Ottawa 67's 2022 Off-season Thread

[mianjo]

Caden Kelly 3rd pick +78

Ontario Hockey League

The OHL consists of 20 member teams, including 17 in the province of Ontario as well as three in the United States, with two in the state of Michigan and one in the state of Pennsylvania.

ontariohockeyleague.com

 

[OMG67]

Does it mean they may not be fully committed to Constantini as an OA?

I don’t think that’s the case but you never know.They did choose to keep him at the deadline.

 

[44 95 plus tax]

A lot of right defense. Matier, Constantini, Gill-Shane, Ewels, Mews. I'd say Gill-Shane traded more likely than Sawyer.

 

[OMG67]

I believe Caden Kelly was on the right side of the line of Misa and Spence, the first and second overall picks.

 

[OMG67]

A lot of right defense. Matier, Constantini, Gill-Shane, Ewels, Mews. I'd say Gill-Shane traded more likely than Sawyer.

Matier and Mayich played together a lot of the season so you gotta think Mayich is safe. I think I can speak for everyone when saying that Sirman was impressive so I HIGHLY doubt he is going anywhere. So, those three seem to be locks.

The question then surrounds Gill-Shane, Sawyer, Smyth and Costantini.

I’m not sure you can honestly put two 16 year olds and two 17 year olds on your starting 6 D-Men in a year you intend on competing for a Championship.

I could see Mews playing up front next season with some games on the back end. He was a forward up to this past season so he is still learning to play defence. He can probably still QB the Powerplay anyway.

If that happens and Marrelli plays as the #7, it would mean only one guy needs to be moved out.

There’s a decent chance Matier is gone for a month at the WJHC as well. SO maybe some opportunities then.

The funny part is Sawyer and Gill-Shane are both decent OA candidates with Donoso the following season. TJ is the only viable OA to be that 4th guy on that list.

Sawyer is the guy in my mind that is the odd man out. I give Gill-Shane the edge as the Right Side local guy.

Lot’s of options for sure.

 

[OMG67]

We were thinking we may get some answers regarding next season after looking at the first two rounds of the OHL Priority Selection. I think it is safe to say, there are now more questions than there were two hours ago!

 

[44 95 plus tax]

Speaking of defense playing forward, Belanger played centre the other night for Kingston.

 

[sirius67fan]

Wow. Two D-Men!

Yeah I know kind of shocked by this. Almost need to have your two first rounders on roster so changes are coming. I agree Ewles likely out of the mix. Also agree Sawyer might be on the outs.
So next year Matier/Mayich
Costantini/Smyth
Gill-Shane/Sirman
Mews/Marelli
Cameron is on record saying he likes to keep 8 D. Between injuries, world championship...Matier?? they'll be able to briing the kids on slowly. Year after problem is solved
Gill-Shane/Sirman
Mews/Smyth
Mayich/Marelli

Anyway defense looks good for a while! Still would have liked a center early though. Agree with Beast there's a plan for a Euro impact guy.

 

[beastintheeast]

Yeah I know kind of shocked by this. Almost need to have your two first rounders on roster so changes are coming. I agree Ewles likely out of the mix. Also agree Sawyer might be on the outs.
So next year Matier/Mayich
Costantini/Smyth
Gill-Shane/Sirman
Mews/Marelli
Cameron is on record saying he likes to keep 8 D. Between injuries, world championship...Matier?? they'll be able to briing the kids on slowly. Year after problem is solved
Gill-Shane/Sirman
Mews/Smyth
Mayich/Marelli

Anyway defense looks good for a while! Still would have liked a center early though. Agree with Beast there's a plan for a Euro impact guy.

Looking at a team like Hamilton I can see a deal.

Also, I know it is not popular but Kingston is going to be looking for D and a goalie.

 

[OMG67]

OK….I will take a stab at it….

Pinelli - Rohrer - Boucher
Stonehouse - OA TRADE - Beck
Gerrior - Tolnai(OA) - IMPORT
Foster - Barlas - Mews
Gardiner

Mayich - Matier
Sirman - GillShane
Smyth - Costantini(OA)
Marrelli

Donoso
MacKenzie

NOTES:
1> Good possibility that TJ is traded and Mews will take the 4th line RW spot and QB the PowerPlay. He’ll move into spot duty on defence. He is too green as a D-Man making the transition from forward to defence just this past year. They’ll work with him throughout the season and prepare him for defending at the OHLL Level.
2> Sawyer is traded to relieve the pressure off the numbers on the back end. I give GillShane the edge to stay based on the fact he is a Righty and a local boy.
3> The 67’s will swing for the fences in the Import Draft and if they are unable to nail down that player, they will retain Gaidamak.
4> They will add an OA Centre to play with Beck.
5> no space for Ewles, Dever and Laforme.

I don’t think they’ll make all of that happen by the start of the season but I think that is how the puzzle pieces will fit together.

Regardless, I do think one of the D-Men will play the 4th line. I think it is important to retain the depth, especially considering they are young. It gives them the flexibility. Unfortunately, it likely comes at the cost of TJ having a spot at some point when they acquire the OA Centre.

 

[sirius67fan]

OK….I will take a stab at it….

Pinelli - Rohrer - Boucher
Stonehouse - OA TRADE - Beck
Gerrior - Tolnai(OA) - IMPORT
Foster - Barlas - Mews
Gardiner

Mayich - Matier
Sirman - GillShane
Smyth - Costantini(OA)
Marrelli

Donoso
MacKenzie

NOTES:
1> Good possibility that TJ is traded and Mews will take the 4th line RW spot and QB the PowerPlay. He’ll move into spot duty on defence. He is too green as a D-Man making the transition from forward to defence just this past year. They’ll work with him throughout the season and prepare him for defending at the OHLL Level.
2> Sawyer is traded to relieve the pressure off the numbers on the back end. I give GillShane the edge to stay based on the fact he is a Righty and a local boy.
3> The 67’s will swing for the fences in the Import Draft and if they are unable to nail down that player, they will retain Gaidamak.
4> They will add an OA Centre to play with Beck.
5> no space for Ewles, Dever and Laforme.

I don’t think they’ll make all of that happen by the start of the season but I think that is how the puzzle pieces will fit together.

Regardless, I do think one of the D-Men will play the 4th line. I think it is important to retain the depth, especially considering they are young. It gives them the flexibility. Unfortunately, it likely comes at the cost of TJ having a spot at some point when they acquire the OA Centre.

Looks pretty accurate! I only disagree that Mews will get regular time at forward. You don't pick a guy 7th overall to play out of position. He'll get his minutes (maybe limited at first on D) imo. Unless they picked him with the conviction of turning him a full time forward and pp quarterback ?? Never know!

 

[beastintheeast]

OK….I will take a stab at it….

Pinelli - Rohrer - Boucher
Stonehouse - OA TRADE - Beck
Gerrior - Tolnai(OA) - IMPORT
Foster - Barlas - Mews
Gardiner

Mayich - Matier
Sirman - GillShane
Smyth - Costantini(OA)
Marrelli

Donoso
MacKenzie

NOTES:
1> Good possibility that TJ is traded and Mews will take the 4th line RW spot and QB the PowerPlay. He’ll move into spot duty on defence. He is too green as a D-Man making the transition from forward to defence just this past year. They’ll work with him throughout the season and prepare him for defending at the OHLL Level.
2> Sawyer is traded to relieve the pressure off the numbers on the back end. I give GillShane the edge to stay based on the fact he is a Righty and a local boy.
3> The 67’s will swing for the fences in the Import Draft and if they are unable to nail down that player, they will retain Gaidamak.
4> They will add an OA Centre to play with Beck.
5> no space for Ewles, Dever and Laforme.

I don’t think they’ll make all of that happen by the start of the season but I think that is how the puzzle pieces will fit together.

Regardless, I do think one of the D-Men will play the 4th line. I think it is important to retain the depth, especially considering they are young. It gives them the flexibility. Unfortunately, it likely comes at the cost of TJ having a spot at some point when they acquire the OA Centre.

Interesting I am not sure of the OA Center, though.

I think with the assets we have to offer and the depth we should be able to put together a trade for an 18 or 19-year-old player

There are teams that are going to be looking for defence and goaltending next year. Also, I think that Boyd has already chosen and got a deal for his Euro player to come here. I can not see the rationale with the number of centers that were avail in the draft that he did not draft one.

 

[OMG67]

Interesting I am not sure of the OA Center, though.

I think with the assets we have to offer and the depth we should be able to put together a trade for an 18 or 19-year-old player

There are teams that are going to be looking for defence and goaltending next year. Also, I think that Boyd has already chosen and got a deal for his Euro player to come here. I can not see the rationale with the number of centers that were avail in the draft that he did not draft one.

We have an OA spot open. We won’t use that on a goalie nor a D-Man. It will be used on a forward.

Why pay twice the price or more for an 18 or 19 year old and leave the OA spot empty? Makes no sense at all.

 

[OMG67]

Looks pretty accurate! I only disagree that Mews will get regular time at forward. You don't pick a guy 7th overall to play out of position. He'll get his minutes (maybe limited at first on D) imo. Unless they picked him with the conviction of turning him a full time forward and pp quarterback ?? Never know!

Normally I would agree but Mews has ONE year of defence experience in his life. ONE. The big knock on him is his poor defensive awareness. He needs to learn how to play defence. Doing that as a 16 year old rookie in the OHLisnt ideal.

 

[BigHitter67]

Normally I would agree but Mews has ONE year of defence experience in his life. ONE. The big knock on him is his poor defensive awareness. He needs to learn how to play defence. Doing that as a 16 year old rookie in the OHLisnt ideal.

They didn’t go and draft a blue-chip skilled Dman at 7 only to move him to forward . I can almost guarantee he won’t play a shift at F . That ship has sailed . He’s a Dman and the kid will obviously make mistakes next season but by all accounts he has the high-end hockey smarts, to go with the skill, so he’ll figure it out . IMO The current D corps are as weak as we’ve seen in awhile and in drafting two D in the 1st , Boyd is addressing the greatest need

 

[mianjo]

67's take a goalie in the 4th round
[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]
Parsons, John[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[mianjo]

Caton Ryan - C in 5th

Hayden Duncan - G 6th

Ryder Dagenais - C 7th

Talan Palmer - C 8th

John McNelis - LW 9th

Joshua Brady - RD 10th

Ty Levy - G 11th

Matthew Souliere - LW 12th

Ethan MacDonald - LW 13th

Charlie Hilton - LW 14th

Birk Cassels - G 15th

So thats it

2 RD

1 LD

1 RW

4 G

3 C

4 LW

 

[OMG67]

They didn’t go and draft a blue-chip skilled Dman at 7 only to move him to forward . I can almost guarantee he won’t play a shift at F . That ship has sailed . He’s a Dman and the kid will obviously make mistakes next season but by all accounts he has the high-end hockey smarts, to go with the skill, so he’ll figure it out . IMO The current D corps are as weak as we’ve seen in awhile and in drafting two D in the 1st , Boyd is addressing the greatest need

then next year will be a rebuilding year. There is ZERO chance this team contends for a championship with a player like Mews on the back end eating up significant minutes learning how to play defence. His MINUS numbers will be epic.

In addition, that also means he takes up a spot from a veteran D-Man.

Back in the real World, if he does play defence full time, his minutes will be significantly sheltered.

The reality is, no one on this board understands how poor his defensive zone coverage really is. You will find out soon enough. That is not a knock on the kid. Far from it. It is more jsut a matter of fact that moving back to defence was fine when you were on a super team that played most of its on ice minutes in the offensive zone but coming into the OHL and learning to play defence isn’t easy and if he does it as a 16 year old from day one, we as fans better be ready for A LOT of “learning experiences.”

If this 67’s team has a singular goal of cometing at the highest level, Mews will play primarily at Forward next year while he learns how to play defence. I should say, he would be the 7th D-Man but he would take most of his shifts at forward ont he 4th line. That would be the responsible thing to do from a development point of view while also protecting the team’s ability to achieve its highest results.

 

[SidSixpointSeven]

Wow, nothing like writing the kid off before he steps on the ice. Clearly, the coaching staff and anyone who has scouted this player has no idea what they're talking about. I'm excited to see him join the team and to watch him play.

Many had him ranked as one of the best players available. Regardless of what position he plays (although I also believe it will be defence), he's going to play, make mistakes, learn and develop - that's the nature of junior hockey.

 

[dirty12]

Normally I would agree but Mews has ONE year of defence experience in his life. ONE. The big knock on him is his poor defensive awareness. He needs to learn how to play defence. Doing that as a 16 year old rookie in the OHLisnt ideal.

I had read Mews was a D that moved to centre for 1/2 season and chose to go back to playing D this season.

 

[sirius67fan]

then next year will be a rebuilding year. There is ZERO chance this team contends for a championship with a player like Mews on the back end eating up significant minutes learning how to play defence. His MINUS numbers will be epic.

In addition, that also means he takes up a spot from a veteran D-Man.

Back in the real World, if he does play defence full time, his minutes will be significantly sheltered.

The reality is, no one on this board understands how poor his defensive zone coverage really is. You will find out soon enough. That is not a knock on the kid. Far from it. It is more jsut a matter of fact that moving back to defence was fine when you were on a super team that played most of its on ice minutes in the offensive zone but coming into the OHL and learning to play defence isn’t easy and if he does it as a 16 year old from day one, we as fans better be ready for A LOT of “learning experiences.”

If this 67’s team has a singular goal of cometing at the highest level, Mews will play primarily at Forward next year while he learns how to play defence. I should say, he would be the 7th D-Man but he would take most of his shifts at forward ont he 4th line. That would be the responsible thing to do from a development point of view while also protecting the team’s ability to achieve its highest results.

" Zero chance" is a big statement OMG. Look you're probably right he isn't ready defensively although nobody knows for sure. You never know because of his elite skating he might be better than we think. I also disagree that we can't be a contender with Mews on D. You give him sheltered minutes and come playoff time he can sit if he's not ready and let the older guys play. I suspect he might play a bit of a Ryan Ellis role in his first year as a pp specialist. Even if he only makes our pp potent on year one that's a big factor to be a contender.

 

[sirius67fan]

A few thoughts about the draft
1-still surprised they went D with first two picks. Reviews are great on both though so our future on the blue line looks bright.
2-because of number one it tells me they are counting on Barlas, Cooper to be a factor next year as they really didn't bring immediate competition to the forward group
3- on that note Kelly and Ryan appear to be picks for 23/24 season. Likely will develop in tier 2 and be ready to go after we lose Tolnai/Beck/Boucher/Gaidamack or maybe an import if they bring in a 19y.o.
4- was surprised by 4 goalies drafted! But on thinking about it I like the strategy. Goalies are really hard to predict so maybe you throw a lot of darts, one will hit.
5-finally compared to the last two drafts I'm a bit uncertain about this one. I was pretty sure we did well the last two drafts and imo it's looking that way. This year I don't know. Hopefully they hit on the first rounders as they should but will any others end up being solid contributors?

 

[OMG67]

Let me fully clarify.

1> We have seven bonafide OHL D-Men returning for this team. Not one of those seven wouldn’t be considered a roster player on any OHL team. I would be very surprised if any of those seven were to be cut out of training camp on ANY OHL team. It is not like we are in a situation where this team needs help on the back end. There are elements that Mews can help (like PP QB) but he can do that while playing softly as a forward for the first season.
2> Mews is a converted forward. My understanding is this past season was his first season ever playing as a D-Man. He did it while playing with a powerhouse Jr Canadians team that spent most of their time (with that five man unit) playing in the offensive zone
3> There were tremendous questions surrounding Henry Mews as to where he should be drafted because of his defensive awareness or lack thereof. If you were to look at 20 OHL draft ranking lists, word on the street seemed to be that he was top 10 on around half of those lists and very low on others specifically because of his lack of defensive awareness. The scouting on him states that he tends to start looking around too much in the defensive zone. Even the OHL Guide that tens to look entirely at the positives states that he has a tendency to “Puck Stare” a lot. This speaks to his inability to read the plays without the puck in the D-Zone.

When you factor into the equation that we have seven returning d-Men that also need continued development, two of which (Sirman and Mayich) that are young and have shown tremendous promise, it isn’t realistic to insert Mews into the top 6 as a 16 year old. From a development perspective, we’ve seen many more offensive minded D-Men play forward on the 4th line as rookies while they had the opportunity to get used to the increased speed of the game as well as the OHL routine.

This is NOT me suggesting he is a forward. This is me suggesting that not only will his development be better served easing him into being a D-Man but the team itself would benefit from easing him into being a D-Man.

It is about recognizing we have seven OHL level D-Men returning that have earned a spot. The possibility exists they will trade one of them to open a spot but that still only opens a spot as the 7th D-Man. What good is that? He’d be watching from the press box or one of the other young guys would be and not developing at all. Not good.

By playing Mews as a 4th line winger where he should be somewhat comfortable and giving him spot duty as a d-man in tbe right situations, especially on the Power Play, the 67’s ensure he gets a decent amount of ice EVERY GAME while still getting their existing D-Men proper development time. There is no need to rush it. This is a team that is supposed to be challenging for a Championship. The TEAM comes first, not the 7th overall pick, especially when it would come at the expense of developing players we already have spent time and effort into developing.

If, going into the trade deadline, it looks like Mews CAN play as a top 6 D-Man or the remainder of the season, the 67’s can then shuffle the positions and make certain players available via trade and either improve their Forwards by adding a player there or by increasing their draft pick cupboard. But, either way, they cannot just make room for him at the expense of other players. Ti is irresponsible to do so.

 

[OMG67]

" Zero chance" is a big statement OMG. Look you're probably right he isn't ready defensively although nobody knows for sure. You never know because of his elite skating he might be better than we think. I also disagree that we can't be a contender with Mews on D. You give him sheltered minutes and come playoff time he can sit if he's not ready and let the older guys play. I suspect he might play a bit of a Ryan Ellis role in his first year as a pp specialist. Even if he only makes our pp potent on year one that's a big factor to be a contender.

I believe I had stated that he is likely to get the opportunity to be the #1 PP QB. But, he can do that on the PP and still play the lions share of his minutes from the fourth line. We’ve seen this routine before so many times in the past. The team wants to keep the extra d-Men on the roster but doesn’t want them in the press box. We saw it this year a little bit with Sirman playing some forward. We saw it with Belanger as well. I’m just not certain it is worth while to do that with the 17 and 18 year old D-Men. If you start playing those players again at forward, then you can’t develop them as D-Men at 18 and 19. You do it with the younger players that haven’t physically matured yet. This is why I feel Mews is the candidate to do so this year.

Marrelli will have a hard time getting ANY ice on defence if Mews is a D-Man full time all year.

 

[NoQuit67s]

Drafting 2 D in the first round also could be pointing to the fact that they are thinking of adding a veteran top centre next year through a trade, and don't have room for another rookie centre in order to compete for the division / conference next season.

I like the strategy on with picking many goalies. Let's face it, they have very little room on the existing player roster.