Windsor Spitfires 2018 Offseason Thread

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ohloutsider

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So the team has had a week to practice together under Trever, will be interesting to see what they look like tonight - I would assume they will have a more simplified brand of hockey for the next few weeks until they play a bit more.
Always fun to beat London but really can't lose tonight - we beat London and the team gets a boast, we lose and we get a shot at picking before them in the draft. I would hazard a guess this will be the last game London plays here this year ( still one left in London) as I don't see us holding on to either the 4th or 5th spot.
Any word on the walking wounded - anybody back in the line-up tonight?
 

youngblood10

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Where the Spits are at I think the only thing we can assume is that they'll give an honest effort. Young teams are so inconsistent it's difficult to predict how they'll perform one game to the next.
Definitely a winnable game tonight & somewhat of a measuring stick match up. However you can be sure the Knights are thinking the same thing.
 

randomhero4life

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Where the Spits are at I think the only thing we can assume is that they'll give an honest effort. Young teams are so inconsistent it's difficult to predict how they'll perform one game to the next.
Definitely a winnable game tonight & somewhat of a measuring stick match up. However you can be sure the Knights are thinking the same thing.

Agreed!! shot's on net and a solid 60 minutes is all we can hope for!! Need to be aggressive right out of the gate!!
 

hockeylegend11

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Windsor vs London at the WFCU
Dipietro and Raaymakers are the starters
Not dressed for Windsor, Larionov (upper body), Patton, Henault healthy scratches, Frasca Jr B
For London not dressed Turko( injury), Fallowfield and Duhart healthy scratches.
Should add Luke Kitkevicius returns to lineup after being out almost 3 months with a broken wrist and the Spits did miss him while he was out imo.
 
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punch1943

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Another 3 game weekend tonight ..London at the WFCU. DiPietro in net ...London ahead of Spits in the Conference but Spits have 2 games in hand. Both Spits & London mere shadows of their former selves. Hardest game on paper for the Spits. Friday they will be in Guelph then back here Sunday vs Erie . You have to think Patton will get the start Sunday against the 20th place team and DiPietro will play back to back Thurs/Fri. At least that’s their best chance to get 6 points and as the Spits play one of their easiest weekends of the remaining schedule they must take advantage. A playoff spot is still
a virtual lock but they certainly don’t want to fall as far as 8th and have to face SSM...
 

OHL4Life

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..London ahead of Spits in theA playoff spot is still
a virtual lock but they certainly don’t want to fall as far as 8th and have to face SSM...

why? 8 is a better draft pick. we’re not winning a championship this yet, let’s do it right
 

OHLTG

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5-2 London final.

DiPietro saved this one for Windsor. While he let in a couple iffy ones (breakaways and/or bounces), he was the reason Windsor kept it close. Boka is another one that worked his tail off. Two goals is a nice night at the office.

Defensively, this is a very, very raw team. You can see the effect Day and McEneny had on them. Shankar is the only one with more than a year-and-a-half experience and, while he hasn't played all that great, he's still the "veteran" out there. Patience will be key.

Offensively, they seem focused on passing rather than shooting, and peeling off rather than playing the body. I don't know what the systems are but it felt like the crowd had to tell them to hit or shoot before they did anything (and yes, I realize the crowd has zero effect on what they actually do). Very hot and cold tonight; few minutes of greatness, more minutes of can't find the net.

London was relentless from the opening puck drop and the Spits couldn't counter.
 

windsor7

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Spits lose.
Though the score clock said that they lost by 3 it was far from that. Very 1 sided affair pro london. Windsor did not do much at all this game.
Dipietro looked shaky in 1st period but rebounded nicely in 2nd n 3rd. Was not for his saves in 2nd n 3rd game would of been a lot worse. Especially stopping 2 clear breakaways when London was short handed.
Purboo needs to get less ice time. A lot less. When he played with guys thst were offensive n can score he could hide. Now that those guys r gone he is exposed. He not a good skater. Can not defend well. Can not win faceoffs. Gets tired very fast. If it is a rebuild cut his time n give it to a different kid.
This was supposed to be a close gsme. Both teams rebuilding. Stale dale won the battle again though. Lots n lots of work to do on this team.
 

tomschman

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why? 8 is a better draft pick. we’re not winning a championship this yet, let’s do it right
Winning builds confidence and inspires young players to work harder. This can be a plus for future years. If this team lost every game the rest of the season, they would get a higher draft pick but would probably come into camp in August, with a hopeless attitude. Winning is always important.
 

youngblood10

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Spits are more concerned with line matching and where they should be on the ice then just playing the game. Letowski is a great coach. But he's over coaching this group. When he was gone, they just played. Played like their hair was on fire & a chip on their shoulders. Now a carton of eggs has no trouble going unscathed for 60 minutes. The results are evident as this is the same line up that ran the table on the eastern swing, now struggle to get a puck on net. This group is too raw for that level of technical over sight. Letowski needs to dumb it down & let the kids play.
 

OHL4Life

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Winning builds confidence and inspires young players to work harder. This can be a plus for future years. If this team lost every game the rest of the season, they would get a higher draft pick but would probably come into camp in August, with a hopeless attitude. Winning is always important.

97/98s that where here last year where part of a team that finished second last and they are celebrated. if the could figure it out so can this team.plus, most of the guys here won’t be here when we are ready to go again. you rarely win championships without high pics.
 

hockeylegend11

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Spits lose.
Though the score clock said that they lost by 3 it was far from that. Very 1 sided affair pro london. Windsor did not do much at all this game.
Dipietro looked shaky in 1st period but rebounded nicely in 2nd n 3rd. Was not for his saves in 2nd n 3rd game would of been a lot worse. Especially stopping 2 clear breakaways when London was short handed.
Purboo needs to get less ice time. A lot less. When he played with guys thst were offensive n can score he could hide. Now that those guys r gone he is exposed. He not a good skater. Can not defend well. Can not win faceoffs. Gets tired very fast. If it is a rebuild cut his time n give it to a different kid.
This was supposed to be a close gsme. Both teams rebuilding. Stale dale won the battle again though. Lots n lots of work to do on this team.

Curious you didn't say a word when Windsor went 5-2-0-1, including 3-0 on the recent East road trip before the 4 game winless streak,not surprised it's all negative.
 

Teflon

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Wow what a stinker. Boca was the only one going! As stated earlier this team is playing extremely soft and has no confidence in their abilities. They don't shoot or hit! No reason to ask these guys to tank, if this continues they'll be lucky to win a game or two. System play is one thing, but the guys are so concerned with trying to follow coaches orders they aren't playing hockey! I like Trevor but this may expose the weakness he showed in Sarnia.
 
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OHLTG

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I'm 100% with Teflon here. We were talking about this after the game; this game had Letowski systems written all over it. While you want to implement what you're doing, the players look nervous to make mistakes. They look like they're thinking too much. Let them have fun out there and create. See what happens.
 

RayzorIsDull

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Letowski has to implement his systems if he doesn't then he just looks like a coach throwing any player over the boards. Maybe Letowski's systems aren't good to begin with. This is his third year as a coach in the OHL and he doesn't have a lot of success to point to. They have been on the other side of SOG by the tune of 180 total shots. Letowski has rode DiPietro as far as he can. Now we get to see what Letowski is made of.
 

ohloutsider

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So last nights game - I think you guys have already said enough about it so I will move on - Player of the game - the easy pick is Boka but I'm going to go with a tie here - Boka had some good shifts and some point production but I'm not his biggest fan - reminds me too much off Brady Vail - flash and dash for a shift and then disappears. I saw the same last night so he was one of the better players on the ice last night but we all saw the game so the bar is pretty low - My other player that I want to co-share this is Schiemenz - I believe he also got a few points but I really liked his play in the corners and behind the net - the big question mark for him coming in was his physical play and for the first couple of games I was not sure he could step it up - last night I saw that from him - really one of the few out there winning some puck battles - he gets the nod and hopefully he can get better - at 18 an older player on this team and he needs to show the way once he settles in for a few games - we can only hope anyway.
Did post yesterday that a simple game plan was required for these younger guys to succeed. Hoping a bell went off in the coaches meeting this morning.
 

youngblood10

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Letowski has to implement his systems if he doesn't then he just looks like a coach throwing any player over the boards. Maybe Letowski's systems aren't good to begin with. This is his third year as a coach in the OHL and he doesn't have a lot of success to point to. They have been on the other side of SOG by the tune of 180 total shots. Letowski has rode DiPietro as far as he can. Now we get to see what Letowski is made of.

I think the problem with good coaches who are looking to move up in the hockey world is that they want & feel a need to prove that they can be master chess players. But with young players just cutting their teeth at this level, the game plan needs to be basic. Less about being a field general & more focus on individual player development/improvement. Just my opinion.
 
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randomhero4life

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So last nights game - I think you guys have already said enough about it so I will move on - Player of the game - the easy pick is Boka but I'm going to go with a tie here - Boka had some good shifts and some point production but I'm not his biggest fan - reminds me too much off Brady Vail - flash and dash for a shift and then disappears. I saw the same last night so he was one of the better players on the ice last night but we all saw the game so the bar is pretty low - My other player that I want to co-share this is Schiemenz - I believe he also got a few points but I really liked his play in the corners and behind the net - the big question mark for him coming in was his physical play and for the first couple of games I was not sure he could step it up - last night I saw that from him - really one of the few out there winning some puck battles - he gets the nod and hopefully he can get better - at 18 an older player on this team and he needs to show the way once he settles in for a few games - we can only hope anyway.
Did post yesterday that a simple game plan was required for these younger guys to succeed. Hoping a bell went off in the coaches meeting this morning.

Agreed!! Schiemenz has looked pretty good out there and works hard. Great to see Kutkevicius back in the line up!! I like that kid's get up and go!! I agree with everyone.....last night's game was painful to watch at times. Letowski need's to dummy it down and let these guy's stick to the basic's and just play. In a lot of case's hard work can beat skill and with that mentality the Spit's should be able to make a game of it on most night's win or lose, let them go hard for 60 minutes...why complicate it?
 
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OHLTG

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Nothing wrong with implementing systems, but there's also no reason you can't allow for some "give" in there and have the players ease into it. I've said this for the last couple of home games - they look scared to make mistakes. They're thinking too much.
 

RayzorIsDull

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I think the problem with good coaches who are looking to move up in the hockey world is that they want & feel a need to prove that they can be master chess players. But with young players just cutting their teeth at this level, the game plan needs to be basic. Less about being a field general & more focus on individual player development/improvement. Just my opinion.

I would agree with this but on the other hand Letowski has to answer to Rychel and still should be coaching to get results. Every coach is eventually judged by wins and losses. Yes maybe there needs to be more focus on individual player development but what happens if certain guys eg. Playfair/Angle/Sirman are limited to begin with? No amount of time to focus on individual skills are going to help them to make a difference on this team. There are probably 6 or 7 forwards on this team that are either not talented enough or too young to help this team.
 
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