Ottawa 67s 2024-25 Season Thread, Part III

[SoupNazi]

Continued from Ottawa 67s 2024-25 Season Thread, Part II

Click to read more...

 

[beastintheeast]

I hear what you are saying. The challenge will be whether they want to return to the OHL and Ottawa.

That will be a long process, and the USHL will not like losing players, so we will fight that. Therefore, kids not coming here will have other reasons.

The draft, on the other hand, is a separate issue. Boyd will be told directly by agents' parents, and we will find out almost as soon as the kid is drafted if he is going to report.

An extreme would be if we get number 1 and Boyd drafts player number 5, with player 1 going to the next team to draft.

As I said, DC is a good coach, Boyd is supposed to be a good GM, and Ottawa has always had a great reputation with scouts, other teams, and agents.

There has to be a reason they do not want to be traded here or want to leave. We saw this in Kingston with Mav, where he was told that player development was the reason players didn't want to report.

 

[OMG67]

I hear what you are saying. The challenge will be whether they want to return to the OHL and Ottawa.

That will be a long process, and the USHL will not like losing players, so we will fight that. Therefore, kids not coming here will have other reasons.

The draft, on the other hand, is a separate issue. Boyd will be told directly by agents' parents, and we will find out almost as soon as the kid is drafted if he is going to report.

An extreme would be if we get number 1 and Boyd drafts player number 5, with player 1 going to the next team to draft.

As I said, DC is a good coach, Boyd is supposed to be a good GM, and Ottawa has always had a great reputation with scouts, other teams, and agents.

There has to be a reason they do not want to be traded here or want to leave. We saw this in Kingston with Mav, where he was told that player development was the reason players didn't want to report.

The draft is not a separate issue. It is the same issue. The only issue is what draft year we are talking about. Where do you think players will go if not to Ottawa? It is all the same situation. Either we can get players to report or we won’t.

The USHL and NCAA programs are not our concern. Our concern is the 67’s program. The OHL has far more to offer than the USHL. It really isn’t close. Compensation alone is a big deal, not to mention travel times between games etc. Higher profile league with better overall talent. The only advantage of the USHL is it is more appropriate for the 16 year olds. They aren’t overmatched quite as much as they are in the OHL.

The 67’s organization is a class organization. We are not and should not be concerned about 90% of the players available in the draft. The issue is the players that are NCAA Plan “A” and American born kids in high end programs. They would traditionally stay at home and run the USHL/NCAA path. If we want to be more highly competitive, it is that player pool we want to tap into so we can gain a competitive advantage.

I am not concerned about having the #1 pick and the top rated player not wanting to play in Ottawa. Although it may be possible, it is more like a player wanting a specific team, not “anywhere but Ottawa.” For example, I could see a scenario where Ottawa is picking 3rd and Guelph is picking 4th and the 3rd ranked player is from the Kitchener/Waterloo area and wants to play at home preferring to play in Guelph. However, I cannot see a scenario where it is Ottawa, Guelph, Owen Sound, and Peterborough in the bottom four with SSM, NB, and Sarnia in the 5-7 slot where top rated players are shunning the 67’s to go to one of those other six destinations. Again, maybe a specific player may prefer to play close to home and not want to be in Ottawa but that is a one off and Dave Cameron isn’t the impact on that decision.

The whole point of this Dave Cameron “recruiting” angle has nothing to do with the overwhelming majority of players in the OHL draft. It is solely focused on the “hard to recruit no matter what OHL team drafts them” kinda kids that are typically Americans playing in Prep Schools and higher end US Programs that are candidates for the USNTDP. THOSE are the players Ottawa needs to be better positioned to recruit. There are some canadian kids as well but I think the Canadian kids will mostly all fall in line, especially if the USHL starts to lose credibility with more players reporting to CHL teams which weakens that league.

 

[ecraigs]

It was interesting yesterday and Saturday to watch a couple of players who seemed to be trying to make a point. On any Kingston goal when he was on the ice, Uronen was waving his arms and cupping his ear with his glove, for some unknown reason. I think the coaches had a talk with him because, in the third period, that stopped and there was an interesting interaction between Uronen and Whitehead after the latter scored. Like a tap on the shin and a friendly word. I have no idea what that was about.

Yesterday, Parekh had the same thing going on. Maybe, it was "hey, Dave, I should have been on the WJC team."? If so, he was right.

 

[Fawlty]

I noticed Uronen's gesture after scoring and took it to mean he was having a shot at the 67's fans usually it's done in response to being booed earlier in the game. As in "I don't hear much from you now." It's kind of annoying how often ex-67s players seem to come back to haunt us. I'm thinking Stonehouse might also when the Petes roll into town next. Based on how MacKenzie is playing lately, I wish the team had kept Stonehouse and traded MacKenzie but they probably considered him (Stonehouse) to be a better return and expected better play from MacKenzie than we're seeing. No-one on the 67s plays that agitator role now and the team misses that. Pretty anemic, intimidating nobody and getting physically beaten up most games is not fun to watch.

 

[swoopster]

"It is solely focused on the “hard to recruit no matter what OHL team drafts them” kinda kids that are typically Americans playing in Prep Schools and higher end US Programs that are candidates for the USNTDP. THOSE are the players Ottawa needs to be better positioned to recruit."... OMG67

Well stated OMG. There will be a certain comfort level advantage given to the US based as well as Canadian border OHL neighbors Sarnia, Windsor and Niagara OHL teams, but that will change in time. London has done well with attracting US players. It's a matter of selling both the league, program, its history, and the city of Ottawa as an enticing place for a US player to develop.

 

[ScoutLife4]

I noticed Uronen's gesture after scoring and took it to mean he was having a shot at the 67's fans usually it's done in response to being booed earlier in the game. As in "I don't hear much from you now." It's kind of annoying how often ex-67s players seem to come back to haunt us. I'm thinking Stonehouse might also when the Petes roll into town next. Based on how MacKenzie is playing lately, I wish the team had kept Stonehouse and traded MacKenzie but they probably considered him (Stonehouse) to be a better return and expected better play from MacKenzie than we're seeing. No-one on the 67s plays that agitator role now and the team misses that. Pretty anemic, intimidating nobody and getting physically beaten up most games is not fun to watch.

McKenzie had zero trade value and would have cleared waivers.
No one wanted him.

 

[OMG67]

"It is solely focused on the “hard to recruit no matter what OHL team drafts them” kinda kids that are typically Americans playing in Prep Schools and higher end US Programs that are candidates for the USNTDP. THOSE are the players Ottawa needs to be better positioned to recruit."... OMG67

Well stated OMG. There will be a certain comfort level advantage given to the US based as well as Canadian border OHL neighbors Sarnia, Windsor and Niagara OHL teams, but that will change in time. London has done well with attracting US players. It's a matter of selling both the league, program, its history, and the city of Ottawa as an enticing place for a US player to develop.

That’s correct. That is where reputation and having a sexy coach comes into play when recruiting. So, the question facing the 67’s is considering the black cloud hanging over Dave Cameron, what is the likelihood we will have access to those players? I think that is the question we are currently speculating on.

Can Ottawa make a pitch to players like:
Cole McKinney (USNTDP) Committed to Michigan for 2025-26 (NHL 2nd round ranking)
Asher Barnett (USNTDP) Committed to Michigan 2026-27 (NHL mid round ranking)
Brayden Krawczyk (Mount St Charles Academy)
Thomas Vandenberg (USHL)

These are four particular players that you have to think the 67’s are going to target from the 2023 and 2024 drafts. What does Ottawa need to do to reel these players in? Admittedly, McKinney will be a very tough sign considering it is Michigan and he is committed for this coming fall but we need to be competitive with that offer.

McKenzie had zero trade value and would have cleared waivers.
No one wanted him.

I think Boyd prioritized keeping the four players in the league. To do that, he had to move Stonehouse if/when the deal involving Mayich fell through (involving Pinelli).

I think had Boyd decided to do what was best for Ottawa with respect to wins/losses, he’d have waived MacKenzie.