Peterborough Petes 2023-24 Season Thread (Part One)

[OHL4Life]

My position has not changed. Zero reason for the Petes to buy. 100% should sell. But, I think if they were to steamroll Ottawa next weekend and then follow that up with another solid weekend following, it may be tough to make a decision.

im not sure how long ago they were, but they were calling teams about buying. not high end guys but depth guys. not looking to sell, at least they were not back a week ago or so.

 

[OMG67]

im not sure how long ago they were, but they were calling teams about buying. not high end guys but depth guys. not looking to sell, at least they were not back a week ago or so.

If the Petes and Rangers decide to not sell, coupled with Ottawa not selling, I’m not sure there would be a trade market at all. I think the Petes need to be a pivotal seller for the market to open up. If they decide to stand pat, I’m not sure who actually sells to the degree necessary to create a market.

 

[Section5Petes]

im not sure how long ago they were, but they were calling teams about buying. not high end guys but depth guys. not looking to sell, at least they were not back a week ago or so.

also heard this as well. hearing there is a stark divide between the board/upper executives and the coaching staff on what the deadline approach is.

 

[OHL4Life]

also heard this as well. hearing there is a stark divide between the board/upper executives and the coaching staff on what the deadline approach is.

coaching staff cares about today and today only, they dont care about the long term. careful about listening only to coaches, they are selfish. all about now now now

 

[Section5Petes]

coaching staff cares about today and today only, they dont care about the long term. careful about listening only to coaches, they are selfish. all about now now now

you’re absolutely right. i never said I sided with the coaching staff, everyone knows where i stand on the Petes deadline strategy

 

[Petesfan8]

If the Petes and Rangers decide to not sell, coupled with Ottawa not selling, I’m not sure there would be a trade market at all. I think the Petes need to be a pivotal seller for the market to open up. If they decide to stand pat, I’m not sure who actually sells to the degree necessary to create a market.

The Petes will be sellers.

 

[Zebra]

GOOD LUCK OWEN BECK !!!!!

 

[Bra Wavers]

The Petes have come back down to earth.......IMO, a combination of veteran burnout caused by lack of quality depth and weaker play from their goalies has caught up to them in this recent 1-5 stretch. I'm as optimistic as they come, but this team seems destined for a 7th/8th place finish by the end of the season.

Kudos to the coaches and the veteran players for a great start - posting a 13-6-4 record in the opening third of the season was impressive.
I expect that goals and wins will be much rarer going forward and that's OK - it's much easier to say that after winning the championship last year
Now, as Petes' fans, we have to deal with the hangover. The bonus is that the team in maroon and white post deadline will be battling to hold a playoff spot and should gain valuable experience in the playoffs. It will be more about the development and growth for the younger players than results.

Looking ahead......

Thurs. Dec. 7 - host Brantford
(Brantford are 1 point behind the Petes and trending up at this point. The addition of Hamara has solidified their back end. I hope the fact that it's the Teddy Bear Toss game helps)

*Canada’s National Junior Team will gather in Oakville, Ontario for a four-day selection camp, Dec. 10-13, before selecting a final roster ahead of the 2024 IIHF WJC. The selection camp will include a pair of games against a team of U SPORTS all-stars on Dec. 12-13.

I expect Beck's last game will be the Thursday night home game.....and by last game, I mean last game with the Petes .

I expect that Purdeller will be leaving to play for Italy in the IIHF Group B tournament in Slovenia (Dec. 11-17) as well.

Fri. Dec. 8 - at Ottawa
(Ottawa plays on Wednesday, Petes will be on a back-to-back. The 67s are always up to play the Petes and must be sick of hearing about the Petes' great start to the season)

Sun. Dec. 10 - host Ottawa
(see above........happy with a split vs Ottawa in these two)

Thurs. Dec. 14 - host Kingston
(Kingston is a mystery to me - Frasca is back but some of Chromiak, Ludwinski and Hemstrom may be away)

Fri. Dec. 15 - at Guelph
(Guelph is on the rise, now tied with London for 4th in the West. They will be tough to face on the road)

Sun. Dec. 17 - at Oshawa
(Last game before the break.......McIntyre vs Lockhart! I'm really hoping the Petes can pick up a win vs the Generals heading into the holidays)

 

[Section5Petes]

The Petes have come back down to earth.......IMO, a combination of veteran burnout caused by lack of quality depth and weaker play from their goalies has caught up to them in this recent 1-5 stretch. I'm as optimistic as they come, but this team seems destined for a 7th/8th place finish by the end of the season.

Kudos to the coaches and the veteran players for a great start - posting a 13-6-4 record in the opening third of the season was impressive.
I expect that goals and wins will be much rarer going forward and that's OK - it's much easier to say that after winning the championship last year
Now, as Petes' fans, we have to deal with the hangover. The bonus is that the team in maroon and white post deadline will be battling to hold a playoff spot and should gain valuable experience in the playoffs. It will be more about the development and growth for the younger players than results.

Looking ahead......

Thurs. Dec. 7 - host Brantford
(Brantford are 1 point behind the Petes and trending up at this point. The addition of Hamara has solidified their back end. I hope the fact that it's the Teddy Bear Toss game helps)

*Canada’s National Junior Team will gather in Oakville, Ontario for a four-day selection camp, Dec. 10-13, before selecting a final roster ahead of the 2024 IIHF WJC. The selection camp will include a pair of games against a team of U SPORTS all-stars on Dec. 12-13.

I expect Beck's last game will be the Thursday night home game.....and by last game, I mean last game with the Petes .

I expect that Purdeller will be leaving to play for Italy in the IIHF Group B tournament in Slovenia (Dec. 11-17) as well.

Fri. Dec. 8 - at Ottawa
(Ottawa plays on Wednesday, Petes will be on a back-to-back. The 67s are always up to play the Petes and must be sick of hearing about the Petes' great start to the season)

Sun. Dec. 10 - host Ottawa
(see above........happy with a split vs Ottawa in these two)

Thurs. Dec. 14 - host Kingston
(Kingston is a mystery to me - Frasca is back but some of Chromiak, Ludwinski and Hemstrom may be away)

Fri. Dec. 15 - at Guelph
(Guelph is on the rise, now tied with London for 4th in the West. They will be tough to face on the road)

Sun. Dec. 17 - at Oshawa
(Last game before the break.......McIntyre vs Lockhart! I'm really hoping the Petes can pick up a win vs the Generals heading into the holidays)

Great look ahead, this season is motoring right along!

I just really hope we get this rebuild/retool right and we get some young exciting players added to the mix and we can adequately restock our draft pick cupboard. We need to build for the future and start assembling the next championship team. Realistically this team will have a a top 5-10 pick in this draft and possibly even top 5 next year. All eyes should be set on the 2027 Memorial Cup which is back in OHL

 

[OMG67]

The Petes have come back down to earth.......IMO, a combination of veteran burnout caused by lack of quality depth and weaker play from their goalies has caught up to them in this recent 1-5 stretch. I'm as optimistic as they come, but this team seems destined for a 7th/8th place finish by the end of the season.

Kudos to the coaches and the veteran players for a great start - posting a 13-6-4 record in the opening third of the season was impressive.
I expect that goals and wins will be much rarer going forward and that's OK - it's much easier to say that after winning the championship last year
Now, as Petes' fans, we have to deal with the hangover. The bonus is that the team in maroon and white post deadline will be battling to hold a playoff spot and should gain valuable experience in the playoffs. It will be more about the development and growth for the younger players than results.

Looking ahead......

Thurs. Dec. 7 - host Brantford
(Brantford are 1 point behind the Petes and trending up at this point. The addition of Hamara has solidified their back end. I hope the fact that it's the Teddy Bear Toss game helps)

*Canada’s National Junior Team will gather in Oakville, Ontario for a four-day selection camp, Dec. 10-13, before selecting a final roster ahead of the 2024 IIHF WJC. The selection camp will include a pair of games against a team of U SPORTS all-stars on Dec. 12-13.

I expect Beck's last game will be the Thursday night home game.....and by last game, I mean last game with the Petes .

I expect that Purdeller will be leaving to play for Italy in the IIHF Group B tournament in Slovenia (Dec. 11-17) as well.

Fri. Dec. 8 - at Ottawa
(Ottawa plays on Wednesday, Petes will be on a back-to-back. The 67s are always up to play the Petes and must be sick of hearing about the Petes' great start to the season)

Sun. Dec. 10 - host Ottawa
(see above........happy with a split vs Ottawa in these two)

Thurs. Dec. 14 - host Kingston
(Kingston is a mystery to me - Frasca is back but some of Chromiak, Ludwinski and Hemstrom may be away)

Fri. Dec. 15 - at Guelph
(Guelph is on the rise, now tied with London for 4th in the West. They will be tough to face on the road)

Sun. Dec. 17 - at Oshawa
(Last game before the break.......McIntyre vs Lockhart! I'm really hoping the Petes can pick up a win vs the Generals heading into the holidays)

Let’s try to keep it positive…

The chatter post-season or pre-season was for the Petes to generate as much as possible in the win column leading up to the trade deadline, or in Beck’s case, through to the WJHC trading camp. The expectation was there would be a sell off of all graduating players that have value that returns better than a 4th round pick.

If you look at the Petes situation from that perspective, I think you can ONLY look at this as a win. If the Petes do tumble in the standings, so be it BUT the reality is that was the expectation. The fact that so many players stepped up in a very meaningful way is an exceptionally good outcome through the first 1/3 of the season. Players like Dubois, McCoy, Melee, and Lefebvre have stepped up in a very meaningful way to prove they are capable OHLers, not just depth guys. To have four guys step up to that degree is phenomenal. That doesn’t happen very often At their age. It usually happens at an earlier age.

The Petes have a 9 point lead on Oshawa. 8 points on Barrie. Some of the other teams in the conference also seem to have more wins than their special teams and goal differential would normally suggest. This means there are some other teams also likely playing a little over their heads. This is good for the Petes. Those teams should also fall off a bit. So, it won’t be only the Petes falling back.

All in all, if the Petes manage to make the playoffs and restock draft picks and add a few bodies through seller trades, I think you can only look at this as a win. Every year I do a grading system for the 67’s players but I do it based on expectations. So, if the Petes manage to accomplish all of these things, then I would grade them very high even if they finish 7th/8th. I think we need to view it that way. The Petes made their push last year and sacrificed a lot of assets doing so. They managed to come out on top so that all worked. IF they follow it up with a meaningful replenishment of assets the following year while making the playoffs then I think that is the perfect outcome that almost every team would love.

 

[OHL4Life]

you’re absolutely right. i never said I sided with the coaching staff, everyone knows where i stand on the Petes deadline strategy

where did i say you did, i was stating my opinion on your post, nothing more then that, dont be so sentative

 

[Section5Petes]

where did i say you did, i was stating my opinion on your post, nothing more then that, dont be so sentative

no no was agreeing with you as well. just restating my position. There was no angst or anything directed to you with my message, especially with an account like yours who knows the OHL and has inside knowledge

 

[PuckStop75]

Let’s try to keep it positive…

The chatter post-season or pre-season was for the Petes to generate as much as possible in the win column leading up to the trade deadline, or in Beck’s case, through to the WJHC trading camp. The expectation was there would be a sell off of all graduating players that have value that returns better than a 4th round pick.

If you look at the Petes situation from that perspective, I think you can ONLY look at this as a win. If the Petes do tumble in the standings, so be it BUT the reality is that was the expectation. The fact that so many players stepped up in a very meaningful way is an exceptionally good outcome through the first 1/3 of the season. Players like Dubois, McCoy, Melee, and Lefebvre have stepped up in a very meaningful way to prove they are capable OHLers, not just depth guys. To have four guys step up to that degree is phenomenal. That doesn’t happen very often At their age. It usually happens at an earlier age.

The Petes have a 9 point lead on Oshawa. 8 points on Barrie. Some of the other teams in the conference also seem to have more wins than their special teams and goal differential would normally suggest. This means there are some other teams also likely playing a little over their heads. This is good for the Petes. Those teams should also fall off a bit. So, it won’t be only the Petes falling back.

All in all, if the Petes manage to make the playoffs and restock draft picks and add a few bodies through seller trades, I think you can only look at this as a win. Every year I do a grading system for the 67’s players but I do it based on expectations. So, if the Petes manage to accomplish all of these things, then I would grade them very high even if they finish 7th/8th. I think we need to view it that way. The Petes made their push last year and sacrificed a lot of assets doing so. They managed to come out on top so that all worked. IF they follow it up with a meaningful replenishment of assets the following year while making the playoffs then I think that is the perfect outcome that almost every team would love.

The thing to bare in mind also is the east is incredibly weak this year, with the exception of Ottawa (5-4) there isn't a team with a winning record in games against the west. The Petes are 1-6 and have been outscored 23-8 in those 7 games. They are actually +5 on the differential against eastern conference teams. The Petes record is figuratively better than most of the teams in the east but at a league wide level not as competitive as it appears.

This applies to the entire conference not just the Petes, the eastern conference champion could conceivably slide into the Finals against Saginaw and then be thoroughly embarrassed in the Finals and M-Cup.

Not sure where the Petes as an organization value that proposition but it is apparent given the current slide some of the weaknesses many predicted are starting to be exposed.

Correction Kingston also has a winning record... bad me!

 

[dirty12]

The thing to bare in mind also is the east is incredibly weak this year, with the exception of Ottawa (5-4) there isn't a team with a winning record in games against the west. The Petes are 1-6 and have been outscored 23-8 in those 7 games. They are actually +5 on the differential against eastern conference teams. The Petes record is figuratively better than most of the teams in the east but at a league wide level not as competitive as it appears.

This applies to the entire conference not just the Petes, the eastern conference champion could conceivably slide into the Finals against Saginaw and then be thoroughly embarrassed in the Finals and M-Cup.

Not sure where the Petes as an organization value that proposition but it is apparent given the current slide some of the weaknesses many predicted are starting to be exposed.

Correction Kingston also has a winning record... bad me!

Don’t get too carried away with records of east vs west. An eastern conference team will reach the OHL final which the eastern conference representative has won the last three times.

 

[RangerNation]

Don’t get too carried away with records of east vs west. An eastern conference team will reach the OHL final which the eastern conference representative has won the last three times.

Petes, Hamilton, Guelph, Hamilton. But really, Guelph is as east as it comes.

 

[OHL Observer]

coaching staff cares about today and today only, they dont care about the long term. careful about listening only to coaches, they are selfish. all about now now now

I’ll be surprised if this coaching staff is still behind the bench by the end of the season. Won’t be long now before the finger pointing starts. 0 in 30 on PP recently has to be the worst in the league. The trap style hockey is getting very boring for fans to watch and ticket sales will start plummeting. The players aren’t allowed to show their strengths because they’re stuck playing in a system with limitations. I’m guessing if Petes have a bad run between now and Christmas there will be a change on the beach and my guess is coach Oke will be first on chopping block. I hope for the Petes they can change things this weekend but I feel they are playing 2 teams who have figured out ways to win recently and they will be sharks with the sent of blood in the water from the wounded Petes. The most exciting hockey the Petes play is on PK which is coached by Verner. He should be Petes next bench boss. I’d like to see what he could do with this team. His PK is more aggressive than the PP can you imagine what he could do with PP and 5 on 5. Good luck to Petes this weekend!

 

[OMG67]

I’ll be surprised if this coaching staff is still behind the bench by the end of the season. Won’t be long now before the finger pointing starts. 0 in 30 on PP recently has to be the worst in the league. The trap style hockey is getting very boring for fans to watch and ticket sales will start plummeting. The players aren’t allowed to show their strengths because they’re stuck playing in a system with limitations. I’m guessing if Petes have a bad run between now and Christmas there will be a change on the beach and my guess is coach Oke will be first on chopping block. I hope for the Petes they can change things this weekend but I feel they are playing 2 teams who have figured out ways to win recently and they will be sharks with the sent of blood in the water from the wounded Petes. The most exciting hockey the Petes play is on PK which is coached by Verner. He should be Petes next bench boss. I’d like to see what he could do with this team. His PK is more aggressive than the PP can you imagine what he could do with PP and 5 on 5. Good luck to Petes this weekend!

On the flip side, they did lose ~190 goals to graduation and trade….

They made their run last year. They pushed their chips in and won. Pointing fingers at the coaching staff now after losing 7 of their top 9 scorers and still expecting a competitive team is not realistic. Keep in mind, they will lose another one of those top 9 scorers (Beck) at the deadline. Actually, he is pretty much already gone with the WJHC. To me, their start this year is more miracle than anything else.

A team that wins a Championship one year and fires it’s coaching staff the following year. I’d love to see the GM try to justify that one in a news conference.

 

[OHL Observer]

On the flip side, they did lose ~190 goals to graduation and trade….

They made their run last year. They pushed their chips in and won. Pointing fingers at the coaching staff now after losing 7 of their top 9 scorers and still expecting a competitive team is not realistic. Keep in mind, they will lose another one of those top 9 scorers (Beck) at the deadline. Actually, he is pretty much already gone with the WJHC. To me, their start this year is more miracle than anything else.

A team that wins a Championship one year and fires it’s coaching staff the following year. I’d love to see the GM try to justify that one in a news conference.

I agree they lost a lot of fire power and when new players come in and step up and continue the winning ways of the year prior that’s speaks to the players. If the players continue to do worse as season goes on that points fingers at coaching. Coach Wilson makes it clear he wants an NHL contract. If he’s worthy of that he can steer this sinking ship around. I hope for the Petes sake things turn around this weekend. They deserve better!

 

[SSMHoundsFan]

Petes could solely trade Beck, recoup alot of picks and maybe a young rookie and probably still do some damage post trade-deadline

 

[ktownfan]

I’ll be surprised if this coaching staff is still behind the bench by the end of the season. Won’t be long now before the finger pointing starts. 0 in 30 on PP recently has to be the worst in the league. The trap style hockey is getting very boring for fans to watch and ticket sales will start plummeting. The players aren’t allowed to show their strengths because they’re stuck playing in a system with limitations. I’m guessing if Petes have a bad run between now and Christmas there will be a change on the beach and my guess is coach Oke will be first on chopping block. I hope for the Petes they can change things this weekend but I feel they are playing 2 teams who have figured out ways to win recently and they will be sharks with the sent of blood in the water from the wounded Petes. The most exciting hockey the Petes play is on PK which is coached by Verner. He should be Petes next bench boss. I’d like to see what he could do with this team. His PK is more aggressive than the PP can you imagine what he could do with PP and 5 on 5. Good luck to Petes this weekend!

You tried Verner a few years ago, didn't work. If Wilson is not behind the bench next yeasr, it will be because he has decided that.

 

[dirty12]

Petes could solely trade Beck, recoup alot of picks and maybe a young rookie and probably still do some damage post trade-deadline

Sounds good until realizing there are no 2005-06 of note, and no 2, 3, 4 picks for 2008 born at this time.
The choice is a Hamilton type rebuild or something similar to Erie’s 5-6 year attempt at re-tooling while competitive. Or maybe something like SSM; miss playoffs, eliminated round two, miss playoffs.
Oke’s MO is all-in with one loaded age group and solid OAs, rinse & repeat.

 

[OMG67]

I agree they lost a lot of fire power and when new players come in and step up and continue the winning ways of the year prior that’s speaks to the players. If the players continue to do worse as season goes on that points fingers at coaching. Coach Wilson makes it clear he wants an NHL contract. If he’s worthy of that he can steer this sinking ship around. I hope for the Petes sake things turn around this weekend. They deserve better!

Your expectations are unrealistic. You can’t have it both ways. If a team has a strategy to align all of its resources toward one year (last year) then the following two years will be poor because they exhausted all of their resources for the goal of winning.

When a team sets themselves up to graduate or trade 13 players off of their previous year’s roster, all of which occupied the top half of the roster, you cannot expect the coach to pick up the pieces left behind and assemble something worthy of what you are expecting.

It is astonishing what they have accomplished to date. It is a testament to the coaching staff they have managed to do what they have done. If they slip back into where their expectations were to start the season, you cannot consider that a failure. That quite simply is not fair at all.

The Petes are a team coming into the season that “should have” struggled to make the playoffs. The expectation was Simpson, Beck, Mayer and potentially others would be traded so the team would be able to try to reassemble a future. Those cuts may even go deeper when all is said and done. All of their top 9 scorers from last year will likely be gone by the deadline. That doesn’t include their starting goalie that is already gone. That doesn’t include their captain who is already gone. That doesn’t include all the players (including their last two 1st round picks) that are also gone via trade last year to acquire the players needed to win the championship.

I don’t feel you are being realistic at all. I am an opposing team fan and I honestly feel you are being insulting to the coaching staff that won a championship last year And now are placing expectations that virtually no one would place on them this year.

 

[OHL Observer]

Your expectations are unrealistic. You can’t have it both ways. If a team has a strategy to align all of its resources toward one year (last year) then the following two years will be poor because they exhausted all of their resources for the goal of winning.

When a team sets themselves up to graduate or trade 13 players off of their previous year’s roster, all of which occupied the top half of the roster, you cannot expect the coach to pick up the pieces left behind and assemble something worthy of what you are expecting.

It is astonishing what they have accomplished to date. It is a testament to the coaching staff they have managed to do what they have done. If they slip back into where their expectations were to start the season, you cannot consider that a failure. That quite simply is not fair at all.

The Petes are a team coming into the season that “should have” struggled to make the playoffs. The expectation was Simpson, Beck, Mayer and potentially others would be traded so the team would be able to try to reassemble a future. Those cuts may even go deeper when all is said and done. All of their top 9 scorers from last year will likely be gone by the deadline. That doesn’t include their starting goalie that is already gone. That doesn’t include their captain who is already gone. That doesn’t include all the players (including their last two 1st round picks) that are also gone via trade last year to acquire the players needed to win the championship.

I don’t feel you are being realistic at all. I am an opposing team fan and I honestly feel you are being insulting to the coaching staff that won a championship last year And now are placing expectations that virtually no one would place on them this year.

I’m just commenting on where this started which was a comment on the divide between executives and coaches. Apparently the “coaches” are all in to try win this year while “executives “ want to rebuild. I’m not the one being unrealistic. Just commenting on what I read. Just an observation. As I also said I hope for the coaches sake I hope they can steer things in the right direction. The players proved early in the season they are worthy of stepping up. Now they will need coaches to guide them the rest of the way. I don’t think that’s unrealistic. That’s what coaches jobs are!

 

[OMG67]

I’m just commenting on where this started which was a comment on the divide between executives and coaches. Apparently the “coaches” are all in to try win this year while “executives “ want to rebuild. I’m not the one being unrealistic. Just commenting on what I read. Just an observation. As I also said I hope for the coaches sake I hope they can steer things in the right direction. The players proved early in the season they are worthy of stepping up. Now they will need coaches to guide them the rest of the way. I don’t think that’s unrealistic. That’s what coaches jobs are!

The coaches job is to win games every year. The executives job is to fill the coaches tool box. The team in front of the coach is meaningless with respect to what their job is. It never changes. Get the most out of the players every year. Let that play out on the ice.

“Win next year,” are never words you will hear out of the mouth of a coach. If you do, then you know you have to push him out. Their focus should always be on what he has in front of him now.

You then evaluate the coaches performance based on expectations from a player development perspective and demonstrated results compared to expected results.

I think this coaching staff has done very well when using those metrics.

 

[Petes1987]

I’ll be surprised if this coaching staff is still behind the bench by the end of the season. Won’t be long now before the finger pointing starts. 0 in 30 on PP recently has to be the worst in the league. The trap style hockey is getting very boring for fans to watch and ticket sales will start plummeting. The players aren’t allowed to show their strengths because they’re stuck playing in a system with limitations. I’m guessing if Petes have a bad run between now and Christmas there will be a change on the beach and my guess is coach Oke will be first on chopping block. I hope for the Petes they can change things this weekend but I feel they are playing 2 teams who have figured out ways to win recently and they will be sharks with the sent of blood in the water from the wounded Petes. The most exciting hockey the Petes play is on PK which is coached by Verner. He should be Petes next bench boss. I’d like to see what he could do with this team. His PK is more aggressive than the PP can you imagine what he could do with PP and 5 on 5. Good luck to Petes this weekend!

The Petes will not be firing their coach or general manager. They are a young team that just won an OHL Championship who have overachieved this season. They always have slump in November or December. Why would the Petes fire Rob Wilson who is the best coach they have had since Dick Todd who was the top OHL coach of his era or Mike Oke who is one of top general managers in the league and like Rob is the best since Dick in his position. I doubt attendance will drop. Peterborough is getting near sellout to sellout crowds every game.