Ottawa 67's 2022-23 Season Thread

[OMG67]

Boucher and the Sens have options, the 67's will need to operate on the premise that he is not returning until the day that he is returned; it will be whatever the Sens determine is best. Boucher is never going to be an elite scorer, his strengths are along the walls and across the top of the crease, both areas where competition against men would be beneficial... a lot will come down to maturity and where they assess his confidence as being right now.

The return on Sawyer was good, better than I would have expected, and should make things easier to navigate on D now:
Mayich-Matier
Sirman-Costantini
Smyth-Gill-shane
Mews-Ewles
Marelli (Jr.A)
I still question the need for Costantini, move Gill-shane to the 2nd line and Ewles into the 3rd puts Mews and Marrelli in the 7&8 spots where they belong. But smarter minds than I will determine this.

On forward they will need to figure out how to establish a 1st & 2nd line that can hold their own against the other top lines in the league, especially without Boucher.
Beck-Tolnai-Rohrer
Johnston-Pinelli-Stonehouse
Gerrior-Gardiner-Barlas
Quick-Foster-Dever/Kelly
The first line has to be strong enough to keep teams honest, if a team thinks they can get away with their 2nd or 3rd holding against them the mismatches against the third/fourth line will be significant. I really don't think forcing a D to try to fit into the forward group is a good idea right now, it's a Band-Aid to keep a D player happy but impacts the unity up front. They need to build confidence in the forward group, if they are testing the waters with Quick, Foster and Dever then they need to allow them to make a few mistakes, pushing Sirman up only second guesses their abilities.

I should add one thing on Boucher, he has an NHL level shot so scoring goals will come in the right situation.

BOUCHER:
He’s coming back to the 67’s. It is only a matter of when. He was a high pick. If he were to be sent to Belleville, he’d be developed as a 3rd line checker. He simply has not had anywhere near enough ice time over the last two seasons and desperately needs the time to develop his play around the puck. I think the Senators have been pretty clear about their plans for him. It would be a shock if he were sent to Belleville. They can’t take a 10th overall pick as a 19 yea fold and send him to a league he isn’t prepared to properly compete in from an offensive perspective. The Sens aren’t that stupid, nor are they that impatient.

Regarding the lineup, to me it comes down to one single player at this point. BRAD GARDINER. Can he nail down the third centre spot? If he can, I think they will be relatively fine leading up to the deadline. I think most agree that Rohrer and Tolnai will man the top two centre spots. I like Rohrer on the wing more than centre and would clearly welcome the addition of a top flight centre to relagate him to the wing but until that happens, it is unlikely we will see Rohrer as a winger.

Stonehouse and Gardiner played really well together late in the pre-season. TJ and Tolnai played really well together late in the pre-season. I assume those two pairings will remain the same to at least start the regular season. If that holds true, then you have to think Rohrer and Beck will start together as a pairing. Then it is a matter of how the rest of the wingers line up beside them and who fills out the 4th line.

I agree about Costantini but only to a point. He is better than whomever is replacing him. I think the team needs to first ensure they have an equal level player internally before they can even consider entertaining his departure. I like what I’ve seen from Ewles. Is he as good as Costantini is right now? No. Could he be as good as him if he played everyday leading up to the playoffs? Maybe. I could understand that argument but I think we need to see him play for a good month before we can confidently say his ceiling can be reached by end of season and the team is better with him as opposed to Costantini.

a lot of the decisions are going to be based on whether this team is in a position to compete now. IF it is, they need to keep the team as strong as possible. The negative side of that is you lose out on player development for the younger guys but that is the tradeoff. That means guys like Marrelli and Mews play less.

I think there were some good ideas about what was happening with Kasper and as is the case in hockey, just when you think you have it figured out; It Changes. I expect Boucher to return, this team will still have some maneuvering to do one way or the other.

Yeah. The Kasper thing hurts. I believe the Sens would have picked him had they still owned the pick but Debrincat was added and I think that plan floated away with it.

 

[sirius67fan]

Boucher and the Sens have options, the 67's will need to operate on the premise that he is not returning until the day that he is returned; it will be whatever the Sens determine is best. Boucher is never going to be an elite scorer, his strengths are along the walls and across the top of the crease, both areas where competition against men would be beneficial... a lot will come down to maturity and where they assess his confidence as being right now.

The return on Sawyer was good, better than I would have expected, and should make things easier to navigate on D now:
Mayich-Matier
Sirman-Costantini
Smyth-Gill-shane
Mews-Ewles
Marelli (Jr.A)
I still question the need for Costantini, move Gill-shane to the 2nd line and Ewles into the 3rd puts Mews and Marrelli in the 7&8 spots where they belong. But smarter minds than I will determine this.

On forward they will need to figure out how to establish a 1st & 2nd line that can hold their own against the other top lines in the league, especially without Boucher.
Beck-Tolnai-Rohrer
Johnston-Pinelli-Stonehouse
Gerrior-Gardiner-Barlas
Quick-Foster-Dever/Kelly
The first line has to be strong enough to keep teams honest, if a team thinks they can get away with their 2nd or 3rd holding against them the mismatches against the third/fourth line will be significant. I really don't think forcing a D to try to fit into the forward group is a good idea right now, it's a Band-Aid to keep a D player happy but impacts the unity up front. They need to build confidence in the forward group, if they are testing the waters with Quick, Foster and Dever then they need to allow them to make a few mistakes, pushing Sirman up only second guesses their abilities.

I should add one thing on Boucher, he has an NHL level shot so scoring goals will come in the right situation.

I kind of agree about Costantini as I'd love to upgrade him with a forward OA and the kids need icetime. Costantini is ok but he's never wowed me.
Matier/Mayich
Gill-Shane/Sirman
Smyth/ cycle Mews, Marelli, Ewles
That's pretty solid imo. Maybe not championship caliber but let's say we're in the mix at the deadline you add a vet on the cheap but by that point the kids have had icetime to develop. I'm with you with a D-man playing forward, just don't like it. Lets develop our true forwards.

 

[PuckStop75]

BOUCHER:
He’s coming back to the 67’s. It is only a matter of when. He was a high pick. If he were to be sent to Belleville, he’d be developed as a 3rd line checker. He simply has not had anywhere near enough ice time over the last two seasons and desperately needs the time to develop his play around the puck. I think the Senators have been pretty clear about their plans for him. It would be a shock if he were sent to Belleville. They can’t take a 10th overall pick as a 19 yea fold and send him to a league he isn’t prepared to properly compete in from an offensive perspective. The Sens aren’t that stupid, nor are they that impatient.

Regarding the lineup, to me it comes down to one single player at this point. BRAD GARDINER. Can he nail down the third centre spot? If he can, I think they will be relatively fine leading up to the deadline. I think most agree that Rohrer and Tolnai will man the top two centre spots. I like Rohrer on the wing more than centre and would clearly welcome the addition of a top flight centre to relagate him to the wing but until that happens, it is unlikely we will see Rohrer as a winger.

Stonehouse and Gardiner played really well together late in the pre-season. TJ and Tolnai played really well together late in the pre-season. I assume those two pairings will remain the same to at least start the regular season. If that holds true, then you have to think Rohrer and Beck will start together as a pairing. Then it is a matter of how the rest of the wingers line up beside them and who fills out the 4th line.

I agree about Costantini but only to a point. He is better than whomever is replacing him. I think the team needs to first ensure they have an equal level player internally before they can even consider entertaining his departure. I like what I’ve seen from Ewles. Is he as good as Costantini is right now? No. Could he be as good as him if he played everyday leading up to the playoffs? Maybe. I could understand that argument but I think we need to see him play for a good month before we can confidently say his ceiling can be reached by end of season and the team is better with him as opposed to Costantini.

a lot of the decisions are going to be based on whether this team is in a position to compete now. IF it is, they need to keep the team as strong as possible. The negative side of that is you lose out on player development for the younger guys but that is the tradeoff. That means guys like Marrelli and Mews play less.



Yeah. The Kasper thing hurts. I believe the Sens would have picked him had they still owned the pick but Debrincat was added and I think that plan floated away with it.

That is putting a lot on Gardiner, a 17yo who belongs on the 3rd line this year, with a goal of becoming a 2nd line capable centre by years end. I like to use Jack Quin as an example of almost perfect development. A year in Jr.A with callup to OHL, 2nd year was a 3rd/4th line player who learned the ropes and third year was a 2nd line player who had significant impact. I don't believe the level of his contributions would have been the same if he had been relied upon as a 1st line player. By years end he was certainly capable but the curve to get there was very deliberate. If Gardiner does his job on the 3rd line this year, the team will be in good shape.
If you believe Costantini is a top 4 D on a CONTENDING team then a case can be made to keep him. Otherwise Ewles has to be given a shot. The depth in the D group allows for the team to take this position. With the compliment of players Ottawa has the open card has value.

 

[44 95 plus tax]

Gill-Shane to Hamilton

Gill-Shane to Hamilton

Only an 8th round pick. Must be more coming. Morrison?

 

[BarberPole9]

Gill-Shane to Hamilton




Only an 8th round pick. Must be more coming. Morrison?

Trading two of their three 19 year old D is likely a sign that this isn’t a “go for it” year. It’s also hopefully a sign that Marrelli and Mews will be ready for regular minutes early on. Excited to see the young guys play.

Good luck to Ranvir and Teddy- they were both solid players in their time with the 67’s.

 

[OMG67]

That is putting a lot on Gardiner, a 17yo who belongs on the 3rd line this year, with a goal of becoming a 2nd line capable centre by years end. I like to use Jack Quin as an example of almost perfect development. A year in Jr.A with callup to OHL, 2nd year was a 3rd/4th line player who learned the ropes and third year was a 2nd line player who had significant impact. I don't believe the level of his contributions would have been the same if he had been relied upon as a 1st line player. By years end he was certainly capable but the curve to get there was very deliberate. If Gardiner does his job on the 3rd line this year, the team will be in good shape.
If you believe Costantini is a top 4 D on a CONTENDING team then a case can be made to keep him. Otherwise Ewles has to be given a shot. The depth in the D group allows for the team to take this position. With the compliment of players Ottawa has the open card has value.

I have Beck and Rohrer on line one. Tolnai and TJ on line two. Gardiner and Stonehouse on line three.

Likely Boucher with Rohrer and Beck on line one. The rest? Dunno.

But that’s what I have.

Costantini is probably now solidified as the 2nd Right D.

 

[OMG67]

Very surprised by Gill-Shane netting only an 8th round pick. I thought we’d at least get a 4th. I’m wondering if he requested out. I anticipated he would be more impactful this season but I guess the 67’s brass didn’t feel his physical game would ramp up enough.

I don’t think this deal has anything to do with a future deal Unless Hamilton had an issue with draft picks in some manner.

Defence looks a little more settled

Mayich - Matier
Sirman - Costantini
Smyth - Mews
Marrelli - Ewles

The question then becomes whether they end up officially sending one of them to Tier II and then have them practice with Ottawa in an effort to reserve “A” cards. I don’t think it would happen in the short term but could happen in a couple weeks.

This should also pull Sirman out of the forward group. I think most of us felt Sirman is capable of replacing Sawyer. I think they both have a similar skill set. I’m curious to see how it all shakes down.

This reduces the roster down to only four extra bodies. I would suggest the 67’s will demote two players and acquire an OA at some point over then next 2-3 weeks. That would give them 23 bodies on the active roster which is about where I see them going forward.

The level the team performs at will determine what they need from an added OA. Right now it looks like Centre but they could also look at upgrading costantini if they feel they need a strong puck mover and PP QB.

 

[OMG67]

Trading two of their three 19 year old D is likely a sign that this isn’t a “go for it” year. It’s also hopefully a sign that Marrelli and Mews will be ready for regular minutes early on. Excited to see the young guys play.

Good luck to Ranvir and Teddy- they were both solid players in their time with the 67’s.

I’m not sure I read it that way.

Personally, I feel Sirman replaces Sawyer. Very similar players.

Costantini is a capable 2nd pairing Righty D-Man. He’s clearly better than Gill-Shane. So, is Gill-Shane the 3rd pairing Righty? If so, does trading your 3rd pairing righty suggest they are rebuilding? Probably not.

Under normal circumstances, I would agree with your statements but since their depth on Defence is so long combined with an open OA spot to add one if needed, I think the Sawyer trade makes sense. I’m not sure I like the Gill-Shane trade return but if that’s all he is worth, then he clearly isn’t viewed as strong as I viewed him. I had a swing and miss in that regard. I hate to admit I am wrong but on that one, I was. We’ll see how he performs in Hamilton. If he scores 30+ points and plays a consistent game, we clearly made a mistake.

 

[sirius67fan]

Quite surprised by the Gill-Shane trade. As OMG said did he ask out? Doesn't add up though. No way Sawyer is worth asecond and third and Gill-Shane only an eight. Agree with Plustax likely another part to this deal as Hamilton has too many OA's. My theory 67's did this early to save an A card and more is coming. As BP said it's got to be an indication the brass feels guys like Sirman, Smyth are ready for a bigger role and the three kids are more ready than we think.

 

[sirius67fan]

Now for my conspiracy theory trade. What about if part two is Gavin White (OA) and Morrison (OA) for Costantini (OA) and a lot of picks ( 3 seconds and a third maybe?). We get our center, puck moving D who is a right shot so replaces Costantini and fill our OA slots. Hamilton gets pick for a rebuild and two experienced D (Costantini/ Gill-Shane) to shelter the young ones. And Costantini finishes his career with his twin! Voila!

 

[PuckStop75]

I’m not sure I read it that way.

Personally, I feel Sirman replaces Sawyer. Very similar players.

Costantini is a capable 2nd pairing Righty D-Man. He’s clearly better than Gill-Shane. So, is Gill-Shane the 3rd pairing Righty? If so, does trading your 3rd pairing righty suggest they are rebuilding? Probably not.

Under normal circumstances, I would agree with your statements but since their depth on Defence is so long combined with an open OA spot to add one if needed, I think the Sawyer trade makes sense. I’m not sure I like the Gill-Shane trade return but if that’s all he is worth, then he clearly isn’t viewed as strong as I viewed him. I had a swing and miss in that regard. I hate to admit I am wrong but on that one, I was. We’ll see how he performs in Hamilton. If he scores 30+ points and plays a consistent game, we clearly made a mistake.

Sawyer is more physical, but Sirman has more offensive upside. With the size of the group, they could afford to lose Sawyer. Gill-shane lacks both offense and physical; looking at the timeline it likely came down to sell him for an 8th or release him for nothing. The team values the open card more than the return. It all balanced out at the end of the day, what's important is they are keeping the assets they want and building around them, not getting hung up on the returns, this is a positive IMO. Now they need to go to work and get the additions they need to become better.

 

[OMG67]

Sawyer is more physical, but Sirman has more offensive upside. With the size of the group, they could afford to lose Sawyer. Gill-shane lacks both offense and physical; looking at the timeline it likely came down to sell him for an 8th or release him for nothing. The team values the open card more than the return. It all balanced out at the end of the day, what's important is they are keeping the assets they want and building around them, not getting hung up on the returns, this is a positive IMO. Now they need to go to work and get the additions they need to become better.

I agree. I was “hoping” we’d see some offence from Gill-Shane this year because his skating and puck moving is well above average for a big kid. I feel last year’s lack of offensively gifted forwards really hurt his prospects for scoring. I thought he may be able to increase his offensive production with the added depth provided by a healthy forward group. But, they likely wanted to push the younger kids along and he was getting in the way. His value is what it is. He didn’t have an opportunity to showcase himself in Ottawa so Hamilton gets a D-Man with the potential to be an important player for them. If he doesn’t then nothing lost on their end.

 

[OMG67]

Now for my conspiracy theory trade. What about if part two is Gavin White (OA) and Morrison (OA) for Costantini (OA) and a lot of picks ( 3 seconds and a third maybe?). We get our center, puck moving D who is a right shot so replaces Costantini and fill our OA slots. Hamilton gets pick for a rebuild and two experienced D (Costantini/ Gill-Shane) to shelter the young ones. And Costantini finishes his career with his twin! Voila!

I think all the teams are looking at raiding Hamilton for their OA’s.

The assumption is they will sell them off but there is no incentive for them to sell the big guns until the deadline. They may as well keep as many as they can as long as they can culminating into a big deadline series of trades.

The problem with that theory is Costantini may not be their goalie very much longer. They have five bonafide stud OA’s. Morrison, Hayes, Diaco, White and Costantini. Drobac had pretty solid numbers last year. If he proves to be capable and the Bulldogs are rebuilding, Costantini becomes very expendable. If Hamilton made all five available, they’d likely get at least a 2nd and 3rd for each of the skaters and probably a lot more. They could potentially get a 2nd for Costantini too.

I think we are going to get significant competition from Peterborough for the Hamilton OA’s. I think a deal involving Anthony Costantini and Oshawa for Leyton Moore is more probable. It will come down to how well Mews develops int he first half. If Mews proves capable offensively, especially on the PP, then they may keep the steady influence of Costantini and lean on Mews.

Regardless, the 67’s have a lot of ammo to go big game hunting, that is for sure.

Six returning D-Men next year as well with no OA’s on the back end. Some flexibility there too.

 

[sirius67fan]

On another note these trades leave us a bit short of OA candidates for next year. I always assumed one of Sawyer, Gill-Shane would be an OA. We have 5 candidates. Boucher/Matier are not back. Would be surprised Beck is not signed. Leaves Donoso and TJ.

 

[OMG67]

On another note these trades leave us a bit short of OA candidates for next year. I always assumed one of Sawyer, Gill-Shane would be an OA. We have 5 candidates. Boucher/Matier are not back. Would be surprised Beck is not signed. Leaves Donoso and TJ.

Next year’s potential roster if we remain status quo (no particular order or ranking):

TJ (OA) - Rohrer - Dever
Pinelli - Gardiner - Stonehouse
Gerrior - Foster - Quick
Barlas-Kelly

Smyth - Mews
Mayich - Ewles
Marrelli - Sirman

Donoso (OA)
MacKenzie

Not too bad depending on how well some of the young kids develop. I’d look to move Rohrer at the deadline next year though.

 

[beastintheeast]

Next year’s potential roster if we remain status quo (no particular order or ranking):

TJ (OA) - Rohrer - Dever
Pinelli - Gardiner - Stonehouse
Gerrior - Foster - Quick
Barlas-Kelly

Smyth - Mews
Mayich - Ewles
Marrelli - Sirman

Donoso (OA)
MacKenzie

Not too bad depending on how well some of the young kids develop. I’d look to move Rohrer at the deadline next year though.

u forgot that we will have a Euro player probably 16-17 year old

Tis team as it stands is going to depend on goaltending and the play of the top 2 lines

The big thing that Cameron is going to do is develop all these young guys.

Mews and Mareli if they are ready should be getting PP minutes after Christmas.

As to Constantini, he s safe until after the Christmas break then depending on the development of the 3 rookies he may find himself expendable.

 

[OMG67]

u forgot that we will have a Euro player probably 16-17 year old

Tis team as it stands is going to depend on goaltending and the play of the top 2 lines

The big thing that Cameron is going to do is develop all these young guys.

Mews and Mareli if they are ready should be getting PP minutes after Christmas.

As to Constantini, he s safe until after the Christmas break then depending on the development of the 3 rookies he may find himself expendable.

Lots of players will potentially be added through the draft as well. Jsut including players currently on roster For perspective.

 

[OHL4Life]

Very surprised by Gill-Shane netting only an 8th round pick. I thought we’d at least get a 4th. I’m wondering if he requested out. I anticipated he would be more impactful this season but I guess the 67’s brass didn’t feel his physical game would ramp up enough.

I don’t think this deal has anything to do with a future deal Unless Hamilton had an issue with draft picks in some manner.

Defence looks a little more settled

Mayich - Matier
Sirman - Costantini
Smyth - Mews
Marrelli - Ewles

The question then becomes whether they end up officially sending one of them to Tier II and then have them practice with Ottawa in an effort to reserve “A” cards. I don’t think it would happen in the short term but could happen in a couple weeks.

This should also pull Sirman out of the forward group. I think most of us felt Sirman is capable of replacing Sawyer. I think they both have a similar skill set. I’m curious to see how it all shakes down.

This reduces the roster down to only four extra bodies. I would suggest the 67’s will demote two players and acquire an OA at some point over then next 2-3 weeks. That would give them 23 bodies on the active roster which is about where I see them going forward.

The level the team performs at will determine what they need from an added OA. Right now it looks like Centre but they could also look at upgrading costantini if they feel they need a strong puck mover and PP QB.

tried to tell you i heard they had traded both last night

 

[OMG67]

tried to tell you i heard they had traded both last night

Yup. I know. I just didn’t think they would cut that deep!

 

[OHL4Life]

Yup. I know. I just didn’t think they would cut that deep!

hahah, its probably for the best, i didnt see mews much but ive heard marelli is a stud

 

[Generalsupdates]

hahah, its probably for the best, i didnt see mews much but ive heard marelli is a stud

He’s healthy scratched tonight

I guess I need to revise my lineup for Friday considering the trade and the liklihood of Boucher not being returned.

Beck - Rohrer - Pinelli
TJ - Tolnai - Kelly
Gerrior - Gardiner - Stonehouse
Sirman - Foster - Quick

Mayich - Matier
Costantini - GillShane
Smyth - Mews

The removal of Sawyer gets Ottawa down to 25 bodies so they don’t have to send anyone down. I originally thought they could only keep 23 but it looks like it is 25. Cameron will use the first couple weeks to continue to evaluate. We’ll see a revolving door of players in and out of the lineup.

 

[OMG67]

He’s healthy scratched tonight

Looks like Dever is the odd man out up front. No surprise that Ewles and Marrelli are the ones out on defence.

The two trades and Boucher still with the Sens thinned things out enough to make it at least a little more manageable.

 

[sirius67fan]

Well interesting first game. What you would expect in game one, lots of breakdowns etc. A few thoughts
1- Donoso was shaky on 2-3 goals didn't square to the shooters but to his credit he did settle down. If he was solid we won handilly as we did carry the play.
2- Pinelli had an ok game
3- Rohrer was flying out there, expect a big year
4- Smyth looked much faster
5- really liked that Gardiner/Gerrior/Foster line. They were solid
6- As for the Barlas/Kelly/Quick line they were......I have no idea ..did they play?

Ah well good start!

 

[OHL4Life]

Now for my conspiracy theory trade. What about if part two is Gavin White (OA) and Morrison (OA) for Costantini (OA) and a lot of picks ( 3 seconds and a third maybe?). We get our center, puck moving D who is a right shot so replaces Costantini and fill our OA slots. Hamilton gets pick for a rebuild and two experienced D (Costantini/ Gill-Shane) to shelter the young ones. And Costantini finishes his career with his twin! Voila!

they were trying to move gill for a while, im not sure he carries the same amount of value to other teams then you guys think he does. just what ive heard.

 

[sirius67fan]

they were trying to move gill for a while, im not sure he carries the same amount of value to other teams then you guys think he does. just what ive heard.

Perhaps as we do tend to overvalue our players. However a second and third for Sawyer and an eight for Gill-Shane?? Seems a bit extreme/odd/strange as I viewed them as comparable players but hey I'm a fan not an expert