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

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Main takeaway from last night is the continuing improved play from Foster, who seems to have taken a step forward offensively after a stretch of time when I thought he wasn't playing up to his potential. Maillet looked good too, with 4 points, but could have easily had another goal or two if he had showed a bit better touch around the net.

Nice to see Smyth get a goal near his home town, the guys seemed really happy for him.
 
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NordiquesForeva said:
Main takeaway from last night is the continuing improved play from Foster, who seems to have taken a step forward offensively after a stretch of time when I thought he wasn't playing up to his potential. Maillet looked good too, with 4 points, but could have easily had another goal or two if he had showed a bit better touch around the net.

Nice to see Smyth get a goal near his home town, the guys seemed really happy for him.
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I think Foster starting to finish helps Maillet organically. Foster in a funk ain’t help Maillet too much. We can get by without Maillet scoring of Foster is finishing closer to normal. But this is against Niagara. They have to do it against the better teams too.
 
OMG67 said:
I think Foster starting to finish helps Maillet organically. Foster in a funk ain’t help Maillet too much. We can get by without Maillet scoring of Foster is finishing closer to normal. But this is against Niagara. They have to do it against the better teams too.
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That's fair, but I thought Foster had standout games against Oshawa and London last weekend too - though granted, the production vs. London came when he was on a line with Kressler and Pinelli. He's been making some creative offensive plays, shooting the puck with authority and accuracy, and stickhandling well through traffic. I'd be inclined to move Horner off that line but regardless if Foster can help Maillet offensively, that's a win (even if Foster ends up being the offensive engine on the line rather than Maillet).
 
NordiquesForeva said:
That's fair, but I thought Foster had standout games against Oshawa and London last weekend too - though granted, the production vs. London came when he was on a line with Kressler and Pinelli. He's been making some creative offensive plays, shooting the puck with authority and accuracy, and stickhandling well through traffic. I'd be inclined to move Horner off that line but regardless if Foster can help Maillet offensively, that's a win (even if Foster ends up being the offensive engine on the line rather than Maillet).
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I think more what I was getting at is that the way Maillt plays, he isn’t necessarily the finisher on the line. I think he will contribute more int he puck retrieval role. Get the puck to Foster in the danger zone. Let him finish off. If they can find that type of chemistry, I think it would work. It is sort of the same role Gardiner has as a centre with Stonehouse. LEt Stonehouse finish in tight. Although, the Gardiner/Stonehouse line is more likely to score off the rush than the Maillet/Foster line.
 
OMG67 said:
I think more what I was getting at is that the way Maillt plays, he isn’t necessarily the finisher on the line. I think he will contribute more int he puck retrieval role. Get the puck to Foster in the danger zone. Let him finish off. If they can find that type of chemistry, I think it would work. It is sort of the same role Gardiner has as a centre with Stonehouse. LEt Stonehouse finish in tight. Although, the Gardiner/Stonehouse line is more likely to score off the rush than the Maillet/Foster line.
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Yeah, I agree with that. We'll see what tonight holds but I'm fine with the line combos that Cameron is rolling out right now. Don't love Horner on the Maillet/Foster line,, but Cameron must be banking on Horner continuing to provide a forechecking/physical presence and helping the line as a whole operate down low. If Horner continues to be relatively successful in that role, then that is fine by me even if it may not be optimal.

I think we've seen the last of Whitehead this season unless there is an injury.

The 4th line (Barlas between Korbler and Kelly) is pretty good. Barlas' hustle created our first goal last night. He has to stay disciplined though, even in garbage time. Kelly has been better too. Maybe with a more defined role for all three of those players, they can play within their strengths and limitations and chip in some goals (like they did vs. London) and keep providing a good aggressive forechecking element.
 
NordiquesForeva said:
Yeah, I agree with that. We'll see what tonight holds but I'm fine with the line combos that Cameron is rolling out right now. Don't love Horner on the Maillet/Foster line,, but Cameron must be banking on Horner continuing to provide a forechecking/physical presence and helping the line as a whole operate down low. If Horner continues to be relatively successful in that role, then that is fine by me even if it may not be optimal.

I think we've seen the last of Whitehead this season unless there is an injury.

The 4th line (Barlas between Korbler and Kelly) is pretty good. Barlas' hustle created our first goal last night. He has to stay disciplined though, even in garbage time. Kelly has been better too. Maybe with a more defined role for all three of those players, they can play within their strengths and limitations and chip in some goals (like they did vs. London) and keep providing a good aggressive forechecking element.
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It was actually funny last night. I mentioned to my wife that this line is going to score first. There was a tough start and that line (4th line) was the one buzzing. 10 seconds later, Mayich scores with Barlas hustling to get to the net and Kelly already in front to provide the screen.

I like Horner on that line specifically because if not Horner then it is Barlas and that kills the 4th line. Horner is pretty good down low in the corners. He can handle the puck in tight and make a pass. He has decent speed and can separate himself a lot. I think he needs more work on the small things but for the most part, he is fine enough considering some of our constraints.
 
OMG67 said:
It was actually funny last night. I mentioned to my wife that this line is going to score first. There was a tough start and that line (4th line) was the one buzzing. 10 seconds later, Mayich scores with Barlas hustling to get to the net and Kelly already in front to provide the screen.

I like Horner on that line specifically because if not Horner then it is Barlas and that kills the 4th line. Horner is pretty good down low in the corners. He can handle the puck in tight and make a pass. He has decent speed and can separate himself a lot. I think he needs more work on the small things but for the most part, he is fine enough considering some of our constraints.
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Horner has been good as a forward, and I'm glad he found a role for himself on the team. I know some of us were a little annoyed at the Kressler/Pinelli pairing when Kressler first came over (myself included), but those guys are a pleasure to watch and play really good together. They have developed some strong chemistry in recent weeks. Gerrior fits that line well with his speed and motor, though I find they need to collectively figure out how to integrate him a bit better and take more advantage of his shooting ability; hopefully that comes.
 
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PENALTIES​


PENALTY
#4Stevie Leskovar HookingMINOR 2:00POWER PLAY
1st 0:37

PENALTY
#9Chris Barlas InstigatorMINOR 2:00POWER PLAY
1st 4:51

PENALTY
#9Chris Barlas 10-Min. Misc.MISCONDUCT
1st 4:51

PENALTY
#9Chris Barlas FightingMAJOR 5:00
1st 4:51

PENALTY
#4Stevie Leskovar Fight-Inst. UponMAJOR 5:00
1st 4:51

PENALTY
#11Henry Mews FightingMAJOR 5:00
1st 8:53

PENALTY
#18William Eggleton FightingMAJOR 5:00
1st 8:53

PENALTY
#6Thomas Sirman RoughingMINOR 2:00
1st 11:41

PENALTY
#91Adam Zidlicky RoughingMINOR 2:00
 
NordiquesForeva said:
Horner has been good as a forward, and I'm glad he found a role for himself on the team.
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Horner struggled to help the team on defence, but he's effective as a forward. Not a liability on defence (decent plus/minus) and can be very tough to play against. He'll go to the front of the net and is really hard to move.
 
Another win. Just keep their heads down and pay no attention to the distractions.
 
Haven't watched the game yet...
But are Barlas and Sirman now up for suspensions for too many fights after tonight (Barlas) and last night (Sirman)?
 
NoQuit67s said:
Haven't watched the game yet...
But are Barlas and Sirman now up for suspensions for too many fights after tonight (Barlas) and last night (Sirman)?
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Barlas has three and Sirman has two. Barlas will be suspended for his next fight since he reached his limit.

This is the one thing I find interesting. Sirman received an instigator and Fighting Major yesterday but didn’t drop his gloves. The opposing player dropped his gloves. Sirman didn’t throw a punch, jsut wrestled a bit along the end boards. Back in the day when there was not a restriction on number of fights, I simply would not have cared if that was called a fight. But, now that they have a restriction on number of fights (3), I think the league needs to ensure there truly was an actual fight. I wonder if that sort of play can be reviewed and the fight count be reduced under the circumstances. I doubt they can but I think it is pretty silly to give a kid a fighting major with no punches thrown and not even a glove hits the ice. I know there are post game reviews for some things, I am not sure if this is something that can be reviewed and reassessed.
 
It is uncanny how the Eastern Conference teams continue to win and get OT points in losses. The undefeated streaks a lot of the Eastern Conference teams are on is crazy.

If I made one mistake it was underestimating the strength of the Eastern Conference. The teams are really holding their own agaisnt he western Conference. The gap between the two conferences may not be as wide as I thought at the deadline.

It may not be a foregone conclusion that the Eastern Conference team in the final will be a pushover. I really am starting to think the series will be very much like the Hamilton/Windsor Series from 2022.

Brantford just keeps holding on in games they have no business being in. That team has nine lives and has lost each and every one of them! Another game tonight where they get an OT point being outshot 2-1 AGAIN! That team just won’t die.

Oshawa scores late to tie it and ends it like 7 seconds into OT for the win. Sudbury with a win against Sarnia. Kingston had to go and blow it for the Eastern Conference tonight with their home loss to Erie.
 
OMG67 said:
It is uncanny how the Eastern Conference teams continue to win and get OT points in losses. The undefeated streaks a lot of the Eastern Conference teams are on is crazy.

If I made one mistake it was underestimating the strength of the Eastern Conference. The teams are really holding their own agaisnt he western Conference. The gap between the two conferences may not be as wide as I thought at the deadline.

It may not be a foregone conclusion that the Eastern Conference team in the final will be a pushover. I really am starting to think the series will be very much like the Hamilton/Windsor Series from 2022.

Brantford just keeps holding on in games they have no business being in. That team has nine lives and has lost each and every one of them! Another game tonight where they get an OT point being outshot 2-1 AGAIN! That team just won’t die.

Oshawa scores late to tie it and ends it like 7 seconds into OT for the win. Sudbury with a win against Sarnia. Kingston had to go and blow it for the Eastern Conference tonight with their home loss to Erie.
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Don’t kid yourself, the top 4 in the west are established they have there 80+ points and have separated from the rest. In most cases they are rolling 4 lines and giving guys opportunities to gain confidence.

Brantford has had 2 top 4 D and their top scorer out for sometime now. Their play has been representative of a good/well coached team missing some key pieces.

I like what I see from Ottawa, I’d like to see a little more of the 2nd & 3rd lines. Kressler and Pinelli are being over worked.
 
PuckStop75 said:
Don’t kid yourself, the top 4 in the west are established they have there 80+ points and have separated from the rest. In most cases they are rolling 4 lines and giving guys opportunities to gain confidence.

Brantford has had 2 top 4 D and their top scorer out for sometime now. Their play has been representative of a good/well coached team missing some key pieces.

I like what I see from Ottawa, I’d like to see a little more of the 2nd & 3rd lines. Kressler and Pinelli are being over worked.
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Brantford is going to be a handful in the playoffs if healthy. Tough rink to play in. Good goaltending from Drobac.

I agree with what you are saying but a the same time, the Western top teams have struggled since the deadline vs the top Eastern teams. You’d expect a better result than 3 on 3 OT wins in a skills competition. Post deadline, the top 6 teams in the East vs the top four in the West (London, Saginaw, Kitchener, and SSM):

Brantford 0-0-2 (4-1-0)
North Bay 2-1-0 (2-0-0)
Sudbury 2-1-1 (1-1-0)
Ottawa 1-2-2 (2-0-1)
Oshawa 2-0-1 (2-1-1)
Missy 1-0-1 (1-0-1)

Total 8-4-7 (12-3-3)

That speaks pretty loudly when the thought was the Western Conference top end teams would white wash the top Eastern conference teams. It shows the Eastern Conference teams are right there with them. It also shows there may be a bigger separation in overall talent in the west vs the east. The East may quite simply have more overall depth and is more competitive beating each other up in the top 6 vs only top 4 in the West.


I added the game records vs the 5th through 8th place teams in brackets. The East is killing the 5th through 8th teams since the deadline. It is showing how weak that section of their conference is. The top 4 in the West are feasting on those teams too.

I think the sample sizes are big enough at this point to at least acknowledge there is not a big difference, at least not what we may have thought. @dirty12 pointed it out about a month ago and I wasn’t so sure. I am pretty sure now. I think the proof is in the results over the second half post-deadline.

I do feel London is a wagon but I think he speedy teams that can jump on their defence and keep the pressure on can have success against them.
 
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I forgot to give the kudos to Marrelli tonight. That kid was a beast. He kept their best players to the outside and didn’t let them gain position in front. He was stripping pucks down low and on the half boards. He is so incredibly poised out there. he is clearly the best D-Man in our own zone right now and he is only 17. Mayich is pretty darned good as well at 19 so that is saying something that Marrelli is so smooth and poised.

A lot of times we like to draw comparisons to previous 67’s players and I am having a very hard time pushing out a comp. There may be a few of the bigger kids that he could be compared to but he doesn’t have the size to muscle guys off pucks in the same way as a kid like Ceci or Cuma could. Plus I think he is probably better defensively than most if not all of those bigger D-Men. He is sneaky quick and sneaky strong. He uses his foot speed well and finds the leverage points to make up for his lack of size vs big kids like Martone.

+3 tonight and very well deserved. Plays in all the tough spots against the top players too.
 
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