Ottawa 67s 2024-25 Season Thread, Part I

[OMG67]

Sitting Mac two in a row?? Is something brewing?

I think they just prioritized the Brampton game.

 

[Hinterland]

Sitting Mac two in a row?? Is something brewing?

If they play Mac then, with two skaters unavailable, they simply can't ice a full lineup. They need Sirman to be able to dress 18 skaters.

 

[OMG67]

If they play Mac then, with two skaters unavailable, they simply can't ice a full lineup. They need Sirman to be able to dress 18 skaters.

That is assuming the scratches were injuries. With Dietsch back in the lineup, they have 7 D-Men unless they sit one. If they are intent on playing Sirman when MacK doesn’t start then they would dress 11+7. Or they sit someone like Brady?

 

[Hinterland]

That is assuming the scratches were injuries. With Dietsch back in the lineup, they have 7 D-Men unless they sit one. If they are intent on playing Sirman when MacK doesn’t start then they would dress 11+7. Or they sit someone like Brady?

Kelly and Körbler have been logging relatively big minutes when in the lineup. They're not gonna get scratched for no reason if healthy. Also, it was reported earlier in this thread that they're dealing with concussions.

 

[beastintheeast]

With the situation of lack of forwards and defence players I can almost see him as the odd oa out. They need sirman and mayich on defence with mews mia.

Looking at the league and I really do not see a spot for MacK unless Kitchenre is trying to do something

 

[AGranderson]

team has limited players that can actually play in the league, Yanni, Whitehead, Houben, Amidovski are all struggling largely, Amidovski needs to sit in the balcony and watch this league & how to play in it because he looks absolutely lost,apparently he’s very confused at practice as well. Yanni needs to grow he’s simply just way too small, Houben can’t skate or move quick enough he should end up back to Jr in the next few weeks. Whitehead man oh man I hate to pick on a kid but this is the type of player that you trade now because there isn’t one flash of good in him. I can literally sit here & talk about 6-12 plays last night that were caused by him. He doesn’t move his feet, he has no skill, he has no aggressiveness watch him closely tonight it’s painful because I think the skill set is there he just can’t put it all together.

Pinelli, Foster, Dever, Gerrior, Ekberg, Barlas, Horner

We have 7 forwards that can’t actually play, trade Mack, trade sirman, use Stonehouse as an OA

 

[Hinterland]

If Kelly and Körbler are out long term, and concussions tend to be longer term, then I wonder if they're gonna play Mews at RW. With the current roster I'm not sure dressing 11/7 is something Cameron would be comfortable with for more than a handful of games. Only alternatives would be acquiring somebody or rushing back Stonehouse. Either way, for as long as the 67's are down two skaters (without adding someone) I don't think Mac is gonna get too many starts.

 

[sirius67fan]

Among the other stories in this loss is the continued theme of selfish penalties putting us down. Our PK is still brutal and we are giving up chances by taking penalties that could easily be avoided. Mews in particular was a penalty machine tonight, and it looked like he was benched towards the end of the third and in overtime. I’d be interested to know if there was any injury at play or if DC just got sick of Mews taking stick penalties nonstop…

Funny thing though. I thought Mews played his best game of the year...aside from the penalties. At least he was more engaged.

 

[Hinterland]

Pinelli, Ekberg, Mews
Foster, Dever, Gerrior
Yanni, Whitehead, Horner
Barlas, Amidovski, Houben

Mayich, Eshkawkogan
Marrelli, Brady
Dietsch, Sirman

Full yolo mode but would be interesting to watch.

 

[sirius67fan]

Pinelli, Ekberg, Mews
Foster, Dever, Gerrior
Yanni, Whitehead, Horner
Barlas, Amidovski, Houben

Mayich, Eshkawkogan
Marrelli, Brady
Dietsch, Sirman

Full yolo mode but would be interesting to watch.

Been wondering for a while if Mews should switch back to forward where he played until 15y.o. However he was drafted as a D, I think he wants to play Dand this lineup leaves Mac out of the equation. As fun as it might be I don't think it's realistic.

 

[OMG67]

Pinelli, Ekberg, Mews
Foster, Dever, Gerrior
Yanni, Whitehead, Horner
Barlas, Amidovski, Houben

Mayich, Eshkawkogan
Marrelli, Brady
Dietsch, Sirman

Full yolo mode but would be interesting to watch.

Mews is a forward masquerading as a D-Man. I don’t know why they keep shoving that square peg in that round hole. A 6’1” 180 D-Man that scores at a point per game as a 17 year old in his draft year doesn’t “slip” to the 3rd round unless there are serious defensive issues that NHL teams feel he cannot fix. The writing is on the wall with that kid. Stop messing around with him and convert him to RW. Or, just move him out for whatever you can get for him ASAP. Marrelli is almost useless having to play beside him.

I agree with Granderson that we have a handful of players that aren’t ready for OHL hockey. Amidovski has not fit in yet but that is one of the struggles when you draft size over skill. It takes a bit longer to capitalize on the reward. They could have drafted Crete at 5’9” but many of us (including me) would have been upset. Yet, Crete has 5 goals in 7 games to start his OHL career in Niagara. I thought they were 100% going to draft him with their 2nd pick but they picked Eshkawkogan. I am glad they picked Eshkawkogan. Great pick. Kid has Gator blood in him.

I disagree with Granderson about Whitehead. I see him trying to make elevated plays. I agree that he has not been effective but only because he is trying to overplay the puck and trying to do too much. His size and skill aren’t quite where it needs to be to actually pull off the plays he is attempting. It is possible that he never learns where his capabilities are (which is where Granderson sits now), but I do feel that players of that nature usually find their stride and settle into their capabilities. The kid has good hands and finds open areas. He can make good passes. I think we have, at minimum, a player that can develop into a solid 3rd line centre that (with some weight added) can be a solid energy centre at minimum. If he find a way to pick his spots better and handle the puck a little less in the tight spots, dish it a little quicker, and continue to draw players to him while doing it, I think he can be an effective passing centre offensively.

Nelson is not ready to be a solo starter. He floats in his net way too much. He finds himself outside the posts flopping back a lot. He has no economy of movement on his east-west. His rebound control needs a lot of work. He isn’t able to find the puck on rebounds very well either. He does square to the shooter well. He does cover the net well when he is more stationary. You will notice the biggest difference between MacK and Nelson is the economy of movement. Mack doesn’t float around the crease the way Nelson does. Nelson finds himself flopping around too much. I understand those that want to see the extra forward (Stonehouse) added with MacK sent out but I don’t think it would be good for Nelson’s development to be in a situation where he is overplayed. Don’t get me wrong, I think Nelson is a good goalie but he lacks the polish.

We have too many rookies that we are trying to inject into the lineup. It is really showing right now.