Sell sell sell.
The 67s have some fantastic players, but also have several players that are massive negatives and who are dragging the team down with undisciplined and/or simply poor play. We dressed 8 defensemen tonight and half of them aren’t what I would consider to be OHL quality D-men (on second thought I’ll give Brady a break as he’s a rookie). It’s hard to believe that this is the same team that dominated possession on a nightly basis and outshot teams by significant margins only a year ago. We have no forecheck or possession game this season, that part of the offense is simply gone. The relentless puck pursuit is gone. It’s like we’re watching a completely different team with a completely new coaching staff.
If Boyd goes out and buys, which it sounds like he might be planning on doing, he has a significant workload ahead of him to turn this team around and into a contender. I feel this will turn out all for not and we’ll have squandered an opportunity to do a big sell this season. This team should be selling down to the studs, not buying.
I think if we take a couple steps back and look at the big picture, we would see the team is currently not constructed in a way that allows for competitiveness. Teams can key in on one line or one player (Pinelli), and attack half of the defence. We aren’t a deep enough team to be short.
If we add the first line centre, that removes Whitehead from the top 9. If we add a third line centre, that removes Lawrence from the top 9. It gives proper support in all areas of the ice. Allows for better puck management and control.
If we were to add a top pairing d-Man that can quarterback the PP, we gain percentage points on offence via special teams. Right now we have Mews who makes forced decisions and Ewles who is, well, struggling. They even had Sirman on the PP tonight. That is just silly.
Adding jsut those three pieces stretches out the roster, allows Cameron to reinstitute his system and once the new guys settle in and the liens form, we are back to swifter puck movement. We are better supported fromt he back end. We don‘t have guys playing above their station.
Now, is that enough? That addresses the immediate needs. But, what if we have an injury or two? Back to square one. That is why I believe we need another forward and another D-Man. They don’t need to be high production players. They need to be experienced and competent.
Five players is a tough ask, I know. But, it is doable. We have three underused OA spots right now. We have two underused Import spots as well. We have a handful of capable OHL players that can fill some depth holes on other teams and have years ahead of them to continue developing in an atmosphere where they will be allowed to make mistakes.
When we see a player like Loukus go for a 6th and 9th, clearly there are OA players out there that can help. We’d need to pay heavier for the first pairing D-Man and Front line centre. But the other three would come cheaper. Potentially more affordable.
The possibility exists with some savvy moves and some fortunate luck, Boyd could reshape the roster just enough to make a go of it.
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