Windsor Spitfires 2023-24 Season Thread (Part 2)

[ohloutsider]

I see it the opposite way. If you don't believe in this coaching staff, these new players haven't had a practice together yet. It would actually make more sense to get new people in and start with the new guys. Instead of keeping with status quo and hoping it gets better because that's all there really is. We haven't seen anything that gives us belief they will turn this around.

Smith shouldn't have that long of a leash. I don't think the idea of him losing his job and the possibility of him not finding a job again should be of the Spits concern. He's been with the organization for over a decade a now and has made plenty of money and has had plenty of job security. His connection to this organization shouldn't be held in high regard. If they continue to play poorly the bigger concern is losing the ones that pay the salaries for these coaches.

Like I said the playoffs are out of the discussion and that's a tough pill for the players and organization to swallow. Some of it is on the players but a lot of this is on coaches and management for not creating the environment for them to succeed.

We can agree to disagree but the old boys hockey clique still exists. JS will get a longer rope but yes he has certainly used most of it up already.

Curious do we think Joey will get moved and then they just run with Frogget and Michelone? Goaltending would be no worst than it is now?

 

[windsor7]

Don't see any press conference for a firing today...

 

[bobber]

Spit fans just a puzzling question. Where are the Spits at this moment in time as far as rebuild , retool or trying just or get into play position? Recent trade gives the indication of a rebuild season.

 

[OHL4Life]

Spit fans just a puzzling question. Where are the Spits at this moment in time as far as rebuild , retool or trying just or get into play position? Recent trade gives the indication of a rebuild season.

strip it down and restart, maybe 3/4 players that can be part of the answer, the rest are questions or place holders.

 

[windsor7]

Spit fans just a puzzling question. Where are the Spits at this moment in time as far as rebuild , retool or trying just or get into play position? Recent trade gives the indication of a rebuild season.

Rebuild for numerous years now..

 

[OHLTG]

Spit fans just a puzzling question. Where are the Spits at this moment in time as far as rebuild , retool or trying just or get into play position? Recent trade gives the indication of a rebuild season.

In theory, they should be starting a rebuild. They've traded multiple veterans for youth and picks since June. However, their GM has stated that it was a "rearranging of the roster" and it doesn't appear that he wants to commit to the term "rebuild."

 

[HockeyPops]

It's definitely a rebuild season based on the trades Windsor has made. It might be a tough season, but the good news for Windsor fans is that a quick bounceback is in order starting next year. The 2006 group is very strong, and has some complementary 2005 pieces to go along with them. This team is poised to be much better next year.

That being said the rest of this season could be rough. There are very few cards left. I can see them dealing Peer at the deadline to finish restocking the cupboards but that might be about it. Clawing their way back into a playoff spot might be a tall order, even if a change is made behind the bench.

 

[Cherrydon]

Spit fans just a puzzling question. Where are the Spits at this moment in time as far as rebuild , retool or trying just or get into play position? Recent trade gives the indication of a rebuild season.

We are at ground zero now. 2 years minimum maybe more if a coupke of our 06s make a big club.Team was anticipated to be a 4-5 seed but that has been an epic fail. Our crop of 04's and 05's are realistically horrible not OHL level players outside of 1 or 2. Going to be a long climb to return to respectability IMO. It will take some creativity based in low draft cupboard assests and tradeability of players for a decent return. Card issues will plague us this year from a massive in season turnover.

 

[OHL4Life]

It's definitely a rebuild season based on the trades Windsor has made. It might be a tough season, but the good news for Windsor fans is that a quick bounceback is in order starting next year. The 2006 group is very strong, and has some complementary 2005 pieces to go along with them. This team is poised to be much better next year.

That being said the rest of this season could be rough. There are very few cards left. I can see them dealing Peer at the deadline to finish restocking the cupboards but that might be about it. Clawing their way back into a playoff spot might be a tall order, even if a change is made behind the bench.

froggett should be a good goalie, but need someone to play ahead of him, cant give him too much too quick. wish they had a better 04 goalie. joey would be fine but i dont blame him if he wants out at this point (not sure anyone would want him thou)

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Spit fans just a puzzling question. Where are the Spits at this moment in time as far as rebuild , retool or trying just or get into play position? Recent trade gives the indication of a rebuild season.

It kind of looks like a rebuild if you look at how they play and the results. Unfortunately there are many players that are not OHL caliber. Hope Lavigne and Manzo the 07 D can contribute next year still might be a lot to ask. They have 2 2nd rounders but no 3rd rounders. Still a lot of questions to ask and you're not going to get many answers this year. Hopefully there are more next year but it won't be pretty for the next 1.5 years. Hope they can be good for 2025-2026.

 

[Cherrydon]

froggett should be a good goalie, but need someone to play ahead of him, cant give him too much too quick. wish they had a better 04 goalie. joey would be fine but i dont blame him if he wants out at this point (not sure anyone would want him thou)

Costanzo had a .901 save % and a 3.03 GAA last year 42 games. What happened? The bad D team got way worse. His numbers this year similar to his 1st year woth Niagara. You need some assemblence of a team in front of you. Froggett will be in the same boat before long
Sinking without paddle. Hate to see these younger goalies with promise be exposed beyond with incredible scoring chances on them 1 of every 2-3 shots. Hope Froggett got some really thick skin riding this tidal wave.

 

[OHLTG]

I said on Saturday that I hope people look at Costanzo's stats and ask "was it the team in front of him?" He's been solid, for the most part, but is likely going to have some of the worst stats in team history.

 

[ktownfan]

How was outwater in his first game?

 

[windsor7]

I said on Saturday that I hope people look at Costanzo's stats and ask "was it the team in front of him?" He's been solid, for the most part, but is likely going to have some of the worst stats in team history.

Coaching issues to start.

 

[spits]

I think the team has a chance to be solid as early as next year. Greentree and Cristoforo will be drafted and there is a good chance Davis is drafted. He leads all rookies in scoring. Spellacy and Woodall could also be drafted. Woodall is second in rookie d-men scoring despite playing just 10 games.

I will use the SOO for comparison. They won 20 games last season. They added Kaarki in the import draft and Beck as an OA before the season. I expect the Spitfires to do something similar.

They are all but guaranteed to get a very good player in the import draft, picking 3rd overall. Usually, you get a 1st or 2nd round NHL pick picking that early. I also expect them to add one of the biggest available OA's in the offseason, using some of their 2nd's to add. You could have 5-6 NHL drafted players on next year's squad. The division is for the taking next year. SOO is in its contending year now, Saginaw will be selling. Sarnia is early in a rebuild. Especially considering they traded their '06 Martone. There is also a decent chance they end up with Braidy Wassilyn. Sounds like he is elite and could be a point per game player as a rookie.

 

[spits]

We are at ground zero now. 2 years minimum maybe more if a coupke of our 06s make a big club.Team was anticipated to be a 4-5 seed but that has been an epic fail. Our crop of 04's and 05's are realistically horrible not OHL level players outside of 1 or 2. Going to be a long climb to return to respectability IMO. It will take some creativity based in low draft cupboard assests and tradeability of players for a decent return. Card issues will plague us this year from a massive in season turnover.

I disagree on the draft cupboard. They have more 2nd's than every team in the conference other than Flint. Will likely be adding more 3rd as they trade veterans.

 

[OHL4Life]

Costanzo had a .901 save % and a 3.03 GAA last year 42 games. What happened? The bad D team got way worse. His numbers this year similar to his 1st year woth Niagara. You need some assemblence of a team in front of you. Froggett will be in the same boat before long
Sinking without paddle. Hate to see these younger goalies with promise be exposed beyond with incredible scoring chances on them 1 of every 2-3 shots. Hope Froggett got some really thick skin riding this tidal wave.

the team last year protected him alot. they had the puck on their stick most of the game. he was never that good imo, but hes also not this bad. joey and froggett for the next year is good but i dont know if joey wants to stay. i cant see a team trading much for joey with his numbers.

 

[HockeyPops]

I will use the SOO for comparison. They won 20 games last season. They added Kaarki in the import draft and Beck as an OA before the season. I expect the Spitfires to do something similar.

The Soo only graduated 4 players off last year's roster (3 OAs, and Samuel Ivanov) while Windsor will graduate more this year. The Soo also had a much fuller draft in 2022 than Windsor did in 2023. It might be a stretch to see Windsor leap frogging everyone to the top of the standings next year.

 

[windsor7]

I think the team has a chance to be solid as early as next year. Greentree and Cristoforo will be drafted and there is a good chance Davis is drafted. He leads all rookies in scoring. Spellacy and Woodall could also be drafted. Woodall is second in rookie d-men scoring despite playing just 10 games.

I will use the SOO for comparison. They won 20 games last season. They added Kaarki in the import draft and Beck as an OA before the season. I expect the Spitfires to do something similar.

They are all but guaranteed to get a very good player in the import draft, picking 3rd overall. Usually, you get a 1st or 2nd round NHL pick picking that early. I also expect them to add one of the biggest available OA's in the offseason, using some of their 2nd's to add. You could have 5-6 NHL drafted players on next year's squad. The division is for the taking next year. SOO is in its contending year now, Saginaw will be selling. Sarnia is early in a rebuild. Especially considering they traded their '06 Martone. There is also a decent chance they end up with Braidy Wassilyn. Sounds like he is elite and could be a point per game player as a rookie.

Coaching???

 

[spits]

The Soo only graduated 4 players off last year's roster (3 OAs, and Samuel Ivanov) while Windsor will graduate more this year. The Soo also had a much fuller draft in 2022 than Windsor did in 2023. It might be a stretch to see Windsor leap frogging everyone to the top of the standings next year.

Good point, I said similar to the SOO not exact. But they did just add Zhugin and Outwater who will be on the team next year. Greentree has the potential to be the best player in the OHL next year. Add another dynamic player on his line and the team will win games.

 

[Cherrydon]

Good point, I said similar to the SOO not exact. But they did just add Zhugin and Outwater who will be on the team next year. Greentree has the potential to be the best player in the OHL next year. Add another dynamic player on his line and the team will win games.

Here we go again with swampland for sale. Returning goal scorers returning does not improve the absolute pathetic D. Our touted high end D and experienced Toms leads the team in minus and looks like it is a pain to even get dressed. No doubt Greentree will likely be a league leader in scoring but he needs to drastically improve his defensive play. He has super potential but is not a Wyatt Johnston yet. Even with a pile of 2nd round picks they are still inexperienced 16 year olds and limited to dress so many. Plus we better pray our 1st rounder signs. Forget any flyers thinking about coming here for a while. Plus we will need at least 1 likely 2 goalies even if Froggett is our starter. We loaded last year had Maggio and Wright and couldn't outscore our D though much better D than this year to get out of the 1st round. Need lots of Xmas presents dropped from the sky.

 

[Cherrydon]

I found a category we absolutely dominate in the OHL. Worst plu/minus 9 of the worst 11 are Spits.

 

[tomschman]

The Spits have a very good group of 06s, but 05s and 07s have all been traded away (07s in the form of draft picks). I expect the 08s to be very good because of where they will be drafting. They will also be adding a top tier import next year.

Bowler, despite the criticism he receives did an incredible job of drafting 2 years ago. He also did a very good job of building the 21-22 by making some trades that most people thought were nothing. Last year, the trades didn't work out and he gutted the 05s and 07s in the process. I don't see much happening in trades for the remainder of the year. The Spits don't have many cards left to bring in players and I don't see trading 03s, 04s and 05s for draft picks because I don't believe they would bring much. If the other team is going to give up draft picks, they want players that will improve their teams.

When you look at the roster we have:

03's - Peer, Mallett, Mancini
04's - Morneau, Abraham, Zhugin, Struthers, Smith, Castle, Toms, Michelone
05's - Greenwell, Stewart, Martin, Outwater, Eichler, Winegard, Constanzo

Which of these will bring in a 2nd round pick, let alone multiple picks.

I read recently on these boards that the Savage's want to sell. If that is true, they won't put money into the team, which is probably why they promoted Smith. If I were a perspective coaching replacement (or GM replacement), I would demand a 4-to-5-year guaranteed contract to give myself an entire cycle to improve this mess. I don't see the Savage's giving anyone that type of contract. Also, if they sell the team, the new owner will probably want to bring in their own people and wouldn't want to have to eat long term contracts. Therefore, if you fire Smith, his replacement will probably be Delmore. Where does that get us.

It appears to me that the team will go as far as a bunch of 17-year-olds can take it.

 

[TheGremlin]

Joey’s downfall seems to have started last year in the playoffs. Since then he has just lost it.

 

[Cherrydon]

Who is kept and who is going import? Zhugin or Eichler?both? One is going to get the high end import pick next year