Windsor Spitfires 2019 Offseason Thread (Part 3)

[randomhero4life]

The bar just gets moved a lot and I get it. I remember at the end of the year Rychel said he wanted to get to the bottom of how they could move Morgan and have him flourish. He wanted to talk to the coaching staff. Either that was a line to feed the fans and he knew or the coaches are never going to be held accountable and status quo is the answer.

I agree individuals will improve the question is whether or not individual improvements lead to improved play on the margins. Will improvements from players lead to a better PP which was dreadful last year?? Piroinen could improve a bit and the team may still not be a contender. Rychel said he thinks they can be one of the best teams in 2021. Can they still be that type of team if goaltending doesn't play at a very high level???

I would be interested if Rychel goes out and moves a player like Douglas who's very close to the same guy the Spits got in a trade from Barrie. Move him and try and acquire a solid D that can play 15-20 solid mins a night. Give guys like D'Amico/Angle/Frasca more responsibility even Johnston while getting a D that can play more than other guys.

Will be very interesting to see how it plays out. I honestly don't know if WR would move Douglas anytime soon, but you never know.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

If I hear something fairly concrete, I'll post it. Figure people will want to know. If I'm wrong, so be it, but I don't post info unless I have a good reason. The bickering is the issue of the people involved, not the person who's posting it. If we didn't post just because people would start bickering, 90% of social media would get shut down. People like to bicker because this is their only place to do so (internet, I mean). I highly doubt it'd be this crabby if we said stuff in reality.

So if you post info and you're wrong you absolve yourself of all responsibility if bickering occurs? Sounds like just feeding the machine to me which doesn't need to be done.

People don't want to bicker it happens because some people have such myopic views that it can't help but get a response.

 

[OHLTG]

So if you post info and you're wrong you absolve yourself of all responsibility if bickering occurs? Sounds like just feeding the machine to me which doesn't need to be done.

No, if someone posts a rumour or speculation, and people start bickering, it's not on the original poster. They can't control what everyone else does. You just hope to avoid the bickering; really, what's the point of it?

 

[windsor7]

At least Afanasyev and Johnston are two very positive signs. Nobody knew what was happening then, poof, we've got two big scorers on the club. Johnston may take a while to adjust to the league but, if they have Cuylle/Foudy help him along, that'll be a bonus.

I'm very curious as to who WR has his eye on for the Import Draft next week.

Sure "someone" has a eye on a player.

 

[Teflon]

Lol u guys will bicker over everything! Rumours come true, your looking for a medal, rumour is false your a pretender.... I spoke weeks ago that Affy was coming and Johnston will sign when ownership is settled it’s wasnt really big news. The big news was getting the dentist outta here!!! This team should be better! Coaching will either be fully exposed or come around. That’s my concern this year. Agreed. The goalie situation will be interesting and I’m betting it’s gonna be ok. The D????? Now that’s where the team is desperate! A euro D man is a must and another top 4 guy should be found!! If that happens and the staff gets their poop together it might even be a good season. I do believe Z is coming as well. Still hopeful one of our US kids is coming too. Id move Boka and Douglas. Get a player and some 2-3 picks. Be a lot more good chat here if the useless barbs would stop!!

 

[punch1943]

Lol u guys will bicker over everything! Rumours come true, your looking for a medal, rumour is false your a pretender.... I spoke weeks ago that Affy was coming and Johnston will sign when ownership is settled it’s wasnt really big news. The big news was getting the dentist outta here!!! This team should be better! Coaching will either be fully exposed or come around. That’s my concern this year. Agreed. The goalie situation will be interesting and I’m betting it’s gonna be ok. The D????? Now that’s where the team is desperate! A euro D man is a must and another top 4 guy should be found!! If that happens and the staff gets their poop together it might even be a good season. I do believe Z is coming as well. Still hopeful one of our US kids is coming too. Id move Boka and Douglas. Get a player and some 2-3 picks. Be a lot more good chat here if the useless barbs would stop!!

Good post. Can’t disagree with your proposed changes. Personally I’d like more discussion on who might show up and what area(s) we need more help in.
Legend for one, always had the names of a few bodies that were contenders for jobs.
Not all of us have a good knowledge of our farm system, including me. Who knows where the (2) Cade’s played last year and if they might be coming or if not why?

 

[HockeyPops]

Cade Lemmer at eliteprospects.com
Cade Webber at eliteprospects.com

 

[windsor7]

Lol u guys will bicker over everything! Rumours come true, your looking for a medal, rumour is false your a pretender.... I spoke weeks ago that Affy was coming and Johnston will sign when ownership is settled it’s wasnt really big news. The big news was getting the dentist outta here!!! This team should be better! Coaching will either be fully exposed or come around. That’s my concern this year. Agreed. The goalie situation will be interesting and I’m betting it’s gonna be ok. The D????? Now that’s where the team is desperate! A euro D man is a must and another top 4 guy should be found!! If that happens and the staff gets their poop together it might even be a good season. I do believe Z is coming as well. Still hopeful one of our US kids is coming too. Id move Boka and Douglas. Get a player and some 2-3 picks. Be a lot more good chat here if the useless barbs would stop!!

Sounds good
Will be more spits news soon.
Maybe trade a few other players too.
Should be interesting hockey for first few months.

 

[Teflon]

Hey Punch. Like I said gotta cross our fingers goalie spot is good. I believe with what the Finn went thru last year he’ll be better this year. Age , maturity, experience goes a long way. The rookie, we’ll i guess we see what we’ve got. The only coach on the staff I’d keep is Perry. He’s very good with the goalies. Other concern is the D. It’s a huge concern for me. Corcoran is solid but needs to be used properly. Does Ladd come in and play with more emotion and physicality?? Staios concerns me a lot. What’s his mindset, how does he get used, did he bulk up and grow, has he matured???? He’s a quality talent but his mental game is brutal, makes far to many simple mistakes, I’ve said before I’d try him at forward. The comparisons they hung on him were a mistake. He’s no Ellis!!! After that???? You can likely get an OA for back there. That’s y I think we need the euro pick to be a big D man as well as trading for a top 4 guy. This group doesn’t break the zone well, doesn’t have the killer big point shot, and frankly get beat up in their zone often. That’s my take. As for incoming guys, I’m hearing there’s a good chance on a US born player coming, Z is supposed to be coming, and yes the trade market is in play. Gotta remember our OA didn’t do much so improvement should be easy. If you subtract 4-5 of our worst for 4-5 A grade guys you’ve done a lot!!

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Hey Punch. Like I said gotta cross our fingers goalie spot is good. I believe with what the Finn went thru last year he’ll be better this year. Age , maturity, experience goes a long way. The rookie, we’ll i guess we see what we’ve got. The only coach on the staff I’d keep is Perry. He’s very good with the goalies. Other concern is the D. It’s a huge concern for me. Corcoran is solid but needs to be used properly. Does Ladd come in and play with more emotion and physicality?? Staios concerns me a lot. What’s his mindset, how does he get used, did he bulk up and grow, has he matured???? He’s a quality talent but his mental game is brutal, makes far to many simple mistakes, I’ve said before I’d try him at forward. The comparisons they hung on him were a mistake. He’s no Ellis!!! After that???? You can likely get an OA for back there. That’s y I think we need the euro pick to be a big D man as well as trading for a top 4 guy. This group doesn’t break the zone well, doesn’t have the killer big point shot, and frankly get beat up in their zone often. That’s my take. As for incoming guys, I’m hearing there’s a good chance on a US born player coming, Z is supposed to be coming, and yes the trade market is in play. Gotta remember our OA didn’t do much so improvement should be easy. If you subtract 4-5 of our worst for 4-5 A grade guys you’ve done a lot!!

Go F no D

Going into this year these forwards are either going into their last year or might be in their last year Douglas/Angle/Playfair/Boka/Purboo. Egor could be gone as well after 1 year. Guys like Staois/Robinson/Henault/Ladd all have eligibility coming back next year.

 

[randomhero4life]

One Defenseman that stood out imho at the rookie camp was FA Grant Hindman. 5.10, 190lbs. Had really good puck control and made smart passes. Can play the physical side of the game as well. Had a really good season last year with Little Caesers U16

 

[punch1943]

Hey Punch. Like I said gotta cross our fingers goalie spot is good. I believe with what the Finn went thru last year he’ll be better this year. Age , maturity, experience goes a long way. The rookie, we’ll i guess we see what we’ve got. The only coach on the staff I’d keep is Perry. He’s very good with the goalies. Other concern is the D. It’s a huge concern for me. Corcoran is solid but needs to be used properly. Does Ladd come in and play with more emotion and physicality?? Staios concerns me a lot. What’s his mindset, how does he get used, did he bulk up and grow, has he matured???? He’s a quality talent but his mental game is brutal, makes far to many simple mistakes, I’ve said before I’d try him at forward. The comparisons they hung on him were a mistake. He’s no Ellis!!! After that???? You can likely get an OA for back there. That’s y I think we need the euro pick to be a big D man as well as trading for a top 4 guy. This group doesn’t break the zone well, doesn’t have the killer big point shot, and frankly get beat up in their zone often. That’s my take. As for incoming guys, I’m hearing there’s a good chance on a US born player coming, Z is supposed to be coming, and yes the trade market is in play. Gotta remember our OA didn’t do much so improvement should be easy. If you subtract 4-5 of our worst for 4-5 A grade guys you’ve done a lot!!

Agree the D is an area of concern. We need 2 new faces in our top 4. If we can get a top import D that’s great. If not we need (2 ) O/A D. Both new D must be physical/able to clear the front of the net and must be able to eat minutes. One needs to play on PP. We have 2 O/A forwards who should be able to bring us at least 1 O/A D between them. If not Douglas could be dealt for one. A much better D will ease concerns about the goaltending situation in short order.
As for a U.S. flyer coming I don’t see it being a D. What we have are mostly younger guys who would probably slot in as 5-6 D. Perhaps we might be looking at a trade similar to the McDougall deal where we pick up another teams U.S. pick who wouldn’t report.

 

[member 71782]

Hey Punch. Like I said gotta cross our fingers goalie spot is good. I believe with what the Finn went thru last year he’ll be better this year. Age , maturity, experience goes a long way. The rookie, we’ll i guess we see what we’ve got. The only coach on the staff I’d keep is Perry. He’s very good with the goalies. Other concern is the D. It’s a huge concern for me. Corcoran is solid but needs to be used properly. Does Ladd come in and play with more emotion and physicality?? Staios concerns me a lot. What’s his mindset, how does he get used, did he bulk up and grow, has he matured???? He’s a quality talent but his mental game is brutal, makes far to many simple mistakes, I’ve said before I’d try him at forward. The comparisons they hung on him were a mistake. He’s no Ellis!!! After that???? You can likely get an OA for back there. That’s y I think we need the euro pick to be a big D man as well as trading for a top 4 guy. This group doesn’t break the zone well, doesn’t have the killer big point shot, and frankly get beat up in their zone often. That’s my take. As for incoming guys, I’m hearing there’s a good chance on a US born player coming, Z is supposed to be coming, and yes the trade market is in play. Gotta remember our OA didn’t do much so improvement should be easy. If you subtract 4-5 of our worst for 4-5 A grade guys you’ve done a lot!!

Go F no D

Going into this year these forwards are either going into their last year or might be in their last year Douglas/Angle/Playfair/Boka/Purboo. Egor could be gone as well after 1 year. Guys like Staois/Robinson/Henault/Ladd all have eligibility coming back next year.

As I've said recently the import draft will be very telling as to the plans they have for this year and beyond.

If go D in the import draft that alone won't do much to fix this D. It needs a lot of work and honestly I would hope to see two or three new D coming in with at least two going out the door. If that were to happen then I could see an import on D. If they plan on keeping this group together then go forward because they will need as much talent up front as they can get to keep the play in the opponents end and ensuring they are scoring more then they give up. This D isn't going to be winning close games for them and the goaltending is still an unknown at this point.

I still have a feeling they will move on from Piiroinen. I like the potential he has but last season he didn't look like he had the support of this team and if that doesn't change then any progression he makes will be limited by the D in front of him. If they do take two new imports then a D and a forward would make sense.

Would like to see an 01, 02 and an 02 import brought in on D if they are willing to make changes back there and move two out.

 

[Teflon]

I

Go F no D

Going into this year these forwards are either going into their last year or might be in their last year Douglas/Angle/Playfair/Boka/Purboo. Egor could be gone as well after 1 year. Guys like Staois/Robinson/Henault/Ladd all have eligibility coming back next year.

tshould trade Douglas, angle and play fair I’m betting are here for 2 more for sure unless traded. Boka trade, and we keep purboo until we see what he’s worth at deadline. Affy is a wild card. He’s loading up for 2021 so let’s think that way. Forwards are much easier to get up to speed then D men. You need and experienced core back there for 21. That means you need at least 1 from this year. That’s y I grab D in euro draft.

 

[OHLTG]

If they can convince Lemmer and/or Webber to show up, that's a huge bonus. I don't expect it, though.

Looking at strictly forwards for the Import draft...

Henri Nikkanen - Finland - rated 3rd round or later - 6'2 185 - 2001
Patrick Puistola - Finland - rated late 1st round into 2nd - 6' 174 - 2001
Vasili Podkolzin - Russia - rated early to mid 1st round - 6'1 196 - 2001
Leevi Aaltonen - Finland - rated third round or beyond - 5'9 168 - 2001 (kind of looks like a Palmu clone)
Tim Stutzle - German - top prospect 2020 - 5'11 165 - pure offence
Kasper Simontaival - Finland - 2020 - 5'9 179
Vasili Ponomaryov - Russia - 2020 - 6' 176

 

[aresknights]

Meet the Spits goalie coach at a hockey event in Windsor, liked his attitude and thoughts on player development.
From our short chat I think there is hope the Euro goalie takes a step forward this year. Won't get into specifics obviously.

But hey its a goalie so who knows. They are a different breed lol.

 

[OHLTG]

It's never easy changing cultures (though, Finnish to Canadian isn't a HUGE difference), especially at that age, but I've never had reason to suspect Piiroinen wasn't happy here. The whole thing is a process.

 

[OHLTG]

I'm looking through Rychel's Import Draft history - he's actually done better than not, as a whole. I figure eight overall "hits" and just five "misses." The issue is the five "misses" have come since 2012.

 

[windsor7]

It's never easy changing cultures (though, Finnish to Canadian isn't a HUGE difference), especially at that age, but I've never had reason to suspect Piiroinen wasn't happy here. The whole thing is a process.

The defense needs to be a lot better.
If they r not. Than cant expect the fin to be much better. No support.
Hope the whole team worked out this summer instead of being lazy by the pool like past summers. It shows on the ice what they have done. Fans notice n stay away if things dont improve .

 

[OHLTG]

I'm just curious - do you know for a fact that they were "lazy by the pool" last summer? Most players put tremendous amounts of training in, whether we see it on social media or not. I've seen some stuff first-hand (though, it was a few years ago).

 

[windsor7]

I'm just curious - do you know for a fact that they were "lazy by the pool" last summer? Most players put tremendous amounts of training in, whether we see it on social media or not. I've seen some stuff first-hand (though, it was a few years ago).

Did u not see that the players were out of shape n tired so quickly on the ice.
They obviously didnt follow the training and conditioning.
Maybe u just ignored it.

 

[OHLTG]

So, tired quickly means they automatically were "lazy by the pool" all summer. Got it. Why bother with facts when we can just assume haha

 

[windsor7]

So, tired quickly means they automatically were "lazy by the pool" all summer. Got it. Why bother with facts when we can just assume haha

Why do we assume????
Lol

 

[windsor7]

So, tired quickly means they automatically were "lazy by the pool" all summer. Got it. Why bother with facts when we can just assume haha

So i guess the players were in top shape then according to u.
If so they better get a new coach for that too. Product needs to be better.

 

[OHLTG]

Weird flow to that, but sure...