20/21 line up
Quinn Rossi Clarke
Beck Hoesschler(OA) Sirizotti
Yule(OA) Tolnai Varga
Robinson Moldenhauer Stonehouse
Gerrior Crete gaidamak Boucher
Belanger Matier
Rippon(OA) Gil Shane
Sawyer Constantini
Mayich Sirman
Andree
Cranley
Donoso
MacK
LOL I am not sure that is a team that is selling I think it is more likely that they would be buying probably a defenceman
The challenge was at the 2021 draft we did not draft any defenceman until Ewles in round 5. There were not a lot of good defencemen in the draft that year and we were not that well fixed for D
Rossi wasn’t returning for his 19 year old season. No one expected him to.
You are also looking at kids as they are now as opposed to what they were back then. Beck, Sirizzotti, Sawyer, GillShane, Matier, TJ, and crete would have been second year 17 year olds. Stonehouse, Sirman, Mayich, Gerrior and Moldenhauer (if he reported) would have all been green 16 year old rookies.
If you remember, Tolnai was also still in his long initial stage of development. He wasn’t looking great as a 17 year old. Robinson never turned out to be anything mostly because of injury, and Varga was a depth winger at best. That left us with Hoelscher (OA) if he returned, Quinn and Clarke.
It was the back end that was going to be the big challenge. We would have graduated Hoefenmayer, Bahl, and Okhotyuk. Our defence would have consisted of Rippon (OA), Belanger and four second year players plus the two rookies (Mayich and Sirman).
Goaltending would have been fine with Andree as a returning OA in net.
That defence would have done less than nothing. Remember, Belanger played up front on the 4th line wing back then. There was no one to move the puck around especially on the Powerplay.
We’d have had a pretty good first line (Quinn-Hoelscher-Clarke). I think the second line would have been considered a pretty good 17/18 year old 3rd line (Beck-Tolnai-Sirizzotti). But that was the second problem. They didn’t have a 2nd line at all. Tolnai hadn’t lived up to expectations back then. Yule was gone (traded to Flint) but Robinson was often injured and never lived up to expectations at all. He was a wasted trade for sure. We are unsure whether Moldenhauer was going to report in light of his defected status the following year. And a bunch of rookies.
So, it reality, the 20-21 team would have been a team with a really solid first line and starting goaltender. After that, it was very young. That recipe is perfect for a seller team. A couple really good sell assets to help bolster a young and emerging roster. I mean, look at their performance in 21-22. We essentially lost that first line to graduation, Andree and Rippon during the Covid season and we returned with that core I just highlighted and we finished low in the standings. Expecting essentially that 21-22 team to be the support depth for a competitive 20-21 team is preposterous.
They may very well have not sold that Covid season but they wouldn’t have contended. That was a middle pack team at best.
Imagine the ammunition we’d have had if we were able to sell Quinn and Clarke? I think most expected those two would have been moved the following deadline.