Draft Review
Had a chance to read some stuff on the 2022 draft prospects so here is a little overview from me:
Spence - immediate impact type player. Expectations should be high and I think he can compete for rookie of the year
Gibbons - really big frame and a candidate to be the #2 goalie this year behind Lalonde. Either way, his skills and size will certainly have him getting some action this year even if 4-5 games
Sawyer - seems like he projects more like a Pettit or Betz type of big forward. Needs to work on his first few strides and skating to really put it all together. That said, Erie needs size and there is room for him to crack the lineup right away. I would expect him to do so. He projects more like a middle lineup player or complimentary piece.
Holomego, Henry, Watson - all big bodied defensemen who will have time to develop given the current roster on the backend. No need to rush any prospect but I think the idea for Erie here was to have at least 1 pan out and hopefully 2. Ty seems like the better skater of the bunch but Holomego and Watson have huge size for their age and I would imagine that as they learn to play with their size more, they will have a solid chance at a good OHL career.
Good - my favorite sleeper of the draft. Was ranked 43rd by Prospect Pipeline in December. Clearly undersized but led the entire ETA in scoring at nearly 1 GPG and 2 PPG. Given the roster, he is unlikely to make the team but a really good candidate to sign after camp with the intention of seeing him here in 2023-24.
The others that stand out in the later half of the draft are Kuipers (a lot of production for Quinte Red Devils), Morello (bigger forward with a PPG production in the GTHL) and Curd (defender who is already 6’6 205lbs).
Early look at the 2022-23 depth chart:
Bressette - Terrance - Lockhart
Import (?) - Saganiuk - Cohen
Smith/Lowe - Spence - Ross/Artichuk
Edwards - Smith/Lowe - Ross/Artichuk
Sawyer
Morton - Kyrou
Sova - Thompson
Johnston - Sauder
Alboim
Lalonde
Import
I don’t know whether Kulakov will be back or not but everything I will have is based on him NOT returning so keep that in mind. Hopefully Erie figures that out prior to the import draft next month. Please don’t allow for another Cajka situation... I’m full on projecting and guessing on the goalie spot but makes sense to go the import route if Kulakov isn’t back and actually might be a better solution for them. I’m not wasting an OA spot on Campbell. He has never played like a starting caliber goalie and I don’t see why that would change now. They can do better on a backup that isn’t using the OA spot. Instead, keep Thompson over Kulakov and get a backup import goalie with your 2nd round pick.
Given that Erie emphasized size this draft class and Brown knows they need to upgrade it, I will say that Sedore is a likely trade candidate. He also might actually get a decent return so more incentive to put him on the market. Though I like his game and could see a jump next year, his small size is sooo redundant in their lineup and they need to reverse the trend. If they do move on from him (plus Sellan) and add an import with some size (plus Spence/Sawyer with size) they will already be bigger than last year at forward. So that’s a step in the right direction. I think Spence could be a top 6 forward at some point but I won’t put that expectation on him and if they draft an import forward at 12th overall, there is a logjam of options. He’s likely going to start on the 3rd line, but I just hope the guys around him will compliment his game
I think it is great to have this many options going into preseason!
Bresette, Cohen, Sedore, Lockhart, Terrance, and Saganiuk have to be the early top 6 for forwards.
Spence may have some time in the top 6 throughout the season as he adjusts, but I fully expect him on the 3rd line starting the season out. I think part of our success up front hinges on how well Smith, Lowe, Artichuk, and Ross develop. They should be game ready day 1 given they all saw a decent amount of playing time.
Sawyer to me will likely be 4th line to lose player. They wouldn't have opted for a 2nd second round pick if they didn't need to which means to me if they land an import there is going to be a battle for roster spots on lines 3 and 4 in the sense that Artichuk, Ross, Edwards, Sawyer, and possibly either Smith or Lowe are fighting for.
That leaves us trade value in Sedore, or even another forward for that matter. Right now we have two options regarding OA that are obvious to me...
Cohen, Sedore, Thomspon, Morton
Run 2 forward OA and 1 Defensive OA or run 1 Forward OA and 2 Defensive OA. I think they will shop around a few of the OA and get the best return they can so really no one is technically off the table.
With regards to goalie, unless they change the OA rules one would think Campbell is either traded asap or released. There is no other plausible way forward for him IMO. That leaves us with Nicholls or Gibbons as the backup currently. Perhaps they give Gibbons 1 year in juniors to develop and keep Nicholls up if he has grown at all and his confidence isn't totally shot, but I think the draft moves indicate otherwise.
Whatever is going on behind the scenes will help shape our direction with regards to the import draft and give us our next clues as to how the pieces will look going into camp.
Unless someone has really improved/impressed I think most of the faces will be back but this will be our first camp removed from Hartsburg so it wouldn't be totally surprising to see a shake-up.
Lastly, coaching...I still believe they give BJ a chance...1 year, though likely 2. I have to believe if BJ falters next season both him and DB are gone and even possibly Vince. I hope Jim has some scouting going on because I'm not totally opposed to getting rid of the entire coaching staff/GM at this point for a fresh start.
