Ottawa 67's 2023-2024 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)

[OMG67]

Yeah agreed way too early to write them off. I would be very surprised if they missed the playoffs barring a major sell off. I see them from 5-7 personally. Can't put any weight on preseason.

A few too many variables.

Right now, I have Oshawa, Barrie, and Brampton as the top 3. Then I have Kingston as #4. Then Brantford at #5.

I am making an assumption that North bay and Sudbury will be be sellers to some degree which is why I have Brantford anchored in the #5 hole.

Ottawa is floating somewhere with those three teams in that 5-8 range. But, the variables are whether Sudbury and North bay sell and whether Ottawa adds a replacement for Gardiner.

I think Ottawa will be fine on the wings and in net. The defence should be OK provided they keep Mayich for the full season. They will likely need to add a depth piece there though to replace Sirman…assuming they keep Mayich, MacK, and Gerrior.

If Boyd adds a couple little pieces and stays status quo, we could finish as high as 5th but most likely 6th. If he doesn’t add pieces and he ends up selling a little, we could drop out of the playoffs. That is a possibility.

The disappointment of this pre-season lies squarely on not having any surprises in camp. No one that shouldn’t have stood out did. So, pretty much status quo from last season plus the four new draft picks…minus the graduations and Gardiner.

The team that is on the ice right now would struggle quite a bit. Sorry, the team plus the guys missing would struggle, just to be clear. If Boyd were to add a competent centre to replace Gardiner, someone solid enough to centre Pinelli, that would be enough I think to stretch the roster out up front. That is a big ask though. You’d think they’d prefer a 18 year old that can return next season.

 

[beastintheeast]

A few too many variables.

Right now, I have Oshawa, Barrie, and Brampton as the top 3. Then I have Kingston as #4. Then Brantford at #5.

I am making an assumption that North bay and Sudbury will be be sellers to some degree which is why I have Brantford anchored in the #5 hole.

Ottawa is floating somewhere with those three teams in that 5-8 range. But, the variables are whether Sudbury and North bay sell and whether Ottawa adds a replacement for Gardiner.

I think Ottawa will be fine on the wings and in net. The defence should be OK provided they keep Mayich for the full season. They will likely need to add a depth piece there though to replace Sirman…assuming they keep Mayich, MacK, and Gerrior.

If Boyd adds a couple little pieces and stays status quo, we could finish as high as 5th but most likely 6th. If he doesn’t add pieces and he ends up selling a little, we could drop out of the playoffs. That is a possibility.

The disappointment of this pre-season lies squarely on not having any surprises in camp. No one that shouldn’t have stood out did. So, pretty much status quo from last season plus the four new draft picks…minus the graduations and Gardiner.

The team that is on the ice right now would struggle quite a bit. Sorry, the team plus the guys missing would struggle, just to be clear. If Boyd were to add a competent centre to replace Gardiner, someone solid enough to centre Pinelli, that would be enough I think to stretch the roster out up front. That is a big ask though. You’d think they’d prefer a 18 year old that can return next season.

I agree with most of what you say. My question, though, is where we are going to get the scoring. Pinelli is going to need a winger and a center. I think the plan is for Ekberg to fill the center position.

But then what do we do for 2nd line yes a trade may be needed.

I have more faith in Niagara than others here and feel that they will be in the mix.

Brantford did ot give up al the picks they did for Leenders to be a 5th place team

I think the difference is going to be what do the teams that need to rebuild do also what do the Petes bring to the season.

The worst thing Boyd could do is try to make this team a contender in trades.

As you have previously mentioned, I think we see Pineli traded. I also think that if they can get an offer that is reasonable we will see Barlas and possibly Mews gone.

Remember this was a 6th place team last year KIngston and Barrie have gotten better

I would rather Boyd and DC develop the players they have, add a center, and work for next year and the year after. As long as the games are entertaining, that is all that matters.

 

[OMG67]

I agree with most of what you say. My question, though, is where we are going to get the scoring. Pinelli is going to need a winger and a center. I think the plan is for Ekberg to fill the center position.

But then what do we do for 2nd line yes a trade may be needed.

I have more faith in Niagara than others here and feel that they will be in the mix.

Brantford did ot give up al the picks they did for Leenders to be a 5th place team

I think the difference is going to be what do the teams that need to rebuild do also what do the Petes bring to the season.

The worst thing Boyd could do is try to make this team a contender in trades.

As you have previously mentioned, I think we see Pineli traded. I also think that if they can get an offer that is reasonable we will see Barlas and possibly Mews gone.

Remember this was a 6th place team last year KIngston and Barrie have gotten better

I would rather Boyd and DC develop the players they have, add a center, and work for next year and the year after. As long as the games are entertaining, that is all that matters.

I’ll try to itemize my answers:

1> Brantford is making their run next year. The players they are acquiring will be to ensure next season is a contender. Leenders is a 2-year goalie plus potentially an OA season. They want to compete this year but won’t be making trades that only positively impact this year. I can see them trying to acquire a player like Michael Misa if they can swing it. Helps this year and next.

2> Ottawa needs to acquire the 1st line centre. It doesn’t need to be someone elite, just someone with experience that can feed the puck to the wingers, win some faceoffs etc. If there is an 18 or 19 year old that would likley be that 2nd line centre type player on a decent team, he can play 1st line in Ottawa. Sort of a Maillet type 19 year old. Not ideal but I think Ottawa needs a relatively inexpensive option that won’t simply flip all the picks they got for Gardiner over to that other player. Either of Gerrior or Foster plays on the other wing. Ekberg and Dever then play 2nd and 3rd line centre. If Whitehead proves capable, Ekberg can shift to the wing. Not a big deal.

3> Niagara is a dumpster fire. Until they prove otherwise, I will continue to underrate that team. They make stupid trades, have no culture, and I’m sure a lot of the players on that team simply go through the motions. If they can do something so be it but they need to do it in spite of that ownership.

4> The Petes enter their first real rebuild year. Last year they made the trades of the veteran players. This year they face the reality of their situation from start to finish. Very young. I cannot see that team not finishing in the basement.

5> Boyd won’t try to make Ottawa a contender. HE will more than likely try to find a landing spot for the excess OA’s. Then he will try to replace Gardiner on the cheap. Then he will sit back and watch what the team does. If the team is middling, he may stay status quo and run with it Kilrea Style. He may make a savvy seller move at the deadline if the market is good. What he won’t do is try to force it. He’s already stated that he made a couple year sof buyer moves and the draft cabinet is light. He wants to restock it as best he can. This 67’s team will not prove to be in the same class as the top 3-4 teams in the conference like last year. Won’t happen. There will be no incentive for buying players to rig a contender. He doesn’t have the assets and he won’t trade his 1st rounders so he wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. Best he will do is fill the Gardiner spot because he needs to be at least somewhat competitive and you need centres.

6> I doubt Mews will be moved. Highly doubt even. The sense I’m getting is he would prefer a move. They won’t move him. So, he stays. No choice. Sitting home would be a bad look, especially with the reputation of the 67’s management.

7> Pinelli may be moved but who knows? Killer wouldn’t trade him no matter what. Boyd may but I think he leans closer to Killer style so the price would need to be exactly what Boyd wants and/or Pinelli would have to request a move.

8> Although it doesn’t really impact this year, calling Ottawa a 6th place team in an effort to discredit them is disingenuous. They were 9 points behind 1st and 10 points ahead of 7th. They had a .588 win% and played the first half of the season with one true centre and at least a month without MacK. In the end, there was very little to distinguish 1st through 6th and it showed in the standings. I’m fine if you say they were a .588 team last year and aren’t as good this year so expect closer to .500. Probably 7th in that case.

9> Strategy. I agree with developing what they have. However, you need centres. You cannot leave players chasing pucks all game and expect development. The younger players need to play with older players and/or get responsible ice time against a calibre of players they can line up against. IMO, I would keep Houben and Hilton on the LW of line 4 and rotate them in and out of the lineup the first half. Let them figure it out and see what happens.

Proposed lineup to start:

Pinelli - Dever - Foster
Gerrior - Ekberg - Horner
Amidovski - Barlas - Korbler
Hilton/Houben - Whitehead - Yanni

Try to bring in the centre so you can shift some things around a bit. Maybe move out Pinelli to help free up some space on the left side. If Whitehead forces the hand of Cameron with solid play, great. Move him up. If you need to move Barlas out, so be it but he may be tough to move. HE has a school package as a 1st rounder and I doubt anyone will want to pick that up. As mentioned, still some variables with moves.

I think the back end is pretty much set with the exception of needing to move one of the two OA’s.

 

[beastintheeast]

I’ll try to itemize my answers:

1> Brantford is making their run next year. The players they are acquiring will be to ensure next season is a contender. Leenders is a 2-year goalie plus potentially an OA season. They want to compete this year but won’t be making trades that only positively impact this year. I can see them trying to acquire a player like Michael Misa if they can swing it. Helps this year and next.

They are still going to be a top tier team in the conference and could be fighting for 4-5

2> Ottawa needs to acquire the 1st line centre. It doesn’t need to be someone elite, just someone with experience that can feed the puck to the wingers, win some faceoffs etc. If there is an 18 or 19 year old that would likley be that 2nd line centre type player on a decent team, he can play 1st line in Ottawa. Sort of a Maillet type 19 year old. Not ideal but I think Ottawa needs a relatively inexpensive option that won’t simply flip all the picks they got for Gardiner over to that other player. Either of Gerrior or Foster plays on the other wing. Ekberg and Dever then play 2nd and 3rd line centre. If Whitehead proves capable, Ekberg can shift to the wing. Not a big deal.

I think you will see DC try to put Ekberg as the 1st line center. He is supposed to be a high talent so it would make sense looking at what we have that they put him there to start see how he does

3> Niagara is a dumpster fire. Until they prove otherwise, I will continue to underrate that team. They make stupid trades, have no culture, and I’m sure a lot of the players on that team simply go through the motions. If they can do something so be it but they need to do it in spite of that ownership.

They still hae a crapload fo talent and I think Boudreau is going to have a good team they have the players that they should be in the playoffs and competing. I still think they are not going to be that easy team game on a 3 in 3 weekend. I see Niagara and see the Fronts when Mav was in charge.

4> The Petes enter their first real rebuild year. Last year they made the trades of the veteran players. This year they face the reality of their situation from start to finish. Very young. I cannot see that team not finishing in the basement.

I think the Petes will be competing for the final playoff spot they have a system in place that works and should make development easier.

5> Boyd won’t try to make Ottawa a contender. HE will more than likely try to find a landing spot for the excess OA’s. Then he will try to replace Gardiner on the cheap. Then he will sit back and watch what the team does. If the team is middling, he may stay status quo and run with it Kilrea Style. He may make a savvy seller move at the deadline if the market is good. What he won’t do is try to force it. He’s already stated that he made a couple year sof buyer moves and the draft cabinet is light. He wants to restock it as best he can. This 67’s team will not prove to be in the same class as the top 3-4 teams in the conference like last year. Won’t happen. There will be no incentive for buying players to rig a contender. He doesn’t have the assets and he won’t trade his 1st rounders so he wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. Best he will do is fill the Gardiner spot because he needs to be at least somewhat competitive and you need centres.

An 18-19 year old is going to cost something. Not sure where but I agree that they either need a center that can win faceoffs.

6> I doubt Mews will be moved. Highly doubt even. The sense I’m getting is he would prefer a move. They won’t move him. So, he stays. No choice. Sitting home would be a bad look, especially with the reputation of the 67’s management.

If Mews is not happy now I can not see him being any happier as the season goes on. I think that if a teamcame with a reasonable offer that they will take it. mews attitude could be an issue in the dressing room if he starts to pout.

7> Pinelli may be moved but who knows? Killer wouldn’t trade him no matter what. Boyd may but I think he leans closer to Killer style so the price would need to be exactly what Boyd wants and/or Pinelli would have to request a move.

IF Pinelli has a good start to the season I see him traded the value is too high considering that we probably will not have him back next year. AGAin like Mews it has to be a good offer.

8> Although it doesn’t really impact this year, calling Ottawa a 6th place team in an effort to discredit them is disingenuous. They were 9 points behind 1st and 10 points ahead of 7th. They had a .588 win% and played the first half of the season with one true centre and at least a month without MacK. In the end, there was very little to distinguish 1st through 6th and it showed in the standings. I’m fine if you say they were a .588 team last year and aren’t as good this year so expect closer to .500. Probably 7th in that case.

Calling them a 6th place team is not hyperbole. Check the standings they finished in 6th place hence they were a 5th place team. That is like saying the guy in 5th at the daytona 500 should not be called 5th because the team had trouble in the pits. We were a 6th place team with the talent to be a 6th place team. It is not a half season competition it is a full year.

9> Strategy. I agree with developing what they have. However, you need centres. You cannot leave players chasing pucks all game and expect development. The younger players need to play with older players and/or get responsible ice time against a calibre of players they can line up against. IMO, I would keep Houben and Hilton on the LW of line 4 and rotate them in and out of the lineup the first half. Let them figure it out and see what happens.

Proposed lineup to start:

Pinelli - Dever - Foster
Gerrior - Ekberg - Horner
Amidovski - Barlas - Korbler
Hilton/Houben - Whitehead - Yanni

So Whitehead Yanni Hilton and Houben go another year with no developmental training or ice time. If that is the case then they might as well quit playing now and or ask for a trade. DC does not play 4th line. You can not develop a player if you have him on the 4th ine for 2 years. Especially considering he was a high draft pick.

Try to bring in the centre so you can shift some things around a bit. Maybe move out Pinelli to help free up some space on the left side. If Whitehead forces the hand of Cameron with solid play, great. Move him up. If you need to move Barlas out, so be it but he may be tough to move. HE has a school package as a 1st rounder and I doubt anyone will want to pick that up. As mentioned, still some variables with moves.

I think the back end is pretty much set with the exception of needing to move one of the two OA’s.

I may be in the minority but to me Ottawa finishing near the bottom this year is not a bad thing IF they use the year to develop the young players. One of the credos is that we are so high in the standings tht we never get a shot at the good players. Well we had our run at the top there isno shame in taking a year playing as well as they can. letting the younger players develop by giving them REAL ice time so that Boyd can look and see what he has and what is needed in the next draft.

If whitehead is not in DC plan than be nice to the kid and trade him do not do what they did to Barlas.

 

[OMG67]

They are still going to be a top tier team in the conference and could be fighting for 4-5

I think you will see DC try to put Ekberg as the 1st line center. He is supposed to be a high talent so it would make sense looking at what we have that they put him there to start see how he does


They still hae a crapload fo talent and I think Boudreau is going to have a good team they have the players that they should be in the playoffs and competing. I still think they are not going to be that easy team game on a 3 in 3 weekend. I see Niagara and see the Fronts when Mav was in charge.

I think the Petes will be competing for the final playoff spot they have a system in place that works and should make development easier.

An 18-19 year old is going to cost something. Not sure where but I agree that they either need a center that can win faceoffs.

If Mews is not happy now I can not see him being any happier as the season goes on. I think that if a teamcame with a reasonable offer that they will take it. mews attitude could be an issue in the dressing room if he starts to pout.

IF Pinelli has a good start to the season I see him traded the value is too high considering that we probably will not have him back next year. AGAin like Mews it has to be a good offer.


Calling them a 6th place team is not hyperbole. Check the standings they finished in 6th place hence they were a 5th place team. That is like saying the guy in 5th at the daytona 500 should not be called 5th because the team had trouble in the pits. We were a 6th place team with the talent to be a 6th place team. It is not a half season competition it is a full year.


So Whitehead Yanni Hilton and Houben go another year with no developmental training or ice time. If that is the case then they might as well quit playing now and or ask for a trade. DC does not play 4th line. You can not develop a player if you have him on the 4th ine for 2 years. Especially considering he was a high draft pick.


I may be in the minority but to me Ottawa finishing near the bottom this year is not a bad thing IF they use the year to develop the young players. One of the credos is that we are so high in the standings tht we never get a shot at the good players. Well we had our run at the top there isno shame in taking a year playing as well as they can. letting the younger players develop by giving them REAL ice time so that Boyd can look and see what he has and what is needed in the next draft.

If whitehead is not in DC plan than be nice to the kid and trade him do not do what they did to Barlas.

If Ottawa were to finish in 6th place this year, would you say that last years team and this years team are equal?

There is a fine balance between finishing low in the standings and bottoming out. I don’t think we want to bottom out. I would be ok if we were at .480 and in 9th. But if missing the playoffs and getting the 4th pick requires Ottawa to be around .350 then that is a bad thing. It means your young players are likely chasing pucks more than handling them.

 

[beastintheeast]

It really to me depends on the effort. If this team finished at 350 but they hustled and developed then that would not be a bad thing.

If they are 350 and it is due to crap play then I would hope for trades and wonder about the coaching staff.

We agree that this is going to be a tough conference, with at least five fairly strong teams.

This year is going to be a case of how well do we play those teams and how do we do against the lesser teams in the conference.

Making the playoffs is not so much how we do as how we do compared to the rest of the teams we are fighting for the playoffs with,

How we do against NB, Niagara, Petes Sudbury and Kingston.

 

[Larionov]

Re: Mews - keep in mind that he is an 18 year old kid, and emotions can change quickly. He is presumably heading to Calgary's camp in a week or so - if he goes there, has a good camp, and then has Craig Conroy tell him to go back to Ottawa and work hard and be a leader because the 67's are a strong organization with a well respected coach, his approach may change overnight.

Right now you have a kid who took a tumble in the draft, and he is likely still salty about it. (Tom Brady will go to his grave still angry about falling to the sixth round in the NFL draft.) In about two weeks he is going to learn what every other prospect learns - once you get to an NHL camp, it doesn't matter where you got drafted. What matters is what you do after. Two weeks in an NHL camp may do Mews a world of good...

 

[ScoutLife4]

I was talking to a family friend who is a player on Ottawa in Kingston Sunday and he mentioned during camp there was a commitment made to the players that they would not be selling off this year to rebuild when talk was starting to heat up about some players wanting out.

That will be a really difficult promise to keep if they struggle this year.

 

[OMG67]

I was talking to a family friend who is a player on Ottawa in Kingston Sunday and he mentioned during camp there was a commitment made to the players that they would not be selling off this year to rebuild when talk was starting to heat up about some players wanting out.

That will be a really difficult promise to keep if they struggle this year.

Isn’t that more what you say in the moment to inspire confidence? The question is whether the person you talked to actually believed it. A lot of things get said in hockey or motivational reasons that aren’t’ true. Most of the time, the players see through it.

 

[beastintheeast]

Isn’t that more what you say in the moment to inspire confidence? The question is whether the person you talked to actually believed it. A lot of things get said in hockey or motivational reasons that aren’t’ true. Most of the time, the players see through it.

LOL he can say that now BUT if at xmas Pinelli and Mews see a chance to play on a contender for a trip to the M Cup or stay on a team that is going to be at best a 6th place team things will change.

I agree about NHL Training Camp it can do a couple of things to a player. But the one thing that Mews and any rookie going to camp needs to avoid is DRAFTITIS (I made it based on what I did before the draft so that is all I have to do or the I.ve made it)

But the smart players will have been practicing already with NHL players and have an idea of what camp is going to be like. In the case of Mews, he or his agent would have been crazy not to contact Bahl and find out what he needed to work on and what to expect. The other thing Bahl has to remember is that he was not a top pick. He is not a str prospect therefore him not wanting to come back here really means nothing to Calgary.

If he wants out then he has 3 routes.

1. he cries and says that he is taking his toys home and demand a trade.

2, He can sulk and not play at 100% hoping they will trade him OR

3. He can play his assets off and do everything he can to be the star of the team so that at the deadline, he is a hot property and Boyd will get the offer he cannot refuse.

1 and 2 will bring Conroy's wrath down on him, or they will simply chalk him up as a bad boy and let him go . Think Bowen or Hillier in Ottawa or Warren Moon in Kingston.

3 will give him the best shot at playing in Calgary or their AHL team at the end of the season and getting him a contract offer. The best-case scenario, he gets traded at the deadline. Worst, he shows his skills and gets some time at the level after the 67's are eliminated.

While I have used Mews in this scenario, I think it applies to all the players who are either OA this year or will be OA next year, except Bar Barlas, who, at this stage, I think is already picking out his university courses.

 

[OMG67]

I think too much is being made of the rumblings around Mews. There is a possibility that he is disgruntled because of his draft status but he’s not the first and won’t be the last. I think @Larionov said it best. He will go to camp in Calgary and they will point out his deficiencies in around his own net and that is what he will need to work on if he wants to play in the NHL. That will likely be an echo of what sorts of things DC has been working on. Maybe he will hear the message and maybe he won’t but regardless, the 67’s don’t have any intention of moving him. He still has eligibility next season so the odds of him being traded are slim.

Boyd and DC will make a best effort to be competitive. I think they have good intentions. I think they have seen this team surprise with better results and they are confident they will see positive results again this year. If the reality flips on them, they are both realistic and will be capable of making the appropriate moves necessary to strengthen the franchise.

 

[beastintheeast]

I think too much is being made of the rumblings around Mews. There is a possibility that he is disgruntled because of his draft status but he’s not the first and won’t be the last. I think @Larionov said it best. He will go to camp in Calgary and they will point out his deficiencies in around his own net and that is what he will need to work on if he wants to play in the NHL. That will likely be an echo of what sorts of things DC has been working on. Maybe he will hear the message and maybe he won’t but regardless, the 67’s don’t have any intention of moving him. He still has eligibility next season so the odds of him being traded are slim.

Boyd and DC will make a best effort to be competitive. I think they have good intentions. I think they have seen this team surprise with better results and they are confident they will see positive results again this year. If the reality flips on them, they are both realistic and will be capable of making the appropriate moves necessary to strengthen the franchise.

The only way this team can be competitive in the future is to play the youth Whitehead, Yanni Amidovski Hilton, et al. Yes, as the first line, they have to play Pinelli the majority of minutes, but they have to give the young guns the substantial minutes that they need to develop. I know it is old school, but smart coaches give the rookies as much ice time as possible in the first part of the season so that they can develop. After the Christmas break then, they can see what they have, and rookies are no longer rookies but are expected to hold their own.

If DC does as DC does, he will give them minimal minutes in games and lean on the top 2 lines for most of the games. Not only does this mess with development but it ruins the older players by playing them too much in the first half of the season

The fate of this tgeam this year and teh next 2-3 years is in the hands of DC and his staff. Let's hope they don't screw it up.

 

[ScoutLife4]

I think too much is being made of the rumblings around Mews. There is a possibility that he is disgruntled because of his draft status but he’s not the first and won’t be the last. I think @Larionov said it best. He will go to camp in Calgary and they will point out his deficiencies in around his own net and that is what he will need to work on if he wants to play in the NHL. That will likely be an echo of what sorts of things DC has been working on. Maybe he will hear the message and maybe he won’t but regardless, the 67’s don’t have any intention of moving him. He still has eligibility next season so the odds of him being traded are slim.

Boyd and DC will make a best effort to be competitive. I think they have good intentions. I think they have seen this team surprise with better results and they are confident they will see positive results again this year. If the reality flips on them, they are both realistic and will be capable of making the appropriate moves necessary to strengthen the franchise.

I don't get the vibe the Mews situation is that big of a deal.
I'm sure there was a conversation had about a wait and see and a promise to do him right at the deadline if things are not going well.

I watched Mews quite closely Sunday and i wasn't overly impressed with what i saw.

Multiple times he tried to carry the puck in instead of making a pass when the lane was there and got pushed off the puck or ran over. -No where near AHL ready i don't see that as a possibility at all he is no where near strong enough. 16-17 year olds were running through him Sunday imagine how that would go with a 25 year old man?

It seemed like they really were trying to force entry's through Mews and it was not working at all.

 

[ScoutLife4]

Liam Conway just signed.
Have to think the writing is on the wall for Macker now?

 

[OMG67]

I don't get the vibe the Mews situation is that big of a deal.
I'm sure there was a conversation had about a wait and see and a promise to do him right at the deadline if things are not going well.

I watched Mews quite closely Sunday and i wasn't overly impressed with what i saw.

Multiple times he tried to carry the puck in instead of making a pass when the lane was there and got pushed off the puck or ran over. -No where near AHL ready i don't see that as a possibility at all he is no where near strong enough. 16-17 year olds were running through him Sunday imagine how that would go with a 25 year old man?

It seemed like they really were trying to force entry's through Mews and it was not working at all.

Mews struggles in front of his own net. That is his biggest weakness. He has an incredibly difficult time tying guys up. He’s either lazy or doesn’t react quick enough to the play. It is the sort of thing you see from forwards that come back on defence….oh wait….

With respect to what you are referring to in that exhibition game, he has no one to work with. No one to feed the puck to. The 67’s are using players in roles they wouldn’t normally. So, when a player isn’t where he needs to be, Mews will free wheel it….unsuccessfully.

If/when Ottawa does acquire that extra centre to replace Gardiner and the likes of Pinelli, Gerrior, and Ekberg join the lineup, there will be more options available. On Sunday, Kingston was able to zero in on Mews and simply dare any other player try to do anything. Who is going to hurt you? They had 101 goals from last year in the lineup. 101! 2/3 of their offence either graduated or sat out. Kingston pretty much played their opening game roster. Mews dressed that game as the 67’s 2nd leading goal scorer. That’s sort of pathetic really.

I do think they will try to find a landing spot for MacK at some point but the signing of the 3rd goalie gives them flexibility to dress the 3rd OA skater when MacK doesn’t start. EH can be a scratch and not have to burn an OA spot on the backup goalie. Additionally, least year they only had the 2 goalies signed so when they had an injury, they had to dress a BUG that wasn’t allowed to play unless the starter was injured. So, the 3rd goalie gives them flexibility for injury and assists in managing the OA rotation. I wouldn’t look into it too closely.

 

[OMG67]

The only way this team can be competitive in the future is to play the youth Whitehead, Yanni Amidovski Hilton, et al. Yes, as the first line, they have to play Pinelli the majority of minutes, but they have to give the young guns the substantial minutes that they need to develop. I know it is old school, but smart coaches give the rookies as much ice time as possible in the first part of the season so that they can develop. After the Christmas break then, they can see what they have, and rookies are no longer rookies but are expected to hold their own.

If DC does as DC does, he will give them minimal minutes in games and lean on the top 2 lines for most of the games. Not only does this mess with development but it ruins the older players by playing them too much in the first half of the season

The fate of this tgeam this year and teh next 2-3 years is in the hands of DC and his staff. Let's hope they don't screw it up.

I’m not sure you are remembering the glory days as well as you think. Kilrea would play the 4th line more minutes but only in suitable situations against suitable line matchups. He didn’t roll them out there every 4th shift indiscriminately. You still need to manage minutes. Additionally, you cannot give minutes to players that don’t earn their minutes and take them away from players that have earned their minutes. You lose the bench pretty quickly.

I agree in principle with what you are saying. They need to make some sacrifices to get the younger players into lineup to continue development. We 100% agree on that. Where we disagree is the quality of the minutes vs the volume of minutes. Your stance is volume of minutes is the key. Roll them out there as much as possible. IMO, chasing pucks isn’t development. You need to give them opportunities to carry the puck which means they need to line up against their peers, other rookies and young players. 4th line vs 4th line etc.

16 year olds are underage players. They need to earn their ice time. IMO, 17 year olds are rookies regardless of whether they played the previous season. Unless they are top end 16 year olds, they won’t play much and that is league wide, not just DC. So, Whitehead, Houben, Dietsch, Nelson, Yanni etc will all be rookies this year from my perspective. They will all get reasonable ice that they can reasonably handle. They will develop just like all players in the league develop, gradually. There is no secret formula. You seem to want to rush the process. There is no rush. If a team has a strong balance of age groups on the roster, the 12 or so 18-19-20 year olds will get the lions share of ice time, as they should. They are more experienced and better able to handle themselves.

Think of it this way. You want to push the development of Whitehead so he becomes a strong player and then when he is strong, you want to play him less minutes and give his minutes to the 16 and 17 year old that you want to develop more quickly? Give Whitehead 15 minutes per game now so when he is ready and impactful, he gets 16 minutes? I don’t understand the logic. You need to continue that development process forward through he coming years and if you do that, it is guys like Whitehead that lose the minutes they earned to make way for the 16 year olds.

 

[frontsfan67]

Liam Conway just signed.
Have to think the writing is on the wall for Macker now?

Could be for next season just like how Betts is signed but won’t be on team this year

 

[dirty12]

The only way this team can be competitive in the future is to play the youth Whitehead, Yanni Amidovski Hilton, et al. Yes, as the first line, they have to play Pinelli the majority of minutes, but they have to give the young guns the substantial minutes that they need to develop. I know it is old school, but smart coaches give the rookies as much ice time as possible in the first part of the season so that they can develop. After the Christmas break then, they can see what they have, and rookies are no longer rookies but are expected to hold their own.

If DC does as DC does, he will give them minimal minutes in games and lean on the top 2 lines for most of the games. Not only does this mess with development but it ruins the older players by playing them too much in the first half of the season

The fate of this tgeam this year and teh next 2-3 years is in the hands of DC and his staff. Let's hope they don't screw it up.

The first picks and 17 yr old rookies of London, Barrie, & NB are pretty much glued to the 4th lines and as 7th D with very little TOI.
That is old school proven effective for development and preventing needless injury

 

[beastintheeast]

I’m not sure you are remembering the glory days as well as you think. Kilrea would play the 4th line more minutes but only in suitable situations against suitable line matchups. He didn’t roll them out there every 4th shift indiscriminately. You still need to manage minutes. Additionally, you cannot give minutes to players that don’t earn their minutes and take them away from players that have earned their minutes. You lose the bench pretty quickly.

No I am remembering it the same way. The killer gave them the ice as much time as they need to prove whether they belonged or not. But he gave them the time. The catch with what you are saying is youhave to give them the ice time to show what they have.

I agree in principle with what you are saying. They need to make some sacrifices to get the younger players into lineup to continue development. We 100% agree on that. Where we disagree is the quality of the minutes vs the volume of minutes. Your stance is volume of minutes is the key. Roll them out there as much as possible. IMO, chasing pucks isn’t development. You need to give them opportunities to carry the puck which means they need to line up against their peers, other rookies and young players. 4th line vs 4th line etc.

If they are chasing the puck, then that comes down to one of 2 things either they should not be in the OHL, or the coaching sucks and is not getting the message across to the player. A sort of example was a player who did not chase the puck as much as he chased the opposition players. He seemed to want to make a big hit, and impact on the other team. Killer took him aside and told him that he had made his point that he was tough and to knock it off.

16 year olds are underage players. They need to earn their ice time. IMO, 17 year olds are rookies regardless of whether they played the previous season. Unless they are top end 16 year olds, they won’t play much and that is league wide, not just DC. So, Whitehead, Houben, Dietsch, Nelson, Yanni etc will all be rookies this year from my perspective. They will all get reasonable ice that they can reasonably handle. They will develop just like all players in the league develop, gradually. There is no secret formula. You seem to want to rush the process. There is no rush. If a team has a strong balance of age groups on the roster, the 12 or so 18-19-20 year olds will get the lions share of ice time, as they should. They are more experienced and better able to handle themselves.

EVERY PLAYER, NO MATTER THE AGE, needs to earn their ice time. should Barlas, because he is a senior player, get more minutes than Ekberg or Yanni if Yanni plays like he did last year? If Nelson turns out to be the best goalie on the team, should he sit on the bench because he is a rookie and MACK is an OA? So Cory Locke Logan Couture Monahan shouldnot have been given as many minutes because they wree not 18 19 0r 20. AGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHO OR WHO SHOULD NOT GET MINUTES. The skill level of the players and their on-ice ability should determine that.

Players that played on the team last year were rookies last year. Hence they do not get the rookie star beside their name. the only reason they may be lacking in the skills like a rookie is that they were not given the ice time to develop

Think of it this way. You want to push the development of Whitehead so he becomes a strong player and then when he is strong, you want to play him less minutes and give his minutes to the 16 and 17 year old that you want to develop more quickly? Give Whitehead 15 minutes per game now so when he is ready and impactful, he gets 16 minutes? I don’t understand the logic. You need to continue that development process forward through he coming years and if you do that, it is guys like Whitehead that lose the minutes they earned to make way for the 16 year olds.

No what i want is to give these guys the chance to develop their skills so that when they are 17 they have a chance to get drafted and when they are 19 they can be leaders on the team. we both remember Dan and Ben. They were older and still did not get the great minutes until their last year, and even then, they were not on the top line.

My comment is strictly that you have to give them time to develop.

we both hve been around the league to know what gripping the stick too hard means. It is the player that sits on the bench for the whole period and all of a sudden he gets to go out and pay a shift knowing that it is his only chance this period and possibly this game to show what he has and that if he makes the slightest mistake he will never get any ice time again.

But if he is not given the minutes or opportunities to develop to go out and play a regular shift to gain his confidence. You stated it yourself that Killer used to put our 4th line out against the other teams 4th line. Why can't DC do that. Even in the later parts of the season. Let's face it. we all agree that this is not a team that is fighting for anything other than to make the playoffs, so really, there is nothing to lose by playing the second and 1st-year players more.

Last year your argument was we are fighting for 1st place. Do you really think this year we are even capapble of getting home ice advantage?

 

[beastintheeast]

The first picks and 17 yr old rookies of London, Barrie, & NB are pretty much glued to the 4th lines and as 7th D with very little TOI.
That is old school proven effective for development and preventing needless injury

LOL, with the depth of London, that is easy to see, and they have a coach that has a track record of making NHL stars. DC doesnot have that credential.

Barrie and NB are just 2 other teams how about the rest of the league. I have no problem with players playing on the 4th ine and getting minutes and the ability to perfofrm.

My respect for DC took a hit last year when we discovered how hurt Stonehouse was, and the team kept playing him for big minutes. It's disappointing to see them dressing players who can barely hold his stick, while leaving hungry Yanni sitting in the stands.

We are a team that now needs to develop its young talent. We do not have a first line that is going to be star-studded, nor do we have a second line that will be the scoring leader next year. Tis is a team that needs to develop the talent that it has. If the talent can not perform as needed then trade them now so that we do not get stuck like we are with Barlas due to his university package.

 

[dirty12]

LOL, with the depth of London, that is easy to see, and they have a coach that has a track record of making NHL stars. DC doesnot have that credential.

Barrie and NB are just 2 other teams how about the rest of the league. I have no problem with players playing on the 4th ine and getting minutes and the ability to perfofrm.

My respect for DC took a hit last year when we discovered how hurt Stonehouse was, and the team kept playing him for big minutes. It's disappointing to see them dressing players who can barely hold his stick, while leaving hungry Yanni sitting in the stands.

We are a team that now needs to develop its young talent. We do not have a first line that is going to be star-studded, nor do we have a second line that will be the scoring leader next year. Tis is a team that needs to develop the talent that it has. If the talent can not perform as needed then trade them now so that we do not get stuck like we are with Barlas due to his university package.

The Knights great depth had Boulton(s) and a ‘67s cast-off OA in the bottom six. The knights were stars, scrubs, and the future biding their time in a very limited role while watching and practising with some of the leagues brightest stars.
The GM is selecting Whitehead and Yanni 5’10” and 155-170 lbs at 17 for what they might be capable of at 19-20; and I presume, under the assumption that the coach can limit their exposure to injury until part way through their age 18 season.
If you need 16 yr olds to play now, select the best available 6’2” player mature for his age.

 

[frontsfan67]

The Knights great depth had Boulton(s) and a ‘67s cast-off OA in the bottom six. The knights were stars, scrubs, and the future biding their time in a very limited role while watching and practising with some of the leagues brightest stars.
The GM is selecting Whitehead and Yanni 5’10” and 155-170 lbs at 17 for what they might be capable of at 19-20; and I presume, under the assumption that the coach can limit their exposure to injury until part way through their age 18 season.
If you need 16 yr olds to play now, select the best available 6’2” player mature for his age.

Exactly. Not only is it an ohl gms job to pick talent, size etc. they also have to look at upside and put them all together.

 

[OMG67]

The Knights great depth had Boulton(s) and a ‘67s cast-off OA in the bottom six. The knights were stars, scrubs, and the future biding their time in a very limited role while watching and practising with some of the leagues brightest stars.
The GM is selecting Whitehead and Yanni 5’10” and 155-170 lbs at 17 for what they might be capable of at 19-20; and I presume, under the assumption that the coach can limit their exposure to injury until part way through their age 18 season.
If you need 16 yr olds to play now, select the best available 6’2” player mature for his age.

Exactly this.

You cannot criticize the coach for players not being ready at 16 and in many cases 17. The player is ready when the player is ready. Their development happens in practise more so than in games. In practise, they play with and against more experienced players. They get far more puck touches than game situations. Even if a rookie plays 10 minutes per games, he isn’t getting many puck touches. Six or eight minutes per game is enough to apply what you’ve learned in practise. Once they’ve learned more, have mostly caught up the the quicker speed and have gained the necessary confidence, the coach will see it and reward the player with ice time.

BUT, the player has to earn it. I know you agree with that but the better and more experienced players earned their ice time so you cannot take it away from them. If you have three lines of experienced forwards that all earned their ice time, you need to give them 50-55 minutes per game because that is what they deserve. The rookies get the rest. It is what it is.

A quality 1st line will get 20 minutes per game in the OHL. 2nd line about 18 minutes and 3rd line about 16 minutes. That factors in the special teams time. That is 54 minutes. So, the 4th line gets 6 minutes (2-3 shifts per period).

If the team is weaker, they will have rookies and inexperienced players on the 3rd line. Organically, they will get more ice time than the team with three quality lines. You wouldn’t have seen Whitehead get any more minutes with any of the top teams than he got with Ottawa. And, as a LW, you weren’t going to play Yanni ahead of Stonehouse who played as the 3LW.

Even this season, Ottawa has too many LW. So, they will either shift Right side or drop down the depth chart. It is what it is.

 

[zaluty]

Wonder what Battaglia and Mews will talk about while in Calgary.

 

[beastintheeast]

The Knights great depth had Boulton(s) and a ‘67s cast-off OA in the bottom six. The knights were stars, scrubs, and the future biding their time in a very limited role while watching and practising with some of the leagues brightest stars.
The GM is selecting Whitehead and Yanni 5’10” and 155-170 lbs at 17 for what they might be capable of at 19-20; and I presume, under the assumption that the coach can limit their exposure to injury until part way through their age 18 season.
If you need 16 yr olds to play now, select the best available 6’2” player mature for his age.

Exactly. Not only is it an ohl gms job to pick talent, size etc. they also have to look at upside and put them all together.

My point is that you have to develop the players so that they are ready to take the reins when they reach 18. If you play a person on the fourth line and only give them a couple of minutes a game, you are not going to develop them.

Exactly this.

You cannot criticize the coach for players not being ready at 16 and in many cases 17. The player is ready when the player is ready. Their development happens in practise more so than in games. In practise, they play with and against more experienced players. They get far more puck touches than game situations. Even if a rookie plays 10 minutes per games, he isn’t getting many puck touches. Six or eight minutes per game is enough to apply what you’ve learned in practise. Once they’ve learned more, have mostly caught up the the quicker speed and have gained the necessary confidence, the coach will see it and reward the player with ice time.

BUT, the player has to earn it. I know you agree with that but the better and more experienced players earned their ice time so you cannot take it away from them. If you have three lines of experienced forwards that all earned their ice time, you need to give them 50-55 minutes per game because that is what they deserve. The rookies get the rest. It is what it is.

A quality 1st line will get 20 minutes per game in the OHL. 2nd line about 18 minutes and 3rd line about 16 minutes. That factors in the special teams time. That is 54 minutes. So, the 4th line gets 6 minutes (2-3 shifts per period).

If the team is weaker, they will have rookies and inexperienced players on the 3rd line. Organically, they will get more ice time than the team with three quality lines. You wouldn’t have seen Whitehead get any more minutes with any of the top teams than he got with Ottawa. And, as a LW, you weren’t going to play Yanni ahead of Stonehouse who played as the 3LW.

Even this season, Ottawa has too many LW. So, they will either shift Right side or drop down the depth chart. It is what it is.

I agree they hae to earn it. But look at this team and you can see that we need to give these players some ice time at the beginning of the year. Practice is working on the systems, but until you get into a game and actually have to play against other teams, you are not going to gain confidence.

With this team, we know that we are not going to be a top 4 team; therefore, the goal has to be to develop the young players for next year and the year after. If not, then we are going to have a team with no experience or ability.

On a team like ours, we don't need to be high on the first line. We need to get the third and fourth lines some ice time. Next year, we will have 5 OA again, which means we will lose a line. Whitehead has to be able to fill in at least at the #3 line, and it would be nice to have him at number 2. But that comes with experience, not sitting on the bench. If he is not going to make it then he should be traded somewhere tht he can play If not then we end up with another logjam of players that no one wants due to their scholarships.

with the signing of Conway, does that mean that MacK is now on the market?

maybe we can do a swap Mack for a center.