Peterborough Petes 2024-25 Season Thread, Part II

[Petesfan8]

Most comments on here about how Oke handled the OA situation this year have been negative - wasted picks on Bryant and Stonehouse.
Oke could have kept the picks and played out the year with Lefebvre and McIntyre. No offense to those guys but Bryant and Stonehouse offer more intangibles; they are heart and soul players with a little more offensive upside who are leaders. The problem is that you can't measure the impact they are having on the younger players who will be here for the next two years. IMO the 3 OAs have done a great job of leading this young group by example - battle hard and never take a shift off. Many talked about trading Melee at the start of the season (as the highest value OA) and get the best possible return. I can't imagine how this season would have looked if they had kept Lefebvre and McIntyre and picked up a 3rd OA off waivers.

The fight I see in these pesky Petes, who never really had a chance at the playoffs after their start, tells me that Oke's handling of the OA situation was solid.
Did it result in a playoff berth? No, but the way they have played "playoff-like" games down the stretch while dealing with many injuries and suspensions tells me that this young group will be ready for real playoff games over the next couple seasons. Despite the many losses they have had this season, they are a tight-knit group who plays hard for each other. That is a great base to build on for the next two seasons.

Nice to see the positive comments.

 

[OHLFAN16]

Good two games this week, two big wins in a sweep. Any chance Wilson stays in the stands and lets these guys play hockey the way it should be played. Forwards stepping up, Hartnell moves the puck tape to tape which we haven’t seen all year, would be nice if he could stay to finish the season. Need to win out for a chance to make playoffs

 

[NorthernVoice]

The problem is that you can't measure the impact they are having on the younger players who will be here for the next two years.

Did it result in a playoff berth? No, but the way they have played "playoff-like" games down the stretch while dealing with many injuries and suspensions tells me that this young group will be ready for real playoff games over the next couple seasons. Despite the many losses they have had this season, they are a tight-knit group who plays hard for each other. That is a great base to build on for the next two seasons.

It's true, you can't measure that impact vs draft picks. I guess my push back would be to what extent we saw the veterans or the coaching staff actually develop that future core.

I think I'm the last Caden Taylor believer (he'll still be great) but I'll concede he didn't take the steps I hoped this year. Nico Addy certainly didn't. I had/have very high hopes for Carson Cameron, a lot of us thought he'd be a borderline first round NHL pick out of this year. That's not going to happen. Aiden Young is probably on the clearest path as a guy who should be impactful down the line.

Strohack, Ladds, McCallum.. guys returning from last season... Major steps there?

I did a poll at the start of the year asking for points leaders, draft positions etc... everyone is going to be way below our expectations.

The young/new guys bring a lot of hope. Fitzgerald, Ula, Gowan, Levac.. I see a lot of upside there but is it just because it's year one and a year from now I'll be asking the same questions of them if the 07s?

I don't know, did we see super major development this season? I hope so.