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

[OttersFan]

Seattle is headed back to the Memorial Cup… interesting how they could turn around in 2017 and reload.

I hope this year will be better. It has to be.

 

[OHLFAN2001]

Did they hand out a roster? Wondering how many of this year's draft picks showed up.

Rimmer and Hagshi are 2005s. They were not impressive

 

[Section5Petes]

Pic of Connor Lockhart I thought I’d share with the team/ fans that started it all

 

[NOA]

Pic of Connor Lockhart I thought I’d share with the team/ fans that started it all

Good for him. It’s funny that some Erie fans were obsessed with his “bad character” as if that was a big part of the pie for why Erie lost or it was addition by subtraction. Yeah, Lockhart is small, didn’t develop here, and at best he’s a middle line role player but he won in PBO so he couldn’t have been that bad of a cancer to sink of ship.

Fact of the matter is, a little bit of bad character is going to be present in any locker room of 16-20 year old teen boys. But it’s going to be rampant on a team with a lack of talent and a losing culture. I’m glad Lockhart showed he wasn’t the main issue. A little bit of talent and coaching around him, and at minimum he could have had some more success here.

 

[Section5Petes]

Good for him. It’s funny that some Erie fans were obsessed with his “bad character” as if that was a big part of the pie for why Erie lost or it was addition by subtraction. Yeah, Lockhart is small, didn’t develop here, and at best he’s a middle line role player but he won in PBO so he couldn’t have been that bad of a cancer to sink of ship.

Fact of the matter is, a little bit of bad character is going to be present in any locker room of 16-20 year old teen boys. But it’s going to be rampant on a team with a lack of talent and a losing culture. I’m glad Lockhart showed he wasn’t the main issue. A little bit of talent and coaching around him, and at minimum he could have had some more success here.

Well said. He definitely fit in well here with the Petes and was a fan favourite. Was truly a pleasure watching Lockhart in a Petes uniform this year. Played like he had been here for years and did so with a ton of heart and passion

 

[OHLFAN2001]

Atleast he has some size. Hopefully we can develop him so he makes it on the roster.

Another JRC product. Solid kid and awesome family. He will be a gold fit for this squad

 

[onetimeshot]

Royston has committed to Erie.

 

[Mata]

Royston has committed to Erie.

After watching him all weekend there's probably a chance he gets some preseason action but I don't see him playing much in the regular season. I'm not sure he really beats out any of our current offensive players. Unless SB gets rid of most of our OA (possible) I'd give him one more year of development.

 

[NOA]

After watching him all weekend there's probably a chance he gets some preseason action but I don't see him playing much in the regular season. I'm not sure he really beats out any of our current offensive players. Unless SB gets rid of most of our OA (possible) I'd give him one more year of development.

That’s a good sign… 24th overall and not even on the roster. It was pegged as a reach from day 1 and now the feedback is he’s not ready. Great. Awesome use of resources when you lack the high end picks to take the “risks”

 

[Mata]

That’s a good sign… 24th overall and not even on the roster. It was pegged as a reach from day 1 and now the feedback is he’s not ready. Great. Awesome use of resources when you lack the high end picks to take the “risks”

The biggest flaws I saw with him:

His skating is behind when compared to the other skaters this weekend with the exception of maybe Holomego.
He looked lost at times on the ice. It appeared the game was moving too quickly for him and with his lack of East/West movement it really hindered his play.
His game is slower than the smaller players, by a lot, and he hasn't learned to utilize his size to his advantage like an Alfano.

Now, mind you this was all 4v4 hockey and not 5v5. He could show up at camp and perform better, but being a 2nd round pick I had to go back through our draft recap to figure out where he was on the ice and he didn't even catch my eye day 1 (two scrimmages).

I'll admit I could have watched Shaefer and Henry all day, but tried to not even pay attention to them on Sunday so I could see if we had more diamonds in the rough, so to speak.

 

[OHLFAN2001]

The biggest flaws I saw with him:

His skating is behind when compared to the other skaters this weekend with the exception of maybe Holomego.
He looked lost at times on the ice. It appeared the game was moving too quickly for him and with his lack of East/West movement it really hindered his play.
His game is slower than the smaller players, by a lot, and he hasn't learned to utilize his size to his advantage like an Alfano.

Now, mind you this was all 4v4 hockey and not 5v5. He could show up at camp and perform better, but being a 2nd round pick I had to go back through our draft recap to figure out where he was on the ice and he didn't even catch my eye day 1 (two scrimmages).

I'll admit I could have watched Shaefer and Henry all day, but tried to not even pay attention to them on Sunday so I could see if we had more diamonds in the rough, so to speak.

Another JRC product. I can assure you the kid isn't behind on development

 

[Mata]

Another JRC product. I can assure you the kid isn't behind on development

I'm just giving an opinion on what I observed. He wasn't even near the top 10 for players who were dominant over the weekend even if you eliminated Henry and Schaefer from the equation.

 

[Ringing Iron]

That’s a good sign… 24th overall and not even on the roster. It was pegged as a reach from day 1 and now the feedback is he’s not ready. Great. Awesome use of resources when you lack the high end picks to take the “risks”

This is such a short sighted outlook on development. Player development is not linear nor does it follow the same path for teach player. From all the people I’ve spoke with, Royston had a ton of potential but as a lanky power forward, he’s going to take time. Look at the big picture. It’s not about getting him OHL minutes in year one. It’s about the player they’ll be when they are 19, 20 when you want your best players clicking to be competitive.

Don’t shame them for making a pick based on long term potential.

 

[NOA]

This is such a short sighted outlook on development. Player development is not linear nor does it follow the same path for teach player. From all the people I’ve spoke with, Royston had a ton of potential but as a lanky power forward, he’s going to take time. Look at the big picture. It’s not about getting him OHL minutes in year one. It’s about the player they’ll be when they are 19, 20 when you want your best players clicking to be competitive.

Don’t shame them for making a pick based on long term potential.

Fans are allowed to be short sighted, that’s kind of expected. But since you appear to be new to the Erie thread, let me note that the team is on a 6 year rebuild, has missed the playoffs in more consecutive years than any other OHL franchise ever has, their drafting has been mediocre at best, and they haven’t really used their limited assets in the best way possible. So for those reasons, the org and GM no longer are getting the benefit of the doubt, no longer have fans playing the patient game or the wait and see mindset. Nope, sorry, fans are not happy for many valid reasons and there is probably no org in all of sports that would still have this GM employed after these last 6 years. Given the direction and state of the team, it’s probably more likely than not they reached on a kid at 24 and/or won’t be able to develop him than it is that they had the ability to project him down the road. Not to mention Erie still needs bodies, needs young players on the roster now - they aren’t in the business of necessarily long term / wait and see. They don’t have the luxury of those good teams that can afford to be patient.

They kind of have to start winning now … which means, call me crazy, but it might have made more sense to take a player at 24 who was ready year 1, not a project …

If I’m wrong about the player in 3 years, cool. As a fan, I’m allowed to be wrong. But I have hundreds of reasons to be skeptical and right now the majority of the fan base dislikes the GM/scouting for good reason

 

[Mata]

This is such a short sighted outlook on development. Player development is not linear nor does it follow the same path for teach player. From all the people I’ve spoke with, Royston had a ton of potential but as a lanky power forward, he’s going to take time. Look at the big picture. It’s not about getting him OHL minutes in year one. It’s about the player they’ll be when they are 19, 20 when you want your best players clicking to be competitive.

Don’t shame them for making a pick based on long term potential.

I would agree his longterm might be better than some of the other kids who were at camp. Sam Alfano, built similar, had a pretty good season last year for us but it took nearly 2 years for him to begin to hit an OHL level. It is the nature of the beast for bigger kids.

Our HC has pointed out playoffs this year are a must and a championship run in 2 seasons is his ultimate goal. The pick itself makes complete sense from a development standpoint but it doesn't really fit the timeline Stan had projected.

If Royston can make a huge leap in year one, whether that is for the Otters or a junior team and come back the following year and produce, then it's a solid pick and no one blinks. If it takes him 2+ years to hit his mark then our GM, coaches, and scouts have failed the fans so to speak given their goals they set with us.

I really hope his ceiling is as high as they believe, but unless he makes a huge jump between now and September or he was just that nervous he will likely be a limited asset for us this season.

I am in no way faulting the kid, he could be 100% legit. This is more a contradiction of where our leaders have stated they want to be vs how Royston could fit with us in the future.

His growth could catapult him Top 6 in year 3 but I am not sure I see him in the top 12 for the upcoming season which means year two will have to be a very solid campaign for him if he aligns with the team goals.

 

[ZinErie]

NOA, You're talking about a player you've never seen play. It was a 4 on 4 off season scrimmage. How about at least waiting until training camp,and watching the kid play, to have a negative reaction.

 

[WorkHardEveryShift]

Another JRC product. I can assure you the kid isn't behind on development

Because every JRC player makes the show. What a dumb comment

 

[Mata]

NOA, You're talking about a player you've never seen play. It was a 4 on 4 off season scrimmage. How about at least waiting until training camp,and watching the kid play, to have a negative reaction.

I think he's more concerned about the state of the team and an immediate need vs whether or not Roysten can grow into a super hockey player.

I expect our first round draft picks to come in first year, make the team, and have a formidable season depending on where in the first round they are drafted.

Rounds 2 - 4 I would expect a player to be a borderline 3rd/4th line player or an alternate and play the league minimum while staying in juniors to develop.

Anything beyond round 4 I fully expect a minimum of 1 year development in juniors if they even make the team at all.

If Roysten makes top minutes in his 3rd year, kudos to our staff for scouting and developing and kudos to Roysten for putting in the work. However, if we had an opportunity to draft a player who was ready for 3rd/4th line minutes this season and helps propel us into the playoffs, that is the greater need IMO. Had we been in year 2 of a 3 year rebuild, Roysten makes 1 million percent sense, but we're in year 5 or 6 and still have so much uncertainty.

 

[Guy In Burlington]

Is it common for any second rounder to come in and make an impact at 16? I realize it happens from time to time, but getting upset at the GM because his second rounder didn’t impress in the very first skate (which isn’t even training camp) seems a bit harsh.

 

[Mata]

Is it common for any second rounder to come in and make an impact at 16? I realize it happens from time to time, but getting upset at the GM because his second rounder didn’t impress in the very first skate (which isn’t even training camp) seems a bit harsh.

I think it all depends on the roster and the cycle you are at in a rebuild. Since Erie has been a ship without a captain so to speak since their last run in 2017 it's hard to even imagine playoffs this upcoming season and the potential for a run in two years.

When the 2nd rounder was being outplayed by pretty much everyone there you really have to stop and scratch your head given the questionable trades and draft picks of this same GM over the past 4 - 5 seasons. I hope DB and the scouts nailed this pick, he develops, and can be amazing but hindsight regarding his (GM) moves has been extremely questionable at best. The same GM who built up our draft cupboard only to empty them on players reeking of desperation and ending last year in 10th place.

Yes, our GM needs to be scrutinized and every pick should be under the microscope in the regard of was it the right choice because in most fans eyes he fails a lot more than he has succeeded in "Generally Managing" this team.

The excuses need to end of just one more year or longer term. Sorry, the longer term is now...not 3 years.

Edit: I will add it should also be scrutinized the scouting jobs being done and the selection of coaching staff over this same duration. What is going on in the organization is completely unacceptable.

 

[NOA]

Is it common for any second rounder to come in and make an impact at 16? I realize it happens from time to time, but getting upset at the GM because his second rounder didn’t impress in the very first skate (which isn’t even training camp) seems a bit harsh.

Again - it’s not singular to the pick. I’m fed up with the GM and he’s beyond thin ice. He gets no excuses so yeah call me skeptical when the pick was viewed as a reach at the time of the pick and now the first live view of the player was meh at best. Given the recent history with this org, there is no reason to be anything but pessimistic…

Sorry to offend. If I’m wrong, I literally don’t care and won’t lose sleep. I am not the GM, not being paid to make decisions. Just responding and reacting in the moment like most fans. But I’m so down on the whole operation that I would be willing to bet a decent amount that besides Schaefer, this is another dud draft and that starts with their 2nd round pick. History suggests so and when the owner hasn’t made any changes to the people making decisions, history is likely to repeat itself

 

[Mata]

Some love from Brock on Carey Terrance!

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And Brock on Sova at number 3, the good, bad, and ugly and how he can improve his game:

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[Mata]

Molnar not as high on the radar as some believed he would be an immediate impact player and a lot of caution...

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Daviault also making the list, but trending the wrong direction...

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A little different than usual, my final rankings release will only have three parts this year. Part of that is time related, but mostly it's...

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[onetimeshot]

Hammond has committed to Erie.

 

[OttersFan]

My source who regularly communicates with Jim Waters asked about training camp scrimmages. Waters said that the decisions to allow fans to the scrimmages would be made entirely by Stan Butler. Everything is up to him in the coming months.