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

[NordiquesForeva]

Let me get this straight, Pinelli is less productive and Gardiner is non productive which makes Gardiner the better centre???? that makes no sense when they are playing with the same wingers.

Basically what you are saying is, unless Pinelli plays on LW the team does not have a 1st line LW which would seem to support my comments.

The truth of the matter is both guys need a skill winger to play with, which the team doesn't seem to have; so they are now defaulting to putting the two of them together.

Pinelli is a natural winger, he's not a centre. He didn't play centre at all last year. At the start of the season he was forced into playing centre because the 67s had no one else to do so until they acquired Lawrence. Once Lawrence arrived in Ottawa, Pinelli was promptly moved back to the wing where he belongs. He's better as a winger and should continue playing there.

Pinelli is, and should be, the team's 1LW.

Gardiner is a centre, has always played centre, and should be one of our top 2 centres. To date, him and Pinelli have played really well together. We would want players to develop chemistry together and when they do so, we shouldn't break them apart in an effort to create scoring depth. At the start of the season Gardiner was playing with Dever and Gerrior (iirc) and wasn't productive. Play him with Pinelli on his wing. Not hard.

For the time being, Gardiner is the team's 1C.

No need to be rude with all the ????. Bad look.

 

[OMG67]

Let me get this straight, Pinelli is less productive and Gardiner is non productive which makes Gardiner the better centre???? that makes no sense when they are playing with the same wingers.

Basically what you are saying is, unless Pinelli plays on LW the team does not have a 1st line LW which would seem to support my comments.

The truth of the matter is both guys need a skill winger to play with, which the team doesn't seem to have; so they are now defaulting to putting the two of them together.

That is not what he is saying. Wingers and Centres have different responsibilities on the ice. Some players are better suited to one or the other roles.

Because we lacked depth at centre, it forced Pinelli into a centre role early on. His production was poor. His wingers production was poor. This was ”likely“ a result of Pinelli not meshing with the responsibility of being a centre.

Gardiner was relegated to the 3rd line centre role. HE was playing with inferior wingers. Gardiner is not the type of player that drives a line. HE is more a complimentary centre. He is responsible with and without the puck and he is a solid passer who sees the ice well. HE fits the role of a centre but doesn’t have the attributes that “some” centres have of being the dominant player on the line. He needs a player like Pinelli on his wing to take advantage of all the positive things he does on the ice creating offence. If Gardiner were elevated to the #1 Centre role and played with the top two wingers instead of the 3rd centre role, he would have been productive.

So, if we isolate those two players, Gardiner has the attributes to play centre but Pinelli is more valuable as a winger because the way he creates offence requires more flexibility not offered at the centre ice position.

The overall assessment is that if Pinelli is considerably more productive as a winger, why acquire a winger and force Pinelli back to centre? I can understand it if it is out of necessity but if we are acquiring a forward, then acquire the centre.

We saw a lot of the same things out of Barlas last year. They pushed him to centre for the first couple months but he was not productive. His line wasn’t productive. We shifted Gardiner to centre and push Barlas to the wing and all of a sudden he is more productive. We saw a lot of the same last year from Rohrer. HE was ok at centre but when he played wing he was far more impactful.

This isn’t about insulting players. It is about maximizing their potential. In my opinion, Pinelli has his maximum impact as a winger. Go get a centre or live with lack of production on the 3rd line with Barlas. Because if they acquire a winger and displace Dever, Dever added to Barlas and Gerrior is not going to make any impact on the 3rd line because the general on that line that distributes the puck isn’t suited for that role.

The centre acquisition gives more flexibility as well. Most centres can shift to the wing and be just as productive.

 

[PuckStop75]

Pinelli is a natural winger, he's not a centre. He didn't play centre at all last year. At the start of the season he was forced into playing centre because the 67s had no one else to do so until they acquired Lawrence. Once Lawrence arrived in Ottawa, Pinelli was promptly moved back to the wing where he belongs. He's better as a winger and should continue playing there.

Pinelli is, and should be, the team's 1LW.

Gardiner is a centre, has always played centre, and should be one of our top 2 centres. To date, him and Pinelli have played really well together. We would want players to develop chemistry together and when they do so, we shouldn't break them apart in an effort to create scoring depth. At the start of the season Gardiner was playing with Dever and Gerrior (iirc) and wasn't productive. Play him with Pinelli on his wing. Not hard.

For the time being, Gardiner is the team's 1C.

No need to be rude with all the ????. Bad look.

Sorry if you took offense, that was not the intention.

Gardiner is a perfectly fine 1C as long as they have the players to play with him. If they are going to use Pinelli as the 1LW then the needs on the 2nd line increase.

 

[dirty12]

AGAIN I am not saying that Mississauga is the best team what I am saying is that they are one of the top teams in the conference and really do not have to do a lot to stay there,

Regular season is for playoff seeding which is not necessarily indicative of best playoff teams. Miss has considerable work to do that will come at a considerable cost to become a serious playoff contender. The ‘67s used 15(2,3,4) picks to be the 4th best playoff team in the conference last year.

BUT dirty how many times have the 67 done it with hot goaltending.

Idk. I don’t recall the ‘67s doing anything with a young roster backstopped by 16 & 17 yr old goalies.

Sudbury has a lot to prove and may do it I hope they do so that Mississauga and them wear each other out

The power inteh conference this year is in their division.

 

[PuckStop75]

That is not what he is saying. Wingers and Centres have different responsibilities on the ice. Some players are better suited to one or the other roles.

Because we lacked depth at centre, it forced Pinelli into a centre role early on. His production was poor. His wingers production was poor. This was ”likely“ a result of Pinelli not meshing with the responsibility of being a centre.

Gardiner was relegated to the 3rd line centre role. HE was playing with inferior wingers. Gardiner is not the type of player that drives a line. HE is more a complimentary centre. He is responsible with and without the puck and he is a solid passer who sees the ice well. HE fits the role of a centre but doesn’t have the attributes that “some” centres have of being the dominant player on the line. He needs a player like Pinelli on his wing to take advantage of all the positive things he does on the ice creating offence. If Gardiner were elevated to the #1 Centre role and played with the top two wingers instead of the 3rd centre role, he would have been productive.

So, if we isolate those two players, Gardiner has the attributes to play centre but Pinelli is more valuable as a winger because the way he creates offence requires more flexibility not offered at the centre ice position.

The overall assessment is that if Pinelli is considerably more productive as a winger, why acquire a winger and force Pinelli back to centre? I can understand it if it is out of necessity but if we are acquiring a forward, then acquire the centre.

We saw a lot of the same things out of Barlas last year. They pushed him to centre for the first couple months but he was not productive. His line wasn’t productive. We shifted Gardiner to centre and push Barlas to the wing and all of a sudden he is more productive. We saw a lot of the same last year from Rohrer. HE was ok at centre but when he played wing he was far more impactful.

This isn’t about insulting players. It is about maximizing their potential. In my opinion, Pinelli has his maximum impact as a winger. Go get a centre or live with lack of production on the 3rd line with Barlas. Because if they acquire a winger and displace Dever, Dever added to Barlas and Gerrior is not going to make any impact on the 3rd line because the general on that line that distributes the puck isn’t suited for that role.

The centre acquisition gives more flexibility as well. Most centres can shift to the wing and be just as productive.

We can't be comparing Barlas and Pinelli, Pinelli is at an entirely different level.

Pinelli has only had 3 games without a point this year including today, so I don't think there is a real issue with him producing more in one position or the other, his big games have come against the weaker teams which is what would be expected. I would agree that Gardiner has produced better with Pinelli but so have a number of other players. The team can get a top 6 forward, centre or winger and be better for it. As we have discussed on numerous occassions now the real item is when is the best time to add the players to make them a contender again.

 

[AGranderson]

If Rohrer & Boucher we’re to return witch I think there is a strong possibility.

Pinelli-Rohrer-Boucher (OA)
Stonehouse-Gardiner-Foster
Gerrior-Lawrence(OA)-Dever
Whitehead-Barlas-Kelly

Hilton
Uronen (Inj)

Mayich-Mews
Marelli- ______(OA)
Sirman- Ewles
Brady

Mackenzie
_______

Move Smyth,Horner,Korbler,Donoso for picks add a back up & 2nd pairing D & let’s go on a long run

 

[frontsfan67]

I agree. In addition, we cannot afford to be missing a couple of key players like Mackenzie and Marrelli. We do not have the depth to overcome their absence.

Teams can concentrate on Pinelli as he is our only true sniper.

Kingston was missing a bunch of players for a good chunk of the year and man it wasn’t pretty. What happened to McKenzie?

 

[OMG67]

If Rohrer & Boucher we’re to return witch I think there is a strong possibility.

Pinelli-Rohrer-Boucher (OA)
Stonehouse-Gardiner-Foster
Gerrior-Lawrence(OA)-Dever
Whitehead-Barlas-Kelly

Hilton
Uronen (Inj)

Mayich-Mews
Marelli- ______(OA)
Sirman- Ewles
Brady

Mackenzie
_______

Move Smyth,Horner,Korbler,Donoso for picks add a back up & 2nd pairing D & let’s go on a long run

Can Rohrer return? Were they able to retain his rights and draft the other two guys or did they have to release his rights to do so? I can’t remember exactly how that all works.

I think this is just about as extreme as it gets for projections this year for Ottawa. By extreme I mean aggressive predictions…

Last year Boyd wasn’t willing to move roster players other than giving Quick a place to play. Do you think he has changed his tune on that considering last season? I’m not sure his philosophy has changed or not. We shall see.

In your scenario, all we add is an OA D-Man and a backup goalie. That isn’t going to cost all that much considering what you have being traded.

I’ll be honest, if it were possible for Rohrer and Boucher to return, I think this configuration is reasonable and not over the top from a trade perspective. I’m having a hard time calculating the odds of this happening though. I can potentially see Boucher returned but I really do not see Rohrer coming back. I think that ship has sailed and I am not sure they even retained his rights.

Can anyone confirm if Ottawa retained Rohrer’s rights once they signed both Uronen and Koehler?

We can't be comparing Barlas and Pinelli, Pinelli is at an entirely different level.

Pinelli has only had 3 games without a point this year including today, so I don't think there is a real issue with him producing more in one position or the other, his big games have come against the weaker teams which is what would be expected. I would agree that Gardiner has produced better with Pinelli but so have a number of other players. The team can get a top 6 forward, centre or winger and be better for it. As we have discussed on numerous occassions now the real item is when is the best time to add the players to make them a contender again.

I think we are all on the same page. We just bicker over winger or centre. I am pretty sure we are all in agreement over forward depth and that it would be preferable to acquire someone (preferably a centre) for a top 6 role if it can happen at a reasonable cost. I circled Zito as a candidate. That would likely cost at least a 3rd and 5th because that is what conditional picks NB would need to give Niagara is he plays his OA season. Id’ love Zito on this team. He’d add a nice element of aggressiveness Combined with point per game scoring. Good on both sides of the puck. I think he’d fit right in!

 

[analyser]

Kingston was missing a bunch of players for a good chunk of the year and man it wasn’t pretty. What happened to McKenzie?

Not a lot of info given, Cameron said on Sunday that he considers the injury to be day to day. He hadn't been given any medical report at that time. Have not heard anymore.

 

[beastintheeast]

If Rohrer & Boucher we’re to return witch I think there is a strong possibility.

Pinelli-Rohrer-Boucher (OA)
Stonehouse-Gardiner-Foster
Gerrior-Lawrence(OA)-Dever
Whitehead-Barlas-Kelly

Hilton
Uronen (Inj)

Mayich-Mews
Marelli- ______(OA)
Sirman- Ewles
Brady

Mackenzie
_______

Move Smyth,Horner,Korbler,Donoso for picks add a back up & 2nd pairing D & let’s go on a long run

Okay Here in the SE we have lots of drugs and booze but obviously you have found one that is even better than they have here.

There is no way that either of those players are going to be back here this year.

Boucher is getting pro money and there is no way that Ottawa is going to risk him coming back here where he could get injured again, They have the Sens in Hellville where he can be brought back into game shape under the watch of their specialists and coaches.

Rohrer went home for many reasons some of which may not have been hockey-related.(if we listen to the rumours).

He is not coming back here to play.

We went into this year on the board knowing that with the players they picked up last year and the picks that were used this team would be retooling and would definitely not be a highly competitive team.

What we did not expect was that the rest of the division would be in the same shape.

At the start of the year, we would have been happy with a 4th-6th finish. That is why we did not mind trading Beck. Again we were retooling
We also at the beginning fo the year were looking at trading a couple of D and Stonehouse to get more picks and figured that Donoso would be gone early.

We are what we said we wre gong to be we are a 4th to 6th seed team.

At the beginning of the year Kingston stunk out of the league. Some say injuries I think it is more a lack of a coaching staff. They had/have the players and should be a good team. Now they have a coach who understands and can coach as well as a coach who played Defence as a defensive D.

Management has to make a decision on what they want for this year. Personally, I think they have. i think that you are not going to see any major trades for any OA or Euro players. You might see a trade for a third-line center that is 18 years old and not drafted.

If NB can announce what they are doing with Devincez then you might see Donoso traded. Right now if a team wants a goalie they are talking to NB.

All this being said this is a team that is good but is missing a few key players.

after Christmas, I would expect that Cameron will try

Pinelli Gardiner Dever
Foster Lawrence Stonehouse
Gerrior Whitehead Keorbler
Hilton Barlas Kelly

We only have 12 frowards so it is not as if we can afford to trade anyone at this point. This also tells me that they are looking to build and are playing players where they can develop for next year.

The other point to make is that with a short bench players are going to get tired and are going to have bad games.

 

[BarberPole9]

If Rohrer & Boucher we’re to return witch I think there is a strong possibility.

Pinelli-Rohrer-Boucher (OA)
Stonehouse-Gardiner-Foster
Gerrior-Lawrence(OA)-Dever
Whitehead-Barlas-Kelly

Hilton
Uronen (Inj)

Mayich-Mews
Marelli- ______(OA)
Sirman- Ewles
Brady

Mackenzie
_______

Move Smyth,Horner,Korbler,Donoso for picks add a back up & 2nd pairing D & let’s go on a long run

This would be incredible. Have you heard anything directly? It seemed as though Rohrer was locked in for the year in Switzerland.

 

[Petes1987]

Okay Here in the SE we have lots of drugs and booze but obviously you have found one that is even better than they have here.

There is no way that either of those players are going to be back here this year.

Boucher is getting pro money and there is no way that Ottawa is going to risk him coming back here where he could get injured again, They have the Sens in Hellville where he can be brought back into game shape under the watch of their specialists and coaches.

Rohrer went home for many reasons some of which may not have been hockey-related.(if we listen to the rumours).

He is not coming back here to play.

We went into this year on the board knowing that with the players they picked up last year and the picks that were used this team would be retooling and would definitely not be a highly competitive team.

What we did not expect was that the rest of the division would be in the same shape.

At the start of the year, we would have been happy with a 4th-6th finish. That is why we did not mind trading Beck. Again we were retooling
We also at the beginning fo the year were looking at trading a couple of D and Stonehouse to get more picks and figured that Donoso would be gone early.

We are what we said we wre gong to be we are a 4th to 6th seed team.

At the beginning of the year Kingston stunk out of the league. Some say injuries I think it is more a lack of a coaching staff. They had/have the players and should be a good team. Now they have a coach who understands and can coach as well as a coach who played Defence as a defensive D.

Management has to make a decision on what they want for this year. Personally, I think they have. i think that you are not going to see any major trades for any OA or Euro players. You might see a trade for a third-line center that is 18 years old and not drafted.

If NB can announce what they are doing with Devincez then you might see Donoso traded. Right now if a team wants a goalie they are talking to NB.

All this being said this is a team that is good but is missing a few key players.

after Christmas, I would expect that Cameron will try

Pinelli Gardiner Dever
Foster Lawrence Stonehouse
Gerrior Whitehead Keorbler
Hilton Barlas Kelly

We only have 12 frowards so it is not as if we can afford to trade anyone at this point. This also tells me that they are looking to build and are playing players where they can develop for next year.

The other point to make is that with a short bench players are going to get tired and are going to have bad games.

Also I do not believe that Ottawa owns Rohrers rights. They would have had to release him when they drafted two players in this year’s Import Draft.

 

[OMG67]

Also I do not believe that Ottawa owns Rohrers rights. They would have had to release him when they drafted two players in this year’s Import Draft.

Actually, I don’t think they had to when they made the picks. I think they had to when they signed the two players.

 

[PuckStop75]

Actually, I don’t think they had to when they made the picks. I think they had to when they signed the two players.

Rohrer terminated the agreement, so there would be no release process. He's not coming back to play for the 67's so ust let this one go.

 

[Mild Italian]

Rohrer terminated the agreement, so there would be no release process. He's not coming back to play for the 67's so ust let this one go.

67‘s still own the rights to Kaspar. Not that i think it will happen

 

[PuckStop75]

67‘s still own the rights to Kaspar. Not that i think it will happen

If he is on the protected list then yes they do.

 

[Larionov]

It strikes me that this team is good enough to compete with anyone provided we have all hands on deck, but the minute we are missing key pieces (Marelli and Mackenzie yesterday for instance) we are going to struggle. That's oversimplifying it a bit, but that's sure how it looks.

Also, hats off to Kingston for picking up a great coach in Troy Mann. He will have those kids ready to play every night. We have a great coach also, but I liked it better when our competition down the river didn't have one as well. ;-)

 

[OHL4Life]

If he is on the protected list then yes they do.

hes not

 

[PuckStop75]

hes not

Then they don't own his CHL rights anymore. Imports can only enter the league through the draft, so there is no reporting to another team.

 

[OHL4Life]

Then they don't own his CHL rights anymore. Imports can only enter the league through the draft, so there is no reporting to another team.

i know

 

[analyser]

It strikes me that this team is good enough to compete with anyone provided we have all hands on deck, but the minute we are missing key pieces (Marelli and Mackenzie yesterday for instance) we are going to struggle. That's oversimplifying it a bit, but that's sure how it looks.

Also, hats off to Kingston for picking up a great coach in Troy Mann. He will have those kids ready to play every night. We have a great coach also, but I liked it better when our competition down the river didn't have one as well. ;-)

Mackenzie has to be in the lineup and on top of his game or we will be in trouble. Marrelli could arguably be our best D so far this season. Unfortunately we do not have the depth to overcome key player injuries.

 

[BarberPole9]

i know

Any buzz on potential 67’s moves? Thanks as always.

 

[OMG67]

I think we are simply waiting on some sort of nod from Boyd as to what direction the 67's are taking. Until we have a sense of that, we are simply just posturing as fans like to do.

 

[OMG67]

Mackenzie has to be in the lineup and on top of his game or we will be in trouble. Marrelli could arguably be our best D so far this season. Unfortunately we do not have the depth to overcome key player injuries.

And I think that is the same sort of issue last year in some respects. We lack depth at centre and capable top 4 D. MacK is such a difference maker for the mistakes our younger D make. HE is so solid.

It will be interesting to see what ends up happening when all is said and done. I still lean towards a mild retool with one of the D-Men (Smyth) likely gone as well as Stonehouse being offered at the right price. I don't know about Donoso. I don't have a strong enough read on the goaltending market. DiVin and Sztuska are both likely available as 19 year old so those teams don't need to open an OA spot for them. I think if Donoso get moved, it is more for his own benefit to a team that sells off a higher valued OA and opens a spot where he can come in and solidify their goaltending. I don't think he goes to a contender at this point.

 

[Mild Italian]

hes not

Care to share this list?