Ottawa 67s 2024-25 Season Thread, Part I

[nelli27]

What do you mean? Which outstanding career? I watch a lot of WHL and he has always been a poor goalie. He even dropped out of the WHL after finally getting released by the Blades.

I just provided you statistics, didn't I? Are they not impressive? He was waived as an OA throughout the W because of a young, up and coming goalie with Saskatoon.
9-0 as I mentioned in London.
You have not presented an argument that "he sucks" only anecdotal remarks.

 

[Hinterland]

I just provided you statistics, didn't I? Are they not impressive? He was waived as an OA throughout the W because of a young, up and coming goalie with Saskatoon.
9-0 as I mentioned in London.
You have not presented an argument that "he sucks" only anecdotal remarks.

Your stats suck as well. He was on overpowered Saskatoon teams...of course GAA and win stats look good. The reality is that the Blades lost a conference final because of this guy only for him to get outplayed by a more than two years younger goalie the following season. Like I said...I have no idea why they even brought him back as an overager. Unsurprisingly he dropped out of the league when they finally sent him packing.

He was fantastic today. I wrote that myself. That doesn't mean that this is his standard though. I watched a lot of this guy over the years and it's been frustrating.

 

[NoQuit67s]

Seems to me today's game against London was a replay of every game those two teams have played in the last two seasons. Games are low scoring, highly contested, 67s play them well, but London wins by a narrow margin...

 

[LDN]

Your stats suck as well. He was on overpowered Saskatoon teams...of course GAA and win stats look good. The reality is that the Blades lost a conference final because of this guy only for him to get outplayed by a more than two years younger goalie the following season. Like I said...I have no idea why they even brought him back as an overager. Unsurprisingly he dropped out of the league when they finally sent him packing.

He was fantastic today. I wrote that myself. That doesn't mean that this is his standard though. I watched a lot of this guy over the years and it's been frustrating.

Well we sure love what he’s done for the Knights.

Btw impressed with Nelson. Seems very calm, composed and yet still athletic

 

[Hinterland]

Well we sure love what he’s done for the Knights.

Btw impressed with Nelson. Seems very calm, composed and yet still athletic

I haven't seen any of Elliott's previous games for London. I'm just saying he didn't drop out of the WHL for no reason.
To be fair, that was easily Nelson's best game so far. Kid obviously has a lot of upside but he struggled out of the gates. But yeah. He was fantastic today.

 

[BarberPole9]

I haven't seen any of Elliott's previous games for London. I'm just saying he didn't drop out of the WHL for no reason.
To be fair, that was easily Nelson's best game so far. Kid obviously has a lot of upside but he struggled out of the gates. But yeah. He was fantastic today.

What were you expecting out of the 17 year old rookie tendy Nelson?

He’s 4-2-1-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 save percentage. Only lost 2 out of 9 games in regulation and is 14th in the league in save percentage. He’s most likely tracking to be an NHL draft pick.

Most importantly, he plays with a flair that I haven’t seen in a rookie 67’s Goalie in a very long time.

 

[Hinterland]

What were you expecting out of the 17 year old rookie tendy Nelson?

He’s 4-2-1-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 save percentage. Only lost 2 out of 9 games in regulation and is 14th in the league in save percentage. He’s most likely tracking to be an NHL draft pick.

Most importantly, he plays with a flair that I haven’t seen in a rookie 67’s Goalie in a very long time.

I probably expected him to get comfortable a bit earlier because on the hype around him. But if he can play on that level or even close on most nights going forward then I agree he's gonna be a very good one.

 

[OMG67]

I probably expected him to get comfortable a bit earlier because on the hype around him. But if he can play on that level or even close on most nights going forward then I agree he's gonna be a very good one.

I think looking at the tending, he is mostly trending up. I didn’t really look at the stats from goalies. I look at movement. His movement looks really good right now. He doesn’t over commit. He stays patient. The level by which he has improved since the start has been very impressive. Results will come as the team itself gets better.

He will get drafted. I really think MacK’s days are numbered now.

Nelson has been more consistent than Ivankovic.

 

[frontsfan67]

I just provided you statistics, didn't I? Are they not impressive? He was waived as an OA throughout the W because of a young, up and coming goalie with Saskatoon.
9-0 as I mentioned in London.
You have not presented an argument that "he sucks" only anecdotal remarks.

Opinions > facts with this guy don’t even bother

What were you expecting out of the 17 year old rookie tendy Nelson?

He’s 4-2-1-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .899 save percentage. Only lost 2 out of 9 games in regulation and is 14th in the league in save percentage. He’s most likely tracking to be an NHL draft pick.

Most importantly, he plays with a flair that I haven’t seen in a rookie 67’s Goalie in a very long time.

He expects a rookie goalie to sport a 0.950 sv% or better to get drafted apparently. Luckily for Nelson- this guy isn’t a scout

 

[OMG67]

Opinions > facts with this guy don’t even bother


He expects a rookie goalie to sport a 0.950 sv% or better to get drafted apparently. Luckily for Nelson- this guy isn’t a scout

In all fairness, this is an OA goalie waived right out of an entire league. If he had demonstrated capable, he would not have been waived through an entire league.

Just because he is doing well now doesn’t eliminate the fact he had been well below average prior.

Sometimes goalies get hit for a period of time. Will the Knights place that responsibility on him for their fortunes this season? We shall see.

 

[Hinterland]

I think looking at the tending, he is mostly trending up. I didn’t really look at the stats from goalies. I look at movement. His movement looks really good right now. He doesn’t over commit. He stays patient. The level by which he has improved since the start has been very impressive. Results will come as the team itself gets better.

He will get drafted. I really think MacK’s days are numbered now.

Nelson has been more consistent than Ivankovic.

I agree he's starting to look much better and has outplayed Ivankovic. He's gonna need more performances like today to get drafted though. Maybe not in the OHL but in the other CHL leagues there are 2025 draft goalies who looked better out of the gates than Nelson. Josh Ravensbergen, Vincent Gladu, Samuel Meloche, Lucas Beckman, Ondrej Stebetak, Owen Bresson. Now that I think of it I actually like London's Medvedev as well. He's barely 2025 eligible. Then there's obviously the overagers and guys from the lower leagues and from Europe as well. Fierce competition.

 

[nelli27]

In all fairness, this is an OA goalie waived right out of an entire league. If he had demonstrated capable, he would not have been waived through an entire league.

Just because he is doing well now doesn’t eliminate the fact he had been well below average prior.

Sometimes goalies get hit for a period of time. Will the Knights place that responsibility on him for their fortunes this season? We shall see.

Yet his stats in the W do not support your claim that he was way below average. A second team all-star in 2022-23.
What supports your claim that his stats are well below average?

 

[Hinterland]

Opinions > facts with this guy don’t even bother


He expects a rookie goalie to sport a 0.950 sv% or better to get drafted apparently. Luckily for Nelson- this guy isn’t a scout

Where did I say that I expect 95% saves? You're putting words in my mouth.

Facts say that Elliott ruined a playoff run of an overpowered team and lost his starter gig to 06 born Evan Gardner the following season. This season he not only got booted out of Saskatoon but dropped out of the WHL completely. That's what the facts say. You don't believe me? Feel free to look it up or ask around. As I said I watch a lot of WHL and have seen plenty of this guy. How many games of his have you watched?

 

[BarberPole9]

Where did I say that I expect 95% saves? You're putting words in my mouth.

Facts say that Elliott ruined a playoff run of an overpowered team and lost his starter gig to 06 born Evan Gardner the following season. This season he not only got booted out of Saskatoon but dropped out of the WHL completely. That's what the facts say. You don't believe me? Feel free to look it up or ask around. As I said I watch a lot of WHL and have seen plenty of this guy. How many games of his have you watched?

But for some reason the London Knights, the best franchise in the OHL has deemed him worthy of an Overage spot and the starting role.

 

[Hinterland]

In all fairness, this is an OA goalie waived right out of an entire league. If he had demonstrated capable, he would not have been waived through an entire league.

Just because he is doing well now doesn’t eliminate the fact he had been well below average prior.

Sometimes goalies get hit for a period of time. Will the Knights place that responsibility on him for their fortunes this season? We shall see.

I think they'd be better of leaning on Medvedev. I know he's really green and young but he's talented. Much more upside than Elliott. But if Elliott can play like today then who knows? Would certainly be a nice story after dropping out of the entire WHL.

But for some reason the London Knights, the best franchise in the OHL has deemed him worthy of an Overage spot and the starting role.

For some reason the entire WHL who played against him for years didn't want him.

In my view they'd better lean on much more talented Medvedev and dress an extra overage skater. But like I said...if it works out for Elliott it would certainly be a nice story. And he was fantastic today. There's no denying that.

 

[beastintheeast]

2 out of a possible 6 and a close game against London this is a good weekend.

The guys proved that they can play and can not be underestimated.

I think itis going to be interesting to see what they do with OA.

They are starting to make a case to keep Gerrior and release MacK or vice versa

I would like to see conway get a game before they make a decision

 

[OMG67]

Yet his stats in the W do not support your claim that he was way below average. A second team all-star in 2022-23.
What supports your claim that his stats are well below average?

He was waived through the league. That is usually a pretty good sign. When no one wants you for free….

MacKenzie had a 1.88 and a .928 and no one is lining up for him either. Is MAcKenzie that goalie or is he the 3.28 .893 he is this year two years later on a weaker team?

Elliot is just another one of many OA goalies this year that are struggling to find a spot to play. If they were great then they wouldn’t be struggling. We shall see if Elliot keeps it going but the one thing we know is he doesn’t have to face many second chances behind that London defence.

He is a decent goalie that plays in front of a strong team and seven of his nine games played are vs teams at or below .500 so mostly bottom four in each conference. That screams backup to me. Fine enough as a backup. But, if Mercedes take hold of the starters role, you have to think Hunter looks for an upgrade OA and a decent backup.

 

[OMG67]

2 out of a possible 6 and a close game against London this is a good weekend.

The guys proved that they can play and can not be underestimated.

I think itis going to be interesting to see what they do with OA.

They are starting to make a case to keep Gerrior and release MacK or vice versa

I would like to see conway get a game before they make a decision

Conway getting a game isn’t going to make any difference to anything. A one game sample size for a goalie is no way to decide the fortunes of a franchise.

The reality is simple. If they let MacK go or trade him if it is even possible, then they will need to get a reasonable experienced backup. There is no way around it. Any discussion of a Nelson/Conway tandem is just dumb. Don’t waste time or effort on that scenario.

 

[OMG67]

I think the 67’s sample size is adequate. They are a good enough team to stay in games. They won’t be a good enough team next year though. So, we have two choices.

1> Sell now because we have a valuable piece in Pinelli. Make this year and next year light sells to maintain a reasonable level of competitiveness. Pinelli this year and Mews next year. Relatively painless with two very solid returns to help kick start the next run a few years down the road.

OR

2> Make a run. We have a reasonable amount of picks but not an amount that makes a difference. We’d be behind at least four or five other contenders with respect to picks. We don’t have the luxury of upgrading OA spots this year on the cheap. We would need to pay full freight for 19 year olds. That means you gotta move good young players. That we have a lot of. I can see players like Amidovski, Eshkawkogan, Whitehead, Yanni, and Dietsch being pretty good packaged players in deals.

If we look at the Barlow deal, we’d be looking at Dietsch and Whitehead as the two players plus the additional draft picks. That gets us a good forward. But, we need a D-Man as well. Probably two now that we traded Dietsch. So, we’d likely be looking at Amidovski plus picks going somewhere for a D-Man. Some picks going somewhere else for a bottom pairing d-Man for trade #3.

Make no mistake. Anyone suggesting we should invest in this team should understand the costs to do it. That is what it is going to take. There will be no cheap way around it. The defence isn’t nearly good enough or experienced enough and one forward likely won’t make the difference up front either. But, that is where it starts. Like last year, we need at least four players. At least. Three wasn't nearly enough last year and last year we were a better team. This year we are up against stronger teams. Do the math.

I vote for #1. Sell Pinelli and only Pinelli. Stay somewhat competitive. Sell Mews next year and stay somewhat competitive. Don’t bottom out. But, #2 is an option.

Of course, there is a #3 and that is status quo. Just do nothing. I’m not a fan of #3.

 

[ScoutLife4]

I think the 67’s sample size is adequate. They are a good enough team to stay in games. They won’t be a good enough team next year though. So, we have two choices.

1> Sell now because we have a valuable piece in Pinelli. Make this year and next year light sells to maintain a reasonable level of competitiveness. Pinelli this year and Mews next year. Relatively painless with two very solid returns to help kick start the next run a few years down the road.

OR

2> Make a run. We have a reasonable amount of picks but not an amount that makes a difference. We’d be behind at least four or five other contenders with respect to picks. We don’t have the luxury of upgrading OA spots this year on the cheap. We would need to pay full freight for 19 year olds. That means you gotta move good young players. That we have a lot of. I can see players like Amidovski, Eshkawkogan, Whitehead, Yanni, and Dietsch being pretty good packaged players in deals.

If we look at the Barlow deal, we’d be looking at Dietsch and Whitehead as the two players plus the additional draft picks. That gets us a good forward. But, we need a D-Man as well. Probably two now that we traded Dietsch. So, we’d likely be looking at Amidovski plus picks going somewhere for a D-Man. Some picks going somewhere else for a bottom pairing d-Man for trade #3.

Make no mistake. Anyone suggesting we should invest in this team should understand the costs to do it. That is what it is going to take. There will be no cheap way around it. The defence isn’t nearly good enough or experienced enough and one forward likely won’t make the difference up front either. But, that is where it starts. Like last year, we need at least four players. At least. Three wasn't nearly enough last year and last year we were a better team. This year we are up against stronger teams. Do the math.

I vote for #1. Sell Pinelli and only Pinelli. Stay somewhat competitive. Sell Mews next year and stay somewhat competitive. Don’t bottom out. But, #2 is an option.

Of course, there is a #3 and that is status quo. Just do nothing. I’m not a fan of #3.

The thing is once you sell Pinelli you are no longer good enough to win very many games.
Losing a 17 goal scorer when you have had 14 1 goal games would be devastating.
You remove him and you guys are god awful to be honest.
I’m not sure they will blow it up to that degree

 

[rve24]

In all fairness, this is an OA goalie waived right out of an entire league. If he had demonstrated capable, he would not have been waived through an entire league.

Just because he is doing well now doesn’t eliminate the fact he had been well below average prior.

Sometimes goalies get hit for a period of time. Will the Knights place that responsibility on him for their fortunes this season? We shall see.

OAs waived in late Oct/Nov are a tough acquisition for most teams to make room for. Might explain being waived thru the league. Realistically how many teams in each of 3 leagues could take in that type player? Not many I guess but would like to hear yoir take if your familiar with the WHL.
No idea the context of his play in the WHL but #s were solid and he has been very good in London minus
1 game.

 

[Knights Watcher]

Well we sure love what he’s done for the Knights.

Btw impressed with Nelson. Seems very calm, composed and yet still athletic

Nelson sucked today. Horrible SO tending.

I haven't seen any of Elliott's previous games for London. I'm just saying he didn't drop out of the WHL for no reason.
To be fair, that was easily Nelson's best game so far. Kid obviously has a lot of upside but he struggled out of the gates. But yeah. He was fantastic today.

Yet he still lost. Hmmmm

 

[OMG67]

The thing is once you sell Pinelli you are no longer good enough to win very many games.
Losing a 17 goal scorer when you have had 14 1 goal games would be devastating.
You remove him and you guys are god awful to be honest.
I’m not sure they will blow it up to that degree

I don’t think that’s true. Peterborough is still…well….Peterborough. If NB sells Romani as expected, they are what they are now without him. I still feel Ottawa makes the playoffs. Additionally, if they do let MacK go, that opens the door to playing both Gerrior and Stonehouse. Although neither are a Pinelli replacement, it does help lessen the blow having both in the lineup. Gerrior is the likely candidate to go if they keep MacK. He has 9 goals to date. Stonehouse is probably good for 25 prorated over a full season. I think the Pinelli loss would be impactful no doubt but you could say that about Musty, Barlow, Romani etc…

Additionally, depending on the type of deal for Pinelli, there may be an asset that comes back that can help as well.

The team is relatively ok for the most part. Moving Pinelli won’t be as big a factor as you suggest. At the end of the day, it is just one player. With him or without him they will struggle against the top half of the league regardless. Even if I am wrong and they drop out of the playoffs, that just shows exactly how far off they are from being a decent team.

The 67’s have spent assets each of the last two seasons. Doing it again would be near impossible to come back from. They have some really good young players that are showing a lot of promise. IF they can add some assets with both Pinelli this year and Mews next year, it woudl go a long way towards surrounding those young players with support.

Keeping Pinelli and running out the string status quo doesn’t do anything positive.

 

[OMG67]

OAs waived in late Oct/Nov are a tough acquisition for most teams to make room for. Might explain being waived thru the league. Realistically how many teams in each of 3 leagues could take in that type player? Not many I guess but would like to hear yoir take if your familiar with the WHL.
No idea the context of his play in the WHL but #s were solid and he has been very good in London minus
1 game.

I think people are drawing at straws with Elliott. He has played mostly bottom feeder teams behind a great team. There is a small sample size. Only 9 games. HE has pieced together pretty solid stats over that stretch. I don’t think anyone can deny that. But the reality is he has never been a successful starter and he is now an OA which helps explain his being waived out of a league. Had he been a successful starter, he’d have had much greater chance of being claimed. that doesn’t mean he is bad. But you cannot ignore the fact he was waived out of a league. That doesn’t happen to good goalies no matter what the circumstances.

I highly doubt he will be anything more than a stop-gap solution. Medvedev has played against stiffer competition. He is likely to end up the starter. London is strong enough to roll with an OA backup goalie but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to upgrade regardless. I lean towards Hunter upgrading his OA slot if Medvedev continues to play well.

 

[dirty12]

He is a decent goalie that plays in front of a strong team and seven of his nine games played are vs teams at or below .500 so mostly bottom four in each conference. That screams backup to me. Fine enough as a backup. But, if Mercedes take hold of the starters role, you have to think Hunter looks for an upgrade OA and a decent backup.

I find that an odd comment considering the resistance I received for saying MacKenzie and Oster were as good as a handful of good OA goalies. Elliot gave up 7 goals on 26 shots against one of those bottom four teams, yet still sports a perfect 9-0-0-0 record, 2.29 GAA and the same 0.907 SV% as ‘elite’ OA Oster.
There are a few teams in the OHL alone that could and probably should have an OA goalie, particularly those with 17 yr old goalies. There is no real harm in rostering 4 OAs until Jan. 9.