Guelph Storm 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part One)

StormWatcher

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Nov 26, 2013
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Whelp, Buchinger is out 6-8 weeks... thumb surgery. Can't catch a break.

I'm hoping Allen is back and in good form soon.
 

smartty18

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Mar 7, 2020
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Whelp, Buchinger is out 6-8 weeks... thumb surgery. Can't catch a break.

I'm hoping Allen is back and in good form soon.
wow that sucks! Does that bring him back in time for the start of playoffs? In other more positive news…

Jett Luchanko is now up to 26th in Bob McKenzie’s draft list. So good for him, hopefully he can have a strong end to the season along with the Storm!
 
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StormWatcher

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Nov 26, 2013
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wow that sucks! Does that bring him back in time for the start of playoffs? In other more positive news…

Jett Luchanko is now up to 26th in Bob McKenzie’s draft list. So good for him, hopefully he can have a strong end to the season along with the Storm!

Mathematically yes, however Beauschesne and Allen are already over their estimated return dates so no guarantees.

Luchanko is going to have a monster season next year, he is playing so well.
 

smartty18

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Mar 7, 2020
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Love the way Luchanko plays. One of those players whose name comes up constantly when he is on the ice.
Agreed! He’s been a treat to watch this year and been fun watching him gain confidence.

Felt like he deferred a lot and would pass to the vets more at the beginning of the season but lately have noticed him trying to do a lot more and even drive it towards the net at times.

Also had a great showing for the CHL top prospects on ice testing finishing 1st overall For total score and top 5 in 6 of the 10 tests.
 

StormWatcher

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Good to see Allen back. Definitely missed Buchinger last night. It might be the playoffs before we actually see our full roster this year. Beauchesne back soon was good to hear. The schedule is tough the rest of the way.
 

StormWatcher

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Karabela out along with Buchinger, today will be Beauschesne's first game back! Larry made it sound like Karabela's injury may be short term, here's hoping.
 

bobber

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Jan 21, 2013
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Kitchener Ontario
Storm played a hell of a road game last night. They deserved to win this one. Played hard with some well timed hits and goals. If they play like this the rest of the way they will be a force. Good defensive play and a goalie the size of a barn door. Great recipe for wins going forward.
 

StormWatcher

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Nov 26, 2013
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I hope Slavik gets the net on Sunday.
Also really missed Karabela last night. That late Kitchener goal off the face-off doesn't happen if he took that draw.
 

MidwestStorm

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Oct 9, 2023
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Happy to see him rewarded with ice time the last couple minutes for his play.
Unfortunately he was robbed by Simpson on a sure game tying goal. Can you imagine the thrill of scoring not just his first but second Ohl goal to tie the game against his home town Knights.
 

thenumbersguy

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Feb 14, 2010
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The boys had no jump yesterday. It was a disappointing effort. I think this team has underperformed this season, even with the moves they made at the deadline, it has not changed outlook. We have a logjam with overagers next year, it will interesting to see who stays and who goes.

The goalie situation will see change next year for sure since both are the same age, can’t see both wanting to share the crease.
 

StormWatcher

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Nov 26, 2013
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The boys had no jump yesterday. It was a disappointing effort. I think this team has underperformed this season, even with the moves they made at the deadline, it has not changed outlook. We have a logjam with overagers next year, it will interesting to see who stays and who goes.

The goalie situation will see change next year for sure since both are the same age, can’t see both wanting to share the crease.

They have definitely underperformed this season... which is not at all surprising. Prior to the season we thought we had Poitras and a healthy Allen. The injuries on defense have not helped matters. The deadline moves were "safe" given that situation. Very happy with the addition of Crane. If Poitras were here things would look very different, can't control for that variable though so it's not on George.

Before his injury, Singh (rookie) was getting top 4 minutes.
McFadden, Snelgrove, also getting big minutes for 16 year-olds who weren't drafted in the first round.

This transition is interesting.... new owners are putting a lot into the "in game" experience and increasing ad revenue. I don't know if I've complained about some of the giant gaudy ad additions here. Anyhow, that and George not being behind the bench.... some growing pains.

I am all for Slavik getting more starts down the stretch... Gillespie isn't as outstanding as he was at the start of the season and Slavik has shown himself to be solid. A little healthy competition would be good. Entitlement can set in at this age group. There is enough parity on this team for lots of movement in roles.
 

MidwestStorm

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Oct 9, 2023
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Bruins fans upset he has been "drilled" and "dummied" all season by opponents with no response from his teammates. They also indicate the injury may have been a result of his hit on S Durzi.
However they don't comment or blame Management for putting him in this situation.
Fortunately for the Bruins he didn't play 40 games for his free agency.
For Matt's sake hopefully this injury does not affect his promissing career with the Bruins.
 
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bobber

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Jan 21, 2013
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Bruins fans upset he has been "drilled" and "dummied" all season by opponents with no response from his teammates. They also indicate the injury may have been a result of his hit on S Durzi.
However they don't comment or blame Management for putting him in this situation.
Fortunately for the Bruins he didn't play 40 games for his free agency.
For Matt's sake hopefully this injury does not affect his promissing career with the Bruins.
As a long time Bruin fan I was excited for Poitras when he performed so well at the beginning of the season. As the season wore on you could see he struggled with the size and strength of opposing players. In the NHL they take no prisoners and could care less who they hit. Bedard and Poitras are living proof of this. Most players are better off to finish their junior careers with their squad. Poitras is one of them.
 

MidwestStorm

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Oct 9, 2023
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I see now he left the game Dec 16th, before going to Team Canada, with a shoulder injury after a hit by Gustafsson.
He definitely played very well the first 10 or eleven games when we he produced half of his points or almost a point per game.
 
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StormWatcher

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I see now he left the game Dec 16th, before going to Team Canada, with a shoulder injury after a hit by Gustafsson.
He definitely played very well the first 10 or eleven games when we he produced half of his points or almost a point per game.
He also had a shoulder injury following the WJC after a hit on Durzi, was out a while "day to day", came back for a game or two bobber? Then they released the news of the surgery.

Definitely better to take care of it than risk further injury.
 

bobber

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Jan 21, 2013
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Kitchener Ontario
He also had a shoulder injury following the WJC after a hit on Durzi, was out a while "day to day", came back for a game or two bobber? Then they released the news of the surgery.

Definitely better to take care of it than risk further injury.
Poitras has been knocked on his butt a few times in the NHL. These junior players need to put on some beef to stay in pro hockey. How many of these young players get their careers destroyed by bringing them up too early? The average size in the NHL is around 6'1" 200 pounds. Some of these guys are lifting weights that look like train wheels.
 

StormWatcher

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Nov 26, 2013
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Slavik. Needs. To. Start.

Heads up Wiseman, park Alriksson in front of the net on the PP... the PP choices in general confound me. Super frustrating game.

Edited to add: And to the owners, who have the place packed and ads/revenue coming out the wazoo... give George whatever he wants, beg him to return behind the bench. Pay him to consult/teach Wiseman at the very least.
 
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MidwestStorm

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Oct 9, 2023
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Very depressing game for 2 periods.
I agree it's time to see what we have in Slavik.
He has demonstrated he is capable ( 2.60 and .906 ) in limited playing time. Also not sure it is ideal to have two 19 yr old goalies next year so this would help make that decision.
Pp is stone cold. It is frustrating they are unable to score and capitalize on their opportunities. The pp only magnifies the performance of our best players and resulting in losses. This problem started before the Buchinger injury but has only worsened.
I am satisfied with 5th or even 6th place playing Kit or Soo but 7th would be extremely disappointing considering our expectations at the beginning of year.
To be honest we were winning earlier in the year despite not scoring due to Gillespie.
A loss today will be telling.
On the bright side we are now picking top 10 in the draft which should add a very good, top talented player.
 
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thenumbersguy

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Feb 14, 2010
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Slavik. Needs. To. Start.

Heads up Wiseman, park Alriksson in front of the net on the PP... the PP choices in general confound me. Super frustrating game.

Edited to add: And to the owners, who have the place packed and ads/revenue coming out the wazoo... give George whatever he wants, beg him to return behind the bench. Pay him to consult/teach Wiseman at the very least.
I for one would love to Slavik take the net for a bit to see if he can inspire others to play better.

As for the PP, they just stand still in one spot hoping for a one timer. The players need to keep moving, have the forwards cycle from in front and behind the net, have the defence move in occasionally to add more bodies down low.

And for crying out loud, stop putting a player within the box, he’s useless, you might as well play 4 on 4.

As for potential coaching change, I don’t think it will happen until the end of season but if it does I’d like to see Rob Collins get it. Of the three behind the bench, he’s the only one that seems to actually coach the players.
 
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