Windsor Spitfires 2021-22 Season Thread

[Travis Bickle 77]

Spits down 2-0 after 40 minutes of play, Owen Sound capitalizes on the pp. Spits maybe be down but it's not from a lack of effort!! Very physical game tonight as expected. A few very strong chances in front of the Owen Sound net.... And 3 times Guzda has kicked the net loose!! If the Spits keep the pressure up we can get right back in this game in the 3rd period.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Anson Thornton anyone?

 

[stips]

Discouraging,
5 on Medina once again!!!!

 

[windsor7]

Spits take that one on the chin.
Lick their wounds.
Will need a better effort.
New week more opportunity.

 

[Travis Bickle 77]

I spoke too soon on my previous post Medina let's in 3 in the 3rd and gets the hook! .....Not good! Aim for the the top shelf on either side....good chance it's going in! PP not good! Too much passing and not very good control. The part that frustrates me the most is that Owen Sound with tons of extra little pushes and shoves tonight and the Spits just take it dry!! It's one thing to lose...it's another thing to lose with some of your pride!! So much needs to worked on!!

 

[I guard the door]

I

Anson Thornton anyone?

I was thinking Nick Chenard from Owen Sound. He's a local kid who hasn't played yet

 

[2023]

I’m going to come out and say it. “new coach pls”
Great player but terrible coach.

 

[spits]

That was a terrible result. At some point, they are going to need to start cashing in on their chances. 52 shots and only 1 goal? Offense is supposed to be their strength. Will Cuylle needs to be better. He is supposed to have an "NHL shot" but two of his three goals came on wide-open nets. I have yet to see him really snipe one. He either misses the net or shoots it right at the goalie. He does work hard though, I'll give him that. They have made each goalie look like a Vezina caliber goalie with the exception of Thursday's win against a rookie making his OHL debut.

Defensively it's not good. They are last in the Western Conference in goals per game allowed and have one of the worst goal differentials as all three regulation losses were blowout defeats. New coach, I am willing to give them more time. It's early in the season but if they don't get at least 3 points next weekend it will be time to start asking some questions.

 

[2023]

That was a terrible result. At some point, they are going to need to start cashing in on their chances. 52 shots and only 1 goal? Offense is supposed to be their strength. Will Cuylle needs to be better. He is supposed to have an "NHL shot" but two of his three goals came on wide-open nets. I have yet to see him really snipe one. He either misses the net or shoots it right at the goalie. He does work hard though, I'll give him that. They have made each goalie look like a Vezina caliber goalie with the exception of Thursday's win against a rookie making his OHL debut.

Defensively it's not good. They are last in the Western Conference in goals per game allowed and have one of the worst goal differentials as all three regulation losses were blowout defeats. New coach, I am willing to give them more time. It's early in the season but if they don't get at least 3 points next weekend it will be time to start asking some questions.

we have 2 d’s that rather play as forwards.
Coaches need to nip that ASAP. What happened to d’s who actually play their position? Our d’s need to know when to rush.

 

[TheGremlin]

we have 2 d’s that rather play as forwards.
Coaches need to nip that ASAP. What happened to d’s who actually play their position? Our d’s need to know when to rush.

And the worst part is those 2 D are paired together.

 

[member 71782]

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the last two games, would have enjoyed Friday's and listened to what I could but last night I turned it off after listening from just before it was 2 to 0 to OS's 4th goal.

Like I said the other day, give Downey every 5th game unless Medina shits the bed, give Downey the next start.

Something isn't right with Medina, what it is is anyone's guess but this can't go on.

If they have 12 forwards available then play 12 forwards. Enough of this double shifting and playing 8 D. Move a D and add two forwards to the roster. I can understand wanting to rotate rookies in and out of the line up but not using D to replace them.

If this continues through next weekend it'll be time for a major shake up. A few more games and we're almost 1/6th through the season. They can't let things get away from them early and then try to make desperation moves at the deadline.

 

[2023]

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the last two games, would have enjoyed Friday's and listened to what I could but last night I turned it off after listening from just before it was 2 to 0 to OS's 4th goal.

Like I said the other day, give Downey every 5th game unless Medina shits the bed, give Downey the next start.

Something isn't right with Medina, what it is is anyone's guess but this can't go on.

If they have 12 forwards available then play 12 forwards. Enough of this double shifting and playing 8 D. Move a D and add two forwards to the roster. I can understand wanting to rotate rookies in and out of the line up but not using D to replace them.

If this continues through next weekend it'll be time for a major shake up. A few more games and we're almost 1/6th through the season. They can't let things get away from them early and then try to make desperation moves at the deadline.

In my opinion again we need a new goalie and some stay at home d’s. Rookies need to play 3rd-4th line rolls. Abraham is fitting in but he’s to small. He’s fast so I would move him to the wing.

 

[hockeylegend11]

I’m going to come out and say it. “new coach pls”
Great player but terrible coach.

Not coming out and saying new coach just yet although if Letowski were still here there definitely would be calls to get rid of ,not from me.
Looked it up,Spits were 4-2-1 after 1st 7 games last time they played,special teams were not good,14th PP,13th PK, now they are 15th,PP,17th PK,goaltending Pirronen was 3.76,Medina 2.95,now Medina is 3.80 and Downey is 3.64,Cuylle had 1G,3A, then,now has 3G,2A, 2 game winners,none then,Damico was 2G,1A,now is 1G,3A,Johnston, Zito,McDonald were rooks though McDonald did have 3 G in 6 games then,has only 1 now,though I thought his last 2 games were his best to date.
Yes Spits took 3 points this weekend, easily could have been 4 before the Owen Sound game,thought they were great in Kitchener, also felt they were not being outplayed in Owen Sound,special teams bit team in the ass again, yes Guzda was a main reason for Owen Sound,but giving up 2PPG before the 3rd and not scoring on your own is a recipe for disaster.
Last game vs Kitchener Windsor was great on PK, wished they had scored more then 1 on PP,would never have gone to OT,Cajan was the difference for Kitchener
No doubt Windsor needs to get scoring now from the likes of Cuylle, Johnston, D'amico, and the kids Miedema who is pointless in 5 and Abraham who has 2 points on the season need to contribute, D needs to tighten up overall.
Medina was great on Friday, had no problem with him till the 3rd,when a save was really needed in the Owen Sound game.
One Savard thing has to do and I cant stress enough,NO 8 D and 10 Forwards again please,should have gone 12 and 6, with Birkett and O'Flaherty in the lineup .
Next 4 games with 3 of them at home,Guelph, Kitchener, at Fint,and home vs Erie will tell me what's going on
Spits are 2-2-0-2 in their last 6 with 4 of those 6 on the road,easily could be 4-2 with the shootout losses to London and Kitchener.
Have played well lately at home,need to in next 3 of 4 games

 

[stips]

"Coach" has to make the players effort and results unacceptable! Players either work harder, follow the game plan, or sit. This is a results league, so if you are not willing to play to your full potential, you should not be playing.
Don't play around with older underperforming vets......they earn their playing time. (It's hard to understand how a goalie, who allows at least 5 goals every game, is the starter!)
The fact is, keep losing and the team will have fewer and fewer fans.

 

[hockeylegend11]

One thing I find confounding is how Colorado Avalanche can still keep Jean Luc Foudy rotting away with their AHL team,instead of sending him to Windsor.
In 4 games this year he is pointless with a -3 minus
Career wise in the AHL overall his numbers are GP-39 G,3,A,12,15 Pts,-20
in plus/ minus.
We can point to his age and inexperience, which is my point,he isn't ready for the pros and no need to keep him there. Colarado is doing him a major disservice keeping him in the AHL,if he was being productive or least not a high minus player, was worst on AHL team last year at -17,6 higher then anyone else.
This a classic case of a player not ready for pro hockey and Colarado should know better and rectify it.

 

[Ward Cornell]

One thing I find confounding is how Colorado Avalanche can still keep Jean Luc Foudy rotting away with their AHL team,instead of sending him to Windsor.
In 4 games this year he is pointless with a -3 minus
Career wise in the AHL overall his numbers are GP-39 G,3,A,12,15 Pts,-20
in plus/ minus.
We can point to his age and inexperience, which is my point,he isn't ready for the pros and no need to keep him there. Colarado is doing him a major disservice keeping him in the AHL,if he was being productive or least not a high minus player, was worst on AHL team last year at -17,6 higher then anyone else.
This a classic case of a player not ready for pro hockey and Colarado should know better and rectify it.

My money is him being back after the WJHC...along with a bunch of other CHL players in the AHL. Probably not sooner with the camp being 5 weeks away.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Preface my comments by saying that before Saturday getting 3 out of 4 is quite acceptable. Unfortunately it meant that last night they had to get 1 or 2 points. This isn't a Savard issue imo the team is getting opportunities but they aren't putting the puck in the net. The question needs to be asked if these guys are capable of large goal totals though. D'Amico has been a 20 goal guy his whole career but I think he's destined to be at that level. Cuylle didn't have a huge year in 19-20 I think he's probably a 25+ goal guy not necessarily more than 30. You can't expect big years from Abraham or Miedema so then we are hoping Johnston/Zito/Maggio fills the gaps. That's a tough ask for all 3 to do. That's not even discussing how the D isn't good enough to make up for average goaltending either. This more about a Bowler roster construction issue and he needs to figure it out.

 

[Cherrydon]

Both teams played 3 in 3 nights. However the Spits need to roll 4 lines especially in these situations. The first 2 lines appeared pretty gassed by the 3rd period. Stupid decisions being made in the line-up decisions. I imagine Savard is relying heavily on Smith while Savard is learning to be a head coach. More than half the lineup is new but there are a lot of similarities between this years team and the Letowski years. How much is Smith really running things? Powerplay has sucked this season so far and 2 out of the last 3 seasons. 16th, 17th, 5th(2019-20) and 15th so far this year. We are tied with the Soo for most goals given up in the West but the Soo has played 1 more game and has scored 14 more goals.
Yes out goaltending has been horrible but we can't keep blaming our lack of production based on the teams great goaltending. We have not shown we are willing to get in the dirty areas and get some dirty goals on a consistent basis. Most of the time, our shots are from way out, no screening of the goalie or from bad angles. Our players seem to overhandle most passes and are too slow releasing a shot allowing the goalie to square up and have a clear line of vision to the shooter.
Hats off to Henualt for coming in from the Blue line to help Cuylee when he was being mugged in from of the net. I like to see "the old" Cuylee when he would have lost his mind taking abuse like that. Is he committed to playing his hardest or coast this season trying not to get injured looking ahead to his pro career? We need the Captain to take the reigns and lead by example. I like to see more of a "family" team atmosphere. Players willing to support one another in all circumstances. Still appears to be cliques on the ice between the older and younger players. When you see players whispering too each other on the bench you know there are some uneasy feelings. That is something that has carried on here for several seasons now. Time to put an end to it.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

"Coach" has to make the players effort and results unacceptable! Players either work harder, follow the game plan, or sit. This is a results league, so if you are not willing to play to your full potential, you should not be playing.
Don't play around with older underperforming vets......they earn their playing time. (It's hard to understand how a goalie, who allows at least 5 goals every game, is the starter!)
The fact is, keep losing and the team will have fewer and fewer fans.

Based upon some statements Savard is frustrated with some areas. He referenced one thing after the game against London they lost in a shootout. He mentioned they get down early their shoulders slump and he needs to motivate and pump them up. He also mentioned the PP struggles against Kitchener. After seeing this group even for 7 games now I think he's getting a good grasp of what he's dealing with. Going with Medina was the right call considering how he played against Kitchener but down 2-0 after 2 with a team that doesn't score a lot the dam is going to break at some point. Look at the OS 2ND goal a 4-3 PP and OS is having their PP down below the dots and Windsor doesn't look to have an idea of what to do.

 

[robp1219]

Would Windsor possibly trade for one of the stings goalies Thornton recently signed by the coyotes and gaudreau drafted by San Jose in 3rd round. Both 18 year olds. I’ve watched both this year and they are studs. I’d imagine Thornton will be the one traded and I’d imagine he will request a trade to be a #1 goalie.​

 

[Cherrydon]

I would think they would want to trade for an older goalie. Downey was the highest goalie taken in the draft his draft year and is only 17. He needs to be given a shot to be a starter likely next season. He just needs some grooming this year although Mikey was put in the fire at that age and did exceptional. If we trade for a great 18 yr old we will be in the same mess Sarnia is in now with 2 "starters" next season

 

[stips]

Play Downey now. It has to be an improvement on what we are getting!

Medina and pick for Lennox?

 

[windsor7]

One thing I find confounding is how Colorado Avalanche can still keep Jean Luc Foudy rotting away with their AHL team,instead of sending him to Windsor.
In 4 games this year he is pointless with a -3 minus
Career wise in the AHL overall his numbers are GP-39 G,3,A,12,15 Pts,-20
in plus/ minus.
We can point to his age and inexperience, which is my point,he isn't ready for the pros and no need to keep him there. Colarado is doing him a major disservice keeping him in the AHL,if he was being productive or least not a high minus player, was worst on AHL team last year at -17,6 higher then anyone else.
This a classic case of a player not ready for pro hockey and Colarado should know better and rectify it.

Colorado must know something.
Professionals.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I would think they would want to trade for an older goalie. Downey was the highest goalie taken in the draft his draft year and is only 17. He needs to be given a shot to be a starter likely next season. He just needs some grooming this year although Mikey was put in the fire at that age and did exceptional. If we trade for a great 18 yr old we will be in the same mess Sarnia is in now with 2 "starters" next season

Agreed I don't see this as an appealing option. There is time to figure this out but the guys figuring out are the same guys who let things slip in January onward of 19-20. It cannnot happen again just to believe they can figure it out. You either try to win this year or just rebuild.

 

[stips]

Rebuild...rebuild...rebuild...rebuild...rebuild........how about getting it right and win!