They have 9 with 1 likely not coming back (Chromiak)
Call it 8.
Meidema
Mcnamara
Soto
Cavalin
Uens
Mcgowan
Vaccari
Burns
Not overly sure i would want Cavalin dressed either in one of those spots and Vaccari will end up being the back up goalie at some point.
Maybe if they get lucky with Ludwinski as an OA coming back if Chicago doesnt think he's ready but there is still a lot of what ifs before i would consider this team a legit contender.
I think they should strive for next season. If ludwinski does come back some how trade him for a nice package that makes you better in 25-26.
I think they are in limbo either way. Yes, if Ludwinski comes back then there is a true #1 centre there. That is a key piece IMO. But, the landscape of the Conference this year doesn’t suit them very well. It is very possible that Brampton stays status quo and is happy to perform well with only adding a couple OA’s. They save their assets and maybe look closer at next year. Possible. Also possible that Oshawa never gets out of the starting blocks because their key players all end up graduating. Barrie has a tendency of being conservative. Brantford may not be quite ready this year. A lot needs to go right for Kingston this year. But, this year is a better option for them than next year if you are only looking at it from the perspective of which year will have the better Kingston team. I think this year.
We had a lot of the same discussions last season for the 67’s. Yes, they could have made a different strategic decision last year assuming this year’s team would be better on paper. But, the landscape of the league last year had a lot to do with how they approached the deadline. I think Kingston needs to take the same approach. If all those things happen with Brampton, Oshawa, Barrie and Brantford then maybe the door opens for Kingston.
I agree they are not a “contender” right now. But the landscape has not fully been presented. We need to see a lot play out through November before we have a truer picture. This also holds true for the Generals. It will likely be a bit before the Gennies find out if Ritchie returns. Same with Roobroeck. Two pretty key pieces. That said, the OA market may crater so teams looking for a good OA may be able to acquire early for cheap. It won’t take much for the landscape in the conference to change. All of a sudden teams that were in that 2nd tier are now in the 1st tier.