London Knights 2024-25 Season Thread, Part II

[rve24]

Man, hard to play the “what if” game but I still think about certain teams like 03/04 and 23/24. Definitely teams that were good enough to win Memorial Cups. Oh well.

03/04 was the one for me. Damm Dennis, Klein n Girardi and the rest of the Storm lol
It was a great run in our division for 5/6 years with those rivalries thru the 5 teams. Tough, spirited, skilled hockey.

 

[LDN]

Question for the group here. Is there a big strong 05 D that would be able to come back next year as an OA. Our next year OA crop looks light and we should continue to be competitive with O’Reilly, Nicholl, Brzustewicz and potentially Dickinson leading the way

Who fits that 05 that could come back next year criteria ?

 

[Fergus31]

03/04 was the one for me. Damm Dennis, Klein n Girardi and the rest of the Storm lol
It was a great run in our division for 5/6 years with those rivalries thru the 5 teams. Tough, spirited, skilled hockey.

Bois and Rediker missing the entire Guelph series was another factor. Schremp benched for large parts of the series because he shied away from the physical hockey that Guelph threw at them. Still almost pulled it off. Guelph had better goaltending than London that year, for sure.

As for 2005, people also need to consider that the team lost a number of their games when players were missing (WJC) and at the end of the regular season (meaningless). Even when Kitchener beat them in the playoffs, if you look at the gamesheet, London were missing a few guys due to injury. It was a stupid good team.

Question for the group here. Is there a big strong 05 D that would be able to come back next year as an OA. Our next year OA crop looks light and we should continue to be competitive with O’Reilly, Nicholl, Brzustewicz and potentially Dickinson leading the way

Who fits that 05 that could come back next year criteria ?

None come to mind. Maybe Will Bishop if Saginaw sells?

Looking more like next year is a retool/reload year with the glut of 05’s on the roster.

 

[All the Answers]

05 Andonovski could be had for Hawrey, but won't be back as an OA. As a Rangers fan I'd love it but no way it happens from either side.

 

[Fergus31]

05 Andonovski could be had for Hawrey, but won't be back as an OA. As a Rangers fan I'd love it but no way it happens from either side.

He’s a great player. Definitely jealous he’s a Ranger. He’d be just what the doctor ordered on London’s blueline.

Hawery, as you alluded to, very unlikely to be dealt for anyone. Not that London won’t trade a first round pick, but I believe they are much higher on Hawery than they were Testa, for example.

 

[GoKnightsGo44]

How bout we start counting the 2025 from yesterdays Guelph game when we officially had everyone back, would that be fair to compare to 2005?

 

[rve24]

How bout we start counting the 2025 from yesterdays Guelph game when we officially had everyone back, would that be fair to compare to 2005?

Now your going down the selective use of stats n timeliness path. Not for me.

I don't care about the first month. The greatest teams show their excellence come POs and National Tourney. I'll judge them head to head at that time.

For me thou the biggest factor is I can't see this LK squad beating 05 in a 7 game series. Maybe thst changes thou.

 

[rve24]

Bois and Rediker missing the entire Guelph series was another factor. Schremp benched for large parts of the series because he shied away from the physical hockey that Guelph threw at them. Still almost pulled it off. Guelph had better goaltending than London that year, for sure.

Sat very near where Bois laid that hit in the corner thst got him ousted fir the next series. Unnecessary but ya play with what ya got.
Rediker was one I always felt for. Very impressive rookie D campaign. Pne of the best rookie D on an opponent I remember in that era. Was super impressed but injuries slowed development.

 

[EvenSteven]

He’s a great player. Definitely jealous he’s a Ranger. He’d be just what the doctor ordered on London’s blueline.

Hawery, as you alluded to, very unlikely to be dealt for anyone. Not that London won’t trade a first round pick, but I believe they are much higher on Hawery than they were Testa, for example.

Like London, the Rangers have an overloaded roster of OHL players. So I’m thinking that an Andonovski deal would be a picks only deal.

London has the picks (Jorian Donovan comparable) but I doubt Mark near empties his draft cupboard.

But if he thinks that there’s a chance Ando plays an OA season, he may do the deal at that cost.

Do I think he plays an OA season? Not really. I think the only way is if Ottawa / Brantford ownership orchestrate it as they did Hamara.

If Ando as a pro next year shows that he can’t play regular minutes as an AHL rookie, they may send him back. There are worse places to develop than London as an OA.

 

[Fergus31]

Like London, the Rangers have an overloaded roster of OHL players. So I’m thinking that an Andonovski deal would be a picks only deal.

London has the picks (Jorian Donovan comparable) but I doubt Mark near empties his draft cupboard.

But if he thinks that there’s a chance Ando plays an OA season, he may do the deal at that cost.

Do I think he plays an OA season? Not really. I think the only way is if Ottawa / Brantford ownership orchestrate it as they did Hamara.

If Ando as a pro next year shows that he can’t play regular minutes as an AHL rookie, they may send him back. There are worse places to develop other than London as an OA.

Yeah, I don’t see Ando back as an OA. Not impossible, but unlikely is what I would say.

Eh, not like London is overflowing with picks. They’re in decent shape I suppose but there are other clubs that have more to offer if we’re specifically using the Donovan deal as a reference point.

Over the next four drafts London have the following picks:

2nds - 3
3rds - 5
4ths - 5
5ths - 6
6ths - 4

London never fully empties the cupboard. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that any deal London would make for a d would likely consist of a young forward or two plus a 2nd and/or 3rd, depending on the caliber of player they’d be acquiring. At least, that’s how I view their situation.

Not that I wouldn’t love an Ando or Gibson caliber of talent, just not sure it’s something London would overpay for if the selling team is hellbent on getting a Donovan/Mintyukov type package of only picks.