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

[NordiquesForeva]

The challenge with Mews is always going to be the better he gets offensively, the more he is going to want to push the pedal to the floor and DC will harness ti and hold him back. This is what happened with Mintukov as well. DC had no idea how to unleash him effectively. I think we will run into the same issues again as soon as next year with Mews vs DC. Mews is the type o f player you need to let loose. He will never get that opportunity here in Ottawa.

A challenge yes, but I'm hopeful that because Mews was drafted and developed under his purview, Cameron has more knowledge of Mews' skills, tendencies and limitations than he did Mintyukov and, as a result, should be better able to unleash him offensively within the context of the 67s gameplan. We shall see. Its certainly not a slam dunk that that will be the case but I am hopeful.

 

[HockeyPops]

 

[beastintheeast]

A challenge yes, but I'm hopeful that because Mews was drafted and developed under his purview, Cameron has more knowledge of Mews' skills, tendencies and limitations than he did Mintyukov and, as a result, should be better able to unleash him offensively within the context of the 67s gameplan. We shall see. Its certainly not a slam dunk that that will be the case but I am hopeful.

I think you are also going to see whoever drafts him telling him that he needs to work on his overall game. Let's face it: There are a lot of kids playing defence who can score goals. What teams are looking for is the player who can stop goals from being scored.

Mews will buy into DC plan as long as it benefits him and i think that scouts adn GM's understand that having 2 way players is beter than having a kid that is a goal scoring genius int he OHL but can;t play defence to save his soul.

 

[OMG67]

I think you are also going to see whoever drafts him telling him that he needs to work on his overall game. Let's face it: There are a lot of kids playing defence who can score goals. What teams are looking for is the player who can stop goals from being scored.

Mews will buy into DC plan as long as it benefits him and i think that scouts adn GM's understand that having 2 way players is beter than having a kid that is a goal scoring genius int he OHL but can;t play defence to save his soul.

Defensemen that generate considerable offence get PAID.

Parekh is a horrible defensive D-Man. Just plain awful. But, he will be a high NHL pick because of the offence he generates. No NHL Team is going to change his game dramatically to make him a two-way player, not if it significantly affects his offence.

Mews will make his mark as an offensive D-Man. I’m not saying he cannot or should not be more responsible defensively. He should. But, if the cost of doing so stunts his offensive development, it will become a very big issue.

 

[beastintheeast]

Defensemen that generate considerable offence get PAID.

Parekh is a horrible defensive D-Man. Just plain awful. But, he will be a high NHL pick because of the offence he generates. No NHL Team is going to change his game dramatically to make him a two-way player, not if it significantly affects his offence.

Mews will make his mark as an offensive D-Man. I’m not saying he cannot or should not be more responsible defensively. He should. But, if the cost of doing so stunts his offensive development, it will become a very big issue.

We have seen many players come and go who put Offense first. For a young player, being able to play a sound two-way game and be counted on as a defenceman stopping goals is more important at the top level.

Look at Bahl's stats. He is not setting the league on fire as an offensive D but is a good third-paired D.

I am saying that offence comes easily for many of these guys, and they think that is all they have to do to succeed. It knows when to be offensive and when to make sure you are not going to get caught out of place.

 

[PuckStop75]

We have seen many players come and go who put Offense first. For a young player, being able to play a sound two-way game and be counted on as a defenceman stopping goals is more important at the top level.

Look at Bahl's stats. He is not setting the league on fire as an offensive D but is a good third-paired D.

I am saying that offence comes easily for many of these guys, and they think that is all they have to do to succeed. It knows when to be offensive and when to make sure you are not going to get caught out of place.

Bahl and Mews are two completely different players, there are things an NHL team would look to have Mews do that they wouldn't expect from Bahl and vis-versa.

Mews development path is such that they will look for him to get physically stronger on the puck, speed up the pace, become more situationally aware, and protect the puck a little better in certain areas of the ice. Naturally things like his shot and passing, which are already at a high level, will improve with theses things.

Individual tools/skills may be prevalent among many players but the combination of multiple skills and the ability to execute them in a game time situation is not. That is the difference between Mews and the others, he is doing these things as a 17 that more veteran players will never figure out. Continuing to develop and not plateau will determine the ceiling on his game.

The challenge for a player like Mews playing for a coach like DC is knowing when to pick his places. There are plays which are suppose to happen (in many cases they are designed to be safe) and they better be blocked off if a player is going to take the play in a a different direction, and if it doesn't work out they will hear about it.

 

[Larionov]

The NHL pendulum is about to swing back to playing better team defence, so Mews might as well get ahead of the curve. ;-) Seriously, coaches and GMs will only tolerate being on the wrong end of 7-6 and 7-4 playoff games for so long before they decide that it is time to go full Jacques Lemaire. Mews should be looking to a guy like Jake Sanderson as someone to emulate - brilliant skater, hockey sense off the charts, and just so defensively sound. Also, now that he is getting older and more comfortable in the NHL, Sanderson's offensive game is starting to come along. He's going to be a Norris Trophy candidate very soon.

 

[OMG67]

The reality is Mews will never be a physical player. He’s always going to position himself defensively to swat and poke a puck and use advantageous angles. He will rely on his foot speed at all times. It is more like what @PuckStop75 stated. Use foot speed, agility, positive angles and more mature puck sense, when making decisions.

 

[Larionov]

I'm delighted with Mews and Marrelli both being included in the U-18 tournament. This is great for their development and their draft status. If you project ahead to 2025-26, you are going to have Mews and Marrelli both here in their D+2 seasons, and Jaeden Nelson in his D+1 season. If you have two stud defencemen who can log 30 minutes a night and a great goaltender, you're going to be very competitive...

 

[HUSH10]

Luca Pinelli joins the Cleveland Monsters (AHL), affiliate to the Columbus Blue Jackets, on an amateur tryout.

 

[OMG67]

I'm delighted with Mews and Marrelli both being included in the U-18 tournament. This is great for their development and their draft status. If you project ahead to 2025-26, you are going to have Mews and Marrelli both here in their D+2 seasons, and Jaeden Nelson in his D+1 season. If you have two stud defencemen who can log 30 minutes a night and a great goaltender, you're going to be very competitive...

Agreed. And if you have three ‘08 1sts (Pinelli Trade) as strong 17 year olds, there will be some support behind those guys. The key is to use the coming season as a means to set up that roster for 2025-26

 

[PuckStop75]

Agreed. And if you have three ‘08 1sts (Pinelli Trade) as strong 17 year olds, there will be some support behind those guys. The key is to use the coming season as a means to set up that roster for 2025-26

I think the 26/27 season is more realistic for the 08's to start to be impactful as a contender but it needs to start somewhere. Some tough decisions and trades will need to be accepted in order for that to be a reality.

 

[OMG67]

I think the 26/27 season is more realistic for the 08's to start to be impactful as a contender but it needs to start somewhere. Some tough decisions and trades will need to be accepted in order for that to be a reality.

Amidovski needs to be impactful. Additionally, the 21st pick, Eshkawkogan also needs to be an impactful 3rd pairing D-Man that can move the puck and create offence.

I don’t think Amidovski can be impactful as a 17 year old centre but I think if they shift him to the wing (assuming they make a centre addition), his size and scoring touch should be impactful in a middle six role getting a regular shift.

Where it becomes interesting is the Pinelli trade. Assuming they have the nerve to make that trade, there will likely be an ‘08 1st involved. Unfortunately, the teams most suited to make that type of deal picked behind Ottawa (other than maybe Barrie but I doubt Barrie makes that bold of a move and Kingston that look like they will have reporting issues with Malhotra). Adam Valentini with Brampton seems the most likely option. Brampton needs a scoring winger and a kid like Valentini is a strong 67’s style player. There ill be other options as well but that is just the one that seems most viable.

 

[PuckStop75]

Amidovski needs to be impactful. Additionally, the 21st pick, Eshkawkogan also needs to be an impactful 3rd pairing D-Man that can move the puck and create offence.

I don’t think Amidovski can be impactful as a 17 year old centre but I think if they shift him to the wing (assuming they make a centre addition), his size and scoring touch should be impactful in a middle six role getting a regular shift.

Where it becomes interesting is the Pinelli trade. Assuming they have the nerve to make that trade, there will likely be an ‘08 1st involved. Unfortunately, the teams most suited to make that type of deal picked behind Ottawa (other than maybe Barrie but I doubt Barrie makes that bold of a move and Kingston that look like they will have reporting issues with Malhotra). Adam Valentini with Brampton seems the most likely option. Brampton needs a scoring winger and a kid like Valentini is a strong 67’s style player. There ill be other options as well but that is just the one that seems most viable.

17 yo can be sparingly used in the middle 6 of a contender, but they are usually top 3-5 selected players not middle late 1st rounders like Amidovski, Eshkawkogan or the trade candidates we are talking about here.

The 06/07 forward group consists of Yanni, Hilton, Korbler, Kelly and Houben, none of which are your prototypical 1st line goal scorers.

If it becomes a development year, there are lots of options that will yield considerable return. Mayich, PInelli, Gardiner, Foster are all players who get multiple picks and if they are packaged could see two or three 07/08's returned, which seems to be the pattern of dealing more recently.

 

[Hinterland]

 

[beastintheeast]

17 yo can be sparingly used in the middle 6 of a contender, but they are usually top 3-5 selected players not middle late 1st rounders like Amidovski, Eshkawkogan or the trade candidates we are talking about here.

The 06/07 forward group consists of Yanni, Hilton, Korbler, Kelly and Houben, none of which are your prototypical 1st line goal scorers.

If it becomes a development year, there are lots of options that will yield considerable return. Mayich, PInelli, Gardiner, Foster are all players who get multiple picks and if they are packaged could see two or three 07/08's returned, which seems to be the pattern of dealing more recently.

Ottawa is not going to be a contender for the top 4. This is a development year and a chance to increase our draft pick cupboard.

I think we need to look at making Pinelli, Mayich, Smyth, Stonehouse, Horner, Dever, Barlas, Gerrior, Foster, and McK available for trade. I am not saying all of them should be traded, but we need to have only three of them left when the season is over.
Trades need to be focused not on the team losing scoring but on who we can get the best return for.

 

[PuckStop75]

Ottawa is not going to be a contender for the top 4. This is a development year and a chance to increase our draft pick cupboard.

I think we need to look at making Pinelli, Mayich, Smyth, Stonehouse, Horner, Dever, Barlas, Gerrior, Foster, and McK available for trade. I am not saying all of them should be traded, but we need to have only three of them left when the season is over.
Trades need to be focused not on the team losing scoring but on who we can get the best return for.

We were discussing the teams 25/26 potential not next year. Most of us realize the team needs to do a reset, its not that they will be horrible next year but more a case of not having the assets to build the team to a Championship level.

Pinelli alone should return a decent quality 07/08, Pair Mayich and Foster or Gardiner together and they should also return a good quality 07/08 the rest are going to yield middle round draft picks. Getting beat out in the 2nd round two years in a row has gotten these players nothing in the form of positive playoff experience or pedigree to return anything more.

As it relates to 25/26, I don't see a forward group strong enough to build on top of Mews and Marrelli, bringing in mid level 07's or mid-round 08 1st rounder isn't going to push the top lines into contention given what they have to start with in that year. If they can get the 07/08's next year and then move Mews and Marrelli who both likely turn pro in 26/27 for top two line quality players they should be in that discussion.

Truthfully, what I expect is another year in 4th to 6th place with a team that will play entertaining hockey but not be good enough to advance past the 2nd round. They trade away some depth players to refill the draft cupboard and maintain a status quo in the draft and develop cycle. Very annoying as a person who wants to see them compete in the Championship rounds again but it seems to be the direction the organization is comfortable going.

 

[nelli27]

New thread... Ottawa 67's 2023-2024 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)