Ottawa 67's 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 1)

[beastintheeast]

Yes but you didn’t know that 6 weeks ago. Even my bet wasn’t originally to win the division. It was to finish ahead of Oshawa. I didn’t think that was a fair bet for Scout because I felt Ottawa would easily finish ahead of Oshawa when comparing schedule etc. I was the one that expanded it to Ottawa needing to win the division. I felt that was a more fair bet. Ottawa would need to actually finish ahead of all division contenders. Even Scout never mentioned Brantford as a serious contender. I don’t think anyone truly did.

At the end of the day, even if I do lose that bet, it won’t be because Ottawa didn’t do what I expected them to do. They will have lived up to their end of the bargain. It would be Brantford that found a way to maintain the lead against a lot of odds. Ottawa completed the tough part of their second half schedule and went 11-4-4. That’s a .684 win% without MacK for much of that portion f the schedule. I don’t care what anyone says at this point. The deadline strategy was the correct strategy. Ottawa is 15-7-2 vs the top 4 teams in each Conference (adding Oshawa to the mix because they are the 4th place team as a competitor in their own Conference). That is a .667 win%. The 67’s are a good team. They have demonstrated the ability to play the top teams and come out with points.

I’m not sure if their regular season success can translate into playoff success. They do have strong goaltending and if MacK is healthy, he can win a series himself. But, they have a chance. The trades at the deadline gave them a chance.

As you have discussed before this is a middle to lower tier team in a normal year. What made it different was the late start by Sudbury and NB, as well as Brantford.

In a normal year, we would be a builder, but the test of the division was so slow to get off the dime, and still, teams like the Fronts and, to a certain extent, Oshawa just have not gotten up to where they should be.

Brantford I called at the deadline as the team that was going tobe tough to beat and I think next year will be no different.

Unless this team finds a superstar or someone takes the magic mushrooms that make them a scoring sensation, this team will not be any better compared to the rest.

That being said, Oshawa is the team that interests me the most next year, as they have a good returning cast. Brantford will be strong again.

That leaves us fighting with the Fronts for the position.


This is a team that in the playoffs I see playing Oshawa in the playoffs. It is probably going to be the most even 1st round matchup.

They are a bigger team and I think that will make the difference. Although, as has been said, a healthy MacK could be a difference.

 

[OMG67]

As you have discussed before this is a middle to lower tier team in a normal year. What made it different was the late start by Sudbury and NB, as well as Brantford.

In a normal year, we would be a builder, but the test of the division was so slow to get off the dime, and still, teams like the Fronts and, to a certain extent, Oshawa just have not gotten up to where they should be.

Brantford I called at the deadline as the team that was going tobe tough to beat and I think next year will be no different.

Unless this team finds a superstar or someone takes the magic mushrooms that make them a scoring sensation, this team will not be any better compared to the rest.

That being said, Oshawa is the team that interests me the most next year, as they have a good returning cast. Brantford will be strong again.

That leaves us fighting with the Fronts for the position.


This is a team that in the playoffs I see playing Oshawa in the playoffs. It is probably going to be the most even 1st round matchup.

They are a bigger team and I think that will make the difference. Although, as has been said, a healthy MacK could be a difference.

I think we will need to Wait now for the playoff matchups to unfold. I still have Ottawa with a strong chance of winning the division. They control their destiny.

Mississauga won’t go away either. The top of the Conference just isn’t good enough to make predictions at this point.

Oshawa is in tough going forward. I think they will drop. They have a tougher schedule than Mississauga. I sense that they are more likely to finish in the 5th spot but it will be close either way.

North Bay is super inconsistent. They go beat Saginaw and then lose to Sarnia. I think there is a good chance that if Ottawa doesn’t pass Brantford, I think they stand a reasonable chance to pass North Bay for the 3rd seed.

There are a lot of spots up for grabs. It is way too early to make any predictions at this point. The only thing that seems certain is Barrie 8th and Kingston 7th.

 

[three dog night]

See your team Thursday night

 

[PuckStop75]

I think we will need to Wait now for the playoff matchups to unfold. I still have Ottawa with a strong chance of winning the division. They control their destiny.

Mississauga won’t go away either. The top of the Conference just isn’t good enough to make predictions at this point.

Oshawa is in tough going forward. I think they will drop. They have a tougher schedule than Mississauga. I sense that they are more likely to finish in the 5th spot but it will be close either way.

North Bay is super inconsistent. They go beat Saginaw and then lose to Sarnia. I think there is a good chance that if Ottawa doesn’t pass Brantford, I think they stand a reasonable chance to pass North Bay for the 3rd seed.

There are a lot of spots up for grabs. It is way too early to make any predictions at this point. The only thing that seems certain is Barrie 8th and Kingston 7th.

The challenge for Ottawa is avoiding the 3pt games, they need to win their inter conference games clean and get help from the others above them in the standings the same way. 3pt games are not their friend.

The other factor is the back loaded schedule and amount of travel they have remaining is working against them. 13 games in 25 days is a lot. On top of that, they will effectively spend the final 2 weeks of the season on the road.

 

[OMG67]

The challenge for Ottawa is avoiding the 3pt games, they need to win their inter conference games clean and get help from the others above them in the standings the same way. 3pt games are not their friend.

The other factor is the back loaded schedule and amount of travel they have remaining is working against them. 13 games in 25 days is a lot. On top of that, they will effectively spend the final 2 weeks of the season on the road.

If you break it down, it isn’t that bad.

Week One:
Thu - @ Niagara
Fri - @ Mississauga
Sun - home vs Erie
**They will drive down on Wednesday so there won’t’ be bus legs. The distance between game sis fine and they have the Saturday off prior to their home game Sunday. Pretty chill week for a road week.

Week Two:
Tue - @ Oshawa
Thu - @ Peterborough
Fri - home vs NIA
Sun - home vs Missy
**This week will be more difficult. I assume they will drive down on Tuesday and Thursday and will not do an overnight. That’s a lot of miles. The good thing is they have the Petes on the Thursday and Niagara on the Friday so two teams they should be able to beat if they are a bit tired. Day off before the Sunday game.

Week Three:
Tue - home vs Barrie.
Thu - @ Barrie
Sat - @ Brantford
**Odd March break afternoon game on the Tuesday. Barrie has been weak so it should be fine.
Brantford plays the Thursday in North Bay. They have travel as well so we should be relatively equal that day.

Week Four:
Thu - @ Peterborough
Fri - @ Kingston
Sun - Home vs Brantford
** Pretty normal week with a mix of home and road. The road games are divisional so east of GTA which is good. They will probably stay in Kingston on the Thursday night.

So, it is the two Tuesday games that throw a wrench into the mix. At this time of the year, they don’t really need as much practice so the games will sub in for the practice time. Some light skates on the road. The team has good nutrition and discipline so I dont’ think that will be a problem.

If they were facing the tougher teams that require more reliance on the top lines and defence then it would present even more of a problem but with so many below .500 teams, they should be able to roll lines and be competitive. If the games are close through the second half of the 3rd then they can shorten the bench. The good thing is the two games against Brantford have a day off prior. Brantford has the NB road trip prior to the first game and then are in Kingston the night before the Ottawa game. They also have a Wednesday home game that week so it is relatively even.

To be real, this team rolls four lines most nights anyway. They played the 4th line vs London inside 4 minutes left in the 3rd on Saturday. In a tie game with little time left against a very strong team, throwing the 4h line over the boards tells you that Cameron is committed to paying everyone.

Only two back to back games. They should have recovery time. The coaching staff will give them the rest they need and I am sure they will get some extra support for school. Although, they don’t’ really have many highschool aged guys on the roster. No 16 year olds currently playing and three 17 year olds plus Korbler. All others aren’t really playing and won’t be affected.

It is going to come down to the wire. Only five of those thirteen games are a concern for 3 points (2x Missy, 2x Brantford, Oshawa). The other games don’t matter if they are three point games provided Ottawa gets 2. But, since those other games are vs below .500 teams, we shouldn’t be taking those to OT. Although, the way we’ve played Kingston, I think I would be happy that game goes to OT!

 

[PuckStop75]

If you break it down, it isn’t that bad.

Week One:
Thu - @ Niagara
Fri - @ Mississauga
Sun - home vs Erie
**They will drive down on Wednesday so there won’t’ be bus legs. The distance between game sis fine and they have the Saturday off prior to their home game Sunday. Pretty chill week for a road week.

Week Two:
Tue - @ Oshawa
Thu - @ Peterborough
Fri - home vs NIA
Sun - home vs Missy
**This week will be more difficult. I assume they will drive down on Tuesday and Thursday and will not do an overnight. That’s a lot of miles. The good thing is they have the Petes on the Thursday and Niagara on the Friday so two teams they should be able to beat if they are a bit tired. Day off before the Sunday game.

Week Three:
Tue - home vs Barrie.
Thu - @ Barrie
Sat - @ Brantford
**Odd March break afternoon game on the Tuesday. Barrie has been weak so it should be fine.
Brantford plays the Thursday in North Bay. They have travel as well so we should be relatively equal that day.

Week Four:
Thu - @ Peterborough
Fri - @ Kingston
Sun - Home vs Brantford
** Pretty normal week with a mix of home and road. The road games are divisional so east of GTA which is good. They will probably stay in Kingston on the Thursday night.

So, it is the two Tuesday games that throw a wrench into the mix. At this time of the year, they don’t really need as much practice so the games will sub in for the practice time. Some light skates on the road. The team has good nutrition and discipline so I dont’ think that will be a problem.

If they were facing the tougher teams that require more reliance on the top lines and defence then it would present even more of a problem but with so many below .500 teams, they should be able to roll lines and be competitive. If the games are close through the second half of the 3rd then they can shorten the bench. The good thing is the two games against Brantford have a day off prior. Brantford has the NB road trip prior to the first game and then are in Kingston the night before the Ottawa game. They also have a Wednesday home game that week so it is relatively even.

To be real, this team rolls four lines most nights anyway. They played the 4th line vs London inside 4 minutes left in the 3rd on Saturday. In a tie game with little time left against a very strong team, throwing the 4h line over the boards tells you that Cameron is committed to paying everyone.

Only two back to back games. They should have recovery time. The coaching staff will give them the rest they need and I am sure they will get some extra support for school. Although, they don’t’ really have many highschool aged guys on the roster. No 16 year olds currently playing and three 17 year olds plus Korbler. All others aren’t really playing and won’t be affected.

It is going to come down to the wire. Only five of those thirteen games are a concern for 3 points (2x Missy, 2x Brantford, Oshawa). The other games don’t matter if they are three point games provided Ottawa gets 2. But, since those other games are vs below .500 teams, we shouldn’t be taking those to OT. Although, the way we’ve played Kingston, I think I would be happy that game goes to OT!

We'll see how it plays out, the transitions week to week become the problem, these teams are use to an off day on Monday which they just won't be getting. 13 games, 8 on the road in 25 days is a lot.

Its not about the competition as much as it is about the accumulation of lost days while on the road and compounding effect over a three week period with 2 short Sunday to Tuesday turn arounds. They will effectively be starting a playoff schedule three weeks in advance of the playoffs actually starting.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

In my mind, if Ottawa doesn't manage to overtake Brantford for that #2 seed in the eastern conference it will have come down to the 67s underperforming pre-deadline, particularly during that December swoon when they lost 5 or 6 straight (yes, acknowledging the injuries/suspensions at that time). Brantford is a very good, consistent and well-coached team and will have been worthy eastern division champs (and possible eastern conference champs), but that doesn't change how I think about Ottawa pre- and post-deadline. Its almost like they are two different teams.

At their best, like we saw against NB at home and against Oshawa, the 67s closely resemble the 2022-23 67s team that can keep their opponents hemmed in their d-zone for extended periods, pressure the puck relentlessly, and move the puck quickly and effectively out of the d-zone and into the o-zone. Last year's team was able to do that more consistently, along with having much better goal scoring and converting/finishing ability, but I do find it promising that the 67s can keep the pressure on a team like London and accumulate quality scoring chances.

I have a feeling that Maillet is going to struggle the rest of the way with Ottawa. If you liken him to Tolnai, as I believe someone did above, the comparison is a really good one in terms of their overall skillsets but I find Tolnai had a better ability to anticipate/read the play and was much quicker to respond/react when the play got turned around. Maillet seems to be a step behind the play quite often and I think its an issue with anticipation and reaction time, compounded by a lack of skating acceleration. Maillet may just not be a great fit for Cameron's system or style.

I would say the only real poor performance post-deadline was the Wednesday night Kingston game a few weeks ago. The Saginaw home game wasn't pretty, but the 67s hung around for a while that game and Saginaw is, well, Saginaw.

 

[ScoutLife4]

Gaining 8 pts on Brantford in the Month of March is not going to be easy.
It's wild that the March 24th game in Ottawa could very well decide who wins the division between the 2.

 

[OMG67]

Gaining 8 pts on Brantford in the Month of March is not going to be easy.
It's wild that the March 24th game in Ottawa could very well decide who wins the division between the 2.

8 points as a sole stat is somewhat misleading. Yes, it is 8 points but there are two games in hand. Plus there are two games head to head. So, the reality is, although it is 8 points, their destiny is in their hands. If they run the schedule and beat Brantford in regulation both games, they win the division regardless of what Brantford does. At this point, that is all you can ask for when teams are running well. I don’t think the 67’s will run the schedule but I don’t think Brantford will either. They have Saginaw and North Bay and a few tough Conference games. Ottawa has a few tough Conference games but no one outside Brantford that is top 4 in the Conference. 8 of 13 vs sub-.500 teams. They duck all the Western Teams at the top as well as NB and Sudbury. Just Missy and Oshawa left.

If Ottawa wins the two games against Brantford in regulation, Ottawa’s buffer on allowable losses has to match whatever points Brantford doesn’t get. Brantford loses two games (plus the Ottawa games), Ottawa can lose two games. It is pretty simple for the most part. If Brantford only loses the two games to Ottawa, Ottawa has to run the schedule. Ottawa holds the tie-breaker in that scenario.

 

[beastintheeast]

8 points as a sole stat is somewhat misleading. Yes, it is 8 points but there are two games in hand. Plus there are two games head to head. So, the reality is, although it is 8 points, their destiny is in their hands. If they run the schedule and beat Brantford in regulation both games, they win the division regardless of what Brantford does. At this point, that is all you can ask for when teams are running well. I don’t think the 67’s will run the schedule but I don’t think Brantford will either. They have Saginaw and North Bay and a few tough Conference games. Ottawa has a few tough Conference games but no one outside Brantford that is top 4 in the Conference. 8 of 13 vs sub-.500 teams. They duck all the Western Teams at the top as well as NB and Sudbury. Just Missy and Oshawa left.

If Ottawa wins the two games against Brantford in regulation, Ottawa’s buffer on allowable losses has to match whatever points Brantford doesn’t get. Brantford loses two games (plus the Ottawa games), Ottawa can lose two games. It is pretty simple for the most part. If Brantford only loses the two games to Ottawa, Ottawa has to run the schedule. Ottawa holds the tie-breaker in that scenario.

The challenge is going to be that we have to at least match Brantford game to game . When they win, we need to win.

There can not be any slips.

As you said, Mississauga is playing hard and will have better goaltending. Brantford is still hot and proving that they belong where they are.

 

[beastintheeast]

This is going to be an interesting month. With the way the season started, it did not look this competitive, but now we are actually playing to see who will finish where, and it is possible that we could end up as the 6th seed.

Games in hand are nice, but they are like draft choices on draft day. If you do not use them right (win), they really do not mean much.

With everyone ahead of us winning it is going to be interesting this month for sure

 

[OMG67]

The challenge is going to be that we have to at least match Brantford game to game . When they win, we need to win.

There can not be any slips.

As you said, Mississauga is playing hard and will have better goaltending. Brantford is still hot and proving that they belong where they are.

Brantford also plays Missy twice and Oshawa once. So we have that same stronger inter-conference opponent. Plus they have Saginaw and North Bay that we don’t have. Strength of schedule is definitely in our favour.

Brantford has:
Ottawa x2
Saginaw
North Bay
Missy x2
Oshawa
Kingston x2
Peterborough
Niagara

Ottawa has:
Brantford x2
Missy x2
Oshawa
Kingston
Erie
Barrie x2
Peterborough x2
Niagara x2

I think Brantford will likely lose minimum 4 points in the non-Ottawa games. It is not realistic to assume they will run a schedule consisting of Saginaw, North Bay, Missy x2 and Oshawa.

Ottawa needs to win the two Brantford games. That is the key. Then just take care of business with the below .500 teams and win 1 of 3 vs Missy and Oshawa. That is the formula. If Brantford loses less than two games against the non-Ottawa games, Ottawa has less room but I think I am close.

This is going to be an interesting month. With the way the season started, it did not look this competitive, but now we are actually playing to see who will finish where, and it is possible that we could end up as the 6th seed.

Games in hand are nice, but they are like draft choices on draft day. If you do not use them right (win), they really do not mean much.

With everyone ahead of us winning it is going to be interesting this month for sure

If we lose games to Peterborough, Barrie and Niagara (6 total), we don’t deserve to make the playoffs. It is a virtual zero percent chance we finish with the 6th seed Considering our schedule. Mathematically possible but it is also mathematically possible that a player that scores a hat trick in game one of the season scores 204 over a full season because that is the pace they are on. Let’s at least try to not bring remote outliers into the discussion.

 

[beastintheeast]

Did you notice that most of Brantford's games are at home, including Saginaw? The main games away are NB and Miss

 

[PuckStop75]

Brantford also plays Missy twice and Oshawa once. So we have that same stronger inter-conference opponent. Plus they have Saginaw and North Bay that we don’t have. Strength of schedule is definitely in our favour.

Brantford has:
Ottawa x2
Saginaw
North Bay
Missy x2
Oshawa
Kingston x2
Peterborough
Niagara

Ottawa has:
Brantford x2
Missy x2
Oshawa
Kingston
Erie
Barrie x2
Peterborough x2
Niagara x2

I think Brantford will likely lose minimum 4 points in the non-Ottawa games. It is not realistic to assume they will run a schedule consisting of Saginaw, North Bay, Missy x2 and Oshawa.

Ottawa needs to win the two Brantford games. That is the key. Then just take care of business with the below .500 teams and win 1 of 3 vs Missy and Oshawa. That is the formula. If Brantford loses less than two games against the non-Ottawa games, Ottawa has less room but I think I am close.



If we lose games to Peterborough, Barrie and Niagara (6 total), we don’t deserve to make the playoffs. It is a virtual zero percent chance we finish with the 6th seed Considering our schedule. Mathematically possible but it is also mathematically possible that a player that scores a hat trick in game one of the season scores 204 over a full season because that is the pace they are on. Let’s at least try to not bring remote outliers into the discussion.

That is a complex way of looking at it. keeping it simple: if Brantford plays 0.500 hockey the rest of the way, they finish with 84 pts. Ottawa would need to win 10 of 13 to finish ahead of them. 9 plus an OTL/SOL as long as they beat the Bulldogs both times.

 

[PuckStop75]

Did you notice that most of Brantford's games are at home, including Saginaw? The main games away are NB and Miss

Brantford has a nice balance of games that should test them but also some games against weaker teams to build confidence going into the playoffs. I don't like Ottawa's schedule, the teams themselves aren't the issue as much as the density and travel. They will need to measure the health of the team carefully; being playoff ready and battle tested but not fatigued will be key.

 

[ecraigs]

...
BUT, all of that said, this is a really good sign going forward. For a team that isn’t overly skilled, they are still at or near the top of the Conference. So many other people out there look at Ottawa as a middling sort of team. No one believed in this team, even many of the people that follow and contribute to this thread. What I am getting at is if this team can perform at a high level with a lack of skill, it means that future teams should be able to provided we maintain a decent amount of players year over year. The system and culture in place should carry over year after year. Just need to keep drafting guys that can skate and we will have a foundation.

Count me as one of those. But, this would be a boring forum without differing views. My concern about the team revolves more around coaching and preparation. The moves made at the deadline seem to have had the desired effect and it will come down to who performs better in the weeks to come. We shall see,

 

[OMG67]

Count me as one of those. But, this would be a boring forum without differing views. My concern about the team revolves more around coaching and preparation. The moves made at the deadline seem to have had the desired effect and it will come down to who performs better in the weeks to come. We shall see,

Meh. This year was supposed to be somewhat of a retool. The landscape of the Conference changed the focus. I look at this as an unexpected bonus. IMO, the post-deadline games were supposed to be the 67’s just running out the season. Coming into the season, I expected a Stonehouse trade as well as one or two other of their 19 year olds depending on the landscape of the trade deadline market. But, considering the conference was weak, they managed to find a way to breathe a little life into this season unexpectedly. As a fan, it works out well.

The flip side to all of this is that because it is a bit of an oddball season, we are dealing with a team that isn’t as polished as their win% would suggest. That means we are likely to see some stretches of the season as well as some stretches of games that shake our heads.

I expect this team to win the division. I expect them to make it to round 2. At that point it is 50-50 the rest of the way to the Finals. I did not expect that coming into the season. If they don’t win the division, I don’t think it will matter for the playoffs. They will have a more testing round one but no team in this conference is flawless. What’s the difference between facing North bay or Sudbury in round 2? I’m not sure there is a difference. Odds are pretty good those are the two teams we are looking at in rounds 2 and 3. Hard to really draw a line between them.

 

[PuckStop75]

Meh. This year was supposed to be somewhat of a retool. The landscape of the Conference changed the focus. I look at this as an unexpected bonus. IMO, the post-deadline games were supposed to be the 67’s just running out the season. Coming into the season, I expected a Stonehouse trade as well as one or two other of their 19 year olds depending on the landscape of the trade deadline market. But, considering the conference was weak, they managed to find a way to breathe a little life into this season unexpectedly. As a fan, it works out well.

The flip side to all of this is that because it is a bit of an oddball season, we are dealing with a team that isn’t as polished as their win% would suggest. That means we are likely to see some stretches of the season as well as some stretches of games that shake our heads.

I expect this team to win the division. I expect them to make it to round 2. At that point it is 50-50 the rest of the way to the Finals. I did not expect that coming into the season. If they don’t win the division, I don’t think it will matter for the playoffs. They will have a more testing round one but no team in this conference is flawless. What’s the difference between facing North bay or Sudbury in round 2? I’m not sure there is a difference. Odds are pretty good those are the two teams we are looking at in rounds 2 and 3. Hard to really draw a line between them.

In fairness for a lot of people when you say you think they will win the division associate replacing Brantford at the top of the conference and being favorites to win the East (playoffs) as a result.

As much as Ottawa struggled at times this year they made out well (comparatively) against the better teams in the West. The conference is so weak this year that there is very little separating the top 5/6 and once in a 7 game series it is a bit of a coin flip and may boil down to a team getting some hot goaltending and going on a bit of a run. Something I think we agree on is that Ottawa is capable of being that team despite some weaknesses in the way the roster is assembled.

 

[OMG67]

In fairness for a lot of people when you say you think they will win the division associate replacing Brantford at the top of the conference and being favorites to win the East (playoffs) as a result.

As much as Ottawa struggled at times this year they made out well (comparatively) against the better teams in the West. The conference is so weak this year that there is very little separating the top 5/6 and once in a 7 game series it is a bit of a coin flip and may boil down to a team getting some hot goaltending and going on a bit of a run. Something I think we agree on is that Ottawa is capable of being that team despite some weaknesses in the way the roster is assembled.

100%. And that is sort of the point of the whole argument I have constructed since mid-October.

I am not sold on Ottawa’s playoff chances. I think, like you do, that this will be a very hard playoffs to predict in the Eastern Conference. Barrie has no chance of getting to round 2. Kingston could potentially upset in round one but it is unlikely. It is when we get to the other six where it may be as simple as goaltending/defence. Sudbury could win the Conference and be the worst defence/goaltending team of the six!

The playoff prediction thread is going to be crazy this year.

 

[beastintheeast]

In fairness for a lot of people when you say you think they will win the division associate replacing Brantford at the top of the conference and being favorites to win the East (playoffs) as a result.

As much as Ottawa struggled at times this year they made out well (comparatively) against the better teams in the West. The conference is so weak this year that there is very little separating the top 5/6 and once in a 7 game series it is a bit of a coin flip and may boil down to a team getting some hot goaltending and going on a bit of a run. Something I think we agree on is that Ottawa is capable of being that team despite some weaknesses in the way the roster is assembled.

The challenge Ottawa has is size. We are a small team, and if we go up against a bigger heavier-hitting team, we will be hard-pressed. Even in round 1

Personally, I do not see Brantford folding or losing. They play too many games at home. I also do not think the last weekend is going to mean much. I think it will be decided before that.

Friday night will tell the tape. I think Sag is in Brantford, and Mississauga is in Ottawa.

 

[beastintheeast]

100%. And that is sort of the point of the whole argument I have constructed since mid-October.

I am not sold on Ottawa’s playoff chances. I think, like you do, that this will be a very hard playoffs to predict in the Eastern Conference. Barrie has no chance of getting to round 2. Kingston could potentially upset in round one but it is unlikely. It is when we get to the other six where it may be as simple as goaltending/defence. Sudbury could win the Conference and be the worst defence/goaltending team of the six!

The playoff prediction thread is going to be crazy this year.

You seem to be forgetting our record against Kingston this year. LOL If we finish 3nd we wuld play them.

realistically I think Sudbury Brantford are going to be 1/2 and it is going to be a fight

3-6 is a toss up and I am not sure of their order. but it means that we will play one of them in the first round

 

[OMG67]

The challenge Ottawa has is size. We are a small team, and if we go up against a bigger heavier-hitting team, we will be hard-pressed. Even in round 1

Personally, I do not see Brantford folding or losing. They play too many games at home. I also do not think the last weekend is going to mean much. I think it will be decided before that.

Friday night will tell the tape. I think Sag is in Brantford, and Mississauga is in Ottawa.

I don’t agree. The bigger team also needs to be able to skate. Oshawa is a much bigger team but they have trouble keeping the pace so Ottawa takes advantage.

The schedule results will unfold. I have presented a viable scenario for Ottawa. Their destiny is in their own hands. They do not need Brantford to fall on their face to have a chance. Ottawa needs to win the two Brantford games and match them the rest of the way in. If they do that, they win the division. It is quite as simple as that.

 

[PuckStop75]

The challenge Ottawa has is size. We are a small team, and if we go up against a bigger heavier-hitting team, we will be hard-pressed. Even in round 1

Personally, I do not see Brantford folding or losing. They play too many games at home. I also do not think the last weekend is going to mean much. I think it will be decided before that.

Friday night will tell the tape. I think Sag is in Brantford, and Mississauga is in Ottawa.

I never really rely on one night/game in the regular season to be a breaking point for any team. I don't see Ottawa catching Brantford either, and for me the greater focus needs to be placed on getting those 2nd and 3rd lines going versus winning games at any cost.

In some ways I think a Mississauga or Oshawa first round is a better match up for Ottawa. Both are very young and more vulnerable to making the mistake of trying to skate with Ottawa. The size is absolutely an issue, if a team can be disciplined enough and force Ottawa to engage physically it is to their benefit.

 

[OMG67]

You seem to be forgetting our record against Kingston this year. LOL If we finish 3nd we wuld play them.

realistically I think Sudbury Brantford are going to be 1/2 and it is going to be a fight

3-6 is a toss up and I am not sure of their order. but it means that we will play one of them in the first round

We slaughtered the Petes last year in the regular season and lost. The regular season is meaningless when the playoffs come around. The better team at that point in time (playoff series) will win the series.

 

[dirty12]

about the conference being so weak this year, the ‘67s did well vs the west; NB was 3-1 vs SSM, and will at least split with London & Saginaw; Sudbury should be >0.500 with OTL points.
These teams all added more than London, and at least as much as SSM more imo