Dubeau(20)
Rioux(18)
Goaltender is pretty well set. Dubeau will be one of the best goalies in the league and Rioux proved to be a very capable back up with potential to be a starter. Goaltender is definitely a strength. The only other goalies in the system are Alex Kelly (18 year old free agent) who had a great camp last year and 17 year old Sebastien Dupre (5th round pick 2014).
Sweeney(19) Johnston(19)
Malatesta(18) Holwell(17)
Klebanskyj(18) McInnis(16)
Mann(18)
*Jonathan McLeod(18) (sure be a top pairing Dman if he reports , ranked high NHL draft)
Other defensemen who could battle for a spot include:
Gareth Nicholson(19) ( Can't see him sticking , 19 years old , younger options with same skillset)
Tucker White(18) ( can't see him making the team , just no room and overwhelmed)
Shawn Morgan(18) ( this will be his third kick at the bucket, unlikely)
Jamie Dorsey(18) (wildcard, likely to report and could be a good option for the bottom )
Luc Poirier(19) ( Wasn't a fan personally but Rumble was , 19 years old)
Marcus Tesink(16) ( 5th round pick 2014)
Marc Olivier Duquette(16)(6th round pick 2014)
Sebastien Cormier(17)(9th round 2014)
Shayne Dominie(17) ( 11th round pick 2014 ,6'4" 220 lbs)
Robbie Roche(17) (12th round pick 2014 , unsure of his status to report)
Massimo Larusso(17)(12th round pick 2014 ,6'4")
Defence is average and will likely depend a lot on who reports. We have some big names in Krys, McLeod , Matheson and Florentino who are all extremely unlikely with the exception of McLeod who's optimistic. Depending on what direction we're going , we could upgrade the top4. Malatesta is a wildcard , he's already signed and apparently will be an impact top4.
OA Barbashev(19) Tkachev(19)
Lalonde(20) Askew(17) Garland(18)
Smith(18) Johnson(19) Bower(17)
Seeger(18) Pugsley(18) Olivier(17)
Guys battling for the final 3 spots include:
Kyle Tibbo (18)
*Lane Cormier (17)
*Alexandre Jacob(17)
*Eric Leger (17)
*Noah Corson (16)
*Liam Murphy (16)
*RJ Murphy (16)
Noah Archibald(16)
Matt Koopman(16)
Derek Britner (17)
Mikael Lafrance-Clairsaint (17)
Jonathan Alsfeld (17)
Miles Gendron (18) Supposed to be playing in the BCHL this year but if he showed , would be a top6 impact player. Ranked in the 2014 NHL draft.
Ones with stars are front runners imo. A lot of unknowns with the American kids. According to Shannon most will be at camp. We have a ton of depth up front. Top 6 looks good aside from one whole that Shannon said would be addressed via trade or free agent. A 20 year old slot being open makes that a little less of a worry. Good shape overall.
Should be an interesting year. I think we could finish anywhere between 6 - 11.