Windsor Spitfires 2023-24 Offseason Thread (Part 3)

[windsor7]

Charlottetown was an option but things got in the way so Colton's back here.

Trade for whatever they offer.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Rosters for each of the 3 scrimmage teams is out,Spits have added 1 forward,OA Nicholas Yearwood formerly of Sudbury and London-6'190-LW had 8G,22A,54 Pims in 62 games,a bit surprised considering his age,but team now has 30F,15D and 7G in camp,wish he was an O5 guess we will see what he has,is aggressive to be noted.

 

[Knownothing]

Only 2 players from last year gave up numbers - Christforo gave up 74 to Mathurin and Davis gave up 86 which no one has ( yet) . Not sure how you see vets giving numbers to rooks?

You misinterpreted my statement. They gave open numbers wanted by vets to rookies instead of granting the vets their preferred number.

 

[ohloutsider]

You misinterpreted my statement. They gave open numbers wanted by vets to rookies instead of granting the vets their preferred number.

Ok, I did read it wrong. Not sure why they would do it that way? Was that all vets? Seems like some got what they wanted?

Rosters for each of the 3 scrimmage teams is out,Spits have added 1 forward,OA Nicholas Yearwood formerly of Sudbury and London-6'190-LW had 8G,22A,54 Pims in 62 games,a bit surprised considering his age,but team now has 30F,15D and 7G in camp,wish he was an O5 guess we will see what he has,is aggressive to be noted.

Would Yearwood be a better option than Morneau? Maybe they are looking at it that way?

 

[OHLTG]

Would Yearwood be a better option than Morneau? Maybe they are looking at it that way?

That was my first thought.

 

[Voice from the North]

Rosters for each of the 3 scrimmage teams is out,Spits have added 1 forward,OA Nicholas Yearwood formerly of Sudbury and London-6'190-LW had 8G,22A,54 Pims in 62 games,a bit surprised considering his age,but team now has 30F,15D and 7G in camp,wish he was an O5 guess we will see what he has,is aggressive to be noted.

Yearwood can play a little bit as a middle six guy and is a good player to have for a rebuilding team as far as teaching the young guys how to be aggressive and do the little things right. Very good PK guy. Would have had better stats with some more ice time on a less talented team. If Bowler is going to trade Abraham or Morneau to acquire some decent picks, Yearwood is a good replacement

 

[windsor7]

Yearwood can play a little bit as a middle six guy and is a good player to have for a rebuilding team as far as teaching the young guys how to be aggressive and do the little things right. Very good PK guy. Would have had better stats with some more ice time on a less talented team. If Bowler is going to trade Abraham or Morneau to acquire some decent picks, Yearwood is a good replacement

Doesn't take dumb penalties then...

 

[Voice from the North]

Doesn't take dumb penalties then...

He takes some aggressive penalties but not lazy ones. He has no problems sending a message for his teammates and for a younger team (which the Spits are) its a good quality for an OA.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Yearwood can play a little bit as a middle six guy and is a good player to have for a rebuilding team as far as teaching the young guys how to be aggressive and do the little things right. Very good PK guy. Would have had better stats with some more ice time on a less talented team. If Bowler is going to trade Abraham or Morneau to acquire some decent picks, Yearwood is a good replacement

I agree with most of what you are saying ironically both Yearwood and Morneau were drafted in 2020 in the same round the 15th.
Unless as u mentioned one of Abraham or Morneau is dealt Yearwood would be a good replacement for either especially Morneau, they have similar numbers point wise,kudos to both for making the OHL from the 15th round,maybe backup plan if either Abraham or Morneau get hurt in camp who really knows will be curious to see how things turnout.

 

[punch1943]

Nothing to lose…everything to gain. If he fits it’s a win.

 

[ohloutsider]

Nothing to lose…everything to gain. If he fits it’s a win.

My thinking exactly. Pick him up for free, no picks or players required to obtain him. Just needs to prove he is a better option than Morneau. And I'm thinking Morneau is aware now his spot is not guaranteed.

 

[hockeylegend11]

On the eve prior to the opening of training camp will be curious to see how these following players perform,5 forwards drafted last year, Julien Gignac, Markus Lagana, Mickael Tissier, Kyle Butt and Maxine Morin,with Morin being the only Center amongst, toss in the only young free agent,Lucas Novak a left winger Toronto born who played in Europe last year (Slovakia),these 6 are all 17 or about to be ,though with 3 goalies, 10 D and 16 or 17 forwards under contract things could get interesting and I am not including the latest addition to camp in OA forward Nicholas Yearwood.
Now guys like Greenwell,Morgan and Stewart are signed however I don't see a spot any of those 3-19 year olds on this squad this season especially if they can't play in the top 12 starting forwards,with 5 forwards signed,Belchetz, Garden,Lemieux, Protas,Brocklehurst, though I can see Brocklehurst playing in LA Salle this as he doesn't turn 16 till Dec 30.
Dealing with the 6 I mentioned at the top, I can see 3 or 4 signed ,and starting with Gignac who played great with Lakeshore as a 16 year old with 80 points plus including playoffs,Butt coming back from pre training camp injury to having a good season,Mickael Tissier is intriguing had a real camp last year left just before blue/ white,thought he was headed to college now he is here, Lagana was injured but rated 3rd round possible,Morin had a good season where he played last year and Spits have kept in touch, and I already have touched on
Novak who played in Europe despite being from Toronto.
Prediction Gignac who is a 1st cousin to current Spit Noah Morneau and a 15th rounder like Noah to boot gets signed, ditto Butt because he is ultra aggressive ,Morin because he plays Center and Tissier because he can score.
Now a couple of them at least 2 will probably play B before playing here but I see the future pretty good upfront
Finally I hope the Novak kid surprises me,doesn't turn 17 till mid November
Other players such as Ethan Martin and Owen Outwater may be hard pressed if a couple of the guys I listed show something, though I prefer to keep Martin but if a guy like Butt,2 years younger shows something it has to be considered.
In my mind,Abraham, Morneau, Nesbitt, Davis,Spellacy, Greentree,Protas and Belchetz are locks with Nathan Gaymes close to being the #9 guy
As well with Centers Ethan Garden and JC Lemieiux being signed I see room for only 3 more,will be very interesting how things shake out with what I have presented
Hope I am right.
Tomorrow I will talk about the D and G,especially with 13 already signed 3G and 10D not alot of room for anybody this season to get signed.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

Charlottetown was an option but things got in the way so Colton's back here.

Like skill level? Lol. I can’t imagine a junior A spot on the Firebirds OJHL affiliate is a preferred destination if there’s any CHL team is offering up an OA Spot. (If a future in hockey is being pursued).

Excited to hear feedback from camp. Safe to assume no cuts until the end of the weekend?

 

[DetSpitsFan]

Rosters for each of the 3 scrimmage teams is out,Spits have added 1 forward,OA Nicholas Yearwood formerly of Sudbury and London-6'190-LW had 8G,22A,54 Pims in 62 games,a bit surprised considering his age,but team now has 30F,15D and 7G in camp,wish he was an O5 guess we will see what he has,is aggressive to be noted.

I kind of like this for camp. Put a little pressure on Abraham & Morneau, and at least establish a connection with someone that could be brought in, provided we don’t have the season we hope, and have to move players out for assets.

 

[DetSpitsFan]

I have to imagine Gaymes makes it. 34 pts/48 games with the Vipers and a Pair of goals in 4 games with the Spits last year.

I definitely see more names that could make this roster than spots.

Outwater may surprise, but I wasn’t impressed before and then the injury doesn’t help. It’s an exciting time of year, and all I’m really hoping for, is that the guys that look best in camp, make the roster rather than anything political behind the scenes.

Maybe a favor brings a guy to camp, but that doesn’t deserve a roster spot.

I will say, I feel under Bowler we’ve got a bit less of the loyalty/vet card. I remember several years back, a lot of us were agreeing on players A, B, and C are getting more ice time than they’re earning, which appeared to be just because of tenured time. That doesn’t seem like too much of an issue anymore. I had some questions on smith being on the roster, but it wasn’t like he was eating up minutes last year that we could’ve given to a younger player with potential.

 

[OHLTG]

Spitfires have signed Gaymes to an OHL contract. He's also now listed at 6'1 181.

 

[tomschman]

My thinking exactly. Pick him up for free, no picks or players required to obtain him. Just needs to prove he is a better option than Morneau. And I'm thinking Morneau is aware now his spot is not guaranteed.

Also, no guarantee that Mathurin doesn't get signed by Chicago and sent to the AHL or ECHL. Probanly a longshot but possible.

 

[OHLTG]

If Mathurin went to the AHL, I think Bowler goes for another OA D. The picks wouldn't head to NB so he'd still have them to work with.

 

[Travis Bickle 77]

I really thought there would be more updates on how training camp is going on here today? Could not make it to the WFCU as I work today and tomorrow. How are things looking? Any exciting stuff? Hits....Fights? lol

 

[thespitslurker]

hi I'm new here I went to the Spits practices today and and wanted to share my thoughts on how some players did:

-Greentree, Spellacy, Belchetz and Abraham played well
-Garden is very fast and skilled
-Protas and Spicer are big and have very hard shots
-I liked Nesbitt, Manzo and Lagana (good for him getting signed too)
-Froggett looked solid in net; the others were mostly okay
-Cristoforo had good skating (his judgement and confidence however lol)
-I liked Gignacs hustle and effort
-Brocklehurst 100% should be Jr. B this year he can improve a bit
-Yearwood looked good but idk what we do for the situation with him

The others I didn't mention were mostly okay but some are obviously not ready yet. Im going tomorrow morning to watch the scrimmages lets see how they do. Go Spits Go

 

[windsor7]

hi I'm new here I went to the Spits practices today and and wanted to share my thoughts on how some players did:

-Greentree, Spellacy, Belchetz and Abraham played well
-Garden is very fast and skilled
-Protas and Spicer are big and have very hard shots
-I liked Nesbitt, Manzo and Lagana (good for him getting signed too)
-Froggett looked solid in net; the others were mostly okay
-Cristoforo had good skating (his judgement and confidence however lol)
-I liked Gignacs hustle and effort
-Brocklehurst 100% should be Jr. B this year he can improve a bit
-Yearwood looked good but idk what we do for the situation with him

The others I didn't mention were mostly okay but some are obviously not ready yet. Im going tomorrow morning to watch the scrimmages lets see how they do. Go Spits Go

#44 judgement n confidence wasn't good last year. Along with his defense

 

[thespitslurker]

#44 judgement n confidence wasn't good last year. Along with his defense

Yeah I was hoping Bowler would trade him or Costanzo this year but I guess he's willing to give them a chance (even tho I wouldn't). Especially now that Leenders got traded and the goalie market isn't as good anymore. I guess we just gotta pray they're at least decent or every game is gonna end with a lot of goals both ways

 

[spitsfan24]

I really thought there would be more updates on how training camp is going on here today? Could not make it to the WFCU as I work today and tomorrow. How are things looking? Any exciting stuff? Hits....Fights? lol

It just finished up about an hour ago. It was only practices today starting at 5 PM.

Always hard to decipher things from a practice though. I think I'll be there all day tomorrow for the scrimmages, and I'll be sure to give my thoughts afterwards.

 

[frontsfan67]

#44 judgement n confidence wasn't good last year. Along with his defense

If that seemingly hasn’t improved much I am wondering if you guys look to trade him. Defence is one thing but confidence is a completely different ball game. A change in scenery often times can help that.

I know the fronts could use a puck moving d man for the top 4.

And with former spit Patrick sanvido who himself was a great defensive d man- I’m sure they could get him to work on defence lots.

Only problem with this is- still very early into the season and you guys may not be actively looking to trade him right now.

 

[OHLTG]

It's tough to give many thoughts on today because it was only practice. But, here are a few things...

- Walters comes across as the guy who is direct but personable. You could clearly hear him all over the ice but he was doing one-on-one with players, showing them specific things, and laughing a lot, too. It left a good impression, despite being just one evening of work.

- Either Ethan Martin lost a lot of weight or Protas is bigger than his listed 197... or both. Nesbitt looks like he's bulked up, too.

- Torres seemed to be focused on the defence, at least at the start. Who knows if that continues into the season or not.

Again, personal player improvements and stuff like that is tough in a practice. I'll have more after the scrimmages tomorrow evening once we see them in semi-game action.