Ottawa 67's 2022-23 Off-Season Thread (Part 4)

[OMG67]

This is a team that is built to be competitive every year going forward.

To me the off season is easy.

Trade him NOW

Beck - we proved that while he is a help he is not necessary, as we did most of our good playing without him. Trade him before the season starts when he is healthy. Should be able to get back some draft picks

Trade him

Smyth - see Beck is not really needed with the number of D we have returning

Donoso - after camp and we are sure we have a backup for Mack

Sirman - later in the year as I think he will benefit a team going for it.

I would love to have traded Rohrer but the major problem I see with this team in the lack of centers. Besides him we only have Gardner

Everyone else on the team at this stage I would keep until we see what we have.
This is not going to be a team bent on winning anything other than a first-round in the playoffs. While I do not see a powerhouse in our division I really do not see any weak teams I think there is going to be more parity.

Depending on the Fronts coaching of course.

Beck - You can’t trade him now. No one would trade for him. He needs to remain unsigned, not get redrafted and confirm he wants to return for an OA season instead of signing an AHL deal. I think Ottawa would be best served waiting until the deadline or closer to it to trade him. They get the advantage of his presence and the additional wins he will contribute too as well as the added trade value closer to the deadline. The disadvantage is if he were to get injured again. I don’t think that possibility is high. The two injuries were unrelated. HOWEVER, I may be more willing to do a deal in the preseason if he doesn‘t gain a decent amount of weight over the summer and a team is pretty much willing to give up what we want for him which would be comparable to a deadline price.

Donoso - this s a tough one and it depends a lot on MacK’s mindset. If MacK is ok in a tandem situation until the deadline then I think it would be good to keep Donoso through the deadline. However, if as you say, there is a competent backup signed and ready to go out of the pre-season then we can make a deal early. The best thing for the players is an early trade. It may not be the best thing for the 67’s and the sale price.

Smyth/Sirman - I don’t see wither player as an OA candidate in 24-25. Therefore both need to go at some point. It will all depend on organizational needs. Neither will garner serious interest to the point that timing the market is meaningful. I think the 67’s have to approach those deals from an organizational need perspective. What that means is both will stand int he way of younger players development. Whenever the organization feels those two guys are blocking the development of capable young players, that’s the point they look at dealing them. Sirman can play as a forward if necessary so there may be more flexibility on timing.

Rohrer - I think a lot of what happens with Rohrer will depend on market value. Imports typically are valued less. I really think Rohrer needs a half season leading up to the deadline to increase his trade value. He has to do it as a centre. You know I am not fond of Rohrer at centre but not because he is a poor centre, it’s because I think hr is a more valuable winger. That said, his value at the deadline would be higher as a centre. he needs to be above a point per game. If he can do that, then maybe we can get something like a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th for him. Maybe even something similar to a Zito type deal? IF Rohrer doesnt’ at least garner a 2nd, 3rd and 4th, there is no sense trading him. he’s more valuable to the team than the draft picks return.

I don’t foresee any other trade candidates Right now. They may look at the OA situation in 24-25 and take advantage of a strong trad market and move one of Stonehouse, Gerrior or Mayich at the deadline and thin out the potential OA’s to three but they can wait until the preseason he following year and move someone for a decent return. So, no real rush. The caveat to that is if Stonehouse looks to be the odd man out becuase of elevated trade value at the deadline, we could see that but I really don’t think Stonehouse is the guy on the block. I think it will be Gerrior. If that happens, I think it is pre-season 24-25. But that is just early speculation On my part.

 

[OMG67]

The east and west divisions look weak compared to the mid-west next season, but at least one of Ottawa, Hamilton, and Kingston will be tempted by the opportunity to be a top 2 seed and add.

The Frontenacs really are in great shape going forward. I think the main priority will be two of McCarthy, import D, OA D.

Central:
Mississauga should lead the division.
Sudbury returns a decent roster as well.
Barrie is probably there with North Bay in the 3-4 slot
Niagara in the rear and not overly competitive

East:
Kingston has a strong nucleus but as you mentioned, McCarthy will be a big get if they sign him
Hamilton and Oshawa will be decent
Ottawa will be pretty good but can’t really add anything
Petes will be pitiful

If I had to do a ranking right now, I’d probably go with:

Mississauga
Kingston
Ottawa
Sudbury
North Bay
Barrie
Hamilton
Oshawa
Niagara
Peterborough

I don‘t think any of those teams will be overly strong. I’d be very surprised if any of them topped 95 points. 90 may even be a stretch. 3 through 6 are almost interchangeable and it will depend a lot on OA’s and sell/buy strategies. Hamilton and Oshawa are still a step behind in the rebuild. I’d be quite shocked if either of Niagara or Peterborough made the playoffs next year. You have to think he Petes are going to sell everything not bolted down in an effort to recoup picks and also to pick really high and nail down a stud from the 2024 draft. I don’t think Niagara will be able to jump over Hamilton or Oshawa.

You could make a very strong argument that each of the ten teams in the Eastern Conference are all in some stage of rebuild next season. I really don’t think any team is well positioned to contend. I think, as you mentioned, there may be a team or two compelled to make a go of it because of the situation, whereas, under normal situations there is no way they’d do it.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

Beck - You can’t trade him now. No one would trade for him. He needs to remain unsigned, not get redrafted and confirm he wants to return for an OA season instead of signing an AHL deal. I think Ottawa would be best served waiting until the deadline or closer to it to trade him. They get the advantage of his presence and the additional wins he will contribute too as well as the added trade value closer to the deadline. The disadvantage is if he were to get injured again. I don’t think that possibility is high. The two injuries were unrelated. HOWEVER, I may be more willing to do a deal in the preseason if he doesn‘t gain a decent amount of weight over the summer and a team is pretty much willing to give up what we want for him which would be comparable to a deadline price.

Donoso - this s a tough one and it depends a lot on MacK’s mindset. If MacK is ok in a tandem situation until the deadline then I think it would be good to keep Donoso through the deadline. However, if as you say, there is a competent backup signed and ready to go out of the pre-season then we can make a deal early. The best thing for the players is an early trade. It may not be the best thing for the 67’s and the sale price.

Smyth/Sirman - I don’t see wither player as an OA candidate in 24-25. Therefore both need to go at some point. It will all depend on organizational needs. Neither will garner serious interest to the point that timing the market is meaningful. I think the 67’s have to approach those deals from an organizational need perspective. What that means is both will stand int he way of younger players development. Whenever the organization feels those two guys are blocking the development of capable young players, that’s the point they look at dealing them. Sirman can play as a forward if necessary so there may be more flexibility on timing.

Rohrer - I think a lot of what happens with Rohrer will depend on market value. Imports typically are valued less. I really think Rohrer needs a half season leading up to the deadline to increase his trade value. He has to do it as a centre. You know I am not fond of Rohrer at centre but not because he is a poor centre, it’s because I think hr is a more valuable winger. That said, his value at the deadline would be higher as a centre. he needs to be above a point per game. If he can do that, then maybe we can get something like a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th for him. Maybe even something similar to a Zito type deal? IF Rohrer doesnt’ at least garner a 2nd, 3rd and 4th, there is no sense trading him. he’s more valuable to the team than the draft picks return.

I don’t foresee any other trade candidates Right now. They may look at the OA situation in 24-25 and take advantage of a strong trad market and move one of Stonehouse, Gerrior or Mayich at the deadline and thin out the potential OA’s to three but they can wait until the preseason he following year and move someone for a decent return. So, no real rush. The caveat to that is if Stonehouse looks to be the odd man out becuase of elevated trade value at the deadline, we could see that but I really don’t think Stonehouse is the guy on the block. I think it will be Gerrior. If that happens, I think it is pre-season 24-25. But that is just early speculation On my part.

Certainly early to speculate, but I'm part of the Will Gerrior fan club. I thought he improved tremendously this season, with much of that improvement coming after Morrison arrived in Ottawa and Gerrior was lined-up next to him for much of that time. Early on, I thought Gerrior was a relatively poor fit on Morrison's line as I didn't think he had the puck skills or creativity to play off of Morrison (and Beck, who was also on that line at the time), but Gerrior improved a lot in that regard, scored a bunch of nice goals in-tight post-deadline, and brought his usual high-intensity puck retrieval and forechecking game every night. Some credit is probably due as well to Morrison's leadership since his arrival. Gerrior is also really good on the PK.

Neither him nor Stonehouse are big guys, which I think cost them (and the 67s) against Peterborough when they had difficulty breaking through and getting in hard on the forecheck.

I'm not in the room but Gerrior strikes me as a strong lead-by-example type who gives 100% every shift, and seems well-liked by his teammates. It will be a tough decision between him and Stonehouse if that is what it comes down to (assuming Mayich and MacKenzie are the other OAs in play).

Aside from the obvious names (Pinelli, Mews, Marrelli, Gardiner), the young player I'm most interested in watching develop going into next season is Caden Kelly. I think he has good potential to be a good "power-forward" type winger for the 67s in 2024-25 if he can gain some size and strength in the off-season. He showed well this season in limited time (even got in a fight towards the end of the season), and I'd look for him in a top-9 role next season, hopefully top-6 in 2024-25.

 

[dirty12]

Central:
Mississauga should lead the division.
Sudbury returns a decent roster as well.
Barrie is probably there with North Bay in the 3-4 slot
Niagara in the rear and not overly competitive

East:
Kingston has a strong nucleus but as you mentioned, McCarthy will be a big get if they sign him
Hamilton and Oshawa will be decent
Ottawa will be pretty good but can’t really add anything
Petes will be pitiful

If I had to do a ranking right now, I’d probably go with:

Mississauga
Kingston
Ottawa
Sudbury
North Bay
Barrie
Hamilton
Oshawa
Niagara
Peterborough

I don‘t think any of those teams will be overly strong. I’d be very surprised if any of them topped 95 points. 90 may even be a stretch. 3 through 6 are almost interchangeable and it will depend a lot on OA’s and sell/buy strategies. Hamilton and Oshawa are still a step behind in the rebuild. I’d be quite shocked if either of Niagara or Peterborough made the playoffs next year. You have to think he Petes are going to sell everything not bolted down in an effort to recoup picks and also to pick really high and nail down a stud from the 2024 draft. I don’t think Niagara will be able to jump over Hamilton or Oshawa.

You could make a very strong argument that each of the ten teams in the Eastern Conference are all in some stage of rebuild next season. I really don’t think any team is well positioned to contend. I think, as you mentioned, there may be a team or two compelled to make a go of it because of the situation, whereas, under normal situations there is no way they’d do it.

I’ll go with SBY-NB. NB will return 9-11 players having experienced two conference finals. They will be a good team.
I’ll wait to see what Niagara has for OAs and imports before deciding to write them off.

 

[OMG67]

I’ll go with SBY-NB. NB will return 9-11 players having experienced two conference finals. They will be a good team.
I’ll wait to see what Niagara has for OAs and imports before deciding to write them off.

Do you think Missy is in the 3 slot for the division? I sort of think the deals they made this year will help them a lot next year.

North Bay comes down to their returning OAs. I have then as a coin flip with Sudbury depending on quality of OAs and willingness to make some additions.

 

[OMG67]

Certainly early to speculate, but I'm part of the Will Gerrior fan club. I thought he improved tremendously this season, with much of that improvement coming after Morrison arrived in Ottawa and Gerrior was lined-up next to him for much of that time. Early on, I thought Gerrior was a relatively poor fit on Morrison's line as I didn't think he had the puck skills or creativity to play off of Morrison (and Beck, who was also on that line at the time), but Gerrior improved a lot in that regard, scored a bunch of nice goals in-tight post-deadline, and brought his usual high-intensity puck retrieval and forechecking game every night. Some credit is probably due as well to Morrison's leadership since his arrival. Gerrior is also really good on the PK.

Neither him nor Stonehouse are big guys, which I think cost them (and the 67s) against Peterborough when they had difficulty breaking through and getting in hard on the forecheck.

I'm not in the room but Gerrior strikes me as a strong lead-by-example type who gives 100% every shift, and seems well-liked by his teammates. It will be a tough decision between him and Stonehouse if that is what it comes down to (assuming Mayich and MacKenzie are the other OAs in play).

Aside from the obvious names (Pinelli, Mews, Marrelli, Gardiner), the young player I'm most interested in watching develop going into next season is Caden Kelly. I think he has good potential to be a good "power-forward" type winger for the 67s in 2024-25 if he can gain some size and strength in the off-season. He showed well this season in limited time (even got in a fight towards the end of the season), and I'd look for him in a top-9 role next season, hopefully top-6 in 2024-25.

I think Stonehouse brings more to the table overall. The only two reasons to look at dealing Stonehouse are if he gets drafted and looks unlikely to return as an OA and if the offer for him is way too good to pass up.

I like Mayich but with the 67s drafting four D-Men early last year and this year combined with Ewles and Horner being 19 year olds in 24-25, there may not be as much a need for Mayich as forwards. Theoretically speaking, we should have six D-Men without Mayich. Two 17 year olds, two 18 year olds and two 19 year olds. I like his size and grit but if we need help up front, we could see them keeping the two forwards and MacK.

 

[dirty12]

Do you think Missy is in the 3 slot for the division? I sort of think the deals they made this year will help them a lot next year.

I really don’t know where to place Barrie, Missasauga, Niagara right now. Barrie could graduate Thornton, Clarke, Cholach, Hache, and trade Punnet at the deadline possibly taking one of the Petes or Gens out of the lottery.

North Bay comes down to their returning OAs. I have then as a coin flip with Sudbury depending on quality of OAs and willingness to make some additions.

I’ll guess NB keeps Tarasevich with Arnsby; trade Hislop and if there’s interest Brzustowich. I think Christopolous has to be moved as well so their 3rd picks from the last three drafts can settle in the line up. NB is overloaded at defence and goalie.
NB have 2006 born 1st, 2-3rds, 2-4ths, 5th signed; only Procyszyn played round 1.

 

[beastintheeast]

Beck and Stonehouse will go undrafted. Neither one has shown enough I think that an NHL team would use a draft pick on them.

Teams will wait, invite them to a camp, see how they do then send them back to the 67's. If they have a good season then someone will sign them BUT with Beck he has to play a high scoring HEALTHY season. Stonehouse has to show that even with his size he can play in the AHL.

Kingston I know on paper they look good and McCarthy should be a stud but again the issue i have is the coaching and if Caputi is able to do it. We know that Springer will not fire him as it costs too much.

What I am waiting for next year is to see who is going to be the surprise player. Would love to see one of the young guns show up and take the number 3 center position like Garner did.

If we are building for the future then trading Rohrer now is the best thing to do. Not sure of what picks we would get in return but it opens the team up to being able to draft 2 Euros this year.
Ottawa should be a number 4-5 team in the conference but as you said it is too early.

Donoso needs to go so that McK can make his mark. Just as they did with Cranley.

 

[OMG67]

I really don’t know where to place Barrie, Missasauga, Niagara right now. Barrie could graduate Thornton, Clarke, Cholach, Hache, and trade Punnet at the deadline possibly taking one of the Petes or Gens out of the lottery.

I’ll guess NB keeps Tarasevich with Arnsby; trade Hislop and if there’s interest Brzustowich. I think Christopolous has to be moved as well so their 3rd picks from the last three drafts can settle in the line up. NB is overloaded at defence and goalie.
NB have 2006 born 1st, 2-3rds, 2-4ths, 5th signed; only Procyszyn played round 1.

I think your answers pretty much confirm what I am thinking. I don’t think there is anywhere near a clear top 2 or even 3 teams. Too many variables like what strategies teams may deploy. Hard to tell what teams will buy and what teams will sell. I think Kingston and Missy are the teams least likely to sell players so I have them in the lead. Ottawa returns a lot of good players, especially on the back end so they will be good but they won’t add players, more likely to trade players so who knows?

 

[dirty12]

I think your answers pretty much confirm what I am thinking. I don’t think there is anywhere near a clear top 2 or even 3 teams. Too many variables like what strategies teams may deploy. Hard to tell what teams will buy and what teams will sell. I think Kingston and Missy are the teams least likely to sell players so I have them in the lead. Ottawa returns a lot of good players, especially on the back end so they will be good but they won’t add players, more likely to trade players so who knows?

The only things that I am fairly certain of are; the mid-west is by far the best, and the battalion will be playing in a third consecutive conference final with a Stan Butler dream team.

 

[beastintheeast]

Can someone explain the aversion to drafting forwards that are 6' or taller.

You look at NB and yes they have a few players 5'10" but they have size as well.

Boyd seems to want small fast players and that isnot going to get him to the NHL.

To get to the NHL you have to develop and draft winning teams.

So far he has not been able to do that.
in the playoffs size matters

this team supposedly develops players for the pros but I am not seeing very many that are NHL players.
We have not drafted and NHL player in the first round since Konecny and he was a given can;t miss.
It is as if this team drafts for the OHL and does not draft for players that will go to a higher level.

 

[OMG67]

Can someone explain the aversion to drafting forwards that are 6' or taller.

You look at NB and yes they have a few players 5'10" but they have size as well.

Boyd seems to want small fast players and that isnot going to get him to the NHL.

To get to the NHL you have to develop and draft winning teams.

So far he has not been able to do that.
in the playoffs size matters

this team supposedly develops players for the pros but I am not seeing very many that are NHL players.
We have not drafted and NHL player in the first round since Konecny and he was a given can;t miss.
It is as if this team drafts for the OHL and does not draft for players that will go to a higher level.

It isn’t easy to draft 15 year olds that are 6’0” tall. Many still have additional growth in them. The players/teams you reference have matured.

Matier was 6’2”165 and Smyth was 6’2” 180. Those are the two biggest players on our team. Even they grew much taller and wider at 6’4 and 6’5” 200.

Even smaller guys grow. Gerrior was 5’7 130 when he was drafted. He’s now 5’10 175

 

[OMG67]

The only things that I am fairly certain of are; the mid-west is by far the best, and the battalion will be playing in a third consecutive conference final with a Stan Butler dream team.

I see a lot of similarities between Ottawa and North Bay next season. Both return a decent number of players. Both lose some pretty serious top end bodies. Neither have draft picks to augment their rosters.

The difference is if North Bay gets lucky and returns more OA’s than anticipated, they will be able to flip some for picks to help replenish. Ottawa doesn’t have the same luxury.

I’m reasonably certain North Bay will graduate:
MacDonald
Jackson
Winslow
Ertel
Bloom
Petrov

That leaves:
Arnsby (FLA 7th)
Tarasevich
Zito (DET 6th)
Hislop
Cristopoulos
Bruzstowski

If North Bay is fortunate enough to return all six of those ‘03s remaining, they can turn those assets into picks they can use to add up front. Then it is a completely different story.

 

[dirty12]

I see a lot of similarities between Ottawa and North Bay next season. Both return a decent number of players. Both lose some pretty serious top end bodies. Neither have draft picks to augment their rosters.

The difference is if North Bay gets lucky and returns more OA’s than anticipated, they will be able to flip some for picks to help replenish. Ottawa doesn’t have the same luxury.

I’m reasonably certain North Bay will graduate:
MacDonald
Jackson
Winslow
Ertel
Bloom
Petrov

That leaves:
Arnsby (FLA 7th)
Tarasevich
Zito (DET 6th)
Hislop
Cristopoulos
Bruzstowski

If North Bay is fortunate enough to return all six of those ‘03s remaining, they can turn those assets into picks they can use to add up front. Then it is a completely different story.

I kinda expected Zito (*3, *5) to return, but he has a better chance of sticking in the AHL than Ertel and Bloom imo.
I would not be at all surprised if Ertel is sent back to have a MacDonald, Coe, Russell, Brazeau, Goodrow type OA development year. I know I’d do it if my prospect had a spot on the battalion.

 

[OMG67]

I kinda expected Zito (*3, *5) to return, but he has a better chance of sticking in the AHL than Ertel and Bloom imo.
I would not be at all surprised if Ertel is sent back to have a MacDonald, Coe, Russell, Brazeau, Goodrow type OA development year. I know I’d do it if my prospect had a spot on the battalion.

I know there are some that say the same thing about Boucher in Ottawa. I think Beck comes back by default of not being signed. I;m nit sure what the contract status is for the NB players. You gotta think if they are signed, they graduate. Not many teams allow junior clubs to develop their players once they reach AHL eligibility. Most feel it is better to develop them in practise at the AHL level as opposed to playing games at the OHL level. Whether we agree with that sort of decision is another story. I don’t. I think if a player isn’t ready, they should play more junior hockey, especially when they lost a year to Covid. In fairness, Petrov is probably the only player eligible to return that is ready for the next level without question marks. All three have the size to compete so they will get their opportunity this year IMO.

I think Zito really fits the mould for the Red Wings. I’m leaning on him getting signed and moving on. If it were a typical Western Conference team, maybe not but for some reason I jsut feel he really fits into that organization, which is probably why they drafted him int he first place. Scoring stats don’t tell the whole story. His intangibles really are a nice fit with Detroit’s style.

If I had to make a guess, I’d say Arnsby, Tarasevich, and Hislop return. Bruzstowski and cristopoulos are traded. Maybe they keep Cristopoulos instead of Hislop? Depends. I think with Nelson returning, Hislop may be the better fit. The rest graduate. That may be the actual worst case scenario. But, the reality is, if North Bay wins the Championship and moves on to the Memorial cup, the players will get much higher profile. That tends to speak loudly.

 

[dirty12]

I know there are some that say the same thing about Boucher in Ottawa. I think Beck comes back by default of not being signed. I;m nit sure what the contract status is for the NB players. You gotta think if they are signed, they graduate. Not many teams allow junior clubs to develop their players once they reach AHL eligibility. Most feel it is better to develop them in practise at the AHL level as opposed to playing games at the OHL level. Whether we agree with that sort of decision is another story. I don’t. I think if a player isn’t ready, they should play more junior hockey, especially when they lost a year to Covid. In fairness, Petrov is probably the only player eligible to return that is ready for the next level without question marks. All three have the size to compete so they will get their opportunity this year IMO.

I think Zito really fits the mould for the Red Wings. I’m leaning on him getting signed and moving on. If it were a typical Western Conference team, maybe not but for some reason I jsut feel he really fits into that organization, which is probably why they drafted him int he first place. Scoring stats don’t tell the whole story. His intangibles really are a nice fit with Detroit’s style.

If I had to make a guess, I’d say Arnsby, Tarasevich, and Hislop return. Bruzstowski and cristopoulos are traded. Maybe they keep Cristopoulos instead of Hislop? Depends. I think with Nelson returning, Hislop may be the better fit. The rest graduate. That may be the actual worst case scenario. But, the reality is, if North Bay wins the Championship and moves on to the Memorial cup, the players will get much higher profile. That tends to speak loudly.

I’d just return Ertel because the battalion have a great track record with OA development. Ertel is not showing the skill he did in the first half. Maybe he’s ready for AHL, maybe the finger he broke is affecting play.
I fully expect Hislop & Brzustowski to be moved. The LD depth chart will be Mathurin, & Lukin at 19, Turley & Rismond 17, Wilson & Enright 16. If the battalion do not have 3-OA forwards to keep, I can see Christopolous on the right side with Nelson & Kennedy.
I am a bit of a Sens fan, so I’m really disappointed with the Boucher pick right now. He is no where near practised enough for the AHL imo. And I think he will be too powerful at 20 to learn how to be a checker and effective hitter in the OHL. The Sens were very, very, very wrong in stating Boucher was the best hitter in his age group. He is one of the few players that I think may benefit more in the ECHL than OHL.
After watching Beck against NB last spring, I thought he’d be one of the most dominant players this season …?

 

[OMG67]

I’d just return Ertel because the battalion have a great track record with OA development. Ertel is not showing the skill he did in the first half. Maybe he’s ready for AHL, maybe the finger he broke is affecting play.
I fully expect Hislop & Brzustowski to be moved. The LD depth chart will be Mathurin, & Lukin at 19, Turley & Rismond 17, Wilson & Enright 16. If the battalion do not have 3-OA forwards to keep, I can see Christopolous on the right side with Nelson & Kennedy.
I am a bit of a Sens fan, so I’m really disappointed with the Boucher pick right now. He is no where near practised enough for the AHL imo. And I think he will be too powerful at 20 to learn how to be a checker and effective hitter in the OHL. The Sens were very, very, very wrong in stating Boucher was the best hitter in his age group. He is one of the few players that I think may benefit more in the ECHL than OHL.
After watching Beck against NB last spring, I thought he’d be one of the most dominant players this season …?

Beck had that early season concussion in the Ptese game and he missed quite a bit of time. His issue is simple, he needs to gain 20lbs in a bad way. I had him pegged at 40 goals, maybe 50 this season. Not even close. Still productive but not nearly as impactful as anticipated.

Boucher is an oddball. You are 100% correct about his physicality in the OHL but he also won’t be hitting mature men either which means it may be better for him from regaining strength and working on his offensive game. If not for the surgery on the shoulder, I’d agree the OHL is not the right spot for him but the Sens may simply look at it and feel he needs a full year developing with how much time he’s missed for the last three seasons. I normally wouldn’t even give a second thought to that but O think it is at least a discussion behind closed doors.

 

[armchaircoaches]

Beck had that early season concussion in the Ptese game and he missed quite a bit of time. His issue is simple, he needs to gain 20lbs in a bad way. I had him pegged at 40 goals, maybe 50 this season. Not even close. Still productive but not nearly as impactful as anticipated.

Boucher is an oddball. You are 100% correct about his physicality in the OHL but he also won’t be hitting mature men either which means it may be better for him from regaining strength and working on his offensive game. If not for the surgery on the shoulder, I’d agree the OHL is not the right spot for him but the Sens may simply look at it and feel he needs a full year developing with how much time he’s missed for the last three seasons. I normally wouldn’t even give a second thought to that but O think it is at least a discussion behind closed doors.

Ertel isn’t sighned n doubt he will so will b back

 

[beastintheeast]

Beck had that early season concussion in the Ptese game and he missed quite a bit of time. His issue is simple, he needs to gain 20lbs in a bad way. I had him pegged at 40 goals, maybe 50 this season. Not even close. Still productive but not nearly as impactful as anticipated.

Boucher is an oddball. You are 100% correct about his physicality in the OHL but he also won’t be hitting mature men either which means it may be better for him from regaining strength and working on his offensive game. If not for the surgery on the shoulder, I’d agree the OHL is not the right spot for him but the Sens may simply look at it and feel he needs a full year developing with how much time he’s missed for the last three seasons. I normally wouldn’t even give a second thought to that but O think it is at least a discussion behind closed doors.

Boucher will be a baby sen to start the year. There is no way they are going to develop him here. That would be like admitting that maybe they missed the mark on him.

Also the coaching and training staff will be able to help more in his development. Could he see some ECH time that will depend on the Sens roster. There will be less expected of him in Belleville than there would be here. Here he was expected to be the enforcer to a certain extent In Helleville he will be able to develop more and get better ice time.

Beck is interesting to me in that I am not fully convinced that he is all there. Concussions as you know OMG can be sneaky and we do not know if this was the first concussion or the 2nd third. Either way it can weigh on your mind especially with the length of time it took to recover from it.

Best thing for Beck is to not get a contract but get invited to a rookie camp have a good camp and come back to the 67's healthy and have gained confidence. But if he is still feeling the concussion then the best thing is for him to look at using his University scholarships early.

If this team is doing the rebuild or retool then it is gong to be in an interesting spot as we could start the season with 1 OA in Donoso. If we are going to be a playoff team this may not be the best. BUT if we are going to retool it will mean just like this year the rookies and new players are going to get a lot of ice time.

 

[OMG67]

Boucher will be a baby sen to start the year. There is no way they are going to develop him here. That would be like admitting that maybe they missed the mark on him.

Also the coaching and training staff will be able to help more in his development. Could he see some ECH time that will depend on the Sens roster. There will be less expected of him in Belleville than there would be here. Here he was expected to be the enforcer to a certain extent In Helleville he will be able to develop more and get better ice time.

Beck is interesting to me in that I am not fully convinced that he is all there. Concussions as you know OMG can be sneaky and we do not know if this was the first concussion or the 2nd third. Either way it can weigh on your mind especially with the length of time it took to recover from it.

Best thing for Beck is to not get a contract but get invited to a rookie camp have a good camp and come back to the 67's healthy and have gained confidence. But if he is still feeling the concussion then the best thing is for him to look at using his University scholarships early.

If this team is doing the rebuild or retool then it is gong to be in an interesting spot as we could start the season with 1 OA in Donoso. If we are going to be a playoff team this may not be the best. BUT if we are going to retool it will mean just like this year the rookies and new players are going to get a lot of ice time.

The best thing for Beck is he signs an NHL contract. That contract is worth upwards of $480k ($80k per year signing bonus and $80k per year for his AHL contract) over three years. If he doesn’t sign an NHL contract, he is unlikely to get one later. He’ll probably get a two way AHL deal like a Hoefenmeyer which is worth less than half that NHL deal. If the NHL deal is not renewed after his three seasons are up, he’d still likely get an AHL deal and he’d at least have $480k in earnings under his belt prior to getting the pay cut for the remainder of his pro career. We also need to keep in mind that if Beck signs an NHL contract, he typically gets an insurance policy for career ending injury. If he is injured to the point his career is over, he is covered pretty highly so from a financial perspective, him signing the NHL deal is his best outcome.

As I mentioned, I would never even think of suggesting a 10th overall pick would be sent back for an OA season. But, including WJHC and playoffs, Boucher has played a paltry 77 games spread over the last three seasons. He is going to be coming off a surgically repaired shoulder. Under normal circumstances, he’d be in Belleville with 100% certainty. But, 23 goals scored over 3 seasons isn‘t what you would call inspiring. His inability to stay healthy is also a concern. Keeping him on the ice against weaker competition as opposed to grown men may be a smart option. At some point you need to separate the draft position from the performance level. If he were drafted in the 5th round, we’d be talking about him having ZERO chance of an NHL contract. So, in this situation and this situation only, I am open minded for him playing an OA season. I would NEVER even think of considering it under normal circumstances. But considering all of the above? I honestly think there may be a chance as weird as that sounds. Would I bet on it happening? No. What are the percentage chances? Maybe 25%? Pre-season I’d have said a certain 0% chance.

I mean, who the hell would have thought in the pre-season we’d even be considering beck and Boucher back as OA’s? Even if the chances are slim now, that slimness is still huge compared to the pre-season. I think I said in the pre-season that if we were talking about Beck returning as an OA, the 67’s would be in the toilet. It feels dirty even talking about it to be honest but here we are.

What would the roster look like if Beck and Boucher were to return?

Pinelli - Rohrer - Stonehouse
Beck (OA) - Gardiner - Boucher (OA)
Gerrior - Import - Foster
Barlas - Whitehead - Kelly
Yanni - Dever

Mayich - Ewles
Marrelli. - Mews
Sirman - Horner
Smyth - Bruzstewicz
Dietsuch

Donoso (OA)
MacKenzie

Of course, there’s a good chance both Donoso and one of Smyth or Sirman are traded. They’d open up an OA spot and if they do, the perfect addition would be a Capable OA centre to slip between Beck and Boucher.

Anyway, just some late night thoughts. We only have 5 months to figure it all out….

 

[Robray12]

Any interesting drafted players that we hope will show up to camp.

 

[beastintheeast]

The best thing for Beck is he signs an NHL contract. That contract is worth upwards of $480k ($80k per year signing bonus and $80k per year for his AHL contract) over three years. If he doesn’t sign an NHL contract, he is unlikely to get one later. He’ll probably get a two way AHL deal like a Hoefenmeyer which is worth less than half that NHL deal. If the NHL deal is not renewed after his three seasons are up, he’d still likely get an AHL deal and he’d at least have $480k in earnings under his belt prior to getting the pay cut for the remainder of his pro career. We also need to keep in mind that if Beck signs an NHL contract, he typically gets an insurance policy for career ending injury. If he is injured to the point his career is over, he is covered pretty highly so from a financial perspective, him signing the NHL deal is his best outcome.

As I mentioned, I would never even think of suggesting a 10th overall pick would be sent back for an OA season. But, including WJHC and playoffs, Boucher has played a paltry 77 games spread over the last three seasons. He is going to be coming off a surgically repaired shoulder. Under normal circumstances, he’d be in Belleville with 100% certainty. But, 23 goals scored over 3 seasons isn‘t what you would call inspiring. His inability to stay healthy is also a concern. Keeping him on the ice against weaker competition as opposed to grown men may be a smart option. At some point you need to separate the draft position from the performance level. If he were drafted in the 5th round, we’d be talking about him having ZERO chance of an NHL contract. So, in this situation and this situation only, I am open minded for him playing an OA season. I would NEVER even think of considering it under normal circumstances. But considering all of the above? I honestly think there may be a chance as weird as that sounds. Would I bet on it happening? No. What are the percentage chances? Maybe 25%? Pre-season I’d have said a certain 0% chance.

Anyway, just some late night thoughts. We only have 5 months to figure it all out….

At this stage, I think Beck getting an NHL contract from the Flames is dead. Maloney is the interim Manager and I don't see him worrying about players like Beck. He is about a 10% chance of signing only because you never say never. If they were going to sign him they would have and really he did not show anything in the playoffs to make them jump up and say yes.

Boucher is an enigma part of me agrees but part of me also looks at the money they have spent and the fact that he was a number 1 pick. If he is healthy in camp I think that the best place for him to learn is in Hellville. Playing him with the 67's may help him against weaker talent but they need to see what he can do against players that are bigger. They need to develop him.

With the logjam at defence I do not see a place for Smythe. He just has not had he ice time and I think there are other players that can take his place.

Sirman is interesting depending on where Cameron slots him in. Could Cameron keep him as a forward
With 6 returning D plus our 1st and 3rd round draft pick the openings are scarce.

 

[OMG67]

At this stage, I think Beck getting an NHL contract from the Flames is dead. Maloney is the interim Manager and I don't see him worrying about players like Beck. He is about a 10% chance of signing only because you never say never. If they were going to sign him they would have and really he did not show anything in the playoffs to make them jump up and say yes.

Boucher is an enigma part of me agrees but part of me also looks at the money they have spent and the fact that he was a number 1 pick. If he is healthy in camp I think that the best place for him to learn is in Hellville. Playing him with the 67's may help him against weaker talent but they need to see what he can do against players that are bigger. They need to develop him.

With the logjam at defence I do not see a place for Smythe. He just has not had he ice time and I think there are other players that can take his place.

Sirman is interesting depending on where Cameron slots him in. Could Cameron keep him as a forward
With 6 returning D plus our 1st and 3rd round draft pick the openings are scarce.

Agree on Beck.

Boucher needs development. Do they develop his offence and allow him one full season at Junior where he can gain confidence and get healthy in an environment that is much more safe? I don’t know. I’m thinking that option is much more on the table now than it was even at the mid-season point. If he plays AHL? His shoulder will get tested pretty quick. With respect tot he money spent, he gets the NHL Slide so his Entry level doesn’t kick in yet and neither would his AHL contract. It may be advantageous for the Sens to keep him in Ottawa one extra year and hold his entry level back a year. He gets his signing bonus money no matter where he plays. Do they NEED him at the AHL level to help that team or will they do wat is best for his development? I don’t really know what is best for his development.

With respect to the defence, I am not sure who would be the odd man out. It could be the one least effictive or worst fit but it could also be a situation where they try to use the player that nets the best return. That seems to be what they did with Sawyer. They could have moved any of the 18 year olds but Sawyer probably netted the better return with a 2nd round pick in the 2023 draft. You could see Sirman moved if his market value is higher. We could also see a player request a deal as well. So, too many variables to really land on the guy that will end up moving. Looks like more of a wait and see.

 

[Race Dawg]

Watching bits and pieces of the Quebec-Gatineau series tonight and it just goes to show you how far behind the Ontario league is in terms of skill and sheer excitement. Nothing but end-to-end action, excellent goaltending and some pull you out of your seats scoring chances and hitting. The Ottawa-Peterborough series was like watching paint dry compared to this...

 

[BigHitter67]

Watching bits and pieces of the Quebec-Gatineau series tonight and it just goes to show you how far behind the Ontario league is in terms of skill and sheer excitement. Nothing but end-to-end action, excellent goaltending and some pull you out of your seats scoring chances and hitting. The Ottawa-Peterborough series was like watching paint dry compared to this...

and yet Q produces fewest NHL draft picks of the 3 CHL leagues AND and a destination for several kids every year who can’t crack an OHL roster