Ottawa 67s 2024-25 Season Thread, Part III

[OMG67]

It may have been previously mentioned but is Amidovski missing from the lineup due to an injury?

Yes. I can’t remember what the injury is but he is out for a bit. Nothing major as far as I am aware.

 

[sirius67fan]

Yes. I can’t remember what the injury is but he is out for a bit. Nothing major as far as I am aware.

Knee

 

[sirius67fan]

Let’s take a look at next year. We have so many eligible ‘07s now that are either full card players or affiliates. Obviously there won’t be enough room for all of them, especially with so many left shots but I will try to anchor to 100% on roster guys and debate the potential on roster guys.

Ekberg - Foster(OA) -
Barlas(OA) - Dever(OA) - Kelly
Amidovski - Whitehead -

This is what I have as the mostly guaranteed forwards. In addition to those forwards, they also have:
‘06
Souliere

‘07s
Bowes
Kingwell
Yanni
Houben

‘08s
Perrier - NOTE: I believe he’s been injured since around late October. Not sure of his status.
Krawczyk(unsigned)
Vandenberg(unsigned and committed to Providence for 2027-28)

Marrelli -
Jackson - Eshkawkogan
Dietsch - Brady

I’m not sure how that depth chart on the right slide will shape up so I am leaving it as is being lined up right now.

‘07s
Avila
White

‘08s
Bonomo
Conor Dervin(unsigned)
Barnett(unsigned - USNTDP) **NOTE: we also drafted his older brother Asher Barnett (D - ‘07 - Committed to Michigan for 2026-27). They both play USNTDP

Nelson

We have some other goalies but I really don’t think any of them factor in right now.

1> As is typical for the past few seasons, we are short down the middle. I think we are somewhat forced to maintain Dever and Foster at centre but having two OA’s doesn’t help if next year is another development season. I think we need to find another centre somehow (maybe Ekberg shifts there) and roll Dever over to the right side on line one.
2> That first D-Pairing is light on the right side. Theoretically, Eshkawkogan can play 1st pair but I am not sure Brady ont he 2nd pair makes a lot of sense.
3> We do have an Import slot available. I think maybe looking at that RD slot makes a lot of sense. Either that or centre. But, going after a 17 year old likely won’t solve either of those needs. The player will likely be underdeveloped as a 17 year old to play those types of minutes.
4> We should get a high pick. I’m obviously advocating for missing the playoffs and hopefully we get a higher impact player in the top 3. But, I think if I am dropping $$$, I’d say they likely finish 8th. It will be close but that’s the way I am leaning. That gives us the 5th or 6th pick the way things are shaping up now. Doesn’t look like there will be expansion for next season.
5> We are short a backup but maybe we can nail one down in the 1st round of the U-18 draft? Or, maybe we get a nice surprise coming out of camp?
6> The OA situation is interesting. I am hoping Dever ends up on RW. I’m not sure I keep Barlas. Not because I don’t like the player. More so that we have a lot of younger LW and maybe Barlas is redundant. Handing his spot to a younger player like Amidovski, Souliere or Yanni may make more sense.
7> I really don’t know where Houben fits in. He may be the big wild card next season. His sating is improving but he is not a centre. HE needs to patrol the boards with more authority. That is the element that he and his size are missing. He needs a mean streak and I fear he doesn’t have that in him. He mostly plays like he is 5’10”.

Barring surprise USNTPD signings, pretty underwhelming lineup!

 

[sirius67fan]

I think we could also debate keeping Horner over Barlas as the 3rd OA. Barlas will provide a little more offence. He is feisty, but I don't think he intimidates anyone physically. On the other hand, Horner has the flexibility to fill in as a defensemen when needed, and is one of the few players on this team that provides a physical presence and consistently delivers hard hits (not to mention some protective services when some teams start taking liberties).

I think Houben can assure himself a spot on the team by working really hard in the off-season and gaining strength and continuing to work on his skating. Right now he is a pretty skinny tall kid. His destiny is in his own hands.

Hopefully we see what White can do pretty soon and have a better idea about him.

I 100% agree that we should be bringing in another import.
But somehow, in the back of my mind I feel that Korbler may stay... I get the feeling someone may have made some kind of commitment to the player for some unknown reason none of us can explain. Let's hope they make the right decision here...

I think the 5 returning D group is pretty solid. Agree that getting a RD should be a priority 1A (along with a centre) through the draft or the import slot. BTW, I don't think it has been mentioned yet, but Jackson has been a pleasant surprise that makes the Mews deal look better than previously thought (in my mind).

I think we need to let both Barlas and Horner go and uprade the OA slot. That and getting a good import would help make the lineup passable, got I hope you're wrong and they do move on from Korbler. To think I actually advocated they keep him over Uronen

 

[Fawlty]

Knee

Thanks.

 

[OMG67]

Barring surprise USNTPD signings, pretty underwhelming lineup!

It’s not horrible. It is workable. If they add a 1st pairing RHD to play with Marrelli (someone like Mayich), then the back end will be fine depending on the quality of the backup goalie.

Nelson has improved this year. He lets in some easy goals but he is young for a goalie int he OHL. Not many 17 year olds capable of holding down the fort. His positioning needs a little bit of work but he has significantly reduced his movement in net which allows him to remain competitive in net on rebounds and deflections. The more he works on his angles and depth inand out of net, the better he will be and the less number of squeaky goals will be scored.

We have too many of the same type of player, wingers with energy and not a lot of scoring touch. This will obviously need to be addressed in round one and the Import draft. Those two players should be able to contribute, if not next year then the year after. Ekberg will also start to ramp it up as an 18 year old next year. We won’t score a lot but we should be competitive on the defensive side.

 

[AGranderson]

View attachment 969674
Looks like Dever is back, but playing the wing; we had heard it was an arm injury so maybe they are sheltering him from draws. Ekberg on the top line. Körbler playing on the 4th line is the lowest we’ve ever seen. My kids like to joke that he has gotten preferential treatment all year because he is the coach’s son…guess that shine is finally wearing.

Houben still at centre. He played about a billion minutes last game and looked pretty decent I thought. Will be interesting to see how he looks today (not that he will get a ton of help from Yanni and Kelly). Nelson starts tonight and maybe he gets 2 of 3 this weekend.

Don’t see Dever on that lineup.
Dever, Foster, Whitehead, Amidovski all out injured all 4 are week to week