Sarnia Sting 2022-23 Season Thread

[Ferda11]

That's exactly what this team needed to do. Ty Voit said post game this was a big win for the city after their poor effort Friday. They wanted to right the ship and they certainly did that today. Voit 2G 2A, Limpar-Lantz and Vilmanis 1G 3A. Surzycia 17/18 and was fantastic in relief of Gaudreau. Thought Sikic finally played a good game. Namestnikov still ghostly. Burke's skating has really improved...a lot. Nothing on the stat sheet but thought he played well. The top 4 D all played quite well. Strong game from Romeo and Mast. Ritchie was really good. I like Hoover. He brings an edge to that back end. He's a little pitbull out there. Plays larger than his body.

Good to see them get up, stay up and close this one out with relative ease. Usually a 4-5 goal lead is never safe with us lol.

Quick turnaround for a mid week home game vs OS. Hopefully Gaudreau is ok and his departure was more precautionary than anything.

3-1 start.

 

[StingUpdates]

Got a chance to watch the game back. Exactly how it should've looked. They came out pissed off & earned the W. The PP was fantastic. The puck movement was awesome as was the puck pursuit/retrieval. I'm loving Lantz more every time I see him play. high iq player with great vision & soft hands. Another great day at the dots too. That's 7 points in 4 games as well as being 74% in the face-off circle.

You could see this game coming from Vilmanis. Each game he's gotten better & better. He's a man amongst boys some times. Absolute stud. Funny enough I find Voit hasn't been as dynamic as last yr so far, yet he has 10 points & leads all forwards in the OHL in points. His one goal was a silly good snipe.

Sikic was great. His line w/Burke, Vilmanis could be absolute hell for other teams. 3 bigger bodies, all skate well (especially Burke/Vilmanis) & Burke, Vilmanis have a nose for the net. Should be a reliable line defensively, too. Didn't love bringing in Harper for McIntyre. Would've left the B6 the same except for maybe swapping Filak or MacD for Namestnikov who is fighting it hard right now. He's playing way to tense. Isn't letting the game come to him & when u do that u struggle & he is.. Desperately needs a goal so he can relax.

Another pretty strong defensive day. Let off a bit at the end but didn't allow much at all thru 2 periods. Thought Mast was excellent. How about Romeo's wheels on that breakaway!? lol. Man can Hoover ever lay a hit. Getting some Spinozzi/Hatcher vibes from him. As for Gaudreau.. What a cheap, dirty hit. He made ZERO effort to avoid it & actually looked like he loaded up for it before contact. Fingers crossed it's not a concussion. He had one last year and the LAST thing we need is him being out, especially going into this gauntlet of games starting WED vs OS. Props to Surzycia tho who played very well.

 

[robp1219]

Got a chance to watch the game back. Exactly how it should've looked. They came out pissed off & earned the W. The PP was fantastic. The puck movement was awesome as was the puck pursuit/retrieval. I'm loving Lantz more every time I see him play. high iq player with great vision & soft hands. Another great day at the dots too. That's 7 points in 4 games as well as being 74% in the face-off circle.

You could see this game coming from Vilmanis. Each game he's gotten better & better. He's a man amongst boys some times. Absolute stud. Funny enough I find Voit hasn't been as dynamic as last yr so far, yet he has 10 points & leads all forwards in the OHL in points. His one goal was a silly good snipe.

Sikic was great. His line w/Burke, Vilmanis could be absolute hell for other teams. 3 bigger bodies, all skate well (especially Burke/Vilmanis) & Burke, Vilmanis have a nose for the net. Should be a reliable line defensively, too. Didn't love bringing in Harper for McIntyre. Would've left the B6 the same except for maybe swapping Filak or MacD for Namestnikov who is fighting it hard right now. He's playing way to tense. Isn't letting the game come to him & when u do that u struggle & he is.. Desperately needs a goal so he can relax.

Another pretty strong defensive day. Let off a bit at the end but didn't allow much at all thru 2 periods. Thought Mast was excellent. How about Romeo's wheels on that breakaway!? lol. Man can Hoover ever lay a hit. Getting some Spinozzi/Hatcher vibes from him. As for Gaudreau.. What a cheap, dirty hit. He made ZERO effort to avoid it & actually looked like he loaded up for it before contact. Fingers crossed it's not a concussion. He had one last year and the LAST thing we need is him being out, especially going into this gauntlet of games starting WED vs OS. Props to Surzycia tho who played very well.

I agree the Soo player didn’t make an attempt to avoid contact. I watched it back a couple time and Macdonald definitely didn’t help matters, he kinda shoved him.

 

[Texcanuck]

Got a chance to watch the game back. Exactly how it should've looked. They came out pissed off & earned the W. The PP was fantastic. The puck movement was awesome as was the puck pursuit/retrieval. I'm loving Lantz more every time I see him play. high iq player with great vision & soft hands. Another great day at the dots too. That's 7 points in 4 games as well as being 74% in the face-off circle.

You could see this game coming from Vilmanis. Each game he's gotten better & better. He's a man amongst boys some times. Absolute stud. Funny enough I find Voit hasn't been as dynamic as last yr so far, yet he has 10 points & leads all forwards in the OHL in points. His one goal was a silly good snipe.

Sikic was great. His line w/Burke, Vilmanis could be absolute hell for other teams. 3 bigger bodies, all skate well (especially Burke/Vilmanis) & Burke, Vilmanis have a nose for the net. Should be a reliable line defensively, too. Didn't love bringing in Harper for McIntyre. Would've left the B6 the same except for maybe swapping Filak or MacD for Namestnikov who is fighting it hard right now. He's playing way to tense. Isn't letting the game come to him & when u do that u struggle & he is.. Desperately needs a goal so he can relax.

Another pretty strong defensive day. Let off a bit at the end but didn't allow much at all thru 2 periods. Thought Mast was excellent. How about Romeo's wheels on that breakaway!? lol. Man can Hoover ever lay a hit. Getting some Spinozzi/Hatcher vibes from him. As for Gaudreau.. What a cheap, dirty hit. He made ZERO effort to avoid it & actually looked like he loaded up for it before contact. Fingers crossed it's not a concussion. He had one last year and the LAST thing we need is him being out, especially going into this gauntlet of games starting WED vs OS. Props to Surzycia tho who played very well.

Finally got some linemates for Vilmanis and he was awesome. He always seems to make great decisions with the puck. Absolutely great on the power play. Defensively responsible, as well. Without putting undue expectations on him this early, he’s reminding me of Zacha a bit. Even during Fridays dumpster fire, there were a couple times he looked like he wanted to put the team on his back and get them going.
Namestnikov at least hustling today. On a line with Voit and Double-L, who are both decent playmakers, he’ll get his chances.
Agree with StingUpdates on McIntyre… Harper looked absolutely lost on almost every shift.

 

[StingUpdates]

Finally got some linemates for Vilmanis and he was awesome. He always seems to make great decisions with the puck. Absolutely great on the power play. Defensively responsible, as well. Without putting undue expectations on him this early, he’s reminding me of Zacha a bit. Even during Fridays dumpster fire, there were a couple times he looked like he wanted to put the team on his back and get them going.
Namestnikov at least hustling today. On a line with Voit and Double-L, who are both decent playmakers, he’ll get his chances.
Agree with StingUpdates on McIntyre… Harper looked absolutely lost on almost every shift.

Honestly never thought of Zacha, but that's a great comparable. Doesn't have as an electric of a release as Pavel had but size, skating & on puck strength I see it. Tho Zacha had quite the mean streak lmao.

Harper has been pretty bad all camp honestly. Was much better last year. Mcintyre did have a cut near his eye (I think) so maybe it was irritated so he sat.

I agree the Soo player didn’t make an attempt to avoid contact. I watched it back a couple time and Macdonald definitely didn’t help matters, he kinda shoved him.

I just don't like (at all) how Savard lowered his shoulder & loaded up before contact. Didn't try to jump out of the way either or lesson the blow. Burke was in a similar spot in KIT for Voit's goal & he did everything in his power to avoid contact & did even with a KIT Dman all over him.

 

[robp1219]

Finally got some linemates for Vilmanis and he was awesome. He always seems to make great decisions with the puck. Absolutely great on the power play. Defensively responsible, as well. Without putting undue expectations on him this early, he’s reminding me of Zacha a bit. Even during Fridays dumpster fire, there were a couple times he looked like he wanted to put the team on his back and get them going.
Namestnikov at least hustling today. On a line with Voit and Double-L, who are both decent playmakers, he’ll get his chances.
Agree with StingUpdates on McIntyre… Harper looked absolutely lost on almost every shift.

Vilamanis is pretty similar to zacha but as stingupdates said zacha had more of a mean streak and sometimes took dumb penalties at costly times. I think zacha had a better shot but Vilmanis is smarter and has better hands, but other than that similar. I agree about harper I think he needs to go to junior b. Looked lost and is absolutely tiny out there.

 

[Texcanuck]

Vilamanis is pretty similar to zacha but as stingupdates said zacha had more of a mean streak and sometimes took dumb penalties at costly times. I think zacha had a better shot but Vilmanis is smarter and has better hands, but other than that similar. I agree about harper I think he needs to go to junior b. Looked lost and is absolutely tiny out there.

I saw Vilmanis run a Saginaw guy into the boards near where Sarnia spare goalie sits, when the score was about 6-0, and went hmmm… he’s a bit pissed. Not nearly as nasty as Zacha (who would have likely taken 5 and a game for boarding under the same circumstance) but I loved that he was still going 100% at that point.

 

[robp1219]

I saw Vilmanis run a Saginaw guy into the boards near where Sarnia spare goalie sits, when the score was about 6-0, and went hmmm… he’s a bit pissed. Not nearly as nasty as Zacha (who would have likely taken 5 and a game for boarding under the same circumstance) but I loved that he was still going 100% at that point.

Oo ya don’t get me wrong Vilmanis doesn’t shy away from contact but he’s not as mean as zacha and doesn’t take costly penalties.

 

[Ferda11]

I like the Vilmanis-Zacha comparison. I think the biggest difference between the two, and what might be what makes Vilmanis the better player between the two at the end of their careers, is the drive/determination that Vilmanis appears to posses. I was a big Zacha fan, but his effort just wasn't as consistent.

Not sure how much more slack I give Namestnikov. There's zero excuses anymore. There are expectations and I can think of at least 3 other guys who could easily slip into the top 6 and out produce Max very quickly. This team has a history of trying to force things to work when they never will. Giving countless opportunities to players who can't run with them does no good and sends the wrong message.

 

[StingUpdates]

In the observer write up interesting to read this part.

Sting general manager Dylan Seca declined Monday to comment on Gaudreau’s condition. He also would not say if goalie Dylan Grover, who has yet to dress in the regular season, would be available Wednesday when the Owen Sound Attack visit Sarnia.

Not so much the Gaudreau part, but the Grover part. Is he also hurt or has he been let go too?

 

[SarniaStingFan]

In the observer write up interesting to read this part.

Sting general manager Dylan Seca declined Monday to comment on Gaudreau’s condition. He also would not say if goalie Dylan Grover, who has yet to dress in the regular season, would be available Wednesday when the Owen Sound Attack visit Sarnia.

Not so much the Gaudreau part, but the Grover part. Is he also hurt or has he been let go too?

They said on TV yesterday that Grover was in the building after the Gaudreau injury. I would assume he's hurt.

 

[StingUpdates]

They said on TV yesterday that Grover was in the building after the Gaudreau injury. I would assume he's hurt.

Well isn't that just brilliant then. Had someone tell me they think Gaudreau is good (health wise) but can never be confident with head related injuries.

Least Surzycia came in & played quite well vs SSM. Different beast vs OS though.

 

[robp1219]

Maybe the sting can pick up Francesco Arcuri from Kingston. Arcuri is in his last year, he will be AHL bound next season 100%. 6’1 200 LW more of a goal scorer he had 74 points last season. See if we can send back Namestnikov who had 40 points last year and will play as an OA in this league so he has two years left, and package him with some draft picks. I’d assume we’d have to give up a 2nd, 3rd and 5th with Namestnikov. And get a player who I think would fit great with LL and Voit rounding out the top 6. Still leave picks for another trade at the deadline. I’d like to see that trade or similar trade for a similar player.

 

[JAMER]

Maybe the sting can pick up Francesco Arcuri from Kingston. Arcuri is in his last year, he will be AHL bound next season 100%. 6’1 200 LW more of a goal scorer he had 74 points last season. See if we can send back Namestnikov who had 40 points last year and will play as an OA in this league so he has two years left, and package him with some draft picks. I’d assume we’d have to give up a 2nd, 3rd and 5th with Namestnikov. And get a player who I think would fit great with LL and Voit rounding out the top 6. Still leave picks for another trade at the deadline. I’d like to see that trade or similar trade for a similar player.

Agree would love to see a trade like that

 

[StingUpdates]

Maybe the sting can pick up Francesco Arcuri from Kingston. Arcuri is in his last year, he will be AHL bound next season 100%. 6’1 200 LW more of a goal scorer he had 74 points last season. See if we can send back Namestnikov who had 40 points last year and will play as an OA in this league so he has two years left, and package him with some draft picks. I’d assume we’d have to give up a 2nd, 3rd and 5th with Namestnikov. And get a player who I think would fit great with LL and Voit rounding out the top 6. Still leave picks for another trade at the deadline. I’d like to see that trade or similar trade for a similar player.

I don't hate the idea of Arcuri whatsoever. Someone who can create & can score. Good size too. Saw their highlights from yesterday & it looks like he has a great shot.

I'm personally not ready to give up on Max, but I can see why others are. If Johnston & Wright don't come back the league really lacks superstar talent. I'm not sure who out there would be worth a stupid amount that will be available. Might just be guys like Arcuri, Harrison in OSH, Bloom in SAG, etc.

 

[robp1219]

I don't hate the idea of Arcuri whatsoever. Someone who can create & can score. Good size too. Saw their highlights from yesterday & it looks like he has a great shot.

I'm personally not ready to give up on Max, but I can see why others are. If Johnston & Wright don't come back the league really lacks superstar talent. I'm not sure who out there would be worth a stupid amount that will be available. Might just be guys like Arcuri, Harrison in OSH, Bloom in SAG, etc.

Well I think a guy like Arcuri would crush it and produce a lot more than namestnikov right now. Also gives more size in the top 6 on voits line which I think would be good for him I think Arcuri could get 80–90 points in our top 6. And sending Namestnikov back I don’t think you would have to trade a crap tone of picks with him because he was a top pick and had a decent (Covid rookie) year with 40 points. Also get to keep Martone who I’d rather keep over Namestnikov. I just think a trade like that makes a lot of sense for us.

 

[StingUpdates]

Well I think a guy like Arcuri would crush it and produce a lot more than namestnikov right now. Also gives more size in the top 6 on voits line which I think would be good for him I think Arcuri could get 80–90 points in our top 6. And sending Namestnikov back I don’t think you would have to trade a crap tone of picks with him because he was a top pick and had a decent (Covid rookie) year with 40 points. Also get to keep Martone who I’d rather keep over Namestnikov. I just think a trade like that makes a lot of sense for us.

Definitely fair & solid reasoning. I could see them doing it depending on the picks KGN would want with him. A top-6 of

Arcuri-Lantz-Voit
Burke-Sikic-Vilmanis

Would be nasty. Be one of the better top lines in the league & that 2nd line should be really solid, reliable.

Teams may also want Wainwright since he's only 17 & showing promise. Would make us even deeper moving Max to the B6 for Arcuri. Team is gonna have a lot of options if they so choose with Namestnikov, Wainwright, Martone & a healthy amount of picks to work with.

 

[robp1219]

Definitely fair & solid reasoning. I could see them doing it depending on the picks KGN would want with him. A top-6 of

Arcuri-Lantz-Voit
Burke-Sikic-Vilmanis

Would be nasty. Be one of the better top lines in the league & that 2nd line should be really solid, reliable.

Teams may also want Wainwright since he's only 17 & showing promise. Would make us even deeper moving Max to the B6 for Arcuri. Team is gonna have a lot of options if they so choose with Namestnikov, Wainwright, Martone & a healthy amount of picks to work with.

I’d prefer to get rid of Namestnikov-wainwright-Martone in that order. I also think we might need to get a reliable back up if niether of our guys can be reliable. Gaudreau has a tendency of getting hurt unfortunately.

 

[Dougie Daryl Clark]

Definitely fair & solid reasoning. I could see them doing it depending on the picks KGN would want with him. A top-6 of

Arcuri-Lantz-Voit
Burke-Sikic-Vilmanis

Would be nasty. Be one of the better top lines in the league & that 2nd line should be really solid, reliable.

Teams may also want Wainwright since he's only 17 & showing promise. Would make us even deeper moving Max to the B6 for Arcuri. Team is gonna have a lot of options if they so choose with Namestnikov, Wainwright, Martone & a healthy amount of picks to work with.

I think if you go get an Arcuri, Bloom etc, teams will insist on either MacDonell or Martone plus picks not Max. Since Martone was 5th overall and mostly 4th line rn, the new player would likely squeeze Mac, not that I'd want that.

 

[StingUpdates]

I think if you go get an Arcuri, Bloom etc, teams will insist on either MacDonell or Martone plus picks not Max. Since Martone was 5th overall and mostly 4th line rn, the new player would likely squeeze Mac, not that I'd want that.

Definitely wouldn't give up Martone for either. Only giving up a 16 yr old for a superstar (Johnston/Wright/McTavish etc)

MacDonell is a guy you want & love to have for playoffs. Heart&soul player. I'd do everything I could if I were Seca to not give him up.

We got Jonathan Ang for Brady Hinz & a few picks. I could see something similar with Wainwright. Love the player & what he'll become but on a contender he won't play much come playoffs this year.

 

[robp1219]

I completely agree with you. I wouldn’t give up Martone unless it’s for an elite superstar. Not a star player. I think namestnikov and picks gets the trade done. He’s scored 40 points in this league and has two more years after this one left.

 

[Flyers 1st]

Relax boys , the team is 3-1 after 4 games!!! So Namestnikov has no points but Seca can't be trading a kid not producing for a ultra producing forward. They would want too much in future picks and then everyone here complains when Max eventually pops 25+ goals and we lose Acuri . Keep everything as is , let Letang shuffle the cards a bit and play it out. THEY HAVE ONLY PLAYED 4 GAMES. We are not the KNIGHTS!

 

[StingUpdates]

Relax boys , the team is 3-1 after 4 games!!! So Namestnikov has no points but Seca can't be trading a kid not producing for a ultra producing forward. They would want too much in future picks and then everyone here complains when Max eventually pops 25+ goals and we lose Acuri . Keep everything as is , let Letang shuffle the cards a bit and play it out. THEY HAVE ONLY PLAYED 4 GAMES. We are not the KNIGHTS!

Pfft. We are never losing again. 68-1, then 16-0 in the playoffs.

Getting to far ahead I know. Just have fun talking about it. These next few weeks will be a real good test for what we are. Play all the top dogs & we play them a lot. Hopefully, Gaudreau is good so we can fully evaluate how we shape up.

 

[robp1219]

Relax boys , the team is 3-1 after 4 games!!! So Namestnikov has no points but Seca can't be trading a kid not producing for a ultra producing forward. They would want too much in future picks and then everyone here complains when Max eventually pops 25+ goals and we lose Acuri . Keep everything as is , let Letang shuffle the cards a bit and play it out. THEY HAVE ONLY PLAYED 4 GAMES. We are not the KNIGHTS!

Lol nobody was saying make the trade now, I think this was more of a november/December scenario just a thought in how to improve the team down the road. Even if and when max starts producing offensively bringing in a guy like arcuri would improve the team this year.

 

[robp1219]

Pfft. We are never losing again. 68-1, then 16-0 in the playoffs.

Getting to far ahead I know. Just have fun talking about it. These next few weeks will be a real good test for what we are. Play all the top dogs & we play them a lot. Hopefully, Gaudreau is good so we can fully evaluate how we shape up.

I don’t think there are any top dogs in this league right now, predictions don’t mean too much until teams start playing and see which teams players improved the most over the summer and which teams has the most chemistry. The top dogs will take off in a week or two. Example . Multiple predictions had Kitchener being 2 or 3 in the west and they are 0-4. That’s why we shouldn’t be saying we need to play extra hard against this team or we should beat this team. We should put our best effort every single game regardless the team especially right now because every team is a mystery.