Niagara Icedogs 2024-25 Season Thread, Part III

[dirty12]

Oh wow! A compete swing and miss on that reply.

Show me the evidence where these teams only drafted and did not buy or sell over the last three seasons

Better yet, I said some of those teams sold to kick start a re-tool and then added 2-3 years later; yet still did not finish at least 4th and win at least one playoff round.

 

[dirty12]

How is making an educated prediction the same thing as "hoping". I certainly hope Niagara wins the conference this year. Based on injuries and other strong teams buying players, I doubt they will. So to recap in case you take my earlier post out of context and misquote it too... I hope they come in first, I think third or fourth is more likely.

Maybe even a bit optimistic. If the IceDogs can just finish a perfectly middling 5-6 in conference / 10-11 overall after all the crying by some the team was ‘all-in’ just to squeak into the playoffs, it will have been a very good year imo.

 

[knowescape]

Maybe even a bit optimistic. If the IceDogs can just finish a perfectly middling 5-6 in conference / 10-11 overall after all the crying by some the team was ‘all-in’ just to squeak into the playoffs, it will have been a very good year imo.

I am still fairly confident on a third or fourth. That's up from my prediction of fifth or sixth at the start of the season. I'm hoping those that added take some time to gel and that any illness or injury on the IceDogs team is short-term.

 

[beastintheeast]

I was quoting Sam. Who apparently still thinks there is a "good chance" the first place team in the Conference will drop to 5th.

Dropping to 5th is not a bad thing. I say that because Brantford, Kingston Oshawa Barrie and Sudbury are all going to be fighting for first and if not the home ice advantage.

That is ice on the stat sheet for the end of the season.

The thing about it is that as soon as the season is over, who really cares?

The healthy team that comes in with well-rested goalies and star players will be hard to beat.

Niagara needs to protect it's greatest asset Flores.

In a seven-in-ten-day playoff, it is very hard for the stars to manage their aches and pains. Also, teams start to notice those players and will take advantage.

If coming in 5th allows Boudreau to rest and prepare his team for the playoffs, then all the better. When playing the 4th place team, it does not matter who gets the home ice advantage. You are going to play them whether you are a healthy 5th or banged up 4th

I really expect to see Flores get fewer games as it gets closer to the playoffs

 

[beastintheeast]

Maybe even a bit optimistic. If the IceDogs can just finish a perfectly middling 5-6 in conference / 10-11 overall after all the crying by some the team was ‘all-in’ just to squeak into the playoffs, it will have been a very good year imo.

Dirty we have seen teams that developed their players through the draft with the odd tweak, and lately, we have seen teams that build a little trade away all their picks so they have a good chance in the playoffs even if they are not able to win it all. Then they go back to being a bottom team for a year, a mid-to-low card team for a year then the 3rd year they trade all their draft picks away again and start over.

Personally as a fan If I knew what the owner was doing the Niagara plan seems to be the best.

If you look at a team like Ottawa under Kilrea or NB under Bert those teams were always a power. They never blew their brains out in trades and left the fans looking at the product coming back with high hopes. They always drafted well and got the most out of the players they drafted.

The Mavety system never appealed to me. As a first-round pick, you don't get ice time, and by the way, all you are to me is a trade chip.

Andlauer was feted for how good his teams were in the OHL, but they never won a M. They won the league championship and have been consistently at the middle or top of the league.

If Niagara is as competitive as Kingston in the playoffs, who is the real winner as an owner.

@ different owners that willhave gotten where they are by 2 different means.

 

[bigsportsfan]

It seems crazy that it almost feels like some people would rather see the team fail so they can continue to attack DD rather than support the team...

I don’t think you are seeing the big picture. Yes the team is doing better but there are still so many deficiencies.

Each year DD has owned the team, at least one player chosen in the first three rounds of the draft has refused to report but then signed with another OHL team as soon as their rights were traded.

Under DD, they have never drafted a US player, likely because US scholarships cost more.

Most of the players they draft are players represented by one particular agent. So in other words instead of drafting the best player available, they draft the best player who is under that agent.

But really the off ice stuff is what really bothers me. Business wise, they are a mess. Attendance has fallen from around 4800 per game under the old owners to about 3300 per game under the new owner. During this season, a number of IceDogs employees have been let go, presumably to stay afloat financially. The owner or GM rarely communicates with the fans or community and many people in Niagara have lost interest in the team.

I really believe that if the owner doesn’t sell the team soon, we could be seeing the end of the Niagara IceDogs.