Kingston Frontenacs 2024-25 Season Thread, Part I

[leafs4life94]

The problem is that there is a complete lack of good goalies that are not OAs. The vacuum for goaltending in the OHL right now is crazy.

Look at Leenders and Ivankovic. Both were considered too 5 coming into the season. Both play on pretty good squads. Ivankovic is with Team Canada right now sitting at 16th on GAA with a save% under .900. Leenders is 22nd in GAA with an .891!

There is no wonder there has been extensive talk about allowing an OA goalie to not count against the three OA slots.

Parsons and Flores are the only OA goalies available that may move the needle. I thought MacK would be as well but he has been poor this year. Maybe Schenkel will be available too?

I don’t have the answer but what I do know is Kingston has other gaps that need to be resolved, otherwise the goaltending is inconsequential. Goaltending is just another gap. Ya gotta fill all the gaps to have a real chance. Fixing goaltending at the cost of not fixing the defence isn’t an option IMO.

Agreed they need a top 4 (ideally RD) defensemen, as well as an injection of depth offense into their top 9 F, whether that comes via a C, a RW (OA upgrade on Heyes?) - who knows.

I'm not sure goalies are as bad as you're making it out - there's 13 goalies over 0.900 SV% right now, and last year only 6 goalies ended over that mark (Leenders, George, Simpson, Oster, Sztuska and MacKenzie) - which honestly has me wondering if I need to adjust my benchmark for a good SV% in this league, if only 6 ended over 0.900 then maybe it's harder to achieve than I originally thought.

Of the 13, 4 are OAs, 5 are '05s, 3 are '06s and there's one '07 in Medvedev - Elliott will eventually gain enough games to get in that group as well.

The issue is that I don't know if any of the non-OAs are on the market because they're either contending now or they're primed for next year (or both).

Kingston has a solid stash of picks to make upgrades, but their lack of player assets could and will likely end up impacting their deadline targets if teams are insistent on getting a player in return.

 

[leafs4life94]

Unrelated to all this goalie talk, but I heard through the grapevine that Kieren Dervin is with the team this weekend and will make his debut tonight.

Yeah I believe he was added to the roster online roster earlier this week so I fully expect him to play at least 2 games this weekend.

I'll be curious to see if the Finns are playing this weekend - I figured they'd be gone but I saw on the London thread they expect to have Nurmi and Haltunnen all weekend so maybe Kingston won't be super short?

I'm also curious on the status of McGowan - if him and Pieniniemi are out the D will be very interesting to watch.

 

[OMG67]

Agreed they need a top 4 (ideally RD) defensemen, as well as an injection of depth offense into their top 9 F, whether that comes via a C, a RW (OA upgrade on Heyes?) - who knows.

I'm not sure goalies are as bad as you're making it out - there's 13 goalies over 0.900 SV% right now, and last year only 6 goalies ended over that mark (Leenders, George, Simpson, Oster, Sztuska and MacKenzie) - which honestly has me wondering if I need to adjust my benchmark for a good SV% in this league, if only 6 ended over 0.900 then maybe it's harder to achieve than I originally thought.

Of the 13, 4 are OAs, 5 are '05s, 3 are '06s and there's one '07 in Medvedev - Elliott will eventually gain enough games to get in that group as well.

The issue is that I don't know if any of the non-OAs are on the market because they're either contending now or they're primed for next year (or both).

Kingston has a solid stash of picks to make upgrades, but their lack of player assets could and will likely end up impacting their deadline targets if teams are insistent on getting a player in return.

I think the only non-OA potentially on the market is George. I think you need to look at the Leenders deal as the benchmark and George is likely considered the better goalie.

The challenge is the selling teams typically don’t have a stud goalie that is not an OA. If they had a stud non-OA goalie, they’d probably not be selling!

I thought we would see a better crop of OA goalies this year to be honest. As mentioned, I thought MacK would be there as well as Sztuska. The latter is currently in the BCHL. Flores has been really good though. That may be a decent value upgrade?

 

[GoFronts]

Yeah I believe he was added to the roster online roster earlier this week so I fully expect him to play at least 2 games this weekend.

I'll be curious to see if the Finns are playing this weekend - I figured they'd be gone but I saw on the London thread they expect to have Nurmi and Haltunnen all weekend so maybe Kingston won't be super short?

I'm also curious on the status of McGowan - if him and Pieniniemi are out the D will be very interesting to watch.

I saw that they used Pieniniemi in the game day graphic on their socials, I'd assume they wouldn't do that unless he was playing? Who knows though lol. I'd bet on the Finns being around for at least tonight's game.

It's odd that Finland hasn't posted their roster yet while I'm pretty sure every other country participating has.

As for Maleek, apparently he practiced yesterday. The crutches someone said he was on earlier this week must have been precautionary.

 

[leafs4life94]

I think the only non-OA potentially on the market is George. I think you need to look at the Leenders deal as the benchmark and George is likely considered the better goalie.

The challenge is the selling teams typically don’t have a stud goalie that is not an OA. If they had a stud non-OA goalie, they’d probably not be selling!

I thought we would see a better crop of OA goalies this year to be honest. As mentioned, I thought MacK would be there as well as Sztuska. The latter is currently in the BCHL. Flores has been really good though. That may be a decent value upgrade?

If Niagara sells (which I get the sense they aren't - seems tough to argue they should based on results but almost 42 shots a game doesn't seem too sustainable) then I'd love a Flores trade.

If we start at the Leenders value, that's 3 2's, 3 3's, a 4 and a 5. Kingston could move that and still have 3 2s, 5 3s, 3 4s and 4 5s - and it definitely would take a couple extra picks since like you said he's the better goalie.

Then, they could trade Battaglia and George next year and recoup a massive chunk of those picks to put them back in a decent spot moving forward.

It seems like a somewhat weak OA year overall with no OAs in the top 10 in scoring, with only 2 in the top 20.

I saw that they used Pieniniemi in the game day graphic on their socials, I'd assume they wouldn't do that unless he was playing? Who knows though lol. I'd bet on the Finns being around for at least tonight's game.

It's odd that Finland hasn't posted their roster yet while I'm pretty sure every other country participating has.

As for Maleek, apparently he practiced yesterday. The crutches someone said he was on earlier this week must have been precautionary.

Yeah I wouldn't totally trust the gameday graphic - I get the feeling they just rotate players, I remember last year they used Salajko for one and he didn't even start/play lol

Depending on what Finlands plans are for a camp, I'd be a little surprised if they travelled to Kitchener for a game then went back to Ottawa for another but if Kingston really needs them maybe they do?

That's big re: McGowan - he's probably been the most improved player IMO.

 

[frontsfan67]

There are 20 man on the team, how come only Lalonde gets the blame, where were all the other players on the ice?

We outplay almost every team we face with the exception of Oshawa. We still drop a lot of games.

Not very good save % and it’s been like this consistently throughout his career so I wouldn’t expect it to just all of the sudden jump way up. A guy like parsons who is doing more with less would be a phenomenal add to the team- that’s the reality of it. We might still be able to win a round with Lalonde as the starting goalie but do we get past Oster/Hillebrandt/Elliot/Leenders/Ivankovic if Brampton steps up with Lalonde as our goalie? IMO very unlikely so there’s a clear need to upgrade.

Great Kingston kid and went to the memorial cup but that trade never made sense right from the get go, guys like Liam sztuska, Jackson parsons were always going to be available and we elected to just go for the hometown kid which is probably not what is best for the team. Might put his family and friends in the seats but that is all.

Vaccari would get some blame but we are used to him- we know he probably doesn’t get a spot on any team next year except for maybe here just to take some of the load off Betts next year. 5’9 goalie showed some potential his first year- since he doesn’t have much confidence and hasn’t grown both physically and skill wise.

Unrelated to all this goalie talk, but I heard through the grapevine that Kieren Dervin is with the team this weekend and will make his debut tonight.

Awesome can’t wait to see him finally

 

[Fastpace]

I am not disputing his talent or lack of, I am merely suggesting singularizing only him out of 20 isn't right. The team is call Kingston Frontenac's, not Kingston Lalonde's. He's a member of this 20 or so men team until the GM says he isn't so anymore., best accepting him as he is, a Kingston Frontenac's member of the team

 

[leafs4life94]

I am not disputing his talent or lack of, I am merely suggesting singularizing only him out of 20 isn't right. The team is call Kingston Frontenac's, not Kingston Lalonde's. He's a member of this 20 or so men team until the GM says he isn't so anymore., best accepting him as he is, a Kingston Frontenac's member of the team

You really don't think a goalie is different? That a goalie doesn't have more of an impact on a game than a skater?

Does the same apply to skaters? Is it wrong to criticize a winger if they played a bad game or have had a bad run because there's 4 other skaters on the ice?

It's criticism of a player based on results and stats thus far. It's not a witch hunt, it's wishing misfortune on him - it's observations after watching several games this year backed up with numbers.

 

[Fastpace]

You really don't think a goalie is different? That a goalie doesn't have more of an impact on a game than a skater?

Does the same apply to skaters? Is it wrong to criticize a winger if they played a bad game or have had a bad run because there's 4 other skaters on the ice?

It's criticism of a player based on results and stats thus far. It's not a witch hunt, it's wishing misfortune on him - it's observations after watching several games this year backed up with numbers.

I couldn't care less about individual stats on social pages unless they are team stats, as a hockey fans I support and accept all members of a team, as all players on this team accept their teammates. Go ask anyone of them if they blame Lalonde or care for any of his stats? They will all tell you, each player roles on this team comes first, why should anyone of us care for individual stats? Only GM cares, when they are seeking or trading a player

 

[leafs4life94]

I couldn't care less about individual stats on social pages unless they are team stats, as a hockey fans I support and accept all members of a team, as all players on this team accept their teammates. Go ask anyone of them if they blame Lalonde or care for any of his stats? They will all tell you, each player roles on this team comes first, why should anyone of us care for individual stats? Only GM cares, when they are seeking or trading a player

What are you even saying... You're acting like I said they should take him outside and give him the Old Yeller treatment...

And let me just get this straight - you're saying if a goalie gave up a shot on every single shot they faced you'd be fine with that because individual stats don't matter?

 

[leafs4life94]

McGowan is in and so are the Finns, with Lalonde starting

Dervin lines up at 3C in between McNamara and Uronen, with Pickell pushed down to the 4th to play with Clark and Buttar.

I like that they're giving Dervin a chance to play in the top 9 - good chance to really see what they've got with him.

Edit - no Chromiak for Kitchener, likely for WJC - good for Kingston because that felt like a revenge game in waiting lol