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

[OMG67]

This is the GM'S job to get a grasp on what's going on inside the walls of his team.
Typically every player departing the organization has an exit interview.
If something is going on it would come to head.
I think next season will be a challenging one for you guys.
Players are going to want to be moved to a stronger team while Ottawa rebuilds again.
It may give the optics that it has something to do with DC but I'm not sure that's the case.

I think it is important to understand that and keep proper perspective.

 

[Section5Petes]

I think it is important to understand that and keep proper perspective.

As much as the Petes and 67's are division rivals, for myself looking at this dialogue from the outside, it has never once crossed my mind that Dave Cameron 'is the problem', or 'needs to be fired'. I don't get where some people are getting those ideas from, because at least to me, he is one of the best coaches in the league. Every team has its ups and downs or issues, some more public than others, but Cameron seems like a good one. He demands a lot out of his players no doubt, but this isn't the try league. This is the very difference between whether your hockey career lives or dies and Cameron at least to me seems like he is pushing everyone to achieve greatness, and if they can't handle it here, then how do you expect to handle it in the professional ranks.

I'm sure most of this emotional angst is coming from a lack of perceived 'playoff success', but to me it is hard to deny a strong process and Cameron has deeply engrained that within the organization. Yes winning is important, but Ottawa is far from a team to have to worry about success. I would say it is pretty safe to say that no team looks forward to a game against the 67's and I think that speaks volumes. Again, I am not privy to insider info or as close as other posters but at least on the surface I think Ottawa should be at the top of any kids list imo.

 

[44 95 plus tax]

This is the GM'S job to get a grasp on what's going on inside the walls of his team.

I realize that there are assistant GM's and others on the team reporting to Boyd, but how much time is Boyd actually around the team? He lives in the Toronto area. I am sure he is around when the team plays on the road in Southern Ontario. But maybe he needs to be around the locker room / atmosphere here in Ottawa more.

 

[dirty12]

There may very well be issues with drafting and coaching and recruitment right now. But keep in mind the ‘67s have been picking out of the 20 spot for a bit, and another NHL draft eligible euro like Rossi ain’t coming around again any time soon; whereas, the previous 5-6 drafts the ‘67s had better than average draft position with 4 picks in three rounds or 6 picks in four rounds.
Everyone should explore the best options for them. Closer to home playing with and against more developed players and paid more; it is a no brainer.
Of the teams interested, the agent for Sale allowed a trade to Kitchener only.

 

[OMG67]

There may very well be issues with drafting and coaching and recruitment right now. But keep in mind the ‘67s have been picking out of the 20 spot for a bit, and another NHL draft eligible euro like Rossi ain’t coming around again any time soon; whereas, the previous 5-6 drafts the ‘67s had better than average draft position with 4 picks in three rounds or 6 picks in four rounds.
Everyone should explore the best options for them. Closer to home playing with and against more developed players and paid more; it is a no brainer.
Of the teams interested, the agent for Sale allowed a trade to Kitchener only.

I think the perspective, if there is an issue, is more likely to be a misalignment of assets meaning maybe there is an acquisition issue more than a coaching issue.

There will always be issues between coach and players. That’s a given. The goal is to do proper due diligence on the players you draft/acquire to ensure there is a better chance of alignment
A player like Jack Beck was a Tourigny era draftee. There is an obvious difference between what Tourigny values va what DC values. I can see potential for a misalignment of vision between player and coach.
If there is too much misalignment then players start to give up on the coach and focus on their needs. That’s when internal struggle happens.
What I see is potential where DC has double downed on decisions and assignments in the face of potential disagreements between him and a few players. We don’t understand the reasons why because we aren’t in the room but a lot of the recent decisions and some of the defections point to that being the likely reason for what we have seen.
This isn’t about dumping it all on the doorstep of the coach. Players also have a responsibility.
To me, if this is happening, there needs to be a reassessment of the makeup of the hockey club from a player perspective. Some unforeseen roster tweaks need to take place to align the system to the players abilities/attributes. This isn’t a situation where we need to fire the coach.

I said it on the Kingston forum that the fans should not expect Mann to come in and impose his will on the players and the players are all equipped to respond accordingly. Sometimes you need a season or two to align the system and players. Maybe Ottawa is in that situation going into next season. If so, we should expect to see a few player moves in the offseason we may feel we don’t see coming.

I pointed to Dever and Korbler as the example. You cannot play DC style hockey with two undersized RW in your top 9. It just doesn’t work. It doesn’t mean the players are bad. It means they need to pick one and balance that one with a bigger player. Keep Dever and replace Korbler with a bigger Import.

 

[Larionov]

I think Dave Cameron is a great coach.

I'm curious if anyone here has ever had a conversation with him before? -he has a bit of a strange personality.
He is very hard to get a read on and very dry sense of humor.

I hear you. He reminds me a bit of Jim Harbaugh, who coached Michigan to the National Championship and just signed on to coach the LA Chargers. Harbaugh is a bit of an odd duck also, but he's an eccentric genius who just seems to find a way to always coach winning teams. I sort of see Cameron the same way - a little quirky, sure, but there is no denying that he knows the game inside and out.

 

[Larionov]

I realize that there are assistant GM's and others on the team reporting to Boyd, but how much time is Boyd actually around the team? He lives in the Toronto area. I am sure he is around when the team plays on the road in Southern Ontario. But maybe he needs to be around the locker room / atmosphere here in Ottawa more.

I struggle with the fact that Boyd doesn't live in the 613. If I am OSEG, I want my full time employees living here, not elsewhere. Gotta be flexible if you want to attract the best talent, blah blah blah, but I think it's tough to get the pulse of the team if you aren't on the ground full time. It's the same deal with Redblacks coach Bob Dyce, who lives in Winnipeg in the off-season. That irks me a bit too, to be honest.

 

[OMG67]

I struggle with the fact that Boyd doesn't live in the 613. If I am OSEG, I want my full time employees living here, not elsewhere. Gotta be flexible if you want to attract the best talent, blah blah blah, but I think it's tough to get the pulse of the team if you aren't on the ground full time. It's the same deal with Redblacks coach Bob Dyce, who lives in Winnipeg in the off-season. That irks me a bit too, to be honest.

If Boyd scouts a lot, then being in the GTA works. I don’t know how much of that he does though.

 

[OMG67]

I believe our COMP Pick is #23. But, I am not 100% sure about that. It is supposed to be the next pick after the one we used to draft him (22nd pick in 2023). BUT, I am not sure if that is the case if the COMP Pick falls in the 2nd round. I believe there was only one 1st round comp pick this year (William Moore garners a 2nd round pick) so there will be twenty 1st round picks plus a comp pick added for HB. So, if Ottawa does get the 23rd pick, it means that two teams will pick in the 2nd round at picks 21 and 22 prior to Ottawa picking their COMP Pick at #23. I think the draft lottery is tomorrow night so after that, I assume the OHL will post the draft positions for all picks at that point. We know Ottawa will pick at #11.

I haven’t delved into the draft rankings at all so I couldn’t really give any strong sense of what players may be available at #11.

Windsor Spitfires to Select First Overall in 2024 OHL Priority Selection Presented by Real Canadian Superstore - Ontario Hockey League

The Windsor Spitfires will select first overall in the OHL Priority Selection presented by Real Canadian Superstore.

chl.ca

Ottawa will pick 21st. They get the sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd round as per the OHL Website. So, we have our answer. I wasn’t sure if we would get 21st or 23rd. Technically, the rules state we get the pick after the pick used which would be the 23rd pick this year but that would mean we’d have seen two 2nd round picks picked prior to the comp pick which didn’t make sense. Looks like they do keep it as a sandwich pick. So, we picked HB withthe 22nd pick and the comp pick is the 21st pick which means we move up one spot instead of down one spot. Worked out pretty good!

 

[Race Dawg]

If Boyd scouts a lot, then being in the GTA works. I don’t know how much of that he does though.s a little uncanny that he doesn't live in Ottawa

Delete

 

[beastintheeast]

Again, it is not about one single explainable incident. It is about 5+ incidents/situations that have arisen over less than one calendar year that point to players choosing to not remain or join in Ottawa. I think we need to view it as a bigger picture. One or two may be explainable. Fine. But 5+?

One other one that has been highlighted is the apparent refusal for Uronen to return when he is healthy again. I can understand that one as well but it is another situation that adds to the others.

I think a lot of the players that had been here knowing that this was the start of a rebuild. In the case of Rhorer and Beck they both knew that this was not going to be the team of the past years and that they would have been traded at the deadline.

Rorher has got to play with players that are a step above him and are professionals, not with players that either want to be pro or are looking for university.

Beck was in the position where he could see that there were no centers on his team and that it was in rebuild mode.

Looking at this team the way it is, would you want to fly halfway around the world and risk injury to play on this team when you can stay at home with family and get in shape to try out for Vegas or their farm team?

I am not sure why HB did not report unless it was felt that they wanted to be on a team that had an upward look. We will never know. It will be interesting to see what happens this year at the draft.

 

[beastintheeast]

This is the GM'S job to get a grasp on what's going on inside the walls of his team.
Typically every player departing the organization has an exit interview.
If something is going on it would come to head.
I think next season will be a challenging one for you guys.
Players are going to want to be moved to a stronger team while Ottawa rebuilds again.
It may give the optics that it has something to do with DC but I'm not sure that's the case.

I have said this before and if you look at the NHL you will see the same thing. Teams that are at the top of the league for a long stretch need to drop unless they have a talent for being able to develop late round picks.

For the past few years we have drafted either last each first round or near last. That means that a lot of the talent is already drafted. Add to that some of the draft picks have not panned out as the strs we hoped.

This team needs to be a mid-pack. It needs to save its first 5 rounds of picks and harvest others by trades. Then it has a better chance of drafting impact players., We have drafted role players

Then add to the equation that 3 or our 1st round picks did not report and that Barlas has not really performed to the level it was hoped.

That is why all season I have hoped that Bouyd would cultivate dcraft picks and not use them.

I wonder what we could have gotten for Pinellli this year/ I realize that he will hopefully be as powerful as he was this year next, but hey. We might have gotten some picks to help us sooner.

Same with Mayich.

 

[Hinterland]

I think the perspective, if there is an issue, is more likely to be a misalignment of assets meaning maybe there is an acquisition issue more than a coaching issue.

There will always be issues between coach and players. That’s a given. The goal is to do proper due diligence on the players you draft/acquire to ensure there is a better chance of alignment
A player like Jack Beck was a Tourigny era draftee. There is an obvious difference between what Tourigny values va what DC values. I can see potential for a misalignment of vision between player and coach.
If there is too much misalignment then players start to give up on the coach and focus on their needs. That’s when internal struggle happens.
What I see is potential where DC has double downed on decisions and assignments in the face of potential disagreements between him and a few players. We don’t understand the reasons why because we aren’t in the room but a lot of the recent decisions and some of the defections point to that being the likely reason for what we have seen.
This isn’t about dumping it all on the doorstep of the coach. Players also have a responsibility.
To me, if this is happening, there needs to be a reassessment of the makeup of the hockey club from a player perspective. Some unforeseen roster tweaks need to take place to align the system to the players abilities/attributes. This isn’t a situation where we need to fire the coach.

I said it on the Kingston forum that the fans should not expect Mann to come in and impose his will on the players and the players are all equipped to respond accordingly. Sometimes you need a season or two to align the system and players. Maybe Ottawa is in that situation going into next season. If so, we should expect to see a few player moves in the offseason we may feel we don’t see coming.

I pointed to Dever and Korbler as the example. You cannot play DC style hockey with two undersized RW in your top 9. It just doesn’t work. It doesn’t mean the players are bad. It means they need to pick one and balance that one with a bigger player. Keep Dever and replace Korbler with a bigger Import.

I don't wanna say you're wrong but both eye test and EP say that Körbler is both bigger and heavier than Rohrer. The same goes for Beck who isn't actually a giant either. Dever isn't even a lightweight, heavier than lots of his fellow forwards. I get it if you say that they have to play bigger which may be a style/mentality issue or just a need for proper offseason training to grow into their bodies but you can't say they're too small. If anything, they're playing too small.

 

[beastintheeast]

I don't wanna say you're wrong but both eye test and EP say that Körbler is both bigger and heavier than Rohrer. The same goes for Beck who isn't actually a giant either. Dever isn't even a lightweight, heavier than lots of his fellow forwards. I get it if you say that they have to play bigger which may be a style/mentality issue or just a need for proper offseason training to grow into their bodies but you can't say they're too small. If anything, they're playing too small.

Rohrer came to us with a different skill set. The year he was drafted, he had already played against 20-year-old players and had stats comparable to Rossi's. He was also playing on a team with a lot of scoring and players who could assist him. Korbler did not have that this year. I am expecting that, given more ice time and promotion to either the second or third line, he will stand out next year.

Beck had played four years in Ottawa and had a great deal more of a skill set to offer than anyone else on the present team, including Pinelli.

The challenge that this team faced was that they have always been run and gun out scoring the other team with at least 2 good lines. This year, DC did not have the scoring players or the offence; therefore, Boyd and the coaching staff went with a change to a team that valued defensive and low scores. It was a huge change that I think some of the players did not want or accept.

Beck wanted to play on a contender, not a rebuild. Rohrer saw what his chances of playing in Laval were and realized that he could go home, play PRO, get paid, and still have a chance with Laval next year.

Next year, I see a line of Yanni Whitehead and Korbler as a good second or third line if put together at the start and left alone. This is mainly because they can learn to play with each other, and there is not a lot of talent on this team that will outshine them other than maybe the first line of Pinelli Gerrior ? ....

 

[Larionov]

Cameron was on TSN1200 this morning and said that the group is healthy with the exception of Kimi Korbler, who they hope to have back later in the series. Therefore, Mackenzie is presumably set to start tomorrow night.

Keep in mind that the Bulldogs are banged up also, dealing with some key injuries. They don't have Hamara on their blueline for starters...

 

[sirius67fan]

I

I think a lot of the players that had been here knowing that this was the start of a rebuild. In the case of Rhorer and Beck they both knew that this was not going to be the team of the past years and that they would have been traded at the deadline.

Rorher has got to play with players that are a step above him and are professionals, not with players that either want to be pro or are looking for university.

Beck was in the position where he could see that there were no centers on his team and that it was in rebuild mode.

Looking at this team the way it is, would you want to fly halfway around the world and risk injury to play on this team when you can stay at home with family and get in shape to try out for Vegas or their farm team?

I am not sure why HB did not report unless it was felt that they wanted to be on a team that had an upward look. We will never know. It will be interesting to see what happens this year at the draft.

I'm pretty sure the fix was in for HB although London/Ottawa will never admit it. London wanted him and Boyd wanted assets and the comp for this year to speed up the rebooth of the team. To be clear I have no inside info. I just found that the pick was strange as we had no room for D and an almost complete roster going in. As evidence only Whitehead got some icetime. Dietsch, Yanni, Hueben are all in tier two. It likely also made it easier fod Boyd that we also had the first pick of second round (Whitehead). Hopefully we get a stud at #21!

Edit: and at 11!

 

[OMG67]

I don't wanna say you're wrong but both eye test and EP say that Körbler is both bigger and heavier than Rohrer. The same goes for Beck who isn't actually a giant either. Dever isn't even a lightweight, heavier than lots of his fellow forwards. I get it if you say that they have to play bigger which may be a style/mentality issue or just a need for proper offseason training to grow into their bodies but you can't say they're too small. If anything, they're playing too small.

Korbler is 155lb. Dever is 175. Rohrer 170. Beck is definitely light. I’m surprised he never packed on the weight. Hanging at 165 as a 20 year old is silliness.

If you scan the wings on Ottawa, they are relatively light. It isn’t about one particular player bs another. It is about at least having a bit of a mix.

It is t ideal to have a bunch of wingers under 190. Horner, Kelly, and Stonehouse are the only regulars at wing over 190. None of them are over 6’0”. They are small.

If they need to make some personnel changes, one way is to draft more mature Imports. You are getting a 17 or 18 year old Import bs a 16 year old underage. It is an easier fix.

Korbler is sorta fine when playing the bottom barrel teams. But not vs the average to above average teams. No sense in investing in a 155 pounder going into his 18 year old season when you can draft an 18 year old replacement that is bigger and can play a role we lack right away.

 

[beastintheeast]

I

I'm pretty sure the fix was in for HB although London/Ottawa will never admit it. London wanted him and Boyd wanted assets and the comp for this year to speed up the rebooth of the team. To be clear I have no inside info. I just found that the pick was strange as we had no room for D and an almost complete roster going in. As evidence only Whitehead got some icetime. Dietsch, Yanni, Hueben are all in tier two. It likely also made it easier fod Boyd that we also had the first pick of second round (Whitehead). Hopefully we get a stud at #21!

Edit: and at 11!

YOu may be right but you are missing the most obvious point. We were weak on RD.

Starting d - HB

Marelli Mews
Mayich ewles
Sirman horner
Smythe Brady

starting D w hb

Marelli Mews
Mayich ewles
Sirman HB
Smythe Brady

By the deadline, he probably could have been with Mayich if he worked out.

Or they might have teamed him with Dietsch to start the year as the 4th pairing

Not saying you are wrong as I saw it in Kingston with Domi but just a thought.

 

[PuckStop75]

I

I'm pretty sure the fix was in for HB although London/Ottawa will never admit it. London wanted him and Boyd wanted assets and the comp for this year to speed up the rebooth of the team. To be clear I have no inside info. I just found that the pick was strange as we had no room for D and an almost complete roster going in. As evidence only Whitehead got some icetime. Dietsch, Yanni, Hueben are all in tier two. It likely also made it easier fod Boyd that we also had the first pick of second round (Whitehead). Hopefully we get a stud at #21!

Edit: and at 11!

HB was the best player available and also happened to be a RD with good size who would have fit right in with Mews, Marrelli and whoever they slot into the remaining LD position in a year or two. To lose that player was not by design, and if it was then it was a stupid plan.

 

[beastintheeast]

Korbler is 155lb. Dever is 175. Rohrer 170. Beck is definitely light. I’m surprised he never packed on the weight. Hanging at 165 as a 20 year old is silliness.

Hey some of us did not start to pack on teh weight until we were 25 lol

I agree though it is very light and probably played a part in his not making the AHLECHL jump.

Could it have been an after effect of some of his injuries not allowing him to build the extra muscle mass>

 

[PuckStop75]

YOu may be right but you are missing the most obvious point. We were weak on RD.

Starting d - HB

Marelli Mews
Mayich ewles
Sirman horner
Smythe Brady

starting D w hb

Marelli Mews
Mayich ewles
Sirman HB
Smythe Brady

By the deadline, he probably could have been with Mayich if he worked out.

Or they might have teamed him with Dietsch to start the year as the 4th pairing

Not saying you are wrong as I saw it in Kingston with Domi but just a thought.

HB wouldn't have been the solution to the problem this year, at best when they acquired Mayer they would have been a really good 3rd pairing. The team always needed a veteran RD to play with Marrelli.

 

[beastintheeast]

HB wouldn't have been the solution to the problem this year, at best when they acquired Mayer they would have been a really good 3rd pairing. The team always needed a veteran RD to play with Marrelli.

OH, I agree but the future on D would have looked better, and having him would have made the Mayer trade a little better

 

[Hinterland]

Korbler is 155lb. Dever is 175. Rohrer 170. Beck is definitely light. I’m surprised he never packed on the weight. Hanging at 165 as a 20 year old is silliness.

If you scan the wings on Ottawa, they are relatively light. It isn’t about one particular player bs another. It is about at least having a bit of a mix.

It is t ideal to have a bunch of wingers under 190. Horner, Kelly, and Stonehouse are the only regulars at wing over 190. None of them are over 6’0”. They are small.

If they need to make some personnel changes, one way is to draft more mature Imports. You are getting a 17 or 18 year old Import bs a 16 year old underage. It is an easier fix.

Korbler is sorta fine when playing the bottom barrel teams. But not vs the average to above average teams. No sense in investing in a 155 pounder going into his 18 year old season when you can draft an 18 year old replacement that is bigger and can play a role we lack right away.

Those numbers are definitely not correct. EP has them listed at 165 and 181 lbs respectively which seems much more accurate than the WHL numbers. Ottawa 67's may well be a bigger team this year compared to last. I see your point though. Ottawa is middle of the pack in terms of weight but they're the smallest team in the entire OHL. A bit more size couldn't hurt.

 

[sirius67fan]

HB was the best player available and also happened to be a RD with good size who would have fit right in with Mews, Marrelli and whoever they slot into the remaining LD position in a year or two. To lose that player was not by design, and if it was then it was a stupid plan.

Hey you might be right, as I said i have no inside info but I'll stick with my thought as I found the pick strange and ....London is involved. As to it being a stupid plan in certain circumstances I disagree. There is an argument to be made to get two first rounders that mature together as a base to build a team on. We'll get a sense of that in two years with Mews/Marelli.

 

[ScoutLife4]

Korbler is 155lb. Dever is 175. Rohrer 170. Beck is definitely light. I’m surprised he never packed on the weight. Hanging at 165 as a 20 year old is silliness.

If you scan the wings on Ottawa, they are relatively light. It isn’t about one particular player bs another. It is about at least having a bit of a mix.

It is t ideal to have a bunch of wingers under 190. Horner, Kelly, and Stonehouse are the only regulars at wing over 190. None of them are over 6’0”. They are small.

If they need to make some personnel changes, one way is to draft more mature Imports. You are getting a 17 or 18 year old Import bs a 16 year old underage. It is an easier fix.

Korbler is sorta fine when playing the bottom barrel teams. But not vs the average to above average teams. No sense in investing in a 155 pounder going into his 18 year old season when you can draft an 18 year old replacement that is bigger and can play a role we lack right away.

Dever put on about 12LBS of muscle last off season. -They had him on a strict plan to get him bigger and stronger.
I think he is a bit of a victim of being a 2005 and basically missing 2 seasons with covid shutdown.
I think you see him take a big jump for next season.
2005s from what I have seen are probably most affected by the missed time for being developmentally behind.