Rangers might win 1 game if they add Pinelli. McKenzie seems to love to lose in rounds 1 to 3. I hate the idea of adding as a Ranger fan to only get crushed by London. The Rangers have a very strong 2007/2008 group. Build around that core instead of depleting draft picks / young players to make a run this year. The out come might be the same if we add, stand pat or sell a piece or two…..lose to the Knights.
London Knights 2024-25 Season Thread, Part IV
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Rangers might win 1 game if they add Pinelli. McKenzie seems to love to lose in rounds 1 to 3. I hate the idea of adding as a Ranger fan to only get crushed by London. The Rangers have a very strong 2007/2008 group. Build around that core instead of depleting draft picks / young players to make a run this year. The out come might be the same if we add, stand pat or sell a piece or two…..lose to the Knights.
LDN
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I’d stand Pat if I was the Rangers, but who knows maybe they feel this group can do some damage in the playoffs. I’m not sure what the deal is with the Spits. Seem to be a very good team, but look to be built to kill the league next year
LDN
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Respectfully, I think Ranger fans are selling their team short. You have a +41 goal differential. Better than Barrie who many think is #2 or #1 in the OHL now. Third best goal differential in the OHL. Now, that isn't the be all, end all, but I think it is an indicator of a strong club. I have watched junior hockey since the 90s. I'm sure many of you folks have watched that long, or longer. There are no guarantees in this league. People anointing London (or whoever) the champs already are jumping the gun. The 24/25 Knights are not even close to the 04/05 Knights or 08/09 Spits that many knew would be hard to beat in a 7 game series. Even then, those teams had adversity to face. Cheers.
LDN
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Best thing about jr hockey is the fact anything can happen! That’s what makes it so fun!
Hopefully they consider the source of the comments and play like they always do.
OMG67
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In one ear and out the other. It is what makes them special players that succeed.
LDN
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TheOrangePylon
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I hope they come back with something to prove and play with a chip on their shoulder all the way to the Memorial Cup Championship. Not because of what stupid people said, but because facts are facts and the team didn't finish well and they want to prove any doubters wrong.
Knightsfan90
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What does McCue bring that we don't already have? Who does he replace in the lineup?
I mean, he’s an objectively better player than Sim, Read, Van Gorp, Van Bommel, Boulton, Aboflan. You could make the case that he’s more valuable than Julien, Nurmi, and Nicholl, as well. But is the incremental gain worth the cost of acquiring him? I dunno. Depends what the price is.
Harley49
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McCue has 18 goals and 13 assists in 35 games…..almost a point per game…. plays with an edge ….Probably back next season OA ….
LDN
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crowncarrier
My father hung me on a hook once....once.
What does this post even mean. So open ended with zero content.
Same comment could be stated every year over the last 20 or the next 20 and always be true
Knights77
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Really?
McCue (or Luchanko) would play ahead of Van Bommel, Julien (yes for real), Boulton (depending on the opponent), Hawery/Bidgood/Gerber (if any were in the lineup)….
Also, don’t know of any team that’s impervious to injuries. Wouldn’t it be nice if say O’Rielly went down with an injury, you can move a solid player up in his place?
One could argue that the injury to Leonard last year contributed to the failed Memorial Cup run and I’d listen to it. They top 4 D we’re exhausted by the end as they were playing h North of 30 min every game. It was silly. #3 iced the puck more times in the mem cup then I’ve ever seen a dman do that. Not because of lack of skill but he was burnt out. He wasn’t the only one.
If you have 1 left in the chamber, you pull the trigger. Because this time if you fail, you can say you were all in. If you stand pat, and don’t win it all, you can wonder what if. And what for, to be “a bit more competitive” against the likes of KIT and WSR? No thanks. THAT is being spoiled. Go all in like any normal team does, and deal with the swings later.
4D played north of 30 min a game? Math seems off even if 5/6 never got a shift. But yes Dale rides his horses in terms of PT. But their always be a top.4 and he will lean on them
I can't see #3 being that exhausted just the last game? I think the icing was more asked by staff, a player feeling pressure ( insert anything) ect..... other than being finally exhausted the last game of the year after a few days rest.
But I will add depth is always great ( if the coach leans on it n Dale is known to run his top end players n not do that )
That game was a team sitting back n looking to counter as opposed to 1 D being exhausted.
I'm not against adding depth, but the staff also has to manage it. They had enough horses and an easy enough ( or non resistant opponents if you will) ride thru the O that they should not have been burnt out needing to ice the puck outta exhaustion. They ran thru first 2 series on cruise control, took out Sag easy enough with only 1 blip. The finals were 1 sided and the got therest pre Memorial Cup final as top seed.
They laid back too long for whatever reason ( and it could be a host of things)
No issues with adding McC or JL if Mark gets it done and agreed they leapfrog all but 5 or 6 Fs on the team and maybe more. Your right they definitely potentially add more than who you referenced, agreed.
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Yeah, Dale Dave Cameron’d the final. Passive junk when you should be pushing the pace (responsibly) in a final game when you are at least on par talent wise with the opponent. I’m not asking for a three man forecheck, but two deep and three back with the D attacking the red/blue lines would have been ideal. But whatever.
As far as this year, I agree with you and 77. I prefer aggressive management. Pick a side and go for it. It is fine how London managed the last two years. Assets were carefully managed and players’ best before dates were sold before their best before dates were realized. Culminated in back-to-back Western Conference championships and an OHL championship. Now, this year is your year to be aggressive buyers. You already have a good idea that next season is a sell year. So optimize this season and deal with next season the same way you dealt with 07/08, 10/11, 14/15, and 17/18. London is not immune entirely from the junior hockey cycle. It’s all about minimizing your non contending years and maximizing your contending years. They’ve done a very good job of that the last 20+ years. This year should be treated like 04/05, 08/09, 16/17. Get a big fish up front to separate yourself and keep the player off another buyer.
Trying not to be repetitive. But this is the end of the three year contending cycle. Year 1 and 2 went very well with limited assets spent and deep playoff runs achieved. The present win curve is very volatile right now. Adding to that win curve would make a lot of sense. A team going from 35-40 wins doesn’t mean much. That’s why teams like Kingston and Sudbury are in no man’s land and not of anyone’s envy. But a team going from 45-50 wins is buying wins deep in the postseason, not just in the regular season. That’s where a player like (X addition) in the lineup pushing down B, C, D can make a big difference when you’re in white knucklers deep in the post season and/or Memorial Cup. There is a residual effect when you add a top player(s). Look at what Allen and Fimis are going to do to the D. Push Fagan and Spencer out and Brz and Woolley to the bottom pair where they can outmatch their opponent.
If you apply the same logic to forward, you move Julien, Nicholl, Nurmi, etc. down the lineup and others out of it. Your team is stronger up top and on the bottom. This isn’t me pining for trades or admitting to an uncontrollable trade fetish, it’s just my opinion on how to manage these assets at this time. Sorry for the long wind. Go Knights.
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