London Knights 2018 Offseason Thread

[zman77]

How good is Alex Formenton?
Superscout commented today on Ottawa HF Boards:

You want the REAL scoop on Alex Formenton, here it is:

5'6", 120lbs in his OHL draft yr. Selected 216th (11th rnd).
Played one yr Tier II with Aurora Tigers and grew.
Came to Ldn's camp last September at 6'1", 157lbs. Finished 1st overall in on-ice testing at CHL Top Prospects
testing in Quebec City and 4th overall in off-ice testing despite being "rail thin" and recorded the best vertical leap.
Reported to Ldn's camp in August prior to going to Sens Main Camp and came in at 6'2", 179lbs.
He has proven "hockey experts" wrong his entire life and continues to do so.
Elite skater who is hungry to succeed and has an edge.
Ton of upside here.
Very similar "hands haven't caught up to his feet" comparable to Andreas Athasanaous in his rookie yr in Ldn.
Helluva Pick!

 

[PhlyerPhanatic31]

If Mete,Bratt,Jones et al stick...this team is euchred moving forward.

sell off Pu to the highest bidder as well as Johnston and Carbonara. Keep Formenton and Thomas as they could potentially be back next season and run with your youth. Would be thin but would be fun to watch them grow.

 

[sbpointer]

If Mete,Bratt,Jones et al stick...this team is euchred moving forward.

sell off Pu to the highest bidder as well as Johnston and Carbonara. Keep Formenton and Thomas as they could potentially be back next season and run with your youth. Would be thin but would be fun to watch them grow.

This may be old time hockey mind talking but for what we'd get for Carbonara anyway wouldnt it be better to hang on to him so our young guns don't play scared. Hell make him captain.

 

[superdee]

Sam Militec signed with Pens today.

 

[TheCoach]

Sam Militec signed with Pens today.

*Yesterday

 

[GoKnightsGo44]

Carbonara for captain.... that's a very Danny Bois idea... I think the game has moved on from that chapter.

 

[Snippit]

If Mete,Bratt,Jones et al stick...this team is euchred moving forward.

sell off Pu to the highest bidder as well as Johnston and Carbonara. Keep Formenton and Thomas as they could potentially be back next season and run with your youth. Would be thin but would be fun to watch them grow.

Losing all of those guys is the kind of thing that can really set back an organization.

At this point there is nobody that you can say will "probably" be back. Everybody's made a case for themselves.

Formenton especially is surprising to me.

 

[Snippit]

Sam Militec signed with Pens today.

Assigned to AHL.

Good for Sam, but I don't imagine he'll be back at this point.

 

[JL17]

I think it says something that Formenton went to PEI with most of the big boys. He hasn't looked out of place at all in he games I've watched.

 

[TheCoach]

I think it says something that Formenton went to PEI with most of the big boys. He hasn't looked out of place at all in he games I've watched.

how? because he played in PEI ??? hes played well against similar experienced players the big test will be if he starts opening night my guess is he will be sent back to the knights by first weekend in october

 

[zman77]

London Knights............Star Players starting in the NHL

Ryan Pyette LFP:
Victor Mete looks mighty comfortable alongside Shea Weber in Montreal Canadiens red, white and blue these days.
The London Knights are rooting for him to make it, while realizing how vital the veteran defenceman is to
their own fortunes this OHL season.
“With a player of Victor’s quality, it takes years (to replace him),” London GM Rob Simpson said Tuesday.
“He’s been through playoff runs and won a Memorial Cup. What he brings is not something you can teach a guy in a month.
“It’s great to see how well he’s doing in Montreal. And do we feel we have the potential to win hockey games and do well with the defence we have (now)?
“One hundred per cent.”
Jesper Bratt keeps scoring for the New Jersey Devils. Robert Thomas is a contributor on the injury-plagued St. Louis Blues. Sam Miletic earned a contract with the Penguins and Max Jones is still flocking with the Ducks.
Alex Formenton was second star the other night and is battling Logan Brown for a spot on the Senators.
“The first regular season game of the NHL hasn’t started yet,” Simpson said.
“We talk about this the entire year, who from our team has the potential to play (in the pros) early and how
our roster is going to look if it did happen."
"You’re always trying to forecast out and plan if things like this happen so you’re not surprised by it."
“When you have elite players, that’s why you win and great things like this happen.”
http://www.lfpress.com/2017/09/26/l...tick-in-nhl-even-if-it-makes-planning-tougher

 

[zman77]

Ottawa Senators............"Formenton has been Impressive!"

Bruce Garrioch: Ottawa Citizen
September 26, 2017
Judging by the decisions made Tuesday, the Ottawa Senators could be ready to give the kids a chance to start the season.
For these final two pre-season games — a visit to the Bell Centre Saturday night to face the Montreal Canadiens concludes the exhibition stretch — the Senators have to determine what to do with 2016 first-round pick Logan Brown and 2017 second-round selection Alex Formenton, who have impressed during training camp. Both are headed to Winnipeg and could face the Jets.
The competition — with the exception of the loss against the Devils — for jobs has been excellent, especially up front, where Brown, 19, and Formenton, 18, who both have junior eligibility remaining with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and London Knights, respectively, have served notice they deserve to be here.
“With two games left, we wanted to have as close to our team as possible and that’s what we’re going to try to do,” Boucher said Monday following the loss.
http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/hoc...e-senators-take-a-step-closer-to-final-roster

 

[JL17]

how? because he played in PEI ??? hes played well against similar experienced players the big test will be if he starts opening night my guess is he will be sent back to the knights by first weekend in october

It's not like he's played against rookie or inexperienced lineups. The Few games I've watched it's been against veteran lineups. He's obliviously making a statement when you fly out east to spend 2 days with the regulars and play. He and Brown are battling for spots opening night and lucky for them Ottawa has injury problems to start the year.

 

[Purple Phart]

Little Things Mean A Lot

To introduce another tongue-in-cheek topic, did anyone else happen to notice the Spitfires team bus last Friday ? The graphics are interesting, in that they're still using the design that features their back-to-back Memorial Cup wins. Curiously, there's absolutely no reference to their 2017 win on that vehicle. Ordinarily, one would expect an organization to be trumpeting their latest success, and doing so with every marketing tool at their disposal. Perhaps they're not quite so proud of that achievement, given the circumstances under which it was won ? It's not as though they haven't had the time.....they've had all summer to do this. Maybe, just maybe, the back-to-back cups just seem more righteous to them.

 

[Fastpace]

This may be old time hockey mind talking but for what we'd get for Carbonara anyway wouldnt it be better to hang on to him so our young guns don't play scared. Hell make him captain.

Here is an old hockey guy talking, sell them to the highest bidders, give these young players lots of ice time and let them learn their skills to protect sooner; Tymkin, Pierce, Pierrot, Coome and Regula.

Having a young team watching them grow to winners is fun too, and with the talent this young group have right now we may not have wait very long !!

 

[Rooster]

To introduce another tongue-in-cheek topic, did anyone else happen to notice the Spitfires team bus last Friday ? The graphics are interesting, in that they're still using the design that features their back-to-back Memorial Cup wins. Curiously, there's absolutely no reference to their 2017 win on that vehicle. Ordinarily, one would expect an organization to be trumpeting their latest success, and doing so with every marketing tool at their disposal. Perhaps they're not quite so proud of that achievement, given the circumstances under which it was won ? It's not as though they haven't had the time.....they've had all summer to do this. Maybe, just maybe, the back-to-back cups just seem more righteous to them.

I thought I saw a reference to the 2017 win on the back door since that was how they made it there

 

[bobber]

To introduce another tongue-in-cheek topic, did anyone else happen to notice the Spitfires team bus last Friday ? The graphics are interesting, in that they're still using the design that features their back-to-back Memorial Cup wins. Curiously, there's absolutely no reference to their 2017 win on that vehicle. Ordinarily, one would expect an organization to be trumpeting their latest success, and doing so with every marketing tool at their disposal. Perhaps they're not quite so proud of that achievement, given the circumstances under which it was won ? It's not as though they haven't had the time.....they've had all summer to do this. Maybe, just maybe, the back-to-back cups just seem more righteous to them.

Saw that bus on the 401 Monday morning heading towards Milton. I think the issue is they won so many Mem Cups they can't put them all on one bus. My guess is you will see another bus for the 2017 Mem Cup advertisement

 

[may know]

Robert Thomas returned to London.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Robert Thomas returned to London.

My heart says I wished he got to stay longer and have more of a taste of the pre-season...but my head says i'm happy to have him back in London. Was really proud of him being drafted in the first round and am excited to see how he does this season. Honestly, he's probably my favourite player on the team at this point - everything to like, pretty much nothing to dislike.

 

[PhlyerPhanatic31]

Robert Thomas returned to London.

That -3 against a more "regular season" looking roster the other night pretty much sealed his fate. He'll dominate this season, but we need more than just Pu and Thomas. Formenton should be next. I think Miletic, Jones,Bratt and Mete will be our question marks for a little while.

 

[zman77]

Formenton Scores his First NHL Preseason Goal last Night.
Steals the puck and goes with a Break Away!
Congrats!

 

[zman77]

Robert Thomas............St. Louis Blue & London Knight.
He made a big impression on the Blues Fans.
Recent Comments from Blues Fans on Robert Thomas:
Bluesnatic27:
Can't speak for the coaches, but hot damn was Thomas good.
He might have been the biggest surprise in camp for me. There wasn't a negative quality about him that I think would hold him back on becoming a good player for us. In fact, some here are expecting him to have a Fabbri like rise for the Blues. He already looked as NHL ready as some of the more seasoned prospects the Blues have. His intelligence and skating are something special.
Bluesman91:
I'd go as far to saying that he's the best player to not stick with the Blues this year. Like others have said, he's pretty much good at everything.
carter333167:
Bill Armstrong is the MVP of the organization by a wide margin
Majorityofl:
He definitely was. Not only that, I'd say he was better than a lot of the people still competing for a roster spot. The only reason he got sent back was due to his age, and not being AHL eligible. If we had an AHL option, he'd be playing until Steen came back, then bouncing between us and AHL. But he's only 18, there is no need to rush him. I'd say Blais, Barbashev and maybe Jaskin were the only ones to outplay him out of the prospects/bottom 6. He outplayed Kostin, Thompson, Thorburn, Sunqvist, Brodziak, and Paajarvi imo.

 

[fansince65]

That -3 against a more "regular season" looking roster the other night pretty much sealed his fate. He'll dominate this season, but we need more than just Pu and Thomas. Formenton should be next. I think Miletic, Jones,Bratt and Mete will be our question marks for a little while.

They said on the other site that Jones has been sent back also , but no one can confirm that he has been ..

 

[Fastpace]

They said on the other site that Jones has been sent back also , but no one can confirm that he has been ..

Jones is still on the Ducks roster as of this morning ;

https://www.nhl.com/ducks/roster

Here they cut yesterday. ;

https://www.nhl.com/ducks/news/ducks-reduce-roster-to-35-players/c-291424142

 

[PhlyerPhanatic31]

Bratt can play in the AHL...so that's most likely where you will see him this season. Unfortunate too cuz the kid woulda tore this league apart and him here would put London close to being the best in the West. If Jones graduates I can live with it, but Bratt not coming at all will sting for a few years.

Last report I got was Jones will start the season in Anaheim.