Kingston Frontenacs 2023-24 Season Thread (Part 2)

[frontsfan67]

I think you can almost pencil that matchup in for round one. I still have Ottawa winning the division and Kingston finishing 7th. You may get what you ask for.

Oshawa and Brantford stumbling a bit lately. Maybe those teams are starting to come back to reality?

That would be the dream for kingston. I don’t like the matchup vs Sudbury, north bay, Mississauga, brantford…Oshawa I would be okay with. The only one I’m confident in is an Ottawa one lol.

We have seen 7th and 8th seeds knock off divisional leaders lots of times and I would love that matchup.

However in reality kingston although they’re down- they’re not out of the divisional race either especially if they keep winning divisional games like tonight. Over the next 3 games they could win all 3 realistically. They would surly be gaining some ground on the rest of the pack doing so and you gotta think they know they need these wins.

 

[OMG67]

That would be the dream for kingston. I don’t like the matchup vs Sudbury, north bay, Mississauga, brantford…Oshawa I would be okay with. The only one I’m confident in is an Ottawa one lol.

We have seen 7th and 8th seeds knock off divisional leaders lots of times and I would love that matchup.

However in reality kingston although they’re down- they’re not out of the divisional race either especially if they keep winning divisional games like tonight. Over the next 3 games they could win all 3 realistically. They would surly be gaining some ground on the rest of the pack doing so and you gotta think they know they need these wins.

Don’t get delusional. Stay in the rhelm of reality. They would need to make up 13 points in 17 games. If the Fronts went 15-2 the rest of the way, they’d finish with 81 points. That means the teams ahead of them would need to go no more than:

Brantford -> 8-8-0
Oshawa -> 9-6-1
Ottawa -> 10-7-1

These teams have too many head to head divisional games:

Brantford x5
Oshawa x3
Ottawa x5

First, it would be near impossible for Kingston to go 15-2 to finish the season. A great finish would be 12-5 for 75 points. Then, Brantford would need to go 5-11, Ottawa would need to go 8-10 and Oshawa would need to go 7-9 To get Kingston the division. If they were in 2nd place and needed one of those teams to fall out of the sky then maybe. But hopping over three? Ouch.

So, let’s be realistic. I can see one of Brantford, Ottawa, or Oshawa falling out of the race and finish the season in the tank. Kingston could realistically finish 3rd in the division if they get to around 12-5 the rest of the way. But, even then, they would need help from one other team to fall in the toilet.

Ottawa plays 9 of their remaining 18 against teams that are .500 or less. Oshawa 6 games. Brantford 7 games. I don’t see how any of this falls in Kingston’s favour.

At this point you need to hope for a 7 vs 2 matchup with Ottawa and pray to Gawd that the regular season carries over to the playoffs. And that doesn’t happen too often. I can’t count how many times a low seed team had that stellar regular season record vs a division winner and then got pumped in round one because the games mattered.

 

[frontsfan67]

Don’t get delusional. Stay in the rhelm of reality. They would need to make up 13 points in 17 games. If the Fronts went 15-2 the rest of the way, they’d finish with 81 points. That means the teams ahead of them would need to go no more than:

Brantford -> 8-8-0
Oshawa -> 9-6-1
Ottawa -> 10-7-1

These teams have too many head to head divisional games:

Brantford x5
Oshawa x3
Ottawa x5

First, it would be near impossible for Kingston to go 15-2 to finish the season. A great finish would be 12-5 for 75 points. Then, Brantford would need to go 5-11, Ottawa would need to go 8-10 and Oshawa would need to go 7-9 To get Kingston the division. If they were in 2nd place and needed one of those teams to fall out of the sky then maybe. But hopping over three? Ouch.

So, let’s be realistic. I can see one of Brantford, Ottawa, or Oshawa falling out of the race and finish the season in the tank. Kingston could realistically finish 3rd in the division if they get to around 12-5 the rest of the way. But, even then, they would need help from one other team to fall in the toilet.

Ottawa plays 9 of their remaining 18 against teams that are .500 or less. Oshawa 6 games. Brantford 7 games. I don’t see how any of this falls in Kingston’s favour.

At this point you need to hope for a 7 vs 2 matchup with Ottawa and pray to Gawd that the regular season carries over to the playoffs. And that doesn’t happen too often. I can’t count how many times a low seed team had that stellar regular season record vs a division winner and then got pumped in round one because the games mattered.

If the fronts are playing Ottawa with the Michelin man in net- Ottawa is toast. Simple as that. 13/14 possible points against you guys this year isn’t just out of luck.

Last year 8 seed Kitchener swept 1 seed windsor in round 1

and 1 seed Ottawa lost to 4 seed Peterborough in 6 games in second round

Year before 7 seed Kitchener took out 2 seed london

Upsets do happen and WILL happen. It is inevitable it happens every year. Just a matter of who and when.

Hypothetically if we did play you guys and you guys got home ice- who is to say that it may not work out for you? Stats are stats and the stat of the day is we beat you guys all 4 times in your home barn.

 

[frontsfan67]

Through 7 games kingston has scored 35 goals on Ottawa for an even 5 goals per game.

Through 7 games Ottawa has scored 19 goals on kingston for a goals per game of 2.71

Kingston is probably the last team Ottawa would want to play come playoff time lol. 1-6 vs kingston

Ottawa vs Oshawa - Ottawa 4-1 season series

Ottawa vs Barrie - Ottawa 1-0 so far but best barrie 8-3

Ottawa vs Brantford 1-1 season series

 

[OMG67]

If the fronts are playing Ottawa with the Michelin man in net- Ottawa is toast. Simple as that. 13/14 possible points against you guys this year isn’t just out of luck.

Last year 8 seed Kitchener swept 1 seed windsor in round 1

and 1 seed Ottawa lost to 4 seed Peterborough in 6 games in second round

Year before 7 seed Kitchener took out 2 seed london

Upsets do happen and WILL happen. It is inevitable it happens every year. Just a matter of who and when.

Hypothetically if we did play you guys and you guys got home ice- who is to say that it may not work out for you? Stats are stats and the stat of the day is we beat you guys all 4 times in your home barn.

Yes, and the 67’s had a regular season record against the Petes (5-2). North Bay was 4-0 vs the Petes. Sudbury was 3-1 vs the Petes. Windsor was 4-0 vs Kitchener. That’s a total 16-3 but it didn’t matter at all. Don’t look at regular season records and assume they carry over to the playoffs. They mostly don’t.

There are a lot of factors at play at different periods of the season. Sometimes good teams just have a problem against one particular poor to average team in the regular season. It happens. Who knows why. But, the playoffs are different.

And I am not saying that there are no upsets. Clearly there are. Theya re very few and far between though. It is the exception to the norm.

And you also can’t use the Petes last year as a team that upset anyone because of where they were in the standings. They did the most at the deadline and entered the season as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They simply underachieved in the regular season. Neither Ottawa, nor Kingston (nor any team in the Eastern Conference) would be comparable to the Petes last season.

I think we agree that the playoffs are a different season. But, looking at the regular season record of Ottawa vs Kingston is not an indicator of what will happen in the playoffs. If Ottawa enters the playoffs healthy and on a ten game winning streak and Oshawa enters the playoffs winning 2 of their last ten with two key injuries, I think I’d rather play Oshawa if I were Kingston. There are so many variables. Regular season record is only one of those many.

IMO, there are no truly good teams in the Eastern Conference. It is ripe for what some would call upsets. I really don’t think any series win other than 8 vs 1 would be considered a true upset compared to normal years.

 

[Truthking]

First, it would be near impossible for Kingston to go 15-2 to finish the season. A great finish would be 12-5 for 75 points. Then, Brantford would need to go 5-11, Ottawa would need to go 8-10 and Oshawa would need to go 7-9 To get Kingston the division. If they were in 2nd place and needed one of those teams to fall out of the sky then maybe. But hopping over three? Ouch.

I’d be willing to bet my house that kingston finishes no better then 10-7. It really worries me that they’re all in for next year but still have 4 or 5 holes to fill.

 

[ScoutLife4]

Yes, and the 67’s had a regular season record against the Petes (5-2). Windsor was 4-0 vs Kitchener. Don’t look at regular season records and assume they carry over to the playoffs. They mostly don’t.

There are a lot of factors at play at different periods of the season. Sometimes good teams just have a problem against one particular poor to average team in the regular season. It happens. Who knows why. But, the playoffs are different.

And I am not saying that there are no upsets. Clearly there are. Theya re very few and far between though. It is the exception to the norm.

And you also can’t use the Petes last year as a team that upset anyone because of where they were in the standings. They did the most at the deadline and entered the season as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They simply underachieved in the regular season. Neither Ottawa, nor Kingston (nor any team in the Eastern Conference) would be comparable to the Petes last season.

I think we agree that the playoffs are a different season. But, looking at the regular season record of Ottawa vs Kingston is not an indicator of what will happen in the playoffs. If Ottawa enters the playoffs healthy and on a ten game winning streak and Oshawa enters the playoffs winning 2 of their last ten with two key injuries, I think I’d rather play Oshawa if I were Kingston. There are so many variables. Regular season record is only one of those many.

IMO, there are no truly good teams in the Eastern Conference. It is ripe for what some would call upsets. I really don’t think any series win other than 8 vs 1 would be considered a true upset compared to normal years.

respectfully I think you keep searching for reasons to try and convince people Ottawa is this great team when they are not. -The are about as mid as it gets and completely wasted a bunch of 2/3 round picks at the deadline.
Oshawa, Sudbury, NB, Maybe even Mississauga if they play their physical style but stay disciplined will all have their way with Ottawa in a playoff series.
They are a very soft team that can't play a psychical game with a very weak special teams.

This is not going to translate well into the playoffs at all.
The goaltending also has a massive question mark as Macker doesn't appear to be able to stay healthy. (Kingston has this same problem but at least he stays healthy)

I don't think either of these teams are built for a deep run and the only way Kingston see's round 2 is if they match up against Ottawa.

 

[ktownfan]

I just seen the McGowan / Barlas Scrap.
That McGowan kid can chuck em

Good middleweight tilt

 

[OMG67]

I’d be willing to bet my house that kingston finishes no better then 10-7. It really worries me that they’re all in for next year but still have 4 or 5 holes to fill.

We don’t know they are all in for next year. FI they were, the “all-in” would have started this season with a Ludwinski trade. The true teams that are all in for next year acted like it at the deadline this year.

Kingston will have a good team next year. There will be some weak teams in the conference next year. I think Kingston will be in the mix but the way Mississauga is set up, I think they are the clear favourite and could potentially be so far ahead at the deadline, it won’t matter.

I think Misa will end up in Mississauga as well. They have 2 or 3 OA spots open next year. I think they could be a juggernaut.

Brantford should be very strong as well. Kingston will be good. But, I think with what we are potentially seeing next season with a couple other teams, it may not be good enough for Kingston.

 

[ScoutLife4]

Good middleweight tilt

I'm not even sure why they fought the OHL stream just showed them barely rubbing into each other then pans away because the play was 50 feet from them and then all a sudden they are throwing down.
Anyone see what triggered the fight that was at the game?

 

[dirty12]

Yes, and the 67’s had a regular season record against the Petes (5-2). North Bay was 4-0 vs the Petes. Sudbury was 3-1 vs the Petes. Windsor was 4-0 vs Kitchener. That’s a total 16-3 but it didn’t matter at all. Don’t look at regular season records and assume they carry over to the playoffs. They mostly don’t.

There are a lot of factors at play at different periods of the season. Sometimes good teams just have a problem against one particular poor to average team in the regular season. It happens. Who knows why. But, the playoffs are different.

And I am not saying that there are no upsets. Clearly there are. Theya re very few and far between though. It is the exception to the norm.

And you also can’t use the Petes last year as a team that upset anyone because of where they were in the standings. They did the most at the deadline and entered the season as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They simply underachieved in the regular season. Neither Ottawa, nor Kingston (nor any team in the Eastern Conference) would be comparable to the Petes last season.

I think the battalion might be better now than last season. I'm sure the D is. There are better line combinations as well, but they are significantly lighter which could be problematic for overall team defence.
The wolves might be better than the battalion. So there are teams comparable to last seasons Petes imo.

I think we agree that the playoffs are a different season. But, looking at the regular season record of Ottawa vs Kingston is not an indicator of what will happen in the playoffs. If Ottawa enters the playoffs healthy and on a ten game winning streak and Oshawa enters the playoffs winning 2 of their last ten with two key injuries, I think I’d rather play Oshawa if I were Kingston. There are so many variables. Regular season record is only one of those many.

IMO, there are no truly good teams in the Eastern Conference. It is ripe for what some would call upsets. I really don’t think any series win other than 8 vs 1 would be considered a true upset compared to normal years.

I would not be too surprised if any one of Brantford, Oshawa, or Ottawa win two playoff series.

 

[Logosarejusttargets]

I'm not even sure why they fought the OHL stream just showed them barely rubbing into each other then pans away because the play was 50 feet from them and then all a sudden they are throwing down.
Anyone see what triggered the fight that was at the game?

I was there - nothing really set it off. They had fought previously, so they must have been yapping/chirping at each other and decided to go again. They did fight - quite a few punches thrown by both guys - McGowan landed more quality ones.

respectfully I think you keep searching for reasons to try and convince people Ottawa is this great team when they are not. -The are about as mid as it gets and completely wasted a bunch of 2/3 round picks at the deadline.
Oshawa, Sudbury, NB, Maybe even Mississauga if they play their physical style but stay disciplined will all have their way with Ottawa in a playoff series.
They are a very soft team that can't play a psychical game with a very weak special teams.

This is not going to translate well into the playoffs at all.
The goaltending also has a massive question mark as Macker doesn't appear to be able to stay healthy. (Kingston has this same problem but at least he stays healthy)

I don't think either of these teams are built for a deep run and the only way Kingston see's round 2 is if they match up against Ottawa.

I think they honestly think their fortunes will ride with Mackenzie. He had a groin injury, returned and then aggravated it - so once that is better hopefully for him he can stay healthy. Michelone is not a good goalie - I think that 7-0-1 record he had with 67s going into last night was smoke and mirrors because he has never been a very strong goalie with any consistency in Flint or Windsor.

 

[frontsfan67]

Yes, and the 67’s had a regular season record against the Petes (5-2). North Bay was 4-0 vs the Petes. Sudbury was 3-1 vs the Petes. Windsor was 4-0 vs Kitchener. That’s a total 16-3 but it didn’t matter at all. Don’t look at regular season records and assume they carry over to the playoffs. They mostly don’t.

There are a lot of factors at play at different periods of the season. Sometimes good teams just have a problem against one particular poor to average team in the regular season. It happens. Who knows why. But, the playoffs are different.

And I am not saying that there are no upsets. Clearly there are. Theya re very few and far between though. It is the exception to the norm.

And you also can’t use the Petes last year as a team that upset anyone because of where they were in the standings. They did the most at the deadline and entered the season as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They simply underachieved in the regular season. Neither Ottawa, nor Kingston (nor any team in the Eastern Conference) would be comparable to the Petes last season.

I think we agree that the playoffs are a different season. But, looking at the regular season record of Ottawa vs Kingston is not an indicator of what will happen in the playoffs. If Ottawa enters the playoffs healthy and on a ten game winning streak and Oshawa enters the playoffs winning 2 of their last ten with two key injuries, I think I’d rather play Oshawa if I were Kingston. There are so many variables. Regular season record is only one of those many.

IMO, there are no truly good teams in the Eastern Conference. It is ripe for what some would call upsets. I really don’t think any series win other than 8 vs 1 would be considered a true upset compared to normal years.

Kingston has definitely way underachieved this year for sure.

Second of all Ottawa won’t be going on any 10 game winning streaks this year.

And lastly Kitchener was the 8th seed last year but underachieved like kingston has this year and got the matchup they wanted clearly as they swept #1 seed Windsor. Was clear as day though before the playoffs Windsor would have a tough time with them as they loaded up throughout the year. Didn’t think they’d get swept though. matchups for the 7th and 8th seed in the west pretty much went down to the last day last year.

 

[frontsfan67]

We don’t know they are all in for next year. FI they were, the “all-in” would have started this season with a Ludwinski trade. The true teams that are all in for next year acted like it at the deadline this year.

Kingston will have a good team next year. There will be some weak teams in the conference next year. I think Kingston will be in the mix but the way Mississauga is set up, I think they are the clear favourite and could potentially be so far ahead at the deadline, it won’t matter.

I think Misa will end up in Mississauga as well. They have 2 or 3 OA spots open next year. I think they could be a juggernaut.

Brantford should be very strong as well. Kingston will be good. But, I think with what we are potentially seeing next season with a couple other teams, it may not be good enough for Kingston.

Saginaw won’t be trading Misa the exceptional status kid in his draft year that would be a HUGE mistake for them. He will bring people in to see the game. Parekh, Willis and company will prob be traded though.

 

[ottsabrefan]

A few (late) comments on the game last night:
- Can see why Dubois will do well in the playoffs. He was wrecking 67s plays and causing all kinds of trouble. Then adding offence. I predict Fronts fans won’t be complaining about him when the chips are down
- Again I liked McNamara. He is slowly adjusting and this trade could playoff as well
- Ludwinski looked like himself. The 67s had no answer for his speed.
- Soto looked invisible for most the game. Battaglia was quiet as well.
- Schmidt and Burns were rocks. The 67s had a rough time against those two. Less so against the other four.
- Holmes was horrible on the second goal. Can’t have that happen out of your OA Dman.
-McGowan looked good (though I like him more than most I think)
- Mason played well. We gave up a lot of decent shots, and had way too many scrambles in front of our goal.
- It feels like 67s fans whine about the refs a disproportionately more than any other fans. They had the only four PPs of the game, and the refs were clearly pro-Ottawa, and yet they are still yelling at them for more late in the game after three straight iffy calls.
- The 67s look soft and slow. I’m not sure how they have so many wins but I agree with the others that the Fronts would love a playoff series with them.

 

[OMG67]

Kingston has definitely way underachieved this year for sure.

Second of all Ottawa won’t be going on any 10 game winning streaks this year.

And lastly Kitchener was the 8th seed last year but underachieved like kingston has this year and got the matchup they wanted clearly as they swept #1 seed Windsor. Was clear as day though before the playoffs Windsor would have a tough time with them as they loaded up throughout the year. Didn’t think they’d get swept though. matchups for the 7th and 8th seed in the west pretty much went down to the last day last year.

You are not being realistic. If you go back to the pre-season prediction thread, how many people had Kingston as the favourite to win the conference? Not many. The previous year most everyone had Peterborough winning the conference. Either them or North Bay. Other than me, no one had Ottawa.

The Eastern Conference this year is a steaming pile of manure. It is reflected in how weak the top teams win% are. Sudbury would be the 4th place team in the Western Conference. They’d have finished as the 4th seed last year in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile they give up goals at an alarming rate. Only three playoff teams int he entire league have given up more goals against. That is going to kill them in the playoffs when scoring goals gets more difficult for them.

The Petes underachieved last year but still finished at .544 win%. Kingston is struggling to maintain .500. The Petes added two key OA’s, and Elite Centre as well as a couple early season trades. They also had a bonafide top 3 goalie. Don’t compare Kingston to the Petes. It makes you look silly.

Stick with the argument that there really isn’t a big margin between the 1st and 7th place teams. There are no elite teams in the Eastern Conference. That makes it viable for a 6th or 7th place team to win in the 1st round. To me, that is a valid argument all by itself. Trying to draw comparisons to Kitchener who also spent at the deadline like sailors at port last season with Kingston this season that basically did next to nothing is disingenuous and quite simply not relevant.

If Kingston (or any other low seed team) wins in round one, it isn’t because they underachieved this year and are significantly betteR than their record. It is because the teams at the top of the conference are more beatable this year than most any other year. 11 points separate 6th and 1st. Same gap between 3rd and 7th. It is basically a meaningless gap. Last year there was a 34 point gap between 1st and 4th in the conference.

Again, stick to the argument that there really isn’t a lot that separates 1st and 7th. To me, that is a very reasonable argument that is pretty hard to refute. We could go into advanced stats and trade deadline additions etc but at the end of the day, the difference isn’t enough to die on that hill. But, dont point to the Petes or Kitchener last year as comparables. Both of those teams would wipe the ice with Kingston in 4 straight games. It is likely that both of those teams would beat all the teams in this years Eastern Conference in a playoff series. Most of those series wouldn’t’ be all that close.

 

[Logosarejusttargets]

A few (late) comments on the game last night:
- Can see why Dubois will do well in the playoffs. He was wrecking 67s plays and causing all kinds of trouble. Then adding offence. I predict Fronts fans won’t be complaining about him when the chips are down
- Again I liked McNamara. He is slowly adjusting and this trade could playoff as well
- Ludwinski looked like himself. The 67s had no answer for his speed.
- Soto looked invisible for most the game. Battaglia was quiet as well.
- Schmidt and Burns were rocks. The 67s had a rough time against those two. Less so against the other four.
- Holmes was horrible on the second goal. Can’t have that happen out of your OA Dman.
-McGowan looked good (though I like him more than most I think)
- Mason played well. We gave up a lot of decent shots, and had way too many scrambles in front of our goal.
- It feels like 67s fans whine about the refs a disproportionately more than any other fans. They had the only four PPs of the game, and the refs were clearly pro-Ottawa, and yet they are still yelling at them for more late in the game after three straight iffy calls.
- The 67s look soft and slow. I’m not sure how they have so many wins but I agree with the others that the Fronts would love a playoff series with them.

this statement right here below is 100% True!!! All game long - every game - no matter what section you sit in (I've gone to every fronts game in ottawa the past 2 years, plus went to 67s games sporadically over the past few years.

It feels like 67s fans whine about the refs a disproportionately more than any other fans. They had the only four PPs of the game, and the refs were clearly pro-Ottawa, and yet they are still yelling at them for more late in the game after three straight iffy calls."

 

[OMG67]

this statement right here below is 100% True!!! All game long - every game - no matter what section you sit in (I've gone to every fronts game in ottawa the past 2 years, plus went to 67s games sporadically over the past few years.

That is the same no matter what rink you are in. I was in Kingston twice earlier this year and there were a few guys each game sitting around me whining like crazy. It happens in every rink. The home crowd always wants penalties for every little thing and then go nuts when the calls go against them. It is normal.

You need to remember that in Ottawa, there are a lot of casual fans because of group sales and specials. Most don’t really have a strong grasp on Junior Hockey vs NHL. They go to NHL games and see the games officiated differently. Too many ”fans” go to like 2 or 3 games per year because their kid gets group tickets through their minor hockey program etc. They really don’t know the game that well. Pointing to them as “fans” is not really accurate. They are more “attendees.”

 

[Logosarejusttargets]

That is the same no matter what rink you are in. I was in Kingston twice earlier this year and there were a few guys each game sitting around me whining like crazy. It happens in every rink. The home crowd always wants penalties for every little thing and then go nuts when the calls go against them. It is normal.

You need to remember that in Ottawa, there are a lot of casual fans because of group sales and specials. Most don’t really have a strong grasp on Junior Hockey vs NHL. They go to NHL games and see the games officiated differently. Too many ”fans” go to like 2 or 3 games per year because their kid gets group tickets through their minor hockey program etc. They really don’t know the game that well. Pointing to them as “fans” is not really accurate. They are more “attendees.”

I know every teams fans whine and complain about the refs. Admittedly there are people at Leons (soon to be Slush Puppie place) that throw their hands up at just about everything. That being said I have been to every rink this year (and many other years) that the Fronts have played in with the exception of the Soo and Guelph - and without a doubt the 67 fans are in a league of their own. Making excuses /complaining about refs the second the officiating crew is announced, let alone the puck being dropped.

 

[frontsfan67]

You are not being realistic. If you go back to the pre-season prediction thread, how many people had Kingston as the favourite to win the conference? Not many. The previous year most everyone had Peterborough winning the conference. Either them or North Bay. Other than me, no one had Ottawa.

I had Ottawa, kingston and Sudbury as my 3 east favourites in that order. And of the 3 kingston has by far underachieved more than either of the other teams. Lots of reasons for it though- poor start, injuries to key players, suspensions to key players etc. when they have a full, rested team they look like they can play with anyone in the east.

The Eastern Conference this year is a steaming pile of manure. It is reflected in how weak the top teams win% are. Sudbury would be the 4th place team in the Western Conference. They’d have finished as the 4th seed last year in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile they give up goals at an alarming rate. Only three playoff teams int he entire league have given up more goals against. That is going to kill them in the playoffs when scoring goals gets more difficult for them.

Absolutely I think Sudbury is going out like the 67’s last year in round 2 and it will be a big shocker to most.

The Petes underachieved last year but still finished at .544 win%. Kingston is struggling to maintain .500. The Petes added two key OA’s, and Elite Centre as well as a couple early season trades. They also had a bonafide top 3 goalie. Don’t compare Kingston to the Petes. It makes you look silly.

Kingston has added a top 4 d man (Holmes) at start of year (had to get surgery and hasn’t been the same since), another top 4 d man(Chromiak who hasn’t been the best trade for the fronts but will be back next year), top 9 forward in mcnamara(who has been one of the best fronts over the last 5-10 games oddly enough), an older backup in downey, a top pairing d man in Schmidt (ppg with fronts playing 25-30min per night good defensively, big body), Dubois who won a championship with the Pete’s last year playing winning hockey- he comes here and he is playing winning hockey too. He was a ppg with Peterborough playing very good defensively and on faceoffs. Oh also last year oddly enough was a 3rd liner for the Pete’s, he comes here and he is a 3rd liner for the fronts.

Kingston has clearly added some important pieces - not the calibre of an Owen beck/Avery hayes/Brennan Othmann but some good players.

Stick with the argument that there really isn’t a big margin between the 1st and 7th place teams. There are no elite teams in the Eastern Conference. That makes it viable for a 6th or 7th place team to win in the 1st round. To me, that is a valid argument all by itself. Trying to draw comparisons to Kitchener who also spent at the deadline like sailors at port last season with Kingston this season that basically did next to nothing is disingenuous and quite simply not relevant.

As listed above it clearly is not next to nothing LOL

 

[OMG67]

I had Ottawa, kingston and Sudbury as my 3 east favourites in that order. And of the 3 kingston has by far underachieved more than either of the other teams. Lots of reasons for it though- poor start, injuries to key players, suspensions to key players etc. when they have a full, rested team they look like they can play with anyone in the east.

Absolutely I think Sudbury is going out like the 67’s last year in round 2 and it will be a big shocker to most.


Kingston has added a top 4 d man (Holmes) at start of year (had to get surgery and hasn’t been the same since), another top 4 d man(Chromiak who hasn’t been the best trade for the fronts but will be back next year), top 9 forward in mcnamara(who has been one of the best fronts over the last 5-10 games oddly enough), an older backup in downey, a top pairing d man in Schmidt (ppg with fronts playing 25-30min per night good defensively, big body), Dubois who won a championship with the Pete’s last year playing winning hockey- he comes here and he is playing winning hockey too. He was a ppg with Peterborough playing very good defensively and on faceoffs. Oh also last year oddly enough was a 3rd liner for the Pete’s, he comes here and he is a 3rd liner for the fronts.

Kingston has clearly added some important pieces - not the calibre of an Owen beck/Avery hayes/Brennan Othmann but some good players.


As listed above it clearly is not next to nothing LOL

Virtually all teams in the Eastern Conference can play with all teams in the Eastern Conference other than the Petes and Niagara. Well, Barrie as well. It is a piss poor conference.

Kingston has added 3 d-Men and still sit 3rd last in the conference for goals against. Let’s be real here….

 

[ottsabrefan]

I had Ottawa, kingston and Sudbury as my 3 east favourites in that order. And of the 3 kingston has by far underachieved more than either of the other teams. Lots of reasons for it though- poor start, injuries to key players, suspensions to key players etc. when they have a full, rested team they look like they can play with anyone in the east.

Absolutely I think Sudbury is going out like the 67’s last year in round 2 and it will be a big shocker to most.


Kingston has added a top 4 d man (Holmes) at start of year (had to get surgery and hasn’t been the same since), another top 4 d man(Chromiak who hasn’t been the best trade for the fronts but will be back next year), top 9 forward in mcnamara(who has been one of the best fronts over the last 5-10 games oddly enough), an older backup in downey, a top pairing d man in Schmidt (ppg with fronts playing 25-30min per night good defensively, big body), Dubois who won a championship with the Pete’s last year playing winning hockey- he comes here and he is playing winning hockey too. He was a ppg with Peterborough playing very good defensively and on faceoffs. Oh also last year oddly enough was a 3rd liner for the Pete’s, he comes here and he is a 3rd liner for the fronts.

Kingston has clearly added some important pieces - not the calibre of an Owen beck/Avery hayes/Brennan Othmann but some good players.


As listed above it clearly is not next to nothing LOL

One other point not mentioned in why the Fronts may not have been picked too high by many is that they had Caputi as coach. I wonder where the Fronts would have been predicted with Mann? I’m sure it would be way higher than they were.

While the Petes comparison may be a stretch, I think it would also be stretching things to say the Fronts haven’t significantly underachieved. They should be well above .500 with all the high end picks, AHL coach and assets burned on trades to fill holes.

 

[OMG67]

One other point not mentioned in why the Fronts may not have been picked too high by many is that they had Caputi as coach. I wonder where the Fronts would have been predicted with Mann? I’m sure it would be way higher than they were.

While the Petes comparison may be a stretch, I think it would also be stretching things to say the Fronts haven’t significantly underachieved. They should be well above .500 with all the high end picks, AHL coach and assets burned on trades to fill holes.

15 points separate 1st and 7th. That represents a .147 win% difference. It really isn’t a wide margin. It is significant but it isn’t what would constitute a normal gap from 1st to 7th.

Kitchener was a pretty good team last year and they finished in 8th. I think we can all agree Kitchener was solid, even for an 8th place team. They had some inconsistencies but they weren’t trash. There was a 22 point difference between 1st and 8th int he Western Conference last year. People look at the 1 v 8 and make a huge deal out of it because it was a 1 v 8 matchup. But, it was only 22 points difference. The 1st place team only had 94 points. Good but not great. Kitchener was 5 points out of 4th!

There was a 49 point difference between 1 and 8 in the Eastern Conference. Now, had Oshawa beaten Ottawa in round one, that would have been a monumental upset.

The point I am making is this conference this year is very similar to the Western Conference last year. If the 7th seed beats the 2nd seed, assuming the gap is still narrow at the end of the season, it wouldn’t be considered a surprise upset. Sure, there will be teams favoured but this is Junior hockey. Crazy shit happens. A team with 7 less wins can beat the opposing team in a playoff series.

The team that goes in hot and healthy will be the team most likely to win the Eastern Conference this year.

 

[dirty12]

Virtually all teams in the Eastern Conference can play with all teams in the Eastern Conference other than the Petes and Niagara. Well, Barrie as well. It is a piss poor conference.

I don’t see the disparity between conferences post deadline that I thought there would be pre-season. Guelph and Kitchener would be middling in the east currently imo. I would not give either team much of a chance to win a series against Brantford given healthy rosters. I think OS & SSM would be a solid 3-4 in the east right now, no better.

Kingston has added 3 d-Men and still sit 3rd last in the conference for goals against. Let’s be real here….

 

[analyser]

As I see it London will win the OHL championship and join Saginaw in the Mem Cup. The only way an eastern team will get in is if Saginaw can win the west.

London has the better goaltending and overall a well balanced team who have for most part been together for a couple of years. Barring unforeseen injuries they should be the champs.

The east to me is very competitive but whomever wins will not be successful in the OHL final. Sudbury is a real scoring machine but their defense leaves a lot to be desired.