Ottawa 67s 2024-25 Season Thread, Part I

[dirty12]

Your input/insight/opinion is always welcome on Wolves Board..

input/insight/opinion is not always welcome on the wolves board, especially from those not regularly posting on the wolves board

 

[44 95 plus tax]

Hilton to the Soo for a 5th round pick.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842199281064645076

 

[beastintheeast]

Well so much for developing talent. Here we go Boyd is going to kill the team and DC is going to play the older players

Whitehead will be next one out.

 

[AGranderson]

Well so much for developing talent. Here we go Boyd is going to kill the team and DC is going to play the older players

Whitehead will be next one out.

Hilton asked to be traded home to Oshawa closer to his mom or to the soo closer to his other half of his family as he is struggling with the death of his father still last year this has nothing to do with the team wanting to move on from Hilton, Boyd simply doing what’s best for the kid so that he can continue to pursue his hockey career in comfort with his family near. Know your facts before posting beast

 

[ecraigs]

Conway and Nelson are the same age. Go back and check their stats as 16 year olds as a comparison and tell me whether you think Conway is “likely” to be Nelson.

I found the whole goalie merry-go-round last year baffling. We started with a graduating Junior and an Overage in goal, released the overage, and traded for another graduating Junior. Meanwhile, we had a very promising draftee in Tier II who was just left there. I'm sure that there was some kind of deal with Navan, because Nelson was their ticket to a championship and a spot in the Centennial Cup. All of which led to this year, where we released one overage goalie and now must begin to get the draftee ready for a starting role. I just don't see a plan there.

 

[beastintheeast]

Hilton asked to be traded home to Oshawa closer to his mom or to the soo closer to his other half of his family as he is struggling with the death of his father still last year this has nothing to do with the team wanting to move on from Hilton, Boyd simply doing what’s best for the kid so that he can continue to pursue his hockey career in comfort with his family near. Know your facts before posting beast

It helps to get all the information. If all we are told is that a player is traded, then that is all we have to go on.

I can either go by what i am not told or go by the prior actions of this GM and coach

Given the lack of info i go with the team record.

 

[BarberPole9]

Well so much for developing talent. Here we go Boyd is going to kill the team and DC is going to play the older players

Whitehead will be one to want out.

It helps to get all the information. If all we are told is that a player is traded, then that is all we have to go on.

I can either go by what i am not told or go by the prior actions of this GM and coach

Given the lack of info i go with the team record.

The team record is great. The coach is great. The GM is great. I’m genuinely puzzled as to why you find a negative spin on everything?

Good luck to Charlie, I really hope that he does well and finds things better closer to family.

 

[Larionov]

Doing a solid for a kid who requested a trade also helps the club's reputation around the league as being a place where the players get treated with respect. Last season, I was ticked off about Jack Beck's desire for a trade, and part of me wanted to force him to either come here or sit. I understand, though, that you have to accommodate requests like that in order to play the long game. You don't want the club to have a bad rep amongst agents or in the broader hockey community, even if it does sting a little bit short term from time to time.

 

[OMG67]

Doing a solid for a kid who requested a trade also helps the club's reputation around the league as being a place where the players get treated with respect. Last season, I was ticked off about Jack Beck's desire for a trade, and part of me wanted to force him to either come here or sit. I understand, though, that you have to accommodate requests like that in order to play the long game. You don't want the club to have a bad rep amongst agents or in the broader hockey community, even if it does sting a little bit short term from time to time.

Good post. You do need to find the right balance otherwise the players roll ver the coach and management.

I don’t have an issue with the Hilton trade. He’s 18 years old. He hasn’t really found a spot in the league yet. Houben has looked better IMO and is 1 year younger. We are loaded on the left side. This will allow both Houben and Amidovski to get more minutes int he first half.

I don’t think his trade will come back to haunt us. It would have been nice to develop Hilton but with him being an 18 year old, I am not too sure it would have worked out. At least with Houben, he has that extra year.

Going to the Sault will be good for him. They are a rebuilding team so he should get a decent amount of ice time.

The 5th round pick is a good return. We picked him in the 14th round and he never developed into a regular starter. That is a pretty solid return under the circumstances.

I found the whole goalie merry-go-round last year baffling. We started with a graduating Junior and an Overage in goal, released the overage, and traded for another graduating Junior. Meanwhile, we had a very promising draftee in Tier II who was just left there. I'm sure that there was some kind of deal with Navan, because Nelson was their ticket to a championship and a spot in the Centennial Cup. All of which led to this year, where we released one overage goalie and now must begin to get the draftee ready for a starting role. I just don't see a plan there.

I think it is a development issue. The 67’s wanted Nelson to get the full year in Tier II. He was on a good team and they felt it would be best for his development to remain there.

Obviously having MacK and Donoso was not the best scenario. Adding Michelone for. 13th round pick was a good play IMO. It allowed Nelson to continue to develop in Tier II.

This season will be interesting but I do think they keep MacK the entire season. First, I dont’ really see a market for him. Second, it allows the 67’s to bring Nelson along at a pace that matches his ability without feeling pressured to roll right into a starters position.

 

[Hinterland]

I don't have a problem with this trade and I like the human element of it as well. I hope the kid makes it after what he went through.

However, I was hoping for Barlas trade who really didn't really became expandable, too. Barlas deserves a chance elsewhere as well.

It just became more difficult to trade Barlas now that the 67's are really short of bodies. With Dietsch unavailable they're now down to 20 skaters or 19 whenever they wanna play Mac. They can't afford to lose another body.

Still hope they can get a proper (or at least younger) RW for Barlas but that might be difficult. At this point Barlas probably has very little value and I'm not even sure there's a way for the 67's to properly showcase him.

 

[OMG67]

I don't have a problem with this trade and I like the human element of it as well. I hope the kid makes it after what he went through.

However, I was hoping for Barlas trade who really didn't really became expandable, too. Barlas deserves a chance elsewhere as well.

It just became more difficult to trade Barlas now that the 67's are really short of bodies. With Dietsch unavailable they're now down to 20 skaters or 19 whenever they wanna play Mac. They can't afford to lose another body.

Still hope they can get a proper (or at least younger) RW for Barlas but that might be difficult. At this point Barlas probably has very little value and I'm not even sure there's a way for the 67's to properly showcase him.

I think Barlas deserves a chance here. I think he is a more complete player than Korbler by far. I’d like to see him stay beside Ekberg for the remainder of the first half of the season and see what happens. I think the two of them have solid chemistry.

 

[NoQuit67s]

I don't have a problem with this trade and I like the human element of it as well. I hope the kid makes it after what he went through.

However, I was hoping for Barlas trade who really didn't really became expandable, too. Barlas deserves a chance elsewhere as well.

It just became more difficult to trade Barlas now that the 67's are really short of bodies. With Dietsch unavailable they're now down to 20 skaters or 19 whenever they wanna play Mac. They can't afford to lose another body.

Still hope they can get a proper (or at least younger) RW for Barlas but that might be difficult. At this point Barlas probably has very little value and I'm not even sure there's a way for the 67's to properly showcase him.

Barlas is also a local kid.
I have no inside information, but trading him away from his home town may be possibly be a negative for him for reasons outside hockey.

 

[Hinterland]

I think Barlas deserves a chance here. I think he is a more complete player than Korbler by far. I’d like to see him stay beside Ekberg for the remainder of the first half of the season and see what happens. I think the two of them have solid chemistry.

Chris Barlas is almost two years older than Körbler and he doesn't nearly have the same tools. Barlas had plenty of opportunities but the reality is that he's been slipping down the depth chart despite being one of the oldest team on the roster. He's actually just two "handfuls" away from needing an overager slot to still play in the league.

The 67's are a retooling team so they have to develop younger players. It doesn't make any sense for them to keep around players who clearly aren't impact players and won't be around next season.

A trade might spark Barlas and I think he could be a sneaky good 4th line and PK option for a team actually going for it this season. Unfortunately for the 67's he's not worth keeping around.

 

[Hinterland]

Barlas is also a local kid.
I have no inside information, but trading him away from his home town may be possibly be a negative for him for reasons outside hockey.

Many local kids are playing hockey. You wanna draft them all, trade for them all and then keep them forever? You wanna keep Barlas around as an overager as well?

As I explained already, Barlas is pretty much an overager age wise. Yet still, unlike the overager forwards, he's actually slipping down the depth chart and hasn't really developed into anything more than a 4th line/PK option. He's pretty good at this but if last season's playoffs are an indication, he's unable to really solve the problem of a line. He wasn't really the problem of that horrible 4th line but he wasn't exactly the solution either. He also has no scoring touch or upside whatsoever.

The 67's, as a franchise, are at a point where, in order to be able to go all in again in the near future, they absolutely have to play some younger players. Now. Barlas doesn't really fit that plan or timeline. He's also not really a factor like the other (younger) 05 players. Horner, Dever, Foster and Pinelli are all impact players who improved a lot over the last few months. You really wanna keep Barlas around just because he's from Ottawa?


I mean you can probably keep him around to sit in the press box but that wouldn't really be fair. Letting him chase titles elsewhere while the 67's aren't going for him would be the right thing to do. Like I already said, I think he can provide some kind of value as a 4th line/PK option, even on a contender.

 

[OMG67]

Chris Barlas is almost two years older than Körbler and he doesn't nearly have the same tools. Barlas had plenty of opportunities but the reality is that he's been slipping down the depth chart despite being one of the oldest team on the roster. He's actually just two "handfuls" away from needing an overager slot to still play in the league.

The 67's are a retooling team so they have to develop younger players. It doesn't make any sense for them to keep around players who clearly aren't impact players and won't be around next season.

A trade might spark Barlas and I think he could be a sneaky good 4th line and PK option for a team actually going for it this season. Unfortunately for the 67's he's not worth keeping around.

Barlas really hasn’t had an opportunity. He was a young player on a veteran laden team deep on the wings. This is his first true opportunity to get top 6 minutes. Let him roll with it and see if he can handle it.

The problem is the 67’s have been so shallow at centre that he keeps getting forced into a depth centre role. It hasn’t really been fair for him. He’s proven to be a far better winger than centre.

He also didn’t play his pre-draft season and was caught in the double cohort of rookies which has been tough across the league.

He is a first round pick with a Gold Education package. Considering the investment, this is the perfect opportunity to give him some good minutes in an elevated role.

 

[Hinterland]

Barlas really hasn’t had an opportunity. He was a young player on a veteran laden team deep on the wings. This is his first true opportunity to get top 6 minutes. Let him roll with it and see if he can handle it.

The problem is the 67’s have been so shallow at centre that he keeps getting forced into a depth centre role. It hasn’t really been fair for him. He’s proven to be a far better winger than centre.

He also didn’t play his pre-draft season and was caught in the double cohort of rookies which has been tough across the league.

He is a first round pick with a Gold Education package. Considering the investment, this is the perfect opportunity to give him some good minutes in an elevated role.

The reality is that Barlas is pretty much an overager age wise and, so far, has shown nothing that would lead me to believe that he's got any offensive upside whatsoever. He's good defensively and can play PK but in terms of impact he's far behind the 67's overager forwards and he's far behind the 67's 05 born forwards, who are all younger than him, as well.

The 67's are not going for this this season and if they do so next season, Barlas won't be good enough to justify an overager slot. He doesn't really fill a need either. The 67's have plenty of Centers and plenty of lefty Wingers as well. They could use a right shot winger or a true top6 Center but Barlas can't help them there. Realistically, he has no future on this team and is a waste of space. If they wanna become relevant again in the near future, and I'm pretty sure exactly that is the plan, then the 67's have to lean on younger players this season. And they have to do that all season long so it has to start now. Better this than next week. Barlas doesn't fit that plan or timeline and he's clearly not on the same level as the other 67's 04/05 born forwards.

I want to be able to tell you something else but even if I try I can't seem to find any reasons why Barlas should be with a retooling 67's team (where he won't win anything and has no future whatsoever) instead of going for it on contender. A trade would be the right thing to do.

 

[OMG67]

The reality is that Barlas is pretty much an overager age wise and, so far, has shown nothing that would lead me to believe that he's got any offensive upside whatsoever. He's good defensively and can play PK but in terms of impact he's far behind the 67's overager forwards and he's far behind the 67's 05 born forwards, who are all younger than him, as well.

The 67's are not going for this this season and if they do so next season, Barlas won't be good enough to justify an overager slot. He doesn't really fill a need either. The 67's have plenty of Centers and plenty of lefty Wingers as well. They could use a right shot winger or a true top6 Center but Barlas can't help them there. Realistically, he has no future on this team and is a waste of space. If they wanna become relevant again in the near future, and I'm pretty sure exactly that is the plan, then the 67's have to lean on younger players this season. And they have to do that all season long so it has to start now. Better this than next week. Barlas doesn't fit that plan or timeline and he's clearly not on the same level as the other 67's 04/05 born forwards.

I want to be able to tell you something else but even if I try I can't seem to find any reasons why Barlas should be with a retooling 67's team (where he won't win anything and has no future whatsoever) instead of going for it on contender. A trade would be the right thing to do.

The 67s don’t have true centres which is why he’s been thrust into that role.

Barlas is a competent winger. When he plays as a winger, he is productive. If Ottawa had centres guys like Foster wouldn’t be thrust into the centre role either.

Barlas has never had an opportunity. His rookie season he was in a double cohort. Again, throwing him in as a centre wasn’t ideal for the game he plays. When they shifted him to the wing, he flourished. Then last year he was thrust back into centre because they had Gardiner and a bunch of wingers converted to centres out of necessity. When they acquired the two centres, they kept all their wingers (two seasons in a row) causing a log jam and forcing Barlas to 4C.

Barlas needs a true opportunity to play top 6 on the wing with a decent centre. He digs picks, can pass and make plays when he is on the wing.

Considering he has not played up in the lineup, I’d say 10-10-20 as a stat line is pretty darned good with no power play time and 4th line minutes.

I say give the kid a chance.

 

[beastintheeast]

First, knowing what I do now, trading Hilton was a good move for a kid who deserves it. I am still hoping to see him in a black, yellow, white P. Boyd did the right thing just wish he could have been traded closer but that is life.

Why I am down on Boyd and DC is simple. Boyd went for it last year and wasted a year of youth development and draft picks that could have been used better. It is his fault that this year and next we will be choked with OA and low-skill talent. Also, while he has drafted reasonable defencemen, he has failed to draft skilled first-round players who are stars.

DC's decision to play Stonehouse and another player, who unfortunately I can't recall, despite their injuries during the playoffs last year, was a grave mistake in my eyes. He had a pool of young talent that could have injected some life into the team while gaining valuable experience. Yet, once again, the team sacrificed player development and overplayed the older players. DC's efforts in developing Whitehead last year were lackluster, and when Yanni was on the team, he did little to support his growth.

we are in the position we are now because of Boyd not getting the players we needed a couple of years ago and not trading for young talent. We are also in this position because of the lack of development of young players and the lack of acquiring players tht can be stars.

According to everything I have read, Barlas is a good kid. He reminds me a little of Dan Tudin and could be a Cam Tolnai-type OA next year. However, the team has to quit playing around with him and Foster. Neither one is a center; they both play getter on the wing.

Chris is in a position where he is not at the level he should be. Again, this could be the player, and it could also be DC needing to figure out what to do with him. They are doing the same thing to Hornier, moving him up and back.

Boyd needs to realize that this team is going nowhere this year. At best, it will make the playoffs as the 7th seed. Therefore, let's do the smart thing and start the year off right, dedicating it to developing the youth and playing hockey at a good level.

This team has been here before in 92/93 and the year tht PeterLee coached. We need to bring in the youth coach the hell out of them and play them as much as possible in the first half of the year. Let them make rookie mistakes now, but correct the mistakes; we need to get rid of one of the OAs and also get rid of at least 1 of the 2005 players. If there is a market for Pinelli, and we can get a young player and a couple of picks to replace him, then do it.

 

[Hinterland]

The 67s don’t have true centres which is why he’s been thrust into that role.

Barlas is a competent winger. When he plays as a winger, he is productive. If Ottawa had centres guys like Foster wouldn’t be thrust into the centre role either.

Barlas has never had an opportunity. His rookie season he was in a double cohort. Again, throwing him in as a centre wasn’t ideal for the game he plays. When they shifted him to the wing, he flourished. Then last year he was thrust back into centre because they had Gardiner and a bunch of wingers converted to centres out of necessity. When they acquired the two centres, they kept all their wingers (two seasons in a row) causing a log jam and forcing Barlas to 4C.

Barlas needs a true opportunity to play top 6 on the wing with a decent centre. He digs picks, can pass and make plays when he is on the wing.

Considering he has not played up in the lineup, I’d say 10-10-20 as a stat line is pretty darned good with no power play time and 4th line minutes.

I say give the kid a chance.

The 67's don't need lefty wingers and they don't need Centers. They need a true top6 Center. For as long as they don't have one, I say let's roll with Ekberg, Dever, Whitehead and Amidovski. Which is completely fine.

Like I said, Barlas just doesn't fit the 67's plan or timeline. He's far behind all 04/05 born forwards and the 67's need to play younger players right now. If the 67's go for it next season, Barlas won't be good enough to justify an overager slot. That and the positional issue of Barlas being just another lefty winger means Barlas would be better of elsewhere. He should be going for it on a contender, not hang around with a team where he's got no future whatsoever, where he can win absolutely nothing whatsoever and is doing nothing but being in the way of younger players who have to play now if the 67's wanna be relevant again in the near future which I absolutely think is 100% the plan.

What you keep on writing may not be 100% wrong but it doesn't change the fact that Barlas is a misfit with the 67's right now and would be better of elsewhere. He may be unlucky because he doesn't fill a need and doesn't fit the timeline either but that's sometimes how it goes.

 

[beastintheeast]

The 67s don’t have true centres which is why he’s been thrust into that role.

Barlas is a competent winger. When he plays as a winger, he is productive. If Ottawa had centres guys like Foster wouldn’t be thrust into the centre role either.

Barlas has never had an opportunity. His rookie season he was in a double cohort. Again, throwing him in as a centre wasn’t ideal for the game he plays. When they shifted him to the wing, he flourished. Then last year he was thrust back into centre because they had Gardiner and a bunch of wingers converted to centres out of necessity. When they acquired the two centres, they kept all their wingers (two seasons in a row) causing a log jam and forcing Barlas to 4C.

Barlas needs a true opportunity to play top 6 on the wing with a decent centre. He digs picks, can pass and make plays when he is on the wing.

Considering he has not played up in the lineup, I’d say 10-10-20 as a stat line is pretty darned good with no power play time and 4th line minutes.

I say give the kid a chance.

Whose fault is it that we do not have any centers? Who spent the last 2 years trading for centers instead of drafting and developing them.

 

[Hinterland]

Whose fault is it that we do not have any centers? Who spent the last 2 years trading for centers instead of drafting and developing them.

I'm completely fine with Ekberg, Dever, Whitehead and Amidovski. The only problem is that they have little to no experience playing Center in this league. So the 67's do have the Centers, they're just lacking experience. Which is Cameron's fault who opted not to play them (or not to play them at Center enough) last season. Because he doesn't have any experienced Centers, Cameron is now trying to force Foster into playing C once again...which is just another bad plan.

I like Cameron. I think he's a good coach. However, some of his decisions i really don't understand.

 

[OMG67]

The challenge is Boyd doesn’t really participate or at least doesn’t want to participate int he Major Junior 4-6 year cycle.

Boyd neglected to move players out at the deadline in 2022. He wanted to hoard them all. We had too many D-Men and not enough depth at centre. Instead of trying to maneuver his way to adding centre depth by moving D-Men, we entered the following season having to move Sawyer and Gill-Shane for picks. Of course, that is mostly because he’d used his two 1sts to draft….D-Men. We could have a separate discussion about passing on Vole Beaudoin (a big Ottawa centre) now for Barrie. I wasn’t happy about the Mews pick. I really wanted Beaudoin because we were shallow at centre and shallow on size. That player had both!

The following season, they had a real opportunity to make a run for it but Boyd stopped short only trading draft picks. Not ideal because not trading a couple younger players that season makes it harder to insert rookies the following season. Additionally, it led to a short playoff losing to the Petes in round 2. Mews should have been moved for Wright. Moves like that open up the roster in the down cycle.

That leads us eventually to this season. Because we didn’t move excess bodies at the deadline in 2023, we started last season heavy on returning players. No room to play guys like Whitehead, Dietsch, and Yanni. Then this year we have no room because he only traded draft picks at the deadline and didn’t move bodies. Now we have people complaining about no room for rookies and we should move Barlas etc.

Boyd has a tough time managing player assets. He doesn’t adhere to the normal cycle and hoards skaters to his own detriment. It makes it tougher to develop younger players.

The time to trade players away is when you are really strong and really weak. These in between years is not when we should be discussing the movement of players. If those players were moved when we needed to move them in more strategic seasons and for more strategic reasons, we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all.

 

[beastintheeast]

The 67's don't need lefty wingers and they don't need Centers. They need a true top6 Center. For as long as they don't have one, I say let's roll with Ekberg, Dever, Whitehead and Amidovski. Which is completely fine.

Like I said, Barlas just doesn't fit the 67's plan or timeline. He's far behind all 04/05 born forwards and the 67's need to play younger players right now. If the 67's go for it next season, Barlas won't be good enough to justify an overager slot. That and the positional issue of Barlas being just another lefty winger means Barlas would be better of elsewhere. He should be going for it on a contender, not hang around with a team where he's got no future whatsoever, where he can win absolutely nothing whatsoever and is doing nothing but being in the way of younger players who have to play now if the 67's wanna be relevant again in the near future which I absolutely think is 100% the plan.

What you keep on writing may not be 100% wrong but it doesn't change the fact that Barlas is a misfit with the 67's right now and would be better of elsewhere. He may be unlucky because he doesn't fill a need and doesn't fit the timeline either but that's sometimes how it goes.

I like what you are saying, but I disagree next year, we will be at the same level a little better but still in the too many OA boats. The challenge is that except for Pineli and maybe foster adn Mayich no one wants what we have to offer.

We are stuck wtih Gerrior Sirman and MacK because there level of talent is not that great and not valuable enough for a team to take them in a flooded OA market. Next year, we will have the same issue as the 2005 crowd. As OMG has stated, Barlas has the GOLD package that in itself is a cost hindrance for a mid-level at best winger.

 

[OMG67]

The 67's don't need lefty wingers and they don't need Centers. They need a true top6 Center. For as long as they don't have one, I say let's roll with Ekberg, Dever, Whitehead and Amidovski. Which is completely fine.

Like I said, Barlas just doesn't fit the 67's plan or timeline. He's far behind all 04/05 born forwards and the 67's need to play younger players right now. If the 67's go for it next season, Barlas won't be good enough to justify an overager slot. That and the positional issue of Barlas being just another lefty winger means Barlas would be better of elsewhere. He should be going for it on a contender, not hang around with a team where he's got no future whatsoever, where he can win absolutely nothing whatsoever and is doing nothing but being in the way of younger players who have to play now if the 67's wanna be relevant again in the near future which I absolutely think is 100% the plan.

What you keep on writing may not be 100% wrong but it doesn't change the fact that Barlas is a misfit with the 67's right now and would be better of elsewhere. He may be unlucky because he doesn't fill a need and doesn't fit the timeline either but that's sometimes how it goes.

I guess I don’t understand the “go for it next season” comment. The only true scorer we have is Pinelli and he’s gone. We have no centre depth at all. Dever could stick as an OA but not in a go for it season unless he is a 3rd line centre which means Whitehead needs to nail down 2nd line centre but again, not in a go for it season.

To me, the move is to stay somewhat competitive this season and move out Pinelli at the deadline. Try to acquire an 18 year old centre if you can find one. then next season keep the flow going and move out Mews. Build around the ‘07s and ‘08s. Add draft capital and maybe another couple ‘07s and ‘08s through the Pinelli and Mews trades. Then make that push in 2026-27. Nelson will be 19 and likely very capable if he maintains his development track. Marrelli is likely an OA. We can add two more OA’s to that roster because we are unlikely to have any other ‘06s stick as elite OA’s. Focus the 2nd half of this season and next season building up the ‘07 and ‘08 crop. Both Amidovski and Eshkawkogan will be highly capable 18 year olds. If they can get Vandenberg to sign next season, that will be a big boost as well.

To me, the focus needs to be on building the team for 2026-27. That is the true window from my perspective.

 

[beastintheeast]

The challenge is Boyd doesn’t really participate or at least doesn’t want to participate int he Major Junior 4-6 year cycle.

Boyd neglected to move players out at the deadline in 2022. He wanted to hoard them all. We had too many D-Men and not enough depth at centre. Instead of trying to maneuver his way to adding centre depth by moving D-Men, we entered the following season having to move Sawyer and Gill-Shane for picks. Of course, that is mostly because he’d used his two 1sts to draft….D-Men. We could have a separate discussion about passing on Vole Beaudoin (a big Ottawa centre) now for Barrie. I wasn’t happy about the Mews pick. I really wanted Beaudoin because we were shallow at centre and shallow on size. That player had both!

The following season, they had a real opportunity to make a run for it but Boyd stopped short only trading draft picks. Not ideal because not trading a couple younger players that season makes it harder to insert rookies the following season. Additionally, it led to a short playoff losing to the Petes in round 2. Mews should have been moved for Wright. Moves like that open up the roster in the down cycle.

That leads us eventually to this season. Because we didn’t move excess bodies at the deadline in 2023, we started last season heavy on returning players. No room to play guys like Whitehead, Dietsch, and Yanni. Then this year we have no room because he only traded draft picks at the deadline and didn’t move bodies. Now we have people complaining about no room for rookies and we should move Barlas etc.

Boyd has a tough time managing player assets. He doesn’t adhere to the normal cycle and hoards skaters to his own detriment. It makes it tougher to develop younger players.

The time to trade players away is when you are really strong and really weak. These in-between years are not when we should be discussing the movement of players. If those players were moved when we needed to move them in more strategic seasons and for more strategic reasons, we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all.

But when you have stock on your shelves that is not selling or producing income, you lower the price and sell it to make room for other stock.

The challenge is that they are not doing that. Hence things look bleak, and you are moving to an area where you are not going to be weak for a year but weak for a longer period.

The bottom line is that Boyd needs to make some deals and get rid of some of this year's products. Three of them have passed their best-used-before date, and he has four more that are rapidly approaching that date.