Peterborough Petes 2023-24 Off-Season Thread

[OHL4Life]

My thinking is that the Petes goaltenders this coming season will be one of Liam Sztuska and Zack Bowen as the starter and Easton Rye as the backup. However Mason Johnston could challenge for backup job. I think Peterborough’s plan last year after they decided to trade Michael Simpson was to have Sztuska and Rye as their two goaltenders. They did not expect to get Bowen in the trade but when he was offered in return for Simpson they decided to take the deal for another goaltender.

they could have flipped Bowen easy for a 4th / 5th and seen what rye has in him for a year.

I don’t get signing someone and never really giving them a chance. that’s 20k at least so far off the bottom line

 

[Petes1987]

they could have flipped Bowen easy for a 4th / 5th and seen what rye has in him for a year.

I don’t get signing someone and never really giving them a chance. that’s 20k at least so far off the bottom line

With the Petes having Zack Bowen it gives them more options in goal this coming season. If Bowen is able to become the starting goaltender it allows them to trade Liam Sztuska and possibly add an overage defenceman. I am not sure if Easton Rye is ready to be the number one goaltender this coming season so if they did not have Zack they would likely would have had to keep Liam.

 

[frontsfan67]

With the Petes having Zack Bowen it gives them more options in goal this coming season. If Bowen is able to become the starting goaltender it allows them to trade Liam Sztuska and possibly add an overage defenceman. I am not sure if Easton Rye is ready to be the number one goaltender this coming season so if they did not have Zack they would likely would have had to keep Liam.

I agree. You’d get more for Sztuska than you would for Bowen/Rye. Sztuska is the older, better goalie- and the Pete’s are going to be a very young team. Would make more sense trading Sztuska to a team with weak goalies that will be competing heavily in their conference like Brantford(Egorov) and London(sorry willmore)

Would make sense for them to trade sztuska around the start of the season if Bowen is ready to be the starter, and put rye as the backup then you have your goaltending set for the next 3 seasons(2 with Bowen, and when Bowen gets too old- rye stays for an OA season)

Plus in 2025/26, 2026/2027 when the Pete’s are competing for OHL titles you have Bowen as the OA goalie for 2025 and Rye for 2026

 

[Petes1987]

I agree. You’d get more for Sztuska than you would for Bowen/Rye. Sztuska is the older, better goalie- and the Pete’s are going to be a very young team. Would make more sense trading Sztuska to a team with weak goalies that will be competing heavily in their conference like Brantford(Egorov) and London(sorry willmore)

Would make sense for them to trade sztuska around the start of the season if Bowen is ready to be the starter, and put rye as the backup then you have your goaltending set for the next 3 seasons(2 with Bowen, and when Bowen gets too old- rye stays for an OA season)

Plus in 2025/26, 2026/2027 when the Pete’s are competing for OHL titles you have Bowen as the OA goalie for 2025 and Rye for 2026

I think they will likely trade Liam Sztuska in October after the Petes are convinced Zack Bowen can carry the load in net. In regards to goaltending in the future they also have Mason Johnston who is likely the 3rd string goaltender this year but could challenge for the backup role. There is chance the Petes may trade Easton Rye and keep Johnston as the backup.

 

[OHL4Life]

With the Petes having Zack Bowen it gives them more options in goal this coming season. If Bowen is able to become the starting goaltender it allows them to trade Liam Sztuska and possibly add an overage defenceman. I am not sure if Easton Rye is ready to be the number one goaltender this coming season so if they did not have Zack they would likely would have had to keep Liam.

but then why sign rye two years ago and then trade for a goalie. it may end up being 40k waste you could have put to a higher end player?

What was the true rush to sign him?

He’s coming this yesr


Because he was there 3 rd pick generally sign first 3 picks

but your missing my point. If hey didn’t think he was good enough to play at 16 why bother signing him? Wait until he’s 17 to sign. The league has a pool of rent a goalie 3rd guys you can bring in in a pinch if needed

 

[NorthernVoice]

I agree. You’d get more for Sztuska than you would for Bowen/Rye. Sztuska is the older, better goalie- and the Pete’s are going to be a very young team. Would make more sense trading Sztuska to a team with weak goalies that will be competing heavily in their conference like Brantford(Egorov) and London(sorry willmore)

Would make sense for them to trade sztuska around the start of the season if Bowen is ready to be the starter, and put rye as the backup then you have your goaltending set for the next 3 seasons(2 with Bowen, and when Bowen gets too old- rye stays for an OA season)

Plus in 2025/26, 2026/2027 when the Pete’s are competing for OHL titles you have Bowen as the OA goalie for 2025 and Rye for 2026

If they want to be competitive this year, Sztuska is the best option, so far it hasn't been particularly close between him and Bowen imo.

For 25/26, if you keep Bowen and Rye, you're in exactly the same scenario as this year with Bowen a potential OA and Rye now a 19 year old who has never been the #1 guy and is still the backup. If you keep Bowen in this scenario as you suggest, Rye then enters the 26/27 season when the Petes need to win as a potential OA starting goalie who at most has a half season as a starter if they trade Bowen at the deadline in 25/26.

That is absolutely not the wisest scenario, they need to get some spacing between these goalies age wise either by keeping Sztuska and/or moving to Johnston or Lee-Stack as goalie of the future.

 

[NorthernVoice]

but then why sign rye two years ago and then trade for a goalie. it may end up being 40k waste you could have put to a higher end player?

What was the true rush to sign him?


but your missing my point. If hey didn’t think he was good enough to play at 16 why bother signing him? Wait until he’s 17 to sign. The league has a pool of rent a goalie 3rd guys you can bring in in a pinch if needed

Because a lot has changed in two years. After 21/22 it wasn't clear if Sztuska was an OHL goalie at all, let along a guy who would be an OA candidate, at that time Rye made a lot of sense as the goalie of the future. Being from Peterborough probably helped.

Entering 23/24, he was slated to be the backup last season with that path still in mind but Bowen came available and things changed again. The Simpson trade happened relatively late, I don't think flipping Bowen again would have been so easy at the time.

In hindsight, sure they didn't need to sign Rye as early as they did but a lot has happened over those two years.

 

[Petes]

Hage has committed to Chicago. Novotny starting the year in Czech pro league.

Hage opts out of Peterborough Petes draft

Alexander Hage has decided to join the USHL's Chicago Steel.

www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com

 

[ktownfan]

I don't think they had planned on bringing back a goalie when they traded Simpson, it's just the deal that was there.

Rye doesn't exactly look like the goalie of the future so far, even if his timeline with the rest of the core lined up better and Bowen as an 05 certainly doesn't line up time wise with the core.

If they could trade Bowen rather than Sztuska and pair Sztuska with an 07/08 goalie, that would be the way to balance the short term if they really want to make a push at one of the last playoff spots and the future of bringing along a young goalie who better aligns time wise with the skater core.

I heard he struggled at the Jr C level and word is the hometown Johnston kid is better and more ready

 

[User13452]

Hage has committed to Chicago. Novotny starting the year in Czech pro league.

Hage opts out of Peterborough Petes draft

Alexander Hage has decided to join the USHL's Chicago Steel.

www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com

I know it’s not the main reason some guys don’t come here but I can’t help but wonder if they had a new arena with all the new amenities and stuff other places have if maybe that would sway some players to come. You compare even a team like Oshawa’s off ice stuff in terms of dressing room, players lounge and workout area the Petes are lacking big time when it comes to that stuff.

 

[Zebra]

I know it’s not the main reason some guys don’t come here but I can’t help but wonder if they had a new arena with all the new amenities and stuff other places have if maybe that would sway some players to come. You compare even a team like Oshawa’s off ice stuff in terms of dressing room, players lounge and workout area the Petes are lacking big time when it comes to that stuff.

Good point -more modern facilities would be appealing.
Is that why they do all their off ice training with Hyrbid ? It’s modern and up to date

 

[Ryan Christensen]

It's not why he chose Chicago it's because he's familiar with the team there . Novotny might decide in a year to come though so not a total waste

 

[User13452]

Good point -more modern facilities would be appealing.
Is that why they do all their off ice training with Hyrbid ? It’s modern and up to date

Exactly because the gym area they had was tiny. They basically had to convert the office space where the staff work into the video room/players lounge you could call it. Now most of the business staff work upstairs in the alumni room.

 

[NorthernVoice]

The facilities have absolutely nothing to do with these two particular players not reporting here. They were both huge long shots from day one.

 

[User13452]

The facilities have absolutely nothing to do with these two particular players not reporting here. They were both huge long shots from day one.

Then why would you select someone who’s a long shot to report here with the 9th overall pick in the import draft doesn’t make sense.

 

[NorthernVoice]

Then why would you select someone who’s a long shot to report here with the 9th overall pick in the import draft doesn’t make sense.

The risk is worth the reward if he shows up. This year doesn't matter anyway. If he comes next year or the year after it's a home run. If he doesn't, you pick high again next year and get another kick at it and possibly you get that kick at it and have the chance Novotny shows up as well.

 

[Section5Petes]

I feel much more confident that Novotný will wear maroon and white than I ever did with Alex Hage. This is a long term play for the Petes and with a franchise altering player like Novotný you will take him whenever you can get him and if that’s next year or the year after, it’s still a massive win. I don’t think this is an outright recruitment issue at all but rather part of the process of dealing with an elite talent like Novotný and the many options that a player of his calibre has in front of him. I think the Petes always knew getting him over in year 1 was going to be tough, but the year after seemed more realistic.

 

[dirty12]

I feel much more confident that Novotný will wear maroon and white than I ever did with Alex Hage. This is a long term play for the Petes and with a franchise altering player like Novotný you will take him whenever you can get him and if that’s next year or the year after, it’s still a massive win. I don’t think this is an outright recruitment issue at all but rather part of the process of dealing with an elite talent like Novotný and the many options that a player of his calibre has in front of him. I think the Petes always knew getting him over in year 1 was going to be tough, but the year after seemed more realistic.

That is an optimistic view. But the colts, rangers, wolves, and bulldogs have shown that continued home-run swings in the import draft can pay off.

 

[Section5Petes]

That is an optimistic view. But the colts, rangers, wolves, and bulldogs have shown that continued home-run swings in the import draft can pay off.

I’m more optimistic that Notovoný will be a Pete than Hage but still not saying that Novotný will ever play for the Petes. A calculated homerun swing is never a bad thing

 

[frontsfan67]

Then why would you select someone who’s a long shot to report here with the 9th overall pick in the import draft doesn’t make sense.

This year doesn’t matter much for the Pete’s but in 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 seasons the Pete’s will be competing for championships again and he fits their window

 

[Petes]

Colin Fitzgerald, Alex Hage and Blake Gowan all scored in there first games at U17 hockey Canada camp yesterday.

Sounds like Frasca from KGN is asking to be traded and wants a change of scenery. That would be a nice addition to the core as the 2006 birth year is severely lacking

 

[OHL4Life]

Colin Fitzgerald, Alex Hage and Blake Gowan all scored in there first games at U17 hockey Canada camp yesterday.

Sounds like Frasca from KGN is asking to be traded and wants a change of scenery. That would be a nice addition to the core as the 2006 birth year is severely lacking

he carries another full ride. you have 5, want to sign hage, and would need to carry frasca as well?

 

[Petes]

he carries another full ride. you have 5, want to sign hage, and would need to carry frasca as well?

Hage ain’t coming.

 

[OHL4Life]

Hage ain’t coming.

That would still be 6, you couldn’t sign your first pick in 2 years

 

[Section5Petes]

Taylor-Frasca-McIntyre
Melee-McCallum-Novotny
Young-Fitzgerald-Addy
Turcotte-Partridge-Cadorin