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

[OMG67]

Game Notes:

1> Ekberg is sick. The end.
2> Eshkawkogan has a ton of poise. I am not sure if he will develop into an offensive player but he is pretty solid in his own end. Handles the puck well and distributes it pretty well. For a 16 year old, I would say he is fantastic and a great pick.
3> Barlas was VERY VERY good tonight. He played with a ton of poise and had a few really good carries.
4> Amidovski was vert timid until about the second half of the 2nd period. After that, you could feel he sort of found a rhythm and from that point on he was very effective.
5> Nelson wasn’t solid. Not fault on the 2nd goal but the 1st and 3rd weren’t great.
6> MacKenzie was solid but not overly tested.
7> Houben has some game in him. He is still a little behind the development curve but he is a 17 year old big kid so he will grow into it. They need to invest some time in him this season. He doesn’t necessarily neeed to play every game but he needs to play.
8> Brady is getting there. I think by the time we hit November, he will be up to speed. He should be fine in that 3rd pairing role. I think Eshkawkogan fills the 2nd pairing RD though.
9> Whitehead needs to work on his execution but he plays with a lot of confidence. You can see the effort and drive. He tries to make elevated plays but he isn’t quite there yet.

Overall, the defence was pretty solid considering Mews and Mayich were both out. Horner filled in fairly well although I do like him up front throwing the body more.

The OHL site is wrong. Nelson came in around the 14 minute mark of the 2nd. Macker played around 36 minutes.

Overall, it was an entertaining game.

 

[beastintheeast]

Game Notes:

1> Ekberg is sick. The end.
2> Eshkawkogan has a ton of poise. I am not sure if he will develop into an offensive player but he is pretty solid in his own end. Handles the puck well and distributes it pretty well. For a 16 year old, I would say he is fantastic and a great pick.
3> Barlas was VERY VERY good tonight. He played with a ton of poise and had a few really good carries.
4> Amidovski was vert timid until about the second half of the 2nd period. After that, you could feel he sort of found a rhythm and from that point on he was very effective.
5> Nelson wasn’t solid. Not fault on the 2nd goal but the 1st and 3rd weren’t great.
6> MacKenzie was solid but not overly tested.
7> Houben has some game in him. He is still a little behind the development curve but he is a 17 year old big kid so he will grow into it. They need to invest some time in him this season. He doesn’t necessarily neeed to play every game but he needs to play.
8> Brady is getting there. I think by the time we hit November, he will be up to speed. He should be fine in that 3rd pairing role. I think Eshkawkogan fills the 2nd pairing RD though.
9> Whitehead needs to work on his execution but he plays with a lot of confidence. You can see the effort and drive. He tries to make elevated plays but he isn’t quite there yet.

Overall, the defence was pretty solid considering Mews and Mayich were both out. Horner filled in fairly well although I do like him up front throwing the body more.

The OHL site is wrong. Nelson came in around the 14 minute mark of the 2nd. Macker played around 36 minutes.

Overall, it was an entertaining game.

I like this and am glad. I still have the same question and it will be interesting to see what DC does when everyone is back.

Not sure who he was facing but over the last 2 games whitehead has had the best FOW percentage

 

[OMG67]

I like this and am glad. I still have the same question and it will be interesting to see what DC does when everyone is back.

Not sure who he was facing but over the last 2 games whitehead has had the best FOW percentage

The hardest thing to overcome, even more than finding the right pace/speed is confidence. Whitehead is playing with confidence. At some point, his execution rate will increase. He is still a bit small so I don’t have high expectations this year so he will still play 3rd/4th line roles but that doesn’t matter right now. It is more about making sure he is lining up against players he can handle. As he continues to grow, both physically and from a skills perspective, he will gradually be more effective and consistent. He is only 17 so not a big deal.

I wouldn’t worry about Whitehead. He’ll be fine in time. He likely has this year and three more with the 67s.

 

[beastintheeast]

The hardest thing to overcome, even more than finding the right pace/speed is confidence. Whitehead is playing with confidence. At some point, his execution rate will increase. He is still a bit small so I don’t have high expectations this year so he will still play 3rd/4th line roles but that doesn’t matter right now. It is more about making sure he is lining up against players he can handle. As he continues to grow, both physically and from a skills perspective, he will gradually be more effective and consistent. He is only 17 so not a big deal.

I wouldn’t worry about Whitehead. He’ll be fine in time. He likely has this year and three more with the 67s.

You know my fear. If he is on the fourth line, then he will not get that chance to develop by playing. Personally, right now, I would rather have him as the third-line center in place of Barlas. I agree he needs the time to learn on the ice in the game. Playing against third-line centers will test him and make him work. The same with Yanni he proved last year that he could handle it so give him the chance as well

 

[OMG67]

You know my fear. If he is on the fourth line, then he will not get that chance to develop by playing. Personally, right now, I would rather have him as the third-line center in place of Barlas. I agree he needs the time to learn on the ice in the game. Playing against third-line centers will test him and make him work. The same with Yanni he proved last year that he could handle it so give him the chance as well

3rd line or 4th line won’t matter. They are both the same level of production and will play the same amount of ice. How each of them are playing each game will determine if there is an ice time split.

The top two lines consisting of Pinelli, Gerrior, Foster, Dever, Ekberg and a 6th player (Korbler?) will play a fair bit. After that, the other two lines will roll 5 on 5 consistently at least until the games tightens up.

The 3rd and 4th lines will consist of Barlas, Whitehead, Hilton, Houben, Yanni, Kelly, and Amidovski. Horner will likely join that group when Dietsch is back and they have six D-Men. No matter how you shake those eight players up, there is no real way to separate them into a true 3rd and 4th line.

Additionally, it may make more sense to have a rookie line of Amidovski-Whitehead-Yanni and let them all develop together as a line that could play 3 year with each other. Who knows?

Plus, when the deadline comes around and the 67’s move a couple wingers, it opens space for the young guys. So, either way, things will organically change throughout the year.

 

[beastintheeast]

3rd line or 4th line won’t matter. They are both the same level of production and will play the same amount of ice. How each of them are playing each game will determine if there is an ice time split.

The top two lines consisting of Pinelli, Gerrior, Foster, Dever, Ekberg and a 6th player (Korbler?) will play a fair bit. After that, the other two lines will roll 5 on 5 consistently at least until the games tightens up.

The 3rd and 4th lines will consist of Barlas, Whitehead, Hilton, Houben, Yanni, Kelly, and Amidovski. Horner will likely join that group when Dietsch is back and they have six D-Men. No matter how you shake those eight players up, there is no real way to separate them into a true 3rd and 4th line.

Additionally, it may make more sense to have a rookie line of Amidovski-Whitehead-Yanni and let them all develop together as a line that could play 3 year with each other. Who knows?

Plus, when the deadline comes around and the 67’s move a couple wingers, it opens space for the young guys. So, either way, things will organically change throughout the year.

Yes we are talking theory that that should be the case. Then again, we have DC, and he goes for it every game. My concern is that he thinks, like the Fronts fans, that this is a team that can compete with the top teams and plays a short bench starting in October.