Have seen one site (Neutral Zone) listing Delisle at 6 foot and 177lbs, so if correct, then he does look to have potential to get bigger. Player - Neutral Zone
Ottawa 67s 2024 25 Season Thread Part Iii
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do you think he is better than his older brother that plays for troops?/ i think his bro gets drafted thisyear
OMG67
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I’m seeing that Delisle may be pushing to play with his brother in Owen Sound so he’d drop to #5. Looks like Maybe Chitaroni would be Ottawa’s pick at #3.
The OHL Cup has updated stats. Apparently Delisle is at 6’1” and Chitaroni grew from 5’8” to 5’11” and still growing.
My earlier concern about Chitaroni was size but if he has grown 3” over the season and is puting on weight then he is a perfect fit for the 67’s. A speedy kid that plays with pace and drives the play offensively works well. I think I’d still rather have Delisle than Chitaroni but it doesn’t sound like there is a big enough difference.
Sounding like Murata is the one dropping. Others with good 2nd half’s this season are surging, most notably McGregor.
OMG67
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If ceiling means anything then he will be better than his brother. Lirim (9th round OHL pick) plays a bit more physical as an up and down winger that opens space. Nathan is more of a playmaker that can drive the net with more skill and finish. It is why some felt he could be positioned at centre with a little more experience under his belt. I still hope he can make that transition as an 18 year old, or maybe in the 2nd half next year.
Starting to warm to Chitaroni. Seems like a confident, well-rounded player with lots of upside:- 2025 #OHLDraft Prospect Profile: Brock Chitaroni - Ontario Hockey League
OMG67
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I think he traditionally fits the profile of an Ottawa 67’s player. But, the challenge is whether the prototypical Ottawa 67’s player is the right player. Ottawa has not won a Championship since 2001. They aren’t going to win a championship this coming season so that will be 25 years without a Championship. Is that just the luck of the draw or is Ottawa’s philosophy on how to build a team flawed? It is probably a little but of both but it is tough to really land on that right balance.
So, is Chitaroni the right guy to build this next cycle around? I know that seems like a heavy burden but the reality is, he will need to be the anchor of success for this next cycle. So, if he is the anchor, you need to draft and acquire players that fall in line with his strengths. If he is a play driving playmaking centre then you need big wingers that can find the net and chip in goals. You need mobile D-Men that can move the puck. You will need to be a puck possession team. So, that’s the team you draft over this and the following two drafts.
If you pick Delisle, maybe you have a bigger centre that attacks with more force and plays responsible in all three zones. Maybe you draft a bigger team and play more stations o station. Maybe you dump the puck and chase more.
I know this may seem like I am taking it a little too far but the reality is this Friday night we will be drafting the player this next cycle will centre around. We need to align to that. No sense in drafting and developing a bigger team with the 1C being more of a playmaking centre that fits a puck possession game. It would be counter productive.
I hope that the 67's get it right whoever they pick and the other players they select compliment each other. If Delisle has aspirations to join his brother at another club, then the 67's should look elsewhere. Likewise for anyone else who is less than keen on the 67's. I'm sure management has a number of players in mind and hopefully have a good sense of whether certain players would be amenable to playing here.
I've said it before on here a few times, that I'm growing tired of seeing 67's teams not take the next step in the playoffs and by default not win championships. Size isn't everything but skill and speedier players doesn't seem to be working for them in advancing further. The bigger, physical teams seem to wear them down especially in the playoffs.
I do like the sound of the next version of the 67's to be built around a good playmaking centre, supplemented by bigger wingers and mobile defensemen. A puck possession team. Is Chitaroni that guy? Maybe another player enters the mix if there are surprises at picks 1 & 2. Maybe some of those types of players needed are already part of previous drafts, i.e. older players from NCAA that the team can convince to sign.
We will know soon. Looking forward to finding out on Friday. Am also very interested to see who the 67's take with their second round pick at #27. They should get a good player and that might answer some of OMG's questions about the direction the 67's are going.
I've said it before on here a few times, that I'm growing tired of seeing 67's teams not take the next step in the playoffs and by default not win championships. Size isn't everything but skill and speedier players doesn't seem to be working for them in advancing further. The bigger, physical teams seem to wear them down especially in the playoffs.
I do like the sound of the next version of the 67's to be built around a good playmaking centre, supplemented by bigger wingers and mobile defensemen. A puck possession team. Is Chitaroni that guy? Maybe another player enters the mix if there are surprises at picks 1 & 2. Maybe some of those types of players needed are already part of previous drafts, i.e. older players from NCAA that the team can convince to sign.
We will know soon. Looking forward to finding out on Friday. Am also very interested to see who the 67's take with their second round pick at #27. They should get a good player and that might answer some of OMG's questions about the direction the 67's are going.
OMG67
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@Fawlty presents a solid perspective. I think we need to be open with respect to what direction they go but I think, as fans, we need to hold the team accountable for how they strategically implement the plan.
My Thought is I am fine with average sized centres. IF you look at Nick Suzuki, not only was he a great centre in the OHL with Guelph (beating us in the OHL Final in 2019) but he has proven to be a very capable centre at the NHL Level. Suzuki is only 5’11”. But, as @OHL4Life has stated many times, size matters but consistent effort and ability to play the right way matters more. So, from my perspective, we want players that play the right way more than size. Consistent effort, the ability to play in the harder areas of the ice, ability to make the players around them more productive and ability to see the play and anticipate is a combination of attributes that beat size. It sounds like Chitaroni has those attributes. I am fine with that. I will take a Nick Suzuki type player any day of the week.
All that said, I think we need to find strategic ways to add size while not necessarily forcefully inserting it into key positions. We can have a bigger LW that can score while reducing their responsibility to a level where we aren’t relying on them the same way we rely on the centre. A kid like Amidovski may be just what the doctor ordered in that regard. Woudl it be beneficial for him to develop as a centre? Sure! We need centres. But, as we’ve seen with Foster, sticking the most capable player into the 1C role sometimes comes at the expanse of losing that higher level of production that player provides off the wing. We may also realize this with Whitehead and how well he performed off the wing as opposed to down the middle.
It will be incumbent on this management group to unearth a couple centres to augment our current lineup. I agree with @beastintheeast that it is not ideal to have Foster and Dever (both OA’s) nailing down 1C and 2C. It serves no real strategic purpose. It is fine to have them as a safety net when injuries occur and maybe we can keep one of them at centre but not both. That cannot be Plan “A”.
My Thought is I am fine with average sized centres. IF you look at Nick Suzuki, not only was he a great centre in the OHL with Guelph (beating us in the OHL Final in 2019) but he has proven to be a very capable centre at the NHL Level. Suzuki is only 5’11”. But, as @OHL4Life has stated many times, size matters but consistent effort and ability to play the right way matters more. So, from my perspective, we want players that play the right way more than size. Consistent effort, the ability to play in the harder areas of the ice, ability to make the players around them more productive and ability to see the play and anticipate is a combination of attributes that beat size. It sounds like Chitaroni has those attributes. I am fine with that. I will take a Nick Suzuki type player any day of the week.
All that said, I think we need to find strategic ways to add size while not necessarily forcefully inserting it into key positions. We can have a bigger LW that can score while reducing their responsibility to a level where we aren’t relying on them the same way we rely on the centre. A kid like Amidovski may be just what the doctor ordered in that regard. Woudl it be beneficial for him to develop as a centre? Sure! We need centres. But, as we’ve seen with Foster, sticking the most capable player into the 1C role sometimes comes at the expanse of losing that higher level of production that player provides off the wing. We may also realize this with Whitehead and how well he performed off the wing as opposed to down the middle.
It will be incumbent on this management group to unearth a couple centres to augment our current lineup. I agree with @beastintheeast that it is not ideal to have Foster and Dever (both OA’s) nailing down 1C and 2C. It serves no real strategic purpose. It is fine to have them as a safety net when injuries occur and maybe we can keep one of them at centre but not both. That cannot be Plan “A”.
OMG67
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He entered the season listed on Elite Prospects as 5’8” 130. So, if that is the source used by many (including myself), the impression is that he is pretty darn small. But, the OHL Cup stat has him now at 5’11” so the size issue likely will not be a consideration in the same way is 5’8” 130.
OMG67
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Important to note. Ottawa has NINE picks in the first five rounds. It isn’t normal for a team to actually draft nine guys that early. It is near impossible to integrate all of them into your roster over two seasons. Usually you see a team trade a couple picks this year for some higher picks next year. There have been 8 draft pick trades between April 7 and 8. Ottawa was not involved in any of those trades.
That suggests Ottawa is more than likely going to take a run at some older NCAA bound players. They have some surplus draft capital they cannot use on 16 year olds. They may as well roll the dice on an ‘07 or an ‘08 or both!
It will be interesting to see what unfolds. I have a feeling there will be a few interesting picks we will be following over the course of the summer.
That suggests Ottawa is more than likely going to take a run at some older NCAA bound players. They have some surplus draft capital they cannot use on 16 year olds. They may as well roll the dice on an ‘07 or an ‘08 or both!
It will be interesting to see what unfolds. I have a feeling there will be a few interesting picks we will be following over the course of the summer.
beastintheeast
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Having a small center with a big heart that can play center isnot a huge issue. We hve had a fw of them that wenton to have great careers i the OHL and AHL. To me the big diference is that if they are centers on this team then they have toplay center all year.
You can not take a player and say we are goingto put you on the wing and only play you a f w shifts on a team tht is developing and rebuilding.
At this stage barring getting a bonafide center nt he Euro I see us with
Dever, Whiehead Amidovski (Elite still shows him as a LW/C) and our first round pick
By Christmas, I see Amidovski back on the wing and first-round pick on the 3rd line.
The big thing is that we have to get away from balanced lines. They do not work
The extra players in the first few rounds are always a good thing because there are always surprises in camp in those positions.
If we draft centers, we could be set for a couple of years at least.
Firday to me is the start of make it or break it for Boyd and Egert.
OMG67
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IMO, if we draft Delisle or Chitaroni, we have one centre.
I think the key is to try to get an NCAA bound player for 2C. Then maybe you keep Dever at 1C….or vice versa.
But that is a lot to ask overall. Chitaroni will likely start at 4C. If we sign Vandenberg, he likely slides into 3C. I’m not sure we will get a centre in the Import draft. We may be better off trying to nail down a puck moving d-Man. Hope we sign an NCAA guy to play #1 or #2C. I think that is maybe our best outcome.
Then please do yourself (and all of us) a huge favor and don't tune in to the draft. That way, we won't have to listen to you whine and complain endlessly about every single one of our picks, how they're not good enough, and even if they are, how the coaching staff and management will ruin them by not using/developing them appropriately.
beastintheeast
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I have nothing against the players. The ones that show up are the ones that want to play and will do their best.
BUT if the best we can draft is a 13th rated player then one has to ask why especially if the draft a LW.
I am grudgingly going to wait until training camp and the final roster to see what happens
I agree with what you are saying, although I think it is a toss-up between a defenceman and a center regarding what we need most. A good backup for Nelson would not be a bad thing either.
While I understand your fetish about NCAA I really feel that we have to take that with a grain of salt.
Most players are already signed to other teams and are guaranteed ice time. Players we have drafted may want to come here, but again, there will have to be some contractual obligation about ice time.
Vandenberg is, on paper, at least, the only returning player set to be line 2 on the USHL team, which means that he will get ice time. The question is what he wants and what Ottawa is to provide.
Considering he is going NCAA.
Time will tell,, but do we want one-year players who may hold up the development of drafted kids?
As with everything right now time will tell. We will only know if there are issues when players decide what they want to do.
How do you contractually obligate ice time?
Did this group not draft Eshkawkogan; a kid that went on to play 20 min a night before he turned 16?
Is he not a young player that played a lot of minutes under Dave Cameron?
Did this group not draft Eshkawkogan; a kid that went on to play 20 min a night before he turned 16?
Is he not a young player that played a lot of minutes under Dave Cameron?
OMG67
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NCAA/USHL
The USHL is getting gutted this year. The league itself will be a shadow of what it was. Everyone sees it. Even Hockey Canada and USA Hockey see it. USA Hockey has clamped down on teams defecting to the CHL. The NHL has stepped in to try to realign the higher levels of development hockey, I think specifically to save the USHL and keep it viable.
The NCAA is already starting to skew older. The sheer number of CHL graduating OA’s entering the league is staggering. If I had to guess, at least 1.5 players from each CHL team have committed to play NCAA next year. T hat is around 75-80 players entering the NCAA that would not have previously. And, that is going to compound year over year which will make it even more difficult for 18 year olds to play the following year. That is going to dramatically change the landscape of those NCAA Divisions. It is going to be a lot harder for the non-elite players to play as early as 18 and in some cases, even 19 yer olds may be in tough to keep their scholarships.
This potential exodus may be fully CHL wide. This is not a “67’s thing.” This is definitely not going to be a rich get richer scenario. This is likely going to be players skewing towards the CHL, especially the Canadians that would have gone USHL in the past. Whether we see a mass exodus of Americans? I don’t know. We will probably see a handful in each league. But, the Canadians going to the USHL and then to the NCAA is going to be reduced.
So, from a 67’s perspective, with so many picks in the top 5 rounds, I cannot see them simply picking only 16 year olds. That is wayyyy too many picks. They must be selecting at least two more mature Americans.
Vandenberg is in that situation right now where he plays for an awful USHL team in a league that is declining next year. And, he plays for a team just about as far away as you can get in the USHL. In the absolute middle of nowhere. He can either go down with that ship for another two seasons or he can play at home with the 67’s. I’m not sure where the actual draw is to Cedar Rapids and the USHL over playing with Ottawa. But, we shall see.
Import Strategy
I think the big thing to consider is how the Import cycle works best. You don’t want to be in a situation where both of your Imports graduate the same season. Ekberg will play his 18yo season next year. So, if they draft an 18 year old, they set themselves up for both graduating at the same time. not ideal. I doubt any 19 year old with any real value comes over throught he draft. It is more likely if a 19 year old comes over, they are already drafted and the OHL team has held their rights for the last year or two. So, it is more likely they draft a 17 year old. If so, then is there any strategic value to drafting a natural centre? If they draft a centre at #3 and Vandenberg signs, then they have their bottom two centres this year. Where would the Import centre play? If we are strategically rebuilding, they either draft a big scoring winger or a puck moving D-Man that can contribute reasonably in year one and then be an integral piece going forward.
I say this but this may be in a perfect World. It depends a lot on their contacts and what players want to come over. They may not quite have the luxury of cherry picking a specific position or attribute. But, if they do, I can see it making sense to draft either a big scoring winger or a puck moving D-Man. That doesn’t mean it will happen, just spit-balling.
beastintheeast
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My issue is not with the defence DC seems to know that part of he game; it is with the ice time allocated to young forwards.
I think the families will have to agree that their player will get reasonable ice time and be allowed to develop it as simply a number of minutes a game. Or that family can say that their son will play one more year in Junior A
This 3rd Import rumour will also be an interesting strategic piece to look at.
Maybe the target is one scoring top line C or W; and a puck moving D; with the goal to have balance on their age & eligibility expiration like you mentioned ?
It looks like it’s hard enough to find that in the 2nd Rd; it won’t get any easier in the 3rd if this rule does come.
That 2026 Kingston third should be a very valuable pick. Good move.
OMG67
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OMG67
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Ideally you never pick outside the 1st round. If you pick a 17 year old every year on the right cycle? You have a perfect three year pick cycle.
Ottawa flipped their 7th rounder this year to Flint for their 6th rounder in 2026
