clearly adjusted to the issue which to be fair I don’t think anyone really complained about until about 2021-22 anyways… hindsight always 20/20. If they developed some players better, they could have swapped some smaller players for picks/players..

 

[OttersFan]

You say that as if the scouts intentionally want small players, like they avoid size. Again, I don’t think Erie wanted small players - I think they just wanted to accumulate as much skill as possible and when you have limited high end picks it’s hard to do. You aren’t going to find many 6’0 players in rounds 2+ that skate really well and have great vision or other high end skills. But smaller players naturally fall in a draft, at any level in probably every sport because size is a known risk. See Connor Brown, Golod, Debrincat, etc. Erie took the risk but it was calculated. They were hoping to find a diamond in the rough but it never worked out

For what it’s worth - in 2022, Erie took just 2 players under 5’10 (7th/11th round). No players under 5’7. That ranked 2nd least among all 20 teams, many of which took about 5-6 players below 5’10 and many teams had at least one player below 5’6.

They clearly adjusted to the issue which to be fair I don’t think anyone really complained about until about 2021-22 anyways… hindsight always 20/20. If they developed some players better, they could have swapped some smaller players for picks/players..

I agree with you. They have to take a gamble on the smaller players and find the best one possible given the lack of picks we’ve had in previous years.

Late round picks aren’t a bad thing because we’ve had some success. With Stan Butlers mindset, my post was meant to interpret Butler’s mindset moving forward.

I’ve been away from the thread for a few days and just caught up.

 

[NOA]

I agree with you. They have to take a gamble on the smaller players and find the best one possible given the lack of picks we’ve had in previous years.

Late round picks aren’t a bad thing because we’ve had some success. With Stan Butlers mindset, my post was meant to interpret Butler’s mindset moving forward.

I’ve been away from the thread for a few days and just caught up.

Yeah I think that will be their approach moving forward, regardless of SB. Btw his recent GoErie interview had him referencing his age and saying he only committed to Erie for 2 years beyond this past half season. Now obviously that can change and he might have success, get a second wind but it makes sense with his age. He’s probably here to just get Erie back to stability, reinforcing some culture and get back on track which if that was the plan/goal from day 1 - I like the hire more. 2 years with SB then move on to someone new, someone with a more modern style unless SB is just killin it and wants to stay. Point being: Erie shouldn’t change their full approach to mold into SB if he only plans to be here for 2 years which isn’t even a full OHL life cycle..
SB gets some say of course but he needs to adapt and mold his game to some modern hockey too. And if he isn’t planning to be here for 4-5 years, you can’t give him full control…

 

[Guy In Burlington]

I too think at this point Gilmartin sealed his fate and will likely be traded and/or released.

Returning next year, our glaring hole is the back-end. We have 3 candidates who return in net and are on fairly equal footing, none of which were consistent or stood out. They were overall about as average as average could be. It needs to change. Our only hope in net is there is a ton of competition which will separate 1 or 2 of them as a clear favorite.

On the back line, while Morton and Kulakov certainly weren't the best defenders in the league by any means, given our team they are probably the 2 most important people to replace. Morton from a big body and leadership perspective and Kulakov from a big body and the fact Erie loves the kid. Unfortunately Cohen and Sedore didn't break out as we hoped and we have pieces in place right now that should fill their production.

Defensively Sova, Daviault, and Johnston (OA?) will need to be better, especially Daviault. He showed some signs of improvement but isn't the type of puck moving defender I had hoped for when we got him in trade. Alboim and Sauder had a ton of game time and hopefully beef up a little this off season. They will likely be the ones to occupy the house as our steadfast defenders. Henry and Holomego will also likely be given a shot. In their limited play time last season, Holomego was VERY shakey. Henry looked more poised and confident. Either one of those two could also be stay at home defenders, but I think Henry also liked to move the puck and showed some versatility in the few games he had.

Offensively we have some really good pieces, but will they click?

Bressette was my biggest surprise and his jump in production has me believing if he stays injury free he can put up Golod like numbers in his OA season. Carey Terrance took a huge jump as a leader and in production. Alfano, Fimis, Molnar, and Spence need to solidify their games with regards to consistency, make jumps, and produce how they should, otherwise the season will be a bust. Artichuk, Messier, Smith, McDonald, Edwards and hopefully Saganiuk (OA?) will grow and provide consistency and depth.

Our draft pick this coming Thursday will likely reveal how our management sees us and fill in a piece of the puzzle. I don't recall any other offensive talent we sent to minors outside of Lowe and defenders Henry and Holomego. Gibbons had stints everywhere, even on another OHL team.

What do you mean Gibbons had a stint on another OHL team?

 

[DubCee21]

What do you mean Gibbons had a stint on another OHL team?

I'm not exactly sure if he got game time but he was loaned to Mississauga as an emergency backup.

 

[OttersFan]

I'm not exactly sure if he got game time but he was loaned to Mississauga as an emergency backup.

Yes he did. Their import goaltender was at World Juniors and didn’t have anyone else. Gibbons was put into a game to replace their other tender at the time.

 

[Mata]

I'm not exactly sure if he got game time but he was loaned to Mississauga as an emergency backup.

This...

He was up is Mississauga for a couple weeks as an emergency backup for a short stint. He, at the very least, got exposure with another OHL franchise this past season along with playing a handful of games for Erie.

 

[Guy In Burlington]

I'm not exactly sure if he got game time but he was loaned to Mississauga as an emergency backup.

Interesting. Had no idea. Although HockeyDB and EP show no stats in Mississauga. You guys sure he got in a game?

 

[DubCee21]

Interesting. Had no idea. Although HockeyDB and EP show no stats in Mississauga. You guys sure he got in a game?

According to the game summaries, he was called up for 3 games between Dec 15 and Dec 18 but he never got any minutes.

 

[Mata]

 

[NOA]

Too bad we don’t have Sawyer in the fold ..

 

[Mata]

Too bad we don’t have Sawyer in the fold ..

Definitely a couple names I didn't remember.

And yes, looks like Sawyer is content with the college path, unfortunately as he had a monster season and will now transfer.

The highlights for Holomego and Henry were nice to see as well. They will have a lot riding on this seasons camp/tryouts.

 

[NOA]

This was basically my theory after the OHL Cup when I said I would bet on Schaefer at 1. While the OHL Cup isn’t everything, Roobroecks performance was a red flag while other forwards showed the gap isn’t maybe that large between the top 3-4 forwards. Moore might have been the best but after he went US, it limited options. Roobroecks profile just doesn’t fit Erie and doesn’t fit first overall to me. The top forwards in the class all offer a little bit different and there isn’t a consensus guy or really a guy that fits the mold of overall best player in the draft. Whereas on the backend, Schaefer has been the best D in the entire draft for some time and that seperatiom has continued to grow. He’s continuing on an upward trajectory while maybe someone like Roobroeck is slowing. And now Schaefer is by far the best D in the draft, and that’s a consensus, and he is probably the most likely or maybe the safest bet to make an impact year 1 while also having a low risk/great reward potential. It just makes sense. Now, go find an import forward please…

 

[NOA]

Hope Molnar gets drafted so he has some confidence coming back next year. Happy to see Terrance get some recognition, hoping he takes off next year and a 2nd round NHL pick might help to propel his confidence and growth

 

[Guy In Burlington]

Hope Molnar gets drafted so he has some confidence coming back next year. Happy to see Terrance get some recognition, hoping he takes off next year and a 2nd round NHL pick might help to propel his confidence and growth

Terrance is ranked 38th just among North American skaters specifically, so the second round might be a bit high. Not sure how strong the European skaters are this year, however.

 

[NOA]

Terrance is ranked 38th just among North American skaters specifically, so the second round might be a bit high. Not sure how strong the European skaters are this year, however.

I recognize that but 38 still suggests the potential for a 2nd round pick. Obviously different teams/scouts see things differently but it just takes one team to value him in the top 64.

For a guy that put up 30g on a bottom tier team, who had no other player over 18g, he should be a 2nd round candiate imo. He has alot of traits and intangibles you look for in the 2/3 rounds. For context, T. Raddysh was ranked #36 in his final CS NA rank list and was drafted 58. C. Kyrou was ranked #48 and went 50. So his ranking is very much still a 2nd round type ranking

 

[Mata]

Let us start to theorize...

Listed at 6'1 and 161:

If the Otters end up taking Schaefer first, does that mean Daviault and/or Johnston are on their way out? If the kid is as good as advertised he could possibly start in the 3rd pairing and move his way up to 2nd behind Sova relatively quickly. Drafting him would also mean we would have at least 3 puck moving defenders, Sova, Daviault, and Schaefer with Johnston not as good, but plenty capable which would be overkill IMO. Does the kid jump in right away like Drysdale did for us or does he take half a season to adjust and develop similar to Sova (who I admit was hampered slightly due to covid).

I believe the lines would look something like...

Sova/Sauder
Schaefer/Albloim
Daviault/Henry/Holomego?

Given Henry and Holomego have almost no experience do we keep Johnston as the 3rd pairing defender and try to move on from Daviault instead?

I don't see a lot of trade value in Johnston and Daviault. While promising in year one, Daviault didn't overly impress me this season with the organization. Maybe my expectations were too high or he just didn't get comfortable with all the moving parts in coaching changes and such.

Holomego and Henry seem to have the bigger frames Stan would like on defense so it's easy to see both of them filling the middle once they fill out.

I'll be curious to see how quickly Schaefer could adapt and what dominoes will fall if and when he starts showing us what he can do.

 

[NOA]

Given what is being said about MS and what I have read on scouting services, I think the expectation is definitely that he plays in the top 4. Now, will that be right away? Idk that’s going to be up to him, his conditioning, maturity, and overall confidence. From a talent standpoint, he has the ability just like Drysdale.

If he is in the top 4, it probably makes sense to put him with Johnston to start. Johnston the oldest and with over 100 games of experience. He also is a natural right side to fit in better with Schaefer’s left shot, which might make things more comfortable for both. I don’t think you can ever have too many puck moving D because I prefer someone confident to do so but the issue becomes when they are all hyper aggressive with it like Sova. Johnston is someone, as an OA, who should be comfortable doing what is needed/asked and that will probably be to “babysit” and play more stay at home. Sova will ride with whoever takes off from the rest of the bunch.

In terms of whether Schaefer means someone is on their way out - I mean it could end up being that because of collateral, yes probably. But I don’t think Erie knows who, how, or when. You let them figure it out in camp. Erie would have 8 signed D going into camp, at minimum. But don’t forget injuries play a role too and we don’t know where the rest of the 2022 picks stand in their development or what comes of the 2023 draft/u18 draft. Sauder/Alboim need to take a step forward or they risk being on the outside looking in given their age. Henry/Holomego are still super unproven, inexperienced. I’m sure SB/DB just want options - let it all play out

I don’t think this move to take Schaefer has really anything to do with them trying to move on from their current D core or any particular player. Rather, imo they just view Schaefer as the best player - which is being backed by many scouts now - and they know by 2024-25, they will need someone like him with Sova/Johnston gone. And tbh they can’t afford to just pass on who they think is the best because they want a F, as much as I do. They need the most talented especially when their D, outside of Sova, is just a bunch of guys at best. Now in an ideal world, if Schaefer is special, it gives you options to move someone like Sova at the deadline to recoup some assets. If Schaefer is top ready to be that guy, could be something like:

Sova - Daviault
Schaefer - Johnston
Henry/Holomego - Alboim/Sauder

Either way, I don’t think Schaefer would be paired with Henry or Holomego, given their age and zero experience. I think it makes sense to give him a vet like Johnston. Similar to what they did with Duff/Drysdale. Sova is too risky of a player and too similar, on top of being a L shot, to fit with Schaefer. I don’t trust Daviault either. That basically leaves Johnston.