Erie Otters 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part One)

[OttersFan]

They didn't review. Talked amongst themselves. Happens occasionally.

Right. My vantage point wasn’t great. I might have missed something.

 

[Millpond]

Too many Rangers on just before the winning goal

 

[East Avenue Bully]

Class team, fans. Great series.

Your top line was murder. Made us split our #1 line up.

 

[OttersHockey1968]

Class team, fans. Great series.

Your top line was murder. Made us split our #1 line up.

Best of luck against London. Hopefully we can return the favor next season.

 

[superdee]

Congratulations on a series well played and close. All the best in the off season. As a Knights fan I would like to have watched game 7 tomorrow night.

 

[Habsrule]

Rangers fan coming in peace.

Congrats on the great series. The two teams traded chances and you definitely held your own. Three games went to OT and realistically the series could have looked a lot different.

You have a lot of great building blocks there for next season. You will have home ice advantage next year.

 

[SSMHoundsFan]

Was pulling for you Erie, looked like a dark horse in the Western Conference the way you man handled Kitchener at times...,

 

[Mata]

The series came down to one thing IMO...

Playoff experience

Our boys played untouchable hockey in spurts where Kitchener seemed to be the more consistent team. The battle in net between Gaudreau and Parsons was unreal at times with both goalies standing on their heads when it mattered most!

Can't take anything away from Kitchener, but we have the potential for 6 PPG players next season out of those returning. If we can shore up the net minder situation there is no reason this season wasn't just a stepping stone, but a catapult into next year!

Kitchener played a pretty consistent, close to, 60 minutes of hockey per game and we did 15 - 30. Those 15 - 30 minutes when the boys all came together showed us glimpses of how special they can become!

Draft Friday and on to next year!

Great job Erie!

 

[bobber]

That was a great playoff series Erie. Could of went either way IMO. Butler has the team going in the right direction. Good luck in the draft and going forward into next season.

 

[HockeyPops]

Edwards is very impressive, just a gamer. Question though, where was he all season before Christmas?

 

[onetimeshot]

Edwards is very impressive, just a gamer. Question though, where was he all season before Christmas?

Edwards was sent down at the end of training camp to the Toronto Patriots (OJHL)

 

[Moroz]

The series came down to one thing IMO...

Playoff experience

Our boys played untouchable hockey in spurts where Kitchener seemed to be the more consistent team. The battle in net between Gaudreau and Parsons was unreal at times with both goalies standing on their heads when it mattered most!

Can't take anything away from Kitchener, but we have the potential for 6 PPG players next season out of those returning. If we can shore up the net minder situation there is no reason this season wasn't just a stepping stone, but a catapult into next year!

Kitchener played a pretty consistent, close to, 60 minutes of hockey per game and we did 15 - 30. Those 15 - 30 minutes when the boys all came together showed us glimpses of how special they can become!

Draft Friday and on to next year!

Great job Erie!

I very much agree with everything Mata has said here. The stats show how incredibly close this series was, and one glaring deficiency in Erie's play which was the difference maker.

Goals: K - 24; E - 23

SOG: K - 200; E - 199

Parsons (6 games) : GAA - 3.28; SV%: .895; W/L: 4-2
Fraser (2 games) : GAA- 4.52; SV%: .850; W/L: 1-1
Gaudreau: (4 games): GAA - 3.16; SV%: .899; W/L: 1-0-3.

PIM: K - 63; E - 59

PP%: K - 36.8%; E - 14.3%
PK%: K - 85.7%; E - 63.2%

I believe we can say that special teams play was the key difference in this series. I think Mata is correct in pointing out that Erie's lack of consistency was also a big factor, Most likely due to to a lack of playoff experience, which also probably impacted the special team play.

All three goaltrenders made some spectacular saves, but the overall stats suggest that, at least as between Gaudreau and Parsons, the play was pretty even and that neither goalie can be said to have either stole or lost the series for his team. Their overall play was pretty much league average.

That being said, one can only wonder whether having Gaudreau in net for the entire series would have made a difference. I doubt that Gaudreau could have been expected to have bettered Fraser's 1 - 1 performance in Kitchener, but I cannot help but think that the dynamics of the series may have been different.

All of which goes to the issue of goaltending, and the decision to start the season with Lalonde and Gibbons in net. The fact that the team had to rely on EBUGs as its No. 1 goalie(s) for half the season and into the playoffs speaks for itself. As Mata points out, this is the issue for the 2024-25 season.

 

[Mata]

Outside of a net minder as probably our largest need, who do you all see being taken by us first? I can't see DB taking a goalie in round one, but he has bewildered the Otters faithful more than he has run a steady course.

I believe they will go offense first only because Sova, Daviault, Schaefer, Sauder, and Henry should provide a solid start to the defense. I'd keep Holomego, but would be looking for his replacement in the mid rounds. Offensively our biggest losses are obviously Bressette and Misiak, but we will likely lose Smith and McDonald due to overage numbers.

 

[onetimeshot]

Noticed the other day that Devin Brown is now the sole Director of Scouting

So....

David Brown - GM and EVP

Mitchell Brown - Coordinator of Player Services and Video

Devin Brown - Director of Scouting

 

[Mata]

Erie Otters 2024 OHL Priority Selection Draft Primer - Erie Otters

Erie, Pennsylvania – For the 29th time in team-history, the Erie Otters will participate in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft. After a revitalized season that saw Erie make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, Erie will now look to add to its cupboard as it looks to...

chl.ca

Shows just how bare our cupboards are with regards to early picks in the hopes of building off this past season. Just 3 picks, at present, in the first 5 rounds.

 

[onetimeshot]

Erie Otters 2024 OHL Priority Selection Draft Primer - Erie Otters

Erie, Pennsylvania – For the 29th time in team-history, the Erie Otters will participate in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft. After a revitalized season that saw Erie make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, Erie will now look to add to its cupboard as it looks to...

chl.ca

Shows just how bare our cupboards are with regards to early picks in the hopes of building off this past season. Just 3 picks, at present, in the first 5 rounds.

Nice of them to spell it all out where DB1 sent those picks.

 

[NOA]

Noticed the other day that Devin Brown is now the sole Director of Scouting

So....

David Brown - GM and EVP

Mitchell Brown - Coordinator of Player Services and Video

Devin Brown - Director of Scouting

The nepotism is disgusting

Hard to root for them because them winning or improving just means we get more of DB…

Well, it was a fun season especially when compared to the past few years that we have dealt with…

Losing 3 OT games is a killer. Easily could have won the series and it probably deserved to at least go 7 games even if Erie wasn’t going to win it. On the bright side, Erie’s best skaters should be back next year. The emergence of Edwards is big for this team and the fact that he didn’t disappear in the playoffs gives me more optimism for him next season. Fimis also stepped up and Alfano had a bigger impact this year than I expected. I’m disappointed in Terrance’s second half of the year, the younger 1st year forwards, and Misiak.

If Molnar returns, the top 6 forwards next year (Terrance, Spence, Fimis, Alfano, Edwards, Molnar) looks promising. There is also a potential option to flip an OA forward for a younger player and keep McDonald as an OA, but only if McDonald continues to develop. If they can add an import forward and have a younger forward develop into at least a 3rd liner, then their offense should be pretty good.

Losing Johnston hurts the backend but everyone else is eligible to return. Schaefer will be the key to their ceiling. He dealt with a lot in his personal life this year which had to have impacted him on the ice. If he can add some weight and gain more confidence then he should be much improved.

The biggest hole will be replacing Gaudreau. They also need better performances from their backup goalie spot and Gibbons doesn’t appear to be any answer for them. Without improvement in net, they aren’t going much further next year. But if they can figure that out and use their import pick wisely - they have potential to be a dangerous team

 

[Mata]

Look out, making moves!!!

 

[onetimeshot]

Look out, making moves!!!

J. Ross Robertson cup here we come!

 

[Guy In Burlington]

One of those trades where it may take several years to determine who truly got the better end of the deal.

But in seriousness, while there’s nothing wrong with that trade I think it’s an interesting decision to promote it.

 

[NOA]

One of those trades where it may take several years to determine who truly got the better end of the deal.

But in seriousness, while there’s nothing wrong with that trade I think it’s an interesting decision to promote it.

They post every trade and every transaction. I wouldn’t call it promoting.. I would call it just informing the fans. As they should. Every franchise across all sports does the same thing

 

[Guy In Burlington]

They post every trade and every transaction. I wouldn’t call it promoting.. I would call it just informing the fans. As they should. Every franchise across all sports does the same thing

Yeah, I know, and fair enough. The exclamation point at the end just made me chuckle, as if this was something noteworthy.

 

[OttersFan]

I can confirm that Misiak will not be back next season. He is slated to head to the AHL. Erie should use his import spot as a goalie.

 

[Mata]

I can confirm that Misiak will not be back next season. He is slated to head to the AHL. Erie should use his import spot as a goalie.

If they can land a solid goalie through trade then why not use the import pick on a high end forward and/or defender to round out their 6?

I know one thing is for certain, they won't grab their number 1 goalie tonight and we have 3 months until the import draft, but goalie is undeniably of utmost importance.

 

[OttersFan]

If they can land a solid goalie through trade then why not use the import pick ok a high end forward and/or defender to round out their 6?

I know one thing is for certain, they won't grab their number 1 goalie tonight and we have 3 months until the import draft, but goalie is undeniably of utmost importance.

The import draft doesn’t have to be a goalie, but how much can Erie spend for a solid goalie? We don’t have a ton of assets to give. I just predict an import would be a goalie. I have no info aside from just a guess.

Schaefer having someone to compliment him would be huge especially with Sova as an OA next year.

Maybe the find a goalie in the U18 draft? Someone older, more experience. We’ve had success there and clearly finding Fraser in an emergency worked in their favor.

I have really no scouting info other than a lot of our scouts quit at the beginning of the year. They were tired of DB.