frontsfan67
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Erie Otters 2023-24 Offseason Thread (Part 2)
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Seem to remember Brad Boyes being out a few weeks with mono during our 1st championship season.
You remember correctly. It was before the ‘02 World Juniors, and he did recover in time to play in the tournament although he wasn’t great. In fact, Stan Butler was the coach of that team and after it was done he said he was going to call Sherry Bassin and tell him to get Boyes on a power skating program.
frontsfan67
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All it takes is a few guys out of Martone, Misa, Hensler, trethewey, McQueen, Frondell, Ryabkin to start off real hot and and Schaefer starts off slow from hypothetically a while with no hardcore activities. It’s not like he will be end of the first round because of this but may not go 2 or 3 like how he has had some sites list him.
The big one though is the 2 Canada Vs US prospect games. Definitely can’t miss those- and he has to do well in those too. Will be playing all the top Americans and with the top Canadians. I have tickets to the Oshawa game I’d love to see him play.
Most important are the last viewings. The further Erie goes in the playoffs, the better for Schaefer and Spence. Everyone loves a winner.
3 Minute Minor
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It kinda depends on how it goes, mono can linger for weeks or months and it's not like a bruised ankle that you can just baby and play through, it can really kick your ass while you have it
Wouldn't be the first player to have his draft stock slapped around by mono. Timothy Liljegren comes to mind as a recent one. Sean Couturier was in the 1-2 convo with Adam Larsson but mono derailed his draft season.
To your point, everyone reacts differently and it’s too early to speculate. If it lingers or is a worst case situation, yes - of course it can impact his draft slot. But it happening now vs say February is a big difference. Even if it lingers until the holiday, he still has a full second half of the season plus potential playoffs to bounce back and with his talent, that might be all he needs to get back to the top of people’s draft boards. Will have to wait and see
3 Minute Minor
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Missing the first half of the season can completely derail a draft year though. It's already a lot of pressure and then you lose half of your window of opportunity, so much extra pressure gets thrown on that second half and you're working from way behind because you haven't been on the ice & in games while everyone is in midseason form.
There's no perfect time to get mono lol but I don't think I'd pick the start of the season since you could end up with 0 games at 100%
The good thing for Schaefer is, draft positioning doesn't define a player so it really won't actually impact the trajectory of his career at the end of the day
The year Erie won their 1st championship, Brad Boyes had mono before the Christmas break. He was Electric the 2nd half of the season, en route to his 2nd consecutive MVP. Most people who get mono don't suffer the effects for months. Is it possible? Sure. Schaefer apparently contracted mono a month before the start of the regular season. So it's also possible he'll be at 100% when the season starts.
Yeah and even some of the cited examples were still high draft picks. Could it slide him from 3rd overall to like 7th? Sure. But if he’s THAT special to warrant a top 5, let alone top 3 pick, then even half a season + playoffs will show that and teams aren’t going to be scared away from early year play when you can cite mono as part of the cause. Missing later in the year is much more likely to disturb things. And to Zin’s point, while it can happen, it’s pretty rare to linger for 3-4 months..
I would have to agree with those stating it SHOULDN'T affect his draft stock unless something out of the ordinary happens with regards to it. We aren't talking a serious injury, it's a relatively common virus amongst teenagers.
His on ice play to end the season last year in the playoffs coupled with his world juniors play matter more than this minor setback. Unless this somehow drastically affects his on ice performance it shouldn't be cause for alarm.
His on ice play to end the season last year in the playoffs coupled with his world juniors play matter more than this minor setback. Unless this somehow drastically affects his on ice performance it shouldn't be cause for alarm.
Woah.. let’s hope they both reach that projection but feels a bit high to me, especially for Spence. He needs to create more offensively before I consider him top 10 but we shall see.
If they both can match their play with that level of hype, then Erie should be in a real position to make a run. Never considered the possibility of losing Schaefer for next year but it could certainly happen. Oh well.. I still think if the team is in position to make noise, then they better add at the deadline.
I really hope the team can build off last year and reach expectations. The fanbase could use it and it’s about time we get to watch a fun, promising team with real goals beyond just ‘make the playoffs’
I didn’t check stats to prove this - but I feel like Spence really cranked it up the 2nd half of last year
frontsfan67
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Always does pretty well internationally too. I wouldn’t put him top 10 though that’s for sure. 15-20 for me until he gets more points in the O. He will be one of the oldest players in the years draft class along with martone
Spence should be gone before pick 15; he is a can’t miss top 7 forward even if just 0.5 ppg.
I think there is fair chance Misa is the first OHL player selected. I’ll go out on a limb and state Misa does not fall below #5.
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I would like to see him really take a big step offensively this year. He should have the talent around him so he doesn’t need to always carry a line but would like to see consistency and occasional nights where he just carries things. I do agree that he’s a high floor type of prospect but I just question the ceiling
Put Spence with a centre who moves the puck and he’ll put the puck in the net. Both years in the league he’s been with Terrance, who is a very nice player but doesn’t use his wingers like he should. A #1 centre should have more than 40 assists in two years.
So put him with Fimis who is probably by far our best playmaker and you think overall productivity jumps? Although all indicators are he will be lined up with Frasca to start the season.
I think right now it looks like Fimis/Edwards will be a thing, Spence/Frasca will be a thing. Terrance/Misiak will be a thing. Whom the 3rd pairings are in the lines is anyone's guess but that's kind of what Butler previewed so far in preseason.
Is anyone certain on the import rules regarding the roster?
With Misiak at camp, do they hope to hold onto Molnar to start, get a few games in maximize his trade value, and hope for the best? Is it similar to OA rules where only 2 can dress?
With Misiak at camp, do they hope to hold onto Molnar to start, get a few games in maximize his trade value, and hope for the best? Is it similar to OA rules where only 2 can dress?
I don’t like this idea at all, but I fear they will try to go this route. Outside of the top 7, Erie doesn’t have 2 other clear cut top 9 forwards. Maybe they have 1, if someone young steps up, but they definitely don’t have 2 right now and imo you are just spreading yourself out too much and I don’t think that works when trying to generate offense. I would rather have 2 ‘A’ lines and 1 ‘C’ line vs trying to create 3 ‘B/C’ lines if that makes sense.
I think they at least need to stack 1 line, then maybe they spread the other 4 guys across the 2nd/3rd line for now or until a possible trade
Yes. I mean he got Sam Alfano 27 goals last year. Alfano - again - is a nice player, but not nearly as skilled as Spence.
Personally, I'm okay with them starting the season with the talent spread out like this. I think they need to give some of the younger guys with talent (namely Royston, Hammond, and Challenger) a chance to play with some of their top guys. See if one of those players can break out and can fit in the top 9. Then you have a clearer idea of what's needed going into the deadline.
However, when it comes to playoff time, I agree with what a few of you have said. I'd definitely prefer to see a loaded up top 6 that gets more ice time, so long as they have a capable third line.
However, when it comes to playoff time, I agree with what a few of you have said. I'd definitely prefer to see a loaded up top 6 that gets more ice time, so long as they have a capable third line.
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