London Knights 2024-25 Season Thread, Part IV

[Matt93]

I’ve been calling for 13 to be dealt all year due to his play, however I can’t imagine Hunter moving him….London kid in his final year, his allegiance to older players likely gets in the way. However, if he were to do it that opens the door to some nice possibilities. Big Rig from Owen Sound? That would add size, toughness to our D that should be there with 49, but he has cement in his skates.
For me adding one more D puts 49 a scratch and Fimis/Fagan rotate as the 7th D. Then you have the best D in the CHL
Bonk Allen
Dickinson (trade) Gibson, Smith etc
Bruz Wooley
Fimis
you could role 3 lines of D and scale down to top 4 later in the game so you don’t exhaust your top pairings like last year.

Hunter has traded family members before. If it means making the team better, Hunter will make a trade.

 

[nelli27]

He's too slow at this level to rush the puck.

No, he's not too slow to rush the puck at that level. It's a different style of play under Cameron.

 

[tjziel]

Hunter has traded family members before. If it means making the team better, Hunter will make a trade.

Mark and Dale have done it before but it’s still highly unlikely and they everyone who knows Mark and Dale’s tendencies know that. He has done it before and won’t do it unless he absolutely needs to.

I’m okay with having Julien as long as we bring in someone to push him down to the 3rd line and kinda hide him against top lines. He is good in the locker room and people do like him that’s why he wears an “A”. Maybe if he’s pushed down the lineup it will light a fire on his butt.

Barkey - O’Rielly - Cowan
Montgomery - Luchanko - Halttunen
Nurmi - Julien - Nicholl
“player” - Sim - “player”

Dickinson - Bonk
Woolley - Allen
Fimis/Fagan - Brzustewicz

Elliott
Medvedev


Anyone currently on the 4th line could be traded for Jett Luchanko. Van Gorp, Read, Hawery, Aboflan, Van Bommel and Boulton. Most unlikely to not be traded is Aboflan. He is really liked in the locker room. Then Boulton because he’s untouchable lol (only because other teams won’t wanna touch him lol)

Should be an interesting deadline… let’s see how Barrie, Brampton and Oshawa load up.

 

[JRHOCKEYBUZZ]

I have watched a fair bit of Easton Cowan throughout his career in London- However I do not tune into every Knights game.. Just wanting to see the consensus thought here on his play with Canada throughout the tournament (without the hate he has been receiving online).. Is there another level to his game for the tournament or is he at his peak & the competition is just that much better?

 

[TheOrangePylon]

I have watched a fair bit of Easton Cowan throughout his career in London- However I do not tune into every Knights game.. Just wanting to see the consensus thought here on his play with Canada throughout the tournament (without the hate he has been receiving online).. Is there another level to his game for the tournament or is he at his peak & the competition is just that much better?

In my opinion, he is trying to do too much with Canada. He has been told he is "the guy" and I think it has led to him trying to do more than he is capable of. He is a really good player, but I don't see him being a top line player in the NHL. I see his ceiling as more a middle 6 guy with skill, who goes to the dirty areas and retrieves pucks. I think Canada is trying to have him play like he is a Bedard, who can carry the play of the game and put the game on his shoulders. Even in London, he isn't that guy.

So, to answer your main questions. I don't think he is at his peak and I think he can fit in with the competition, he has another level we haven't seen in this tournament I just think he isn't being utilized properly with his skill set and being put in situations that don't suit his game. I think he should be playing with a guy like McKenna who is capable of carrying the play and Cowan can retrieve and feed him pucks.

 

[Long Reach]

I have watched a fair bit of Easton Cowan throughout his career in London- However I do not tune into every Knights game.. Just wanting to see the consensus thought here on his play with Canada throughout the tournament (without the hate he has been receiving online).. Is there another level to his game for the tournament or is he at his peak & the competition is just that much better?

An objective person doesn’t make evaluations over a two week tournament. (not saying you are).

What I will say is Cowan is at his best when he’s fighting for the puck. He’s very good without the puck. Reminds me of a very poor man’s Mark Stone without the puck. Good routes, tenacious with puck retrieval. However, his game has changed a bit since his draft season. He looks (to me) to be trying to be more of a skilled player and a shooter which quite honestly are not his strengths. He has developed good patience and decent playmaking ability in London, but I miss seeing tenacious Cowan on the forecheck (and backcheck).

I would say he’s likely to play a lot of NHL games on someone’s third line wing. Maybe second line on a weaker team if his skills improve.

 

[Long Reach]

I’ve been calling for 13 to be dealt all year due to his play, however I can’t imagine Hunter moving him….London kid in his final year, his allegiance to older players likely gets in the way. However, if he were to do it that opens the door to some nice possibilities. Big Rig from Owen Sound? That would add size, toughness to our D that should be there with 49, but he has cement in his skates.
For me adding one more D puts 49 a scratch and Fimis/Fagan rotate as the 7th D. Then you have the best D in the CHL
Bonk Allen
Dickinson (trade) Gibson, Smith etc
Bruz Wooley
Fimis
you could role 3 lines of D and scale down to top 4 later in the game so you don’t exhaust your top pairings like last year.

Agreed. People love pointing out that Steadman and Logan (RIP) were traded but London also kept and overplayed Colin Martin, Alex Turko, and Cole Tymkin. Latter two saw ice in favour of current NHLer Paul Cotter due to Dale’s ridiculous stubbornness. If London is truly all in, they make a deal that sends an upgrade on Julien whether that’s OA or a move that moves him and Sam O’Reilly down the depth chart. But whatever. I don’t care that much. Keep the team you have and you may still win.

 

[nelli27]

 

[JRHOCKEYBUZZ]

An objective person doesn’t make evaluations over a two week tournament. (not saying you are).

What I will say is Cowan is at his best when he’s fighting for the puck. He’s very good without the puck. Reminds me of a very poor man’s Mark Stone without the puck. Good routes, tenacious with puck retrieval. However, his game has changed a bit since his draft season. He looks (to me) to be trying to be more of a skilled player and a shooter which quite honestly are not his strengths. He has developed good patience and decent playmaking ability in London, but I miss seeing tenacious Cowan on the forecheck (and backcheck).

I would say he’s likely to play a lot of NHL games on someone’s third line wing. Maybe second line on a weaker team if his skills improve.

For sure not making evaluations on the player Cowan is. After his pre tournament where he looked elite. It just has not translated to the tournament. (Much like the whole team.) I always think of Cowan as a hard player to play against, Haven't watched a ton of London this year, Was just trying to get a feel from people who watch him every night! Because I feel like that part of his game was missing in the tournament but was not sure if it was an ongoing thing.

 

[Knightsfan90]

Guelph goaltender Brayden Gillispie has been traded to Brampton. That’s two former Storm that are now in Brampton…..

The more I think about it…. Looks like it Jett Luchanko will likely end up in Brampton or London. His chemistry with Vilmer Alriksson is legit.

Just have to think London is his first choice to be traded considering he was a huge Knights fan as a kid.

Luchanko to London for bidgood Van gorp and picks that's my guess Hunter wants to keep Hawery at all costs

 

[ArielNederland]

Is luchanko to london almost a sure thing or just a rumour? I would think eastern conference teams would have more picks to out I'd london for him

 

[bearfan]

Is luchanko to london almost a sure thing or just a rumour? I would think eastern conference teams would have more picks to out I'd london for him

Guelph has picked up a lot of picks in their last few trades. They would be looking for body's to to with what they have. I could see 2-3 players sent to Guelph for Luchanko and a couple picks coming back as well. You don't see Mark sending a good young player and seven picks in one trade. Bidgood should be moved, he is in his draft year and is too good to be in junior B

 

[crowncarrier]

No, he's not too slow to rush the puck at that level. It's a different style of play under Cameron.

For me his foot speed is fine after the first 4-5 strides. When I mentioned his slow footspeed in an earlier post I was referring to the first few steps moving forward and also going laterally to evade a player. I agree his footspeed is not an issue rushing the puck as he has done it countless times with ease.

 

[crowncarrier]

Lol Nurmi asked about his experience last year in the memorial cup and then asked about how it would feel to make it to the Semis and possibly play for a medal this year. He's like...ya i just got here this year I wasn't there....she's like ok thank you. Lmao.

 

[nelli27]

Dickinson really struggling that period. Mindboggling. We're used to him being so dominant. Painful to see him play like that.

Almost time for Plan B...
Let's go Finland! Lol!

 

[JagrBomb93]

I would also say Cowan looks slow and just trying to do way too much out there. I really hope they can turn this around…

 

[JTLiger]

pardon my intrusion on the World Jrs thread…

… if the Wolves are / decide to be sellers - what about OA Delic for JJ13 and picks ? … he’s got another 2 G’s tonight vs Barrie

 

[Long Reach]

Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Hope for the kids’ sake, the world junior hangover is limited. They’re still good players.

 

[frontsfan67]

Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Hope for the kids’ sake, the world junior hangover is limited. They’re still good players.

They’ll be good absolutely. Just having rough tournament but that’s pretty much every Canadian player with the exception of George. Hopefully for everybody’s sake that beautiful martone tip sparks the Canadian boys back into not only this game but the tournament because they’ve been playing like they’re out of it

 

[Knights Watcher]

pardon my intrusion on the World Jrs thread…

… if the Wolves are / decide to be sellers - what about OA Delic for JJ13 and picks ? … he’s got another 2 G’s tonight vs Barrie

I'd do that trade in a heartbeat

 

[Sane Knights Fan]

He's too slow at this level to rush the puck.

Ya cause Cameron screwed with his head
Yanking on the leash

 

[Long Reach]

Sam with a better 3rd. But we can’t mention that.

 

[Long Reach]

Gibson with a costly penalty with 2 min left. I’m sure the Hounds thread will be filled with trolls about Gibson like this thread was about Easton and Sam.

For the record, I don’t condone any irrational criticism of players, especially lunatics messaging players and families online after a loss. This tournament is vastly overrated by media and people that don’t even follow junior hockey. Just trying to highlight a point about how biased and braindead OHL “fans” are with respect to their anti London agenda.

 

[Knights Watcher]

Don't blame the refs. Don't blame the players. Blame the worst coaching staff ever assembled. Cameron and Lazary should never represent Canada ever again. Especially Cameron. Threw his team under the bus. Didn't take any responsibility. Didn't even have them practice FFS. He should be 'tried' for treason.

 

[frontsfan67]

Don't blame the refs. Don't blame the players. Blame the worst coaching staff ever assembled. Cameron and Lazary should never represent Canada ever again. Especially Cameron. Threw his team under the bus. Didn't take any responsibility. Didn't even have them practice FFS. He should be hung for treason.

Here before this comment gets deleted/edited by mods LOL

I have some ways to describe Cameron that I can’t unfortunately put on this site.

What a disappointing tournament for Canada. After that big Finland game I thought they might’ve made it all the way to the finals against the US(but would’ve lost) went downhill from there