Karimov would be there too if he didn't ride the pine the first half of the year. Beamish will surely get there too... the future is bright. I wonder if Buzz go defence in the draft..... we've got a ton of good young talent at the front... could be wise to go D.
Sarnia Sting 2024 - 25 Season Thread, Part II
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I think we can give Edwards a pass... being physical isn't his game and the OHL can be intimidating for a true rookie but I get your point. Sometimes a guy just freezes especially if that guy isn't tough. I'm sure as he gets older he will get into it more.
lol we absolutely should not take a goalie in RD 1. I feel like we should copy LDN and get one in RD2 ... Get a huge goalie 6'2 6'3 kinda guy like LDN did in 2023. IMO we need to keep up with WDS' size the next few years and a big D guy would be ideal. I know DMF has 4 or so great D men and Lucas Nutting from Elgin who's already 6'1... Either way I think we need to get bigger.
Another possible target could be 6'1" d-man Carter Kunopaski (6'1") from Ottawa Valley who Neutral Zone has ranked at #6. For goalies, I can think of six that are listed at 6'2" or above. I don't want to take one in the 1st round either. They definitely need to take one in the first five rounds this year.
I agree that the the team needs to continue to get bigger. The 2024 draft was a good sign that Sting managment saw that. I believe the smallest player they took in the first five rounds was Di Iorio, who was listed at 5'11.75" at the time of the draft.
StingUpdates
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I'm more than fine with Edwards not getting into that stuff. Last thing you need is him flying into a scrum & some 19-20 yr old taking advantage of that & whalling on him. Obviously as he ages & gets bigger/stronger you'll want him entering them for his teammate, but for now stay out unless your guys are out numbered or being taken advantage of.
What I really like is he isn't afraid of the dirty areas. So many of his goals come from the front of the net. He constantly attacks Dmen when he enters the zone with the puck. Hasn't shown any signs of being scared to take a hit or some cross checks. Part of what makes him such a special 16 yr old in this league. Di Iorio is the same way. He constantly wins battles vs guys older & bigger than him & is as developed defensively as ive seen from a U17 F/C. I think he has all the makings of a premiere 2way C in this league.
It's so fun watching 81 & 17 constantly improve. We probably don't make enough of the fact our #2 & #3 C's are 16. Not sure any other playoff team can say that if any team in the league. Hell, our #1 C is 17 & in his first year too! Three rookies down the middle of a team pushing for 4th/5th. How can you not be excited about that! If Beamish stays until his 19 yr old season is done the 26-27 season could be the best C group we've ever had with Beamish at 19, Di Iorio & Edwards at 18.
Add in Brown who's looking like an elite upside player at least in the OHL, Karimov who has all the tools to be a damn good OHLer, Manza who's looking like a crafty winger, Kostuch who's got elite speed with a good scoring touch & Sarnia sure is set up at F for multiple season to come at hopefully a pretty high level. Should be one helluva pitch to get Manza & Beamish to stay an extra year that they could be apart of an elite F group that'll fill the net opposed to playing 4th line at best at Ohio State & Penn State.
What I really like is he isn't afraid of the dirty areas. So many of his goals come from the front of the net. He constantly attacks Dmen when he enters the zone with the puck. Hasn't shown any signs of being scared to take a hit or some cross checks. Part of what makes him such a special 16 yr old in this league. Di Iorio is the same way. He constantly wins battles vs guys older & bigger than him & is as developed defensively as ive seen from a U17 F/C. I think he has all the makings of a premiere 2way C in this league.
It's so fun watching 81 & 17 constantly improve. We probably don't make enough of the fact our #2 & #3 C's are 16. Not sure any other playoff team can say that if any team in the league. Hell, our #1 C is 17 & in his first year too! Three rookies down the middle of a team pushing for 4th/5th. How can you not be excited about that! If Beamish stays until his 19 yr old season is done the 26-27 season could be the best C group we've ever had with Beamish at 19, Di Iorio & Edwards at 18.
Add in Brown who's looking like an elite upside player at least in the OHL, Karimov who has all the tools to be a damn good OHLer, Manza who's looking like a crafty winger, Kostuch who's got elite speed with a good scoring touch & Sarnia sure is set up at F for multiple season to come at hopefully a pretty high level. Should be one helluva pitch to get Manza & Beamish to stay an extra year that they could be apart of an elite F group that'll fill the net opposed to playing 4th line at best at Ohio State & Penn State.
StingUpdates
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I know Sarnia has sorta been anti-D in round 1, but this year sure feels like a draft to take one. Not from a who's available POV as I haven't dug into the draft class yet personally, but as Dave said they look set up on F & after Gaudreau im good never taking a G round 1 again.
One big thing that you guys are probably sick of me saying tho is what are Beamish/Manza thinking? If they tell Seca/Sarnia they are staying committed for 26-27 then taking a F becomes more of a legit option to me as that would be 3 T9 Fs going in Wainwright, Manza, Beamish so having a young guy ready to take one of those spots from within would be nice.
But if you can convince one, or both to stay then for me 100% take a D. They'd probably get the 2nd or 3rd best guy in the class at the position assuming they finish picking around 7-10. Next yr is Fischer & Young's final season & while I'm a huge Hurt fan he doesn't project as more than a complimentary top pair guy to the true #1 D & at this point they cant confidently view Barr or Bridgewater as sure fire T4 D.
While it's maybe foolish to think a 17 yr old can be a top pair D in 26-27 we've seen it many times in years past.
Currently Schaefer, but he's special. Bruzstewicz plays quite a bit for LDN & Reid for KIT.
Dickinson, Mews, Danford, Parekh, Cristiforo, Aitcheson last year (Fischer too)
Yr before that Cam Allen, Bertucci, Akey, Bonk
Those are all guys who in yr 2 at 17 play/played big minutes. I know you could say im reaching or over optimistic we find a guy on those guys level, but if you are taking the top D or 2nd/3rd ranked D you sure are hoping they are guys who become stud/#1 D lol.
Being able to "replace" the huge minutes at least one of Fischer/Young are gonna play next yr internally would be huge for them. Would mean they don't have to spend the elite assets it takes to add a top pair level Dman.
Obviously with Fischer/Young/Hurt/O'Brien/Bridgewater/Barr/Bodin(?) all back it would be another logjam, but deal with that when u get there. If guys take big steps then u have a great luxury, if they don't then whoever you take gets a spot.
As for goalie it matters what they think of Grovestine & Osipenko IMO. If they are looking good I could see them waiting a few rounds, but if they aren't or only 1 is then definitely I can see them taking one with one of their two 2nd round picks or their 4th.
One big thing that you guys are probably sick of me saying tho is what are Beamish/Manza thinking? If they tell Seca/Sarnia they are staying committed for 26-27 then taking a F becomes more of a legit option to me as that would be 3 T9 Fs going in Wainwright, Manza, Beamish so having a young guy ready to take one of those spots from within would be nice.
But if you can convince one, or both to stay then for me 100% take a D. They'd probably get the 2nd or 3rd best guy in the class at the position assuming they finish picking around 7-10. Next yr is Fischer & Young's final season & while I'm a huge Hurt fan he doesn't project as more than a complimentary top pair guy to the true #1 D & at this point they cant confidently view Barr or Bridgewater as sure fire T4 D.
While it's maybe foolish to think a 17 yr old can be a top pair D in 26-27 we've seen it many times in years past.
Currently Schaefer, but he's special. Bruzstewicz plays quite a bit for LDN & Reid for KIT.
Dickinson, Mews, Danford, Parekh, Cristiforo, Aitcheson last year (Fischer too)
Yr before that Cam Allen, Bertucci, Akey, Bonk
Those are all guys who in yr 2 at 17 play/played big minutes. I know you could say im reaching or over optimistic we find a guy on those guys level, but if you are taking the top D or 2nd/3rd ranked D you sure are hoping they are guys who become stud/#1 D lol.
Being able to "replace" the huge minutes at least one of Fischer/Young are gonna play next yr internally would be huge for them. Would mean they don't have to spend the elite assets it takes to add a top pair level Dman.
Obviously with Fischer/Young/Hurt/O'Brien/Bridgewater/Barr/Bodin(?) all back it would be another logjam, but deal with that when u get there. If guys take big steps then u have a great luxury, if they don't then whoever you take gets a spot.
As for goalie it matters what they think of Grovestine & Osipenko IMO. If they are looking good I could see them waiting a few rounds, but if they aren't or only 1 is then definitely I can see them taking one with one of their two 2nd round picks or their 4th.
PocketNines
Cutter's Way
Blues fan watching most of your last six games ... holy shit, Fischer ... here's an interview between periods with him the other day
StingUpdates
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Video won't play at least for me. Is it the interview between periods vs Guelph?
PocketNines
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Yeah I record them in MOV which won't post here, convert to mp4 but maybe there's another file type that would be better. I'm not sure.
It wasn't the Guelph game, it was the "Royal City Jockstraps" game haha
StingUpdates
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He's a very mature kid. I commented here a while back it caught my attention in another interview how well spoken he was for being 18.
I'm sure a lot comes from his dad & spending lots of time at the rink & around NHL players.
He's putting it all together this year! Been a helluva stretch for him. Hopefully keeps it up.
wont play for me too... but knowing Fischer he probably said exactly what needed to be said in a Captain way.
This is why we need a big investment in Defence this year.... Losing Fischer will be a big blow for a team who wants to make a run at a championship... Invest now.... let him learn for a year... and hopefully it pays dividends.... I still think Sarnia will bring in another NCAA commit on forward ... I am looking at Kosiba specifically.... I am basing this off nothing other than he's having a rough go of it... at least on the stat sheet in Waterloo... 8 pts in 30 games isnt great imo.... And secondly next year is his NHL draft year... If that's his goal he will want to be playing in the O... especially for the Sting who will have a billion scouts at each game next year....He went from 112 pts in 58 game at Caesars to 8 pts in 30 games in Waterloo.... If that were me I'd be looking at a change of scenery especially in my draft year... but who knows he may be happy there.....Also he's from Detroit and Sarnia is much closer than Waterloo...lastly add in the Legwand factor with Detroit area kids ...... call it a gut feeling.
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I could see Kosiba coming. I believe @StingUpdates mentioned that idea on twitter when the rule change happened and Kosiba liked his post.
You mentioned investing in defence; they should have another big target from Waterloo this offseason. Nick Bogas has put up 11 points in 37 games this season. That's the most points of any 16 year old d-man in the USHL. He would before here for two seasons before heading off to Michigan State.
Fischer and Young could mentor him next season in his draft year and then hopefully he could take over on the top pair in 26-27 when the team should be contending. His dad would know of the area because he played a few seasons in the UHL and IHL with Port Huron
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Bogas came to Sting rookie camp too. So that at least tells you he wanted to see what we were about. He'd be a helluva signing.
U gotta think the USHL teams lighten up a bit on the pettiness by the summer and we see quite a few guys come across.
Our biggest issue at F will be guaranteeing ice time.
Brown Beamish Wainwright Karimov Kostuch Edwards Di Iorio Manza.
That's immediately 8 guys. So 1 spot left in the T9 & we have 1st, two 2nds, could use another import pick if we let Bodin go & I wouldn't rule out Luecke being able to solidify a 3rd line role next yr with what he showed playing T9.
But if guys u can bring in are better so be it. Especially if they would be here for 2 seasons.
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I've always been pretty bad for overhyping, or getting to excited about certain players or the teams upside, but it's really hard not to be really excited about this core.
They have so many U17s playing big roles led by their 1, 2 & 3 Centre's being U17.
The first line has two 17 year olds on it (Brown, Beamish)
The second line lately had one 16 yr old & one 17 yr old (Di Iorio, Manza)
The third line has one 16 yr old & one 17 yr old (Edwards, Karimov)
Hurt (17) plays 20 minutes a night & he has been since like November of last season.
Before Kostuch got hurt he was bumped up to the 2nd line.
That's 8 guys who play legit roles & minutes nightly for them (7 with Kostuch out) & they all already produce at a solid rate & project as good to great players in the coming years. Bridgewater & Luecke have shown good improvement all yr & have been the best players on line 4/pair 3 too. And while I'm a big fan of Filak & Doucette I certainly wouldn't say those guys "carry" the load for the rooks or do the heavy lifting for their lines like u see sometimes when a vet plays with young guys.
+ They have 1st, two 2nds, 4th, two 5ths & maybe an import pick to try & add even more good young talent to the team, system.
For the first time (literally) they have a chance here for continued success. They are pushing for 4th/5th right now. You'd hope next yr they take another step & are a legit top-4 team & the following yr they could take another step & be a top of the line contender. The yr after Di Iorio, Edwards (they'll be 19), Hurt, Kostuch, Bridgewater/Barr, maybe Brown (OAs) could all be back & be elite trade bait to accelerate a rebuild while also keeping the team fun, watchable until the TDL.
Gotta keep developing them all properly & keep adding good players thru the draft, trades, signings, but I haven't been this hopeful in a young core in awhile. Had my hopes real high for the team 2 years ago, but I didn't see the same elite upside from that core (Voit, Burke, Mast, Dillingham, Sikic, Romeo) when they were 16/17 like im seeing now from these guys.
They have so many U17s playing big roles led by their 1, 2 & 3 Centre's being U17.
The first line has two 17 year olds on it (Brown, Beamish)
The second line lately had one 16 yr old & one 17 yr old (Di Iorio, Manza)
The third line has one 16 yr old & one 17 yr old (Edwards, Karimov)
Hurt (17) plays 20 minutes a night & he has been since like November of last season.
Before Kostuch got hurt he was bumped up to the 2nd line.
That's 8 guys who play legit roles & minutes nightly for them (7 with Kostuch out) & they all already produce at a solid rate & project as good to great players in the coming years. Bridgewater & Luecke have shown good improvement all yr & have been the best players on line 4/pair 3 too. And while I'm a big fan of Filak & Doucette I certainly wouldn't say those guys "carry" the load for the rooks or do the heavy lifting for their lines like u see sometimes when a vet plays with young guys.
+ They have 1st, two 2nds, 4th, two 5ths & maybe an import pick to try & add even more good young talent to the team, system.
For the first time (literally) they have a chance here for continued success. They are pushing for 4th/5th right now. You'd hope next yr they take another step & are a legit top-4 team & the following yr they could take another step & be a top of the line contender. The yr after Di Iorio, Edwards (they'll be 19), Hurt, Kostuch, Bridgewater/Barr, maybe Brown (OAs) could all be back & be elite trade bait to accelerate a rebuild while also keeping the team fun, watchable until the TDL.
Gotta keep developing them all properly & keep adding good players thru the draft, trades, signings, but I haven't been this hopeful in a young core in awhile. Had my hopes real high for the team 2 years ago, but I didn't see the same elite upside from that core (Voit, Burke, Mast, Dillingham, Sikic, Romeo) when they were 16/17 like im seeing now from these guys.
lol thats unreal I didnt see Kosiba liked the post.... USHL is going to take a beating now that they can't poach Canadian talent who wants to go NCAA.
