Sarnia Sting 2023-24 Season Thread (Part One)

[SarniaStingFan]

Looks like same lines as yesterday except flip Omeri for Hurt. Surzcyia goes again. First period will be big. Home opener, bad loss last night & a ton of guys back from last year's playoff loss to us for Saginaw. They'll come out hot.

See how they handle it!

I am now realizing I've been spelling Surzycia' name wrong the entire time. Oh man. Lmao.

OHL website says the Sting are going 11F and 7D. Sim is listed as the extra for warmups. Hurt is in

 

[StingUpdates]

Sloppy 1st. Execution not as good up front. Have had 3or4 odd man rushes and they're passes r just a touch off. Same with the PP.

Surzycia really sharp especially that BA save on Sapovaliv.

 

[StingUpdates]

Well this period looks like a team filled with rookies lol. To many turnovers & SAG is flying around. Type of period where they really miss Wainwright who could out of nowhere burn down a wing & score to settle them.

Or Doucette can do it! Haha. Nice play by Doherty who has points in both games. Surzycia couple huge saves to keep them in it. See if they can steal at least a point in the 3rd.

 

[davewheeler]

Letang still can't figure out how to pull the goalie.... mind blowing at this point.

 

[StingUpdates]

Wtf is with Letang & pulling the goalie. U wait 20 seconds of full possession to yank him with under 55 seconds left??? Why??? Idiotic.

Good effort from them. Very sloppy game tho. Had quite a few odd man rushes & never really put a good shot on. Filak BA late hurt. Great stop by Oke.

Thought Hurt was really strong again. Fischer also did quite well vs the Misa line. Barely played Omeri which I'm not a fan of when they needed a goal. Like MacDonald staying on after his penalty late? Why? Lol. Can't tell me Brown isn't a better option than some guys late game. Least he has some touch & finesse to his passes & in tight. Doherty deserved a bit more ice time in that 3rd PD too I thought.

Another superb outing from Surzycia. He kept them in that tonight. Imagine if we got this goaltending last yr? Might've won 50 games. Been really fun to watch him battle in there. Hope Chartier gets KIT on WED tho.

All in all it went better than I expected. Blow out win & a narrow defeat. Can't be to mad at that.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

Sloppy game tonight from the Sting on the ice and from the bench. As you've all mentioned, that can't happen at the end of a game! Surzycia looked really good again. Very solid with his positioning and very consistent through the first two games. There was no offence to be found. These are the types of games where we'll really need our veterans like Filak, Sikic, and Vilmanis to step up. Like StingUpdates mentioned this is a game where they missed the presence of Wainwright. Thought Andrew LeBlanc had a decent game, drew two penalties and had the puck on his stick a lot. Needs to make better decisions with the puck on his stick though, I've seen a lot of pucks thrown into the slot from him in the first two games. Great opening weekend all in all! Can't say I expected them to be this competitive so credit to them

 

[StingUpdates]

Sloppy game tonight from the Sting on the ice and from the bench. As you've all mentioned, that can't happen at the end of a game! Surzycia looked really good again. Very solid with his positioning and very consistent through the first two games. There was no offence to be found. These are the types of games where we'll really need our veterans like Filak, Sikic, and Vilmanis to step up. Like StingUpdates mentioned this is a game where they missed the presence of Wainwright. Thought Andrew LeBlanc had a decent game, drew two penalties and had the puck on his stick a lot. Needs to make better decisions with the puck on his stick though, I've seen a lot of pucks thrown into the slot from him in the first two games. Great opening weekend all in all! Can't say I expected them to be this competitive so credit to them

Honestly think the part about LeBlanc is there gameplan. Just chuck it at the net and jam it in. Probably the right way to go about it with this F unit. But as u said at times it's a bit useless and just leads to a TO the other way. He's definitely strong on the puck. Goals are gonna come if he keeps at it.

Great start for Doucette. 3G/1A already. Just 1 goal off his total last yr & halfway to his PT total. I've been pretty happy with J. LeBlanc too. Been smarter defensively than in pre season. He helped Fischer shutdown that SAG too line. Do wanna see him help offensively tho. We need it from him in games like this.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

Honestly think the part about LeBlanc is there gameplan. Just chuck it at the net and jam it in. Probably the right way to go about it with this F unit. But as u said at times it's a bit useless and just leads to a TO the other way. He's definitely strong on the puck. Goals are gonna come if he keeps at it.

Great start for Doucette. 3G/1A already. Just 1 goal off his total last yr & halfway to his PT total. I've been pretty happy with J. LeBlanc too. Been smarter defensively than in pre season. He helped Fischer shutdown that SAG too line. Do wanna see him help offensively tho. We need it from him in games like this.

Yeah, you're likely right. There's been a lot of throwing pucks to the middle, sending the puck to the point, and trying to jam in rebounds so likely that's the game plan because they don't have anyone that can get to the middle of the ice. You mentioned Doucette and I have to give credit to the front offices for being able to find these diamonds in the rough like Doucette (FA) and Surzycia (U18 pick) recently. It's something the Sting have been very good at over the past few years

 

[JAMER]

Gaudreau sent to Syracus AHL.

 

[StingUpdates]

Gaudreau sent to Syracus AHL.

Must be impressing. Surprised if he has been why they haven't at least dressed him for a pre season game.

See how he does in the AHL. Might not have to trade one if he makes it. Would be happy for him, but also would be typical Sarnia as it would cost us getting a pick or two or three.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

Must be impressing. Surprised if he has been why they haven't at least dressed him for a pre season game.

See how he does in the AHL. Might not have to trade one if he makes it. Would be happy for him, but also would be typical Sarnia as it would cost us getting a pick or two or three.

So for sure he's missing all of next week. Syracuse plays preseason games on Thursday and Saturday and I'd imagine he'll get some run in those games

 

[Ferda11]

Didn’t catch the home opener but I assume that was a good time lol.

Last night….good for the guys for hanging around. Thought Saginaw played well below their ceiling though. Thankfully Sarnia stayed fairly disciplined and stayed out of the box most the night. Would have been nice to see one of those PP opportunities come up with a goal. We would be skating away with at least a point had we capitalized on one. But we all knew scoring was going to be an issue. You simply cannot expect a ton of offense from this lineup at this point, so only scoring one goal last night isn’t surprising. Love the compete level of this team though. The rest will come in time. Good first weekend!

As far as Gaudreau. Good for him. I hope he gets signed. I think it’s almost better for this team if he doesn’t come back at all. Having an OA goalie on a young rebuilding team makes zero sense. Especially when you have Surzycia who has shown he’s ready to be a bonefide starter in this league, and a young Chartier who looks more than capable of the backup role plus 20-25 games. Just think it would be a big blow to the development of Surzycia and Chartier if Benny comes back. Not sure they are able to move him as quick as one would hope or expect.

 

[StingUpdates]

Didn’t catch the home opener but I assume that was a good time lol.

Last night….good for the guys for hanging around. Thought Saginaw played well below their ceiling though. Thankfully Sarnia stayed fairly disciplined and stayed out of the box most the night. Would have been nice to see one of those PP opportunities come up with a goal. We would be skating away with at least a point had we capitalized on one. But we all knew scoring was going to be an issue. You simply cannot expect a ton of offense from this lineup at this point, so only scoring one goal last night isn’t surprising. Love the compete level of this team though. The rest will come in time. Good first weekend!

As far as Gaudreau. Good for him. I hope he gets signed. I think it’s almost better for this team if he doesn’t come back at all. Having an OA goalie on a young rebuilding team makes zero sense. Especially when you have Surzycia who has shown he’s ready to be a bonefide starter in this league, and a young Chartier who looks more than capable of the backup role plus 20-25 games. Just think it would be a big blow to the development of Surzycia and Chartier if Benny comes back. Not sure they are able to move him as quick as one would hope or expect.

Yah would just suck from the standpoint of recouping some picks. But at this PT who knows how much of an OA G market there is. Surzycia might be the more likely one to be dealt & realistically is that even the smart choice? This kids playing unbelievable & can return next yr.

Pp looked disastrous last night. Nowhere near as clean as Friday. As u said it's not gonna be a top 5 unit but if they can at least click around 22-25% it'll go a long way

I was very happy to see them not totally implode. When it got to 2-0 I thought oh boy this might get ugly. But they settled, got within one & played pretty solid D from there on out.

 

[StingUpdates]

Gaudreau was actually assigned back to us. So nevermind lmfao. Still must've had a decent showing to last this long.

See how they handle this. Surzycia deserves starts. Chartier needs starts. Gaudreau wants starts. Hopefully can be resolved soon.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

Gaudreau was actually assigned back to us. So nevermind lmfao. Still must've had a decent showing to last this long.

See how they handle this. Surzycia deserves starts. Chartier needs starts. Gaudreau wants starts. Hopefully can be resolved soon.

It seems like Chartier will be the one hurt the most by Ben coming back. I think you have to find a spot for Chartier to play Jr. A or Jr. B at this point. He needs starts to continue his development. Just practising in the OHL isn't going to do him as much good

 

[JAMER]

Gaudreau was actually assigned back to us. So nevermind lmfao. Still must've had a decent showing to last this long.

See how they handle this. Surzycia deserves starts. Chartier needs starts. Gaudreau wants starts. Hopefully can be resolved soon.

I think the chances of Ben getting traded now is pretty low. Every contending team already has there 3 OAs. I still think Kingston could use a goalie but it would have to be Surzycia.

 

[nelli27]

My guess is that Ben will be traded at some point to a contender and the return should expedite your rebuild. Think of the haul you should get!

 

[StingUpdates]

I'd LOVE to be wrong I just don't see it. There's teams who need a G. No doubt. But many of them have 3 solid OAs already. Then ones that maybe don't have a 17or18 yr old G they like & probably wanna give some runway too before making any kind of move.

As for a return if they did find a team I don't see a great return coming. I'd honestly be shocked if we got a 2nd in the deal. I could see a 3+5 which is solid.

I've been one of the bigger Gaudreau defenders/fans on here, but what exactly would we be selling them on to warrant a great return. His numbers have been pedestrian at best each yr, especially on such an elite team last yr. Wasn't great at WJCs. Isn't signed or drafted by an NHL team anymore.

Now if he comes back & plays to the capability he can & does it for 10-15-20 games maybe then a team would say let's take a swing on him, but considering the inexperience in front of him gonna be hard.

It's a great issue to have if they have 3 good goalies on there hands, but I hate Chartier not playing OHL games in a rebuilding season. Hate it. The way Letang has spoken they're gonna keep all 3 & that never works..even if all 3 played great none of them will be happy playing at best once a week.

They probably gotta be hoping for somebody to get hurt elsewhere so that team has to add somebody. That's when Surzycia likely becomes a candidate, but as I said earlier, you sorta wanna keep him right now. If this is actually him & not some heater we'd have a legitimate stud #1 for 2 seasons or at least this yr then a trade chip next yr.

 

[StingUpdates]

Trading as a whole will be interesting this season for Seca. I can't see them adding a D unless they're killed by injuries there. Doubt we see anymore shipped out.

Up front id say I'd like to see them add a 17 or 18 yr old (not a high end guy just someone w/potential) but once Hall & Wainwright return they'll have 14Fs. Don't imagine they'd wanna add one to then sit Sim/Doherty all the time.

We'll see how the import market shakes out for vilmanis as I'd imagine if a contender needs one he'd be near the top of their list. But who knows if that'll happen. I'm torn on if I'd wanna trade Filak. Really am. Other than that can't see many other unless Doucette can keep this up & a team wants some depth.

 

[OHL4Life]

Trading as a whole will be interesting this season for Seca. I can't see them adding a D unless they're killed by injuries there. Doubt we see anymore shipped out.

Up front id say I'd like to see them add a 17 or 18 yr old (not a high end guy just someone w/potential) but once Hall & Wainwright return they'll have 14Fs. Don't imagine they'd wanna add one to then sit Sim/Doherty all the time.

We'll see how the import market shakes out for vilmanis as I'd imagine if a contender needs one he'd be near the top of their list. But who knows if that'll happen. I'm torn on if I'd wanna trade Filak. Really am. Other than that can't see many other unless Doucette can keep this up & a team wants some depth.

filak is probably the best trade chip?

 

[robp1219]

Gaudreau is returning, released by Tampa Seca said.

 

[StingUpdates]

filak is probably the best trade chip?

I'd say so if they wanna trade him. He'd be such a good add for a contending team. Can play L1, L2, L3, any position, any role. I'd hope for a solid return. But I think it'll be a tough decision cause he'd be their 1C next yr & potential captain. Think they'll have to really like the offer.

Vilmanis next best chip. T6 on almost any team. Just matters if somebody needs import. Then obviously Gaudreau if somebody needs OA G. Doubt Sikic gets moved

 

[davewheeler]

Sarnia needs to find a way to deal Ben.... Trade him to Saginaw their goalie is a first year starter.... London just got their goalie ... Saginaw will want to keep up. .... If im being flat out honest, Saginaw's team doesn't impress me that much. London is far superior. Saginaw is gonna have to add a bunch to keep up, we should take advantage. Vilmanis and Ben should get you quite the return.

 

[robp1219]

Sarnia needs to find a way to deal Ben.... Trade him to Saginaw their goalie is a first year starter.... London just got their goalie ... Saginaw will want to keep up. .... If im being flat out honest, Saginaw's team doesn't impress me that much. London is far superior. Saginaw is gonna have to add a bunch to keep up, we should take advantage. Vilmanis and Ben should get you quite the return.

I’d prefer to hold onto Vilmanis to closer to the deadline, but definitely trade him at some point.

 

[StingUpdates]

Sarnia needs to find a way to deal Ben.... Trade him to Saginaw their goalie is a first year starter.... London just got their goalie ... Saginaw will want to keep up. .... If im being flat out honest, Saginaw's team doesn't impress me that much. London is far superior. Saginaw is gonna have to add a bunch to keep up, we should take advantage. Vilmanis and Ben should get you quite the return.

I like SAG but they really need some size & grit up front. Oke is TBD in net. D looks alright especially with Hache add.

Filak is the exact type of F they need. Michigan kid too. Just as I said I'm torn on if Id want him dealt. Think the team would be too. Would have to be a great offer which SAG could certainly offer with all their picks.

I do wonder if A. LeBlanc can keep his play up if he gets any interest. He'd be a nice 3rd liner for a team I think. But has to show it for more than a weekend obviously.

Vilmanis has to be at the top of teams list that need an import. Just tricky sometimes to trade them as we've seen. Hopefully a contender needs one.