Ottawa 67's 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 1)

[ohloutsider]

Looks like the Central Division is going to come down to North Bay and Mississauga. They play head to head on Friday in Mississauga. It is likely the winner of that game wins the division. Oshawa only needs a point to claim the East Division.

So, Ottawa will play one of Sudbury, Branford, or the loser of Fridays’ game between Mississauga and North Bay. Odds are pretty good that Sudbury wins their two games vs Barrie and Niagara. So, for the 67’s to jump up to 5th, we likely need to run the schedule the last three games.

If Ottawa finishes 6th, which is starting to look to be the most likely scenario, the odds are pretty good we play the loser of Friday nights game between North Bay and Mississauga. There is an outside chance that Brantford squeaks into the 3rd seed but, like Ottawa, they’d likely need to run the schedule.

It really is too early to call who we will play in round one. I think it will come down to the Sunday game vs Brantford before we know. We may even have to wait until the result comes in for the Sudbury vs Oshawa game Sunday night!

I guess what I am trying to say (unsuccessfully) is we more than likely won’t play Oshawa but we could play anyone else! So crazy! We should start a pool on who we will play in round one!

Yes better to start a pool than place a bet. Bets never end well for you, lol.

 

[OMG67]

Yes better to start a pool than place a bet. Bets never end well for you, lol.

I’m 1 for 2. I won last year’s bet. Didn’t get paid but I at least won!

 

[NoQuit67s]

Looks like the Central Division is going to come down to North Bay and Mississauga. They play head to head on Friday in Mississauga. It is likely the winner of that game wins the division. Oshawa only needs a point to claim the East Division.

So, Ottawa will play one of Sudbury, Branford, or the loser of Fridays’ game between Mississauga and North Bay. Odds are pretty good that Sudbury wins their two games vs Barrie and Niagara. So, for the 67’s to jump up to 5th, we likely need to run the schedule the last three games.

If Ottawa finishes 6th, which is starting to look to be the most likely scenario, the odds are pretty good we play the loser of Friday nights game between North Bay and Mississauga. There is an outside chance that Brantford squeaks into the 3rd seed but, like Ottawa, they’d likely need to run the schedule.

It really is too early to call who we will play in round one. I think it will come down to the Sunday game vs Brantford before we know. We may even have to wait until the result comes in for the Sudbury vs Oshawa game Sunday night!

I guess what I am trying to say (unsuccessfully) is we more than likely won’t play Oshawa but we could play anyone else! So crazy! We should start a pool on who we will play in round one!

Given that Ottawa and Brantford play each other in the last game, they both can't run the table, so that eliminated Brantford for me.
I am predicting NB will beat Missy.
I think Ottawa will win their 3 remaining games.

Soooo... My guess is that we will play Missy in the 1st round.
So crazy that so much is yet to be determined this late in the season!

 

[dirty12]

Yes better to start a pool than place a bet. Bets never end well for you, lol.

I’m 1 for 2. I won last year’s bet. Didn’t get paid but I at least won!

This has me wondering, is anyone keeping track of whether or not this guy should be chewing off his left arm on the internet?

 

[mianjo]

Former 67 Chris Simon has passed away at the age of 52

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-chris-simon-obituary-1.7148949

 

[OMG67]

This has me wondering, is anyone keeping track of whether or not this guy should be chewing off his left arm on the internet?

I won all my Left Arm chew statements!

 

[beastintheeast]

I will give you 2 of the 3 but it is going to depend on which 67 team comes out to play.

Branford on Sunday will probably not dress many of their top players. Standings-wise, it may not matter who wins.

Not sure I would want to meet int he firt round Brantford and NB are both good teams.

 

[OMG67]

I will give you 2 of the 3 but it is going to depend on which 67 team comes out to play.

Branford on Sunday will probably not dress many of their top players. Standings-wise, it may not matter who wins.

Not sure I would want to meet int he firt round Brantford and NB are both good teams.

I think the same can be said for Ottawa for all three games. I don’t think any of them are important at this point. I’m not sure the status of the health for any of the players but if any of them are struggling at all, I could see Cameron scratching them this week. They can play the younger kids if their seasons are over. It is around this time of year where those Tier II teams are in and around the 2nd and 3rd rounds of their playoffs. They also have short playoff series.

You could argue they still have the possibility of home ice in round one but that will be tough. Sudbury has Barrie, Niagara and Oshawa. They should beat Barrie and Niagara. Maybe they lose to Oshawa. Ottawa would need to run the schedule to tie and Ottawa holds the tie-breaker. Brantford has Niagara, Kingston, and then Ottawa. Brantford would need to lose at least one of the two games vs Niagara or Kingston in OT/SO. Of course, Ottawa would have to run the schedule. So, the possibility is there for home ice but I’m not sure Cameron would roll out hobbling players (if there are any) in an effort to gain home ice at this stage.

I feel Ottawa is likely the 6th seed. The funny part is if they do run the schedule and still finish 6th (83 points), and Oshawa wins 1 of their next 2, it will only be 4 points separating 1st and 6th! How crazy would that be?

 

[PuckStop75]

I think the same can be said for Ottawa for all three games. I don’t think any of them are important at this point. I’m not sure the status of the health for any of the players but if any of them are struggling at all, I could see Cameron scratching them this week. They can play the younger kids if their seasons are over. It is around this time of year where those Tier II teams are in and around the 2nd and 3rd rounds of their playoffs. They also have short playoff series.

You could argue they still have the possibility of home ice in round one but that will be tough. Sudbury has Barrie, Niagara and Oshawa. They should beat Barrie and Niagara. Maybe they lose to Oshawa. Ottawa would need to run the schedule to tie and Ottawa holds the tie-breaker. Brantford has Niagara, Kingston, and then Ottawa. Brantford would need to lose at least one of the two games vs Niagara or Kingston in OT/SO. Of course, Ottawa would have to run the schedule. So, the possibility is there for home ice but I’m not sure Cameron would roll out hobbling players (if there are any) in an effort to gain home ice at this stage.

I feel Ottawa is likely the 6th seed. The funny part is if they do run the schedule and still finish 6th (83 points), and Oshawa wins 1 of their next 2, it will only be 4 points separating 1st and 6th! How crazy would that be?

If Ottawa didn't get another point and Oshawa won out the gap would still only be 12 points, not sure exactly how this will impact things. Over the years the west has maintained tighter gaps between their top 4 -6 than we we have historically seen in the east where 1 team seems to separate more frequently.

I like NB as a 1st round match-up for Ottawa, stylistically they are also the most likely to maintain a high tempo game. Brantford and Missy are two teams I would expect to see take the game to the trenches and Sudbury is just scary stupid, everything about them points to a 1st round exit but the strongest offense and best PP in the east can be dangerous for a team like Ottawa who is short on scoring depth and struggles on special teams.

 

[OMG67]

If Ottawa didn't get another point and Oshawa won out the gap would still only be 12 points, not sure exactly how this will impact things. Over the years the west has maintained tighter gaps between their top 4 -6 than we we have historically seen in the east where 1 team seems to separate more frequently.

I like NB as a 1st round match-up for Ottawa, stylistically they are also the most likely to maintain a high tempo game. Brantford and Missy are two teams I would expect to see take the game to the trenches and Sudbury is just scary stupid, everything about them points to a 1st round exit but the strongest offense and best PP in the east can be dangerous for a team like Ottawa who is short on scoring depth and struggles on special teams.

Ottawa doesn’t take a lot of penalties so I am less concerned about the Sudbury PP. The thing I like about Sudbury (which I can’t see a way we line up against them other than a 4-5 matchup which means Brantford needs to slip to 6th) is the 67’s would have zero issues getting inside on them into the scoring areas each of our lines can access. Plus the difference in goaltending quality is massive.

 

[beastintheeast]

Ottawa doesn’t take a lot of penalties so I am less concerned about the Sudbury PP. The thing I like about Sudbury (which I can’t see a way we line up against them other than a 4-5 matchup which means Brantford needs to slip to 6th) is the 67’s would have zero issues getting inside on them into the scoring areas each of our lines can access. Plus the difference in goaltending quality is massive.

I would be surprised if we saw a lot of Mack and Pinelli this weekend. Let's face it: if the 67s have a chance, it will be on MacK's back.

NB would be a defence goalie battle.

I would be surprised if they go more than 5 games in the series unless they play Sudbury. Then it could be a 7 game series again, depending on MacK.

Dietsch and Yanni should be in uniform this weekend as OJS were eliminated. Houben is also available.

Nelson will not be available in the playoffs. NAVAN was the top team in the league and the finished 4th best sav% .

 

[PuckStop75]

Ottawa doesn’t take a lot of penalties so I am less concerned about the Sudbury PP. The thing I like about Sudbury (which I can’t see a way we line up against them other than a 4-5 matchup which means Brantford needs to slip to 6th) is the 67’s would have zero issues getting inside on them into the scoring areas each of our lines can access. Plus the difference in goaltending quality is massive.

The possibilities are small so lets not invest too much into this conversation. A 24% PP is dangerous no matter how many penalties a team takes. As much as the goaltending leans towards Ottawa the scoring tilts towards Sudbury, and neither team is particularly good in their own end.

 

[Larionov]

Former 67 Chris Simon has passed away at the age of 52

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-chris-simon-obituary-1.7148949

Sad news. He fought a lot of demons off the ice, and his struggles have been well documented. He was a tough customer and an amazing power forward...

 

[beastintheeast]

Austen Keating the perfect example of the difference between NCAA and CIAU.

Players with his stats in the NCAA are signed as soon as their season finishes after they have 4 years or finish Uni.

If he was playing in the US he would have a contract with an NHL team or at least a PTO with an AHL team.

 

[HockeyPops]

He has another year of eligibility left, do we know that he is done school this year? Maybe he was offered something but wasn't ready to leave yet?

 

[OMG67]

The possibilities are small so lets not invest too much into this conversation. A 24% PP is dangerous no matter how many penalties a team takes. As much as the goaltending leans towards Ottawa the scoring tilts towards Sudbury, and neither team is particularly good in their own end.

In all fairness, Sudbury has given up 41 more goals against. I wouldn’t put them in the same box defensively. They won’t play each other anyway but generally speaking, special teams stats from the regular season don’t often carry over in the same manner when the playoffs roll around. First, a team with 24% vs 20% translates to a difference of 4 total goals over 100 power plays. You will typically see about 4 pp per game so in. Seven game series, even if you use the numbers from the regular season, the difference is one goal over a seven game series.

Special teams numbers get dramatically skewed in the playoffs because of small sample sizes. This is why I suggest 5 on 5 play is key. A 20% PP could go 30% over a single series while the 25% PP can go 12%. Too few games to really indicate one way or the other.

Don’t get me wrong, special teams will likely decide a series. But we’ve seen it time and again where a strong regular season PP team go 3 for 25 in a series loss and point to that as the reason they lost. Happens all the time. Same with team that has a great penalty kill but gives up 8 PP goals on 18 opportunities. Again, happens all the time.

The only thing that usually Carrie’s over to the playoffs is team discipline (giving less opportunities) and 5 on 5 play with solid goal suppression at even strength. If I am trying to point to a silver lining for Ottawa, I point to those two things. That don’t take a lot of penalties and their 5 on 5 goal suppression is pretty decent. The question is special teams but with any luck, they stay out of the box and score a few on the PP when they get the opportunity.

 

[ScoutLife4]

I’m 1 for 2. I won last year’s bet. Didn’t get paid but I at least won!

And i can confirm OMG is a man of his word and paid his 100$ bet we had.

 

[bobber]

And i can confirm OMG is a man of his word and paid his 100$ bet we had.

Thanks Scout at least you confirmed OMG is a man!

 

[PuckStop75]

In all fairness, Sudbury has given up 41 more goals against. I wouldn’t put them in the same box defensively. They won’t play each other anyway but generally speaking, special teams stats from the regular season don’t often carry over in the same manner when the playoffs roll around. First, a team with 24% vs 20% translates to a difference of 4 total goals over 100 power plays. You will typically see about 4 pp per game so in. Seven game series, even if you use the numbers from the regular season, the difference is one goal over a seven game series.

Special teams numbers get dramatically skewed in the playoffs because of small sample sizes. This is why I suggest 5 on 5 play is key. A 20% PP could go 30% over a single series while the 25% PP can go 12%. Too few games to really indicate one way or the other.

Don’t get me wrong, special teams will likely decide a series. But we’ve seen it time and again where a strong regular season PP team go 3 for 25 in a series loss and point to that as the reason they lost. Happens all the time. Same with team that has a great penalty kill but gives up 8 PP goals on 18 opportunities. Again, happens all the time.

The only thing that usually Carrie’s over to the playoffs is team discipline (giving less opportunities) and 5 on 5 play with solid goal suppression at even strength. If I am trying to point to a silver lining for Ottawa, I point to those two things. That don’t take a lot of penalties and their 5 on 5 goal suppression is pretty decent. The question is special teams but with any luck, they stay out of the box and score a few on the PP when they get the opportunity.

Ottawa has played all the top teams in the league tough this year so I certainly don't expect them to get walked by any team in the east (incl. Sudbury) but there are match-ups which favor them better than others.

We also know teams are going to play heavier than we have seen in the regular season; the challenge will be how Ottawa deals with that. Staying out of the box will be critical, the other considerable factor will be staying disciplined with their tactics and the way they collapse around the puck. The system they are playing isn't perfect, and in just about all cases they are at a disadvantage physically (smaller team).

 

[ScoutLife4]

Thanks Scout at least you confirmed OMG is a man!

Lol. I honestly just assumed from the display pic that its a him.. -I shouldn't assume what anyone identifies as in 2024.
For all i know him/her could be a kitten or something.

 

[OMG67]

Ottawa has played all the top teams in the league tough this year so I certainly don't expect them to get walked by any team in the east (incl. Sudbury) but there are match-ups which favor them better than others.

We also know teams are going to play heavier than we have seen in the regular season; the challenge will be how Ottawa deals with that. Staying out of the box will be critical, the other considerable factor will be staying disciplined with their tactics and the way they collapse around the puck. The system they are playing isn't perfect, and in just about all cases they are at a disadvantage physically (smaller team).

100%.

It will be interesting to see how they deal with the elevated play. With no clear favourite, it may simply come down to who has best goaltending and composure.

Lol. I honestly just assumed from the display pic that its a him.. -I shouldn't assume what anyone identifies as in 2024.
For all i know him/her could be a kitten or something.

There is a particular way I’d like to answer this but I am sure if I do I will get infraction points and would end up in the penalty box to feel shame….

So, we will go to the vanilla response and say 52 year old male.

 

[ecraigs]

So, we will go to the vanilla response and say 52 year old male.

That's how old my driver's licence is!! And a bunch of my shoes.

What I am hoping from Ottawa is that they avoid getting goaded into wiping out PP opportunities with stupid penalties. Special teams can make or break a playoff run. Those punches after the whistle don't do anything productive.

 

[OMG67]

Brantford with a win tonight. They are 2 points away from wrapping up home ice advantage in round one which relegates Ottawa to 5th or 6th int he Conference.

North Bay with a win to take over the division lead in the Central. It really is shaping up to be a Central Divison showdown on Friday night between North Bay and Mississauga. Mississauga needs to win tomorrow vs Niagara. It shouldn’t be a tough game for them. Niagara playing their third in three nights. Mississauga coming in rested.

67’s up against the Petes tomorrow. Petes last home game. They should be revved up and will play hard for sure. It won’t be an easy 2 points for Ottawa. The will need to work for it.

 

[44 95 plus tax]

I’m 1 for 2. I won last year’s bet. Didn’t get paid but I at least won!

But you're only betting with one hand because you've chewed your arm off, no? Or wait, what did your hat taste like?

 

[OMG67]

But you're only betting with one hand because you've chewed your arm off, no? Or wait, what did your hat taste like?

You need to follow along!

I am one for two on my $100 bets BUT last year when I won, I never heard back about payment…

For the “I will chew off my left arm live on the Internet if…” I am batting 1.000! I still have both my right and left arms…. That line is reserved ONLY for the absolutely absurd comments and is used maybe once or twice per year.