Windsor Spitfires 2023-24 Season Thread (Part 4)

[windsorduster19]

Not with this coaching staff..

He will probably get rewarded with more ice, knowing this coaching staff.

 

[windsor7]

Christo was on the ice for the first goal. I remember that cause he spent about 5-10 sec adjusting his helmet after he got hit by his bench. And by adjusting I’m talking about taking off a glove and undoing his chin strap and then fixing helmet and then doing everything up again. By time he was done play was going other way and they scored.

Such a bad play..

 

[windsor7]

Windsor played not well.
Not much offense at all.
Defense soft n running around. Bad positioning.
Bad coaches choices with the lines.
A very bad penalties.
Has the team accepted bottom of league??

 

[HockeyPops]

Has the team accepted bottom of league??

In order to get above Sarnia, Windsor needs to go down the stretch sporting a win% .200 points above Sarnia.
In order to get above Flint, Windsor needs to go down the stretch sporting a win% .250 points above Flint.

BOTH need to happen for Windsor to make the playoffs. Tough ask.

 

[ohloutsider]

In order to get above Sarnia, Windsor needs to go down the stretch sporting a win% .200 points above Sarnia.
In order to get above Flint, Windsor needs to go down the stretch sporting a win% .250 points above Flint.

BOTH need to happen for Windsor to make the playoffs. Tough ask.

The end of the Spits season is a foregone conclusion at this point. Fans can cling on to the small thread of hope if they wish but my small brain is already looking ahead to next year.

If you need any evidence of that last night showed that the players also are thinking the same thing. Announcers described it as an overall lack of intensity.

I feel for the 2 OA's that have come here to finish their OHL careers only to realize it is going to end quickly and not on a winning note .

Flint needs to lose 6 straight and Windsor needs to win 6 straight just to catch them, not even accounting for Sarina in this equation. Put a fork in it because they are done.

Wassilyn watch continues.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

In order to get above Sarnia, Windsor needs to go down the stretch sporting a win% .200 points above Sarnia.
In order to get above Flint, Windsor needs to go down the stretch sporting a win% .250 points above Flint.

BOTH need to happen for Windsor to make the playoffs. Tough ask.

Sarnia plays Flint 4 more times as well which means one team is going to get a guaranteed 2 points not accounting for an extra points. So that's 4 games that will not help Windsor at all and that's not accounting for if Windsor happens to lose during those 4 games as well. The playoffs hopes are all but dead. They were pretty much dead after the 21 games with Smith behind the bench. When Smith got fired they were 11 points back of the playoffs. Today they are 9 points back so in a span of 25 games they have made up 2 points.

 

[Teflon]

May have been one of the worst games ive ever watched! Did anyone notice Cristo take off leading a PP rush and NONE of his linemates followed?? Tells me as lot! Rumors about the Zito deal escalating. Heard there was a physical altercation with HC. Crazy stuff out there. This team is a full on disaster at this point. Hearing parents are voicing displeasure as well! Not sure how anyone on this staff can be retained!
Do you clean house or start the year with some staff on extremely short leashes and risk another year of this?!?!

 

[windsor7]

May have been one of the worst games ive ever watched! Did anyone notice Cristo take off leading a PP rush and NONE of his linemates followed?? Tells me as lot! Rumors about the Zito deal escalating. Heard there was a physical altercation with HC. Crazy stuff out there. This team is a full on disaster at this point. Hearing parents are voicing displeasure as well! Not sure how anyone on this staff can be retained!
Do you clean house or start the year with some staff on extremely short leashes and risk another year of this?!?!

Got to clean house completely.
Should of done it last time.

 

[OHLTG]

The end of the Spits season is a foregone conclusion at this point. Fans can cling on to the small thread of hope if they wish but my small brain is already looking ahead to next year.

If you need any evidence of that last night showed that the players also are thinking the same thing. Announcers described it as an overall lack of intensity.

I feel for the 2 OA's that have come here to finish their OHL careers only to realize it is going to end quickly and not on a winning note .

Flint needs to lose 6 straight and Windsor needs to win 6 straight just to catch them, not even accounting for Sarina in this equation. Put a fork in it because they are done.

Wassilyn watch continues.

We're at the point where you ask "okay, we've seen this song and dance before... WHY does it keep happening?" On one hand, I'd like to see them try to pull a Kitchener. On the other hand, a top four pick with a franchise player heading out way sounds really nice.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

May have been one of the worst games ive ever watched! Did anyone notice Cristo take off leading a PP rush and NONE of his linemates followed?? Tells me as lot! Rumors about the Zito deal escalating. Heard there was a physical altercation with HC. Crazy stuff out there. This team is a full on disaster at this point. Hearing parents are voicing displeasure as well! Not sure how anyone on this staff can be retained!
Do you clean house or start the year with some staff on extremely short leashes and risk another year of this?!?!

Unfortunately we have said this a lot eg giving up 11 against OS, 10 to London. Not all games are the same 4-2 loss and there was very little effort. As for Zito it was a move that didn't need to be made. I feel it was more based on feel good emotions and not hockey reasons. I can't speak about displeasure or angst but caveat emptor If you're good with Bowler don't ignore these next 20 or so games.

This is a roster he has built, coaches he hired etc... Look at who wears an A in Abraham his offense has fallen off, takes terrible penalties and looks lazy. Greentree is and should be captain but how can you get buy in when Abraham is wearing an A when it's probably more about seniority?

Spits don't need Bowler if Evola is that involved, he can make the draft picks. Clean house Torres can't return from being assistant-interim-assistant sends a weird vibe. The only accountability with this team was firing Smith and that started a mutiny. That's on Bowler because he didn't know his people. Clean house.

 

[spits]

He traded Peer and Maillette, but brought in Zito, so it softened the blow a bit, now Zito leaves, that's 3 centers. Of course this team is going to struggle to win games with basically one center.

The players know the chances of making the playoffs are basically zero lack of desire to win in these last 20 or so games. Cracked me up when they sent the email to season ticket holders about trying to make the playoffs.

Hoping for a few home wins for entertainment value but definitely hoping they lose most of the remaining games.

 

[Cherrydon]

May have been one of the worst games ive ever watched! Did anyone notice Cristo take off leading a PP rush and NONE of his linemates followed?? Tells me as lot! Rumors about the Zito deal escalating. Heard there was a physical altercation with HC. Crazy stuff out there. This team is a full on disaster at this point. Hearing parents are voicing displeasure as well! Not sure how anyone on this staff can be retained!
Do you clean house or start the year with some staff on extremely short leashes and risk another year of this?!?!

Hence my suggestion to move him to forward since his persistence to avoid contact is embarrassing to watch in the defensive zone. Puts his stick towards the play as he turns his back to the play to avoid contact. Woodall and Eichler similar size and are ot afraid to accidentally rub another jersey, rather they engage regardless of size. Remember Woodall standing up for Greentree when Smith coasted by the culprit without even a sparky look. If Zito was chastazed for a long shift, I'd be pissed off too watching select players in their own world do the same thing and time I never cut total bs. That is coaching and or also BB prioritizing certain pets with a hall pass to not ne held accountable.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I don’t think it’s any secret that this coaching staff will not be here at the end of the season. Let them go down with their sinking ship and this year will go down as one of the worst in the franchises history with their names to thank for it. We will be able to collectively thank them for either the first, second or third overall pick, and get a (hopefully) elite talent this franchise can build around and things will be better by next season.

For the remaining games of the season, all we can do is hope for progression from the 2006 born players and Jack Nesbitt. We should stop shoving responsibly down Smith and Abraham’s mouths because they won’t be here next season and are not the type of kids you’d want the younger guys to look up to on the ice.

It’s a lost season, I see no need to complain about it anymore. Accept that the team is trash, and look forward to next season and cheer on the draft eligibles this year.

 

[Cherrydon]

I don’t think it’s any secret that this coaching staff will not be here at the end of the season. Let them go down with their sinking ship and this year will go down as one of the worst in the franchises history with their names to thank for it. We will be able to collectively thank them for either the first, second or third overall pick, and get a (hopefully) elite talent this franchise can build around and things will be better by next season.

For the remaining games of the season, all we can do is hope for progression from the 2006 born players and Jack Nesbitt. We should stop shoving responsibly down Smith and Abraham’s mouths because they won’t be here next season and are not the type of kids you’d want the younger guys to look up to on the ice.

It’s a lost season, I see no need to complain about it anymore. Accept that the team is trash, and look forward to next season and cheer on the draft eligibles this year.

Simply put

 

[spits]

I don’t think it’s any secret that this coaching staff will not be here at the end of the season. Let them go down with their sinking ship and this year will go down as one of the worst in the franchises history with their names to thank for it. We will be able to collectively thank them for either the first, second or third overall pick, and get a (hopefully) elite talent this franchise can build around and things will be better by next season.

For the remaining games of the season, all we can do is hope for progression from the 2006 born players and Jack Nesbitt. We should stop shoving responsibly down Smith and Abraham’s mouths because they won’t be here next season and are not the type of kids you’d want the younger guys to look up to on the ice.

It’s a lost season, I see no need to complain about it anymore. Accept that the team is trash, and look forward to next season and cheer on the draft eligibles this year.

Well said. I've accepted that it's been a disastrous season and prefer them to lose out.

You don't think Abraham will be an OA next year? I think they should bring in OA via trades in the summer trading window.

Any chance Belchetz ends up going #1? I've seen your list on EP.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Well said. I've accepted that it's been a disastrous season and prefer them to lose out.

You don't think Abraham will be an OA next year? I think they should bring in OA via trades in the summer trading window.

Any chance Belchetz ends up going #1? I've seen your list on EP.

I don’t think he should be an O/A on the Spitfires. I think it’d be best if there was a mutual divorce for lack of better terms.

I think there is a world in which a team considers Belchetz a possibility - after all it’s not often you’re able to draft a kid at 16 that is already 6’5”, and has the offensive ability he does.

 

[ohloutsider]

I don’t think it’s any secret that this coaching staff will not be here at the end of the season. Let them go down with their sinking ship and this year will go down as one of the worst in the franchises history with their names to thank for it. We will be able to collectively thank them for either the first, second or third overall pick, and get a (hopefully) elite talent this franchise can build around and things will be better by next season.

For the remaining games of the season, all we can do is hope for progression from the 2006 born players and Jack Nesbitt. We should stop shoving responsibly down Smith and Abraham’s mouths because they won’t be here next season and are not the type of kids you’d want the younger guys to look up to on the ice.

It’s a lost season, I see no need to complain about it anymore. Accept that the team is trash, and look forward to next season and cheer on the draft eligibles this year.

I've been thinking about the OA thing for next year and I'm worried they will keep Abraham and Smith. Smith family has history so I think he may very well be here in September. Abraham will be hard to trade unless they give him up for a low pick.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I've been thinking about the OA thing for next year and I'm worried they will keep Abraham and Smith. Smith family has history so I think he may very well be here in September. Abraham will be hard to trade unless they give him up for a low pick.

You might be right, but I personally don’t think it’s the right decision. I think Windsor should poach 2, maybe 3 O/A’s for next season from teams that have too many returning ‘04’s. Bring in guys that’ll actually lead by example on the ice, even if they aren’t scoring. The only guy that might be worth a look on the current roster is Morneau. He might not be the best offensive player, but he gives his all out there. He’s a good example to follow for the younger kids coming in, particularly the ‘08’s.

 

[Teflon]

So if we dare to look forward… with the team in desperate need of D help do you opt to go that way with your first pick? Is it best player on your board? Do ya look elsewhere for D help. Fo you trust BB to be the guy who rights this ship??? Ive seen no reason to believe he truly understands what his team needs. Theres never been any emphasis on D or grit and the lack of both has nearly destroyed this team. I for one don’t believe he has the ability to build a championship caliber team. Im not going over the stats again, they can be interpreted many different ways. I know theres some serious hockey knowledge here id love some of your insight. Ive got the same question out to those still in the game i know. I will post opinions once i get some.

 

[spits]

So if we dare to look forward… with the team in desperate need of D help do you opt to go that way with your first pick? Is it best player on your board? Do ya look elsewhere for D help. Fo you trust BB to be the guy who rights this ship??? Ive seen no reason to believe he truly understands what his team needs. Theres never been any emphasis on D or grit and the lack of both has nearly destroyed this team. I for one don’t believe he has the ability to build a championship caliber team. Im not going over the stats again, they can be interpreted many different ways. I know theres some serious hockey knowledge here id love some of your insight. Ive got the same question out to those still in the game i know. I will post opinions once i get some.

There is almost a 0% chance they draft a d-man with the 1st round pick. From what I understand the top names on the board are all too good to pass on for a d-man. The import pick should definitely be used on a d-man, and use a few picks to acquire another OA d man. Manzo will probably be on the team next season.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

So if we dare to look forward… with the team in desperate need of D help do you opt to go that way with your first pick? Is it best player on your board? Do ya look elsewhere for D help.

With how high Windsor is picking this year I’d be appalled if they went with a defender with their first pick unless there were issues with players reporting. There simply isn’t a good enough defender in this class to pick top-3 in my opinion.

Best option is to look for an ‘04 O/A that is able to lead the blueline and log big minutes. A guy similar to Mancini if possible, I think if you can get an O/A like that, it would go a long way, especially with new coaching coming in, in all likelihood.

Fo you trust BB to be the guy who rights this ship??? Ive seen no reason to believe he truly understands what his team needs. Theres never been any emphasis on D or grit and the lack of both has nearly destroyed this team. I for one don’t believe he has the ability to build a championship caliber team. Im not going over the stats again, they can be interpreted many different ways. I know theres some serious hockey knowledge here id love some of your insight. Ive got the same question out to those still in the game i know. I will post opinions once i get some.

Although he inherited a lot of the pieces to the team, I think BB has shown he can build a championship team. The question is can he rebuild a team into a championship team? Honestly I’m not sure.

 

[ohloutsider]

You might be right, but I personally don’t think it’s the right decision. I think Windsor should poach 2, maybe 3 O/A’s for next season from teams that have too many returning ‘04’s. Bring in guys that’ll actually lead by example on the ice, even if they aren’t scoring. The only guy that might be worth a look on the current roster is Morneau. He might not be the best offensive player, but he gives his all out there. He’s a good example to follow for the younger kids coming in, particularly the ‘08’s.

Ya what's right and what might happen may not be the same thing.

 

[ohloutsider]

With how high Windsor is picking this year I’d be appalled if they went with a defender with their first pick unless there were issues with players reporting. There simply isn’t a good enough defender in this class to pick top-3 in my opinion.

Best option is to look for an ‘04 O/A that is able to lead the blueline and log big minutes. A guy similar to Mancini if possible, I think if you can get an O/A like that, it would go a long way, especially with new coaching coming in, in all likelihood.


Although he inherited a lot of the pieces to the team, I think BB has shown he can build a championship team. The question is can he rebuild a team into a championship team? Honestly I’m not sure.

First pick will be bpa and that will be a forward. He has 2 second round picks and 1 is the ice dogs. One of those 2 picks will likely be a top D.

Then the import pick will be based on who will report. A top D would be nice but can't pass up a stud forward if that is on the table. if the Russians get back in the Spits have better connections there so that would be huge.

And lastly as suggested they need to bring in at least 1 quality OA D early to get them off to a solid start.

The ground work is there for them to be good but it falls to BB or whoever to get it right. .

Lastly ( second lastly) they need to hire a Head coach that can actually get these kids to listen, and bring in assistants that know their stuff.

A lot of things need to happen but it should get better. I mean could it get any worse?

Wassilyn watch continues.

 

[OHLTG]

Although he inherited a lot of the pieces to the team, I think BB has shown he can build a championship team. The question is can he rebuild a team into a championship team? Honestly I’m not sure.

This was my thing at the start of the season. Bowler can build; it's hard to deny that. Can he rebuild? Does he WANT to rebuild? That's still TBD.

As for Abraham/Smith... I'm not sold on either one coming back but I'd expect at least one to return. Abraham can be good if he's keeping his head in the game. He's just far too inconsistent right now and doesn't bring the leadership that they will need. Smith might have the leadership but his production isn't where it needs to be. Maybe he can change that in the second half, who knows?

I like the idea of Morneau returning. He's not going to put up huge numbers but he's a solid defensive forward and can be a leader in the room.

Draft wise, you have to go for BPA and that's going to be a F. I've seen Nyman's name towards the top but he's a smaller D and I'm not sure that's what the club needs. Get an elite scorer, then worry about the D in the second round.

 

[punch1943]

IMHO……My preference for next year is to have 2 O/A physical D- men on the team. I’d try to trade Abraham or Smith for them preferably. As someone else mentioned I’d rather keep MORNEAU who is willing to play the defensive side of the game. I hate the thought of giving up picks to get O/A for next year….we will be in re-build mode.
Looks like Sarnia won again last night so we may have a good shot beating them in Sarnia as we should be well rested.