Oshawa should be good too, but probably not deep.
Oshawa will be contenders depending on their draft pick situation- im not sure how good that is and who comes back. You’re losing Lockhart and roobroeck for sure. But Ritchie and Sennecke are going to be back, marelli will be back and I believe d’amato will be back as an oa and those are some pretty good players to build around. Not to Luke Torrence will be back, Owen griffin will hopefully for their sake have a better year and breakout season. They got some good pieces. Not sure Osters age but if he’s coming back they gotta be top 3 or 4 coming into the conference.
Christopolous, Wakely, VanSteensel, LeBlanc(s), Cooke, Romani, Ride, Kennedy, …were not drafted.
Wakely will prob get a contract, so will van steensel but not as big of a chance as wakely imo. Christopolous will be gone I believe. So will divinctiis but mcivor clearly is ready to take over the reigns next year anyways. Kinda similar to how divinctiis came in oddly enough- starter hurt or not playing the best, backup plays and earns his spot.
But getting leblanc(s), Romani, ride, Kennedy, Cooke and mcivor back will be good for them. I predict they trade the Leblancs and Romani next year though to start the retool after going for it 3 years in a row.
It doesn’t really matter which number you put on lines Frasca, McNamara, and Hopkins centre. The role they are put in matters more. Maybe Medeima, McNamara, and an OA or 18-19 yr old import can play against other teams top lines; then Frasca and Hopkins can be put in more favourable offensive positions.
Although frasca is a 2 way and smart player, I think we will see a big point jump for him next year playing a full year healthy (hopefully) and the nhl experience. Not to mention working on his game a bit in the off season here. I think he’s the 1C for sure until they make some big trades.
Hopkins looks like he’s primed to break out with atleast 40-50 pts maybe more. Has to stay healthy and work on his game and I’m sure he will be next years battaglia.
McNamara has shown some potential but he’s going to be 19 next year. If he is 19 and the same skill level as guys like Hopkins who would be 2 years younger it makes sense to play the younger player who clearly has more potential to grow. That’s why McNamara kinda gets screwed here and I think he may ask for a trade if he’s not getting the ice time or production he is looking for. Wouldn’t be surprised if he goes to a rebuilding team to be a top 6 maybe top line player and see his production grow.
How many games do we have to watch thibodeau shy away from contact, enter the zone on the right side and give it away, He has worn out his welcome with this coach and most fans alike
He’s obviously not a fan favourite but clearly has some skill. If he works on his iq with his passes and bulks up 15-20 pounds so he doesn’t look 13 out there anymore he may come in and shock a lot of people here. They won’t trade him in the off season if they do end up deciding to do that. They will want to see where he is at come training camp.