Erie Otters 2019-20 Season Thread

[OttersFan]

As many have already commented, a lot of fans came out of the wood work last night and it was our best crowd in almost 2 years or at least where I have been in attendance for. I had my sense of regret when purchasing tickets (we go to almost all games but with work/school/activities it becomes tough), however, they pulled through.

There was a lot of good things that happened last night. Breaking up the lines was huge and I think we need to stick with this. Having a rookie on each line with a top 4 guy is huge. I want us out of the mentality of "me first" and I think that this is what flipped that switch. We don't have top talent fighting with each other to get the highlight reel goal when we don't stack our top lines.

Brenden Kischnick doesn't disappoint. Always tries to pump everyone up and isn't afraid to get gritty. Almost a MacDermid like player which Erie needs.

If we picked the most improved player today, Elias Cohen is on my ballot. He always tries to make plays and isn't afraid to get to the net despite his size. Sedore and Sellan have been tremendous as well. I don't see much from Cam Morton, but I think he's just overshadowed with Drysdale, Duff, and Henry in the lineup.

Jacob Golden has been overshadowed as well and hasn't been super impressive, but a 3 pt night last night hopefully we see more from him.

Maxim Golod had a sick celly last night using his stick as a lightsaber in spirit of the theme. 4 pt night, glad he's on the same line as Swankler and Cohen.

Dan Murphy. He's our guy and I think the surge of goals in the second was due to Niagara winning a coaches challenge and the let down of the defense (where I believe there was legit goaltender interference).

Hopefully we can keep bringing crowds in like last night. We are in a good position to make a push since the western conference is anyones game. We tend to make almost 90% of the games, but know it can be expensive. Glad a good game was played by all.

 

[NOA]

As many have already commented, a lot of fans came out of the wood work last night and it was our best crowd in almost 2 years or at least where I have been in attendance for. I had my sense of regret when purchasing tickets (we go to almost all games but with work/school/activities it becomes tough), however, they pulled through.

There was a lot of good things that happened last night. Breaking up the lines was huge and I think we need to stick with this. Having a rookie on each line with a top 4 guy is huge. I want us out of the mentality of "me first" and I think that this is what flipped that switch. We don't have top talent fighting with each other to get the highlight reel goal when we don't stack our top lines.

Brenden Kischnick doesn't disappoint. Always tries to pump everyone up and isn't afraid to get gritty. Almost a MacDermid like player which Erie needs.

If we picked the most improved player today, Elias Cohen is on my ballot. He always tries to make plays and isn't afraid to get to the net despite his size. Sedore and Sellan have been tremendous as well. I don't see much from Cam Morton, but I think he's just overshadowed with Drysdale, Duff, and Henry in the lineup.

Jacob Golden has been overshadowed as well and hasn't been super impressive, but a 3 pt night last night hopefully we see more from him.

Maxim Golod had a sick celly last night using his stick as a lightsaber in spirit of the theme. 4 pt night, glad he's on the same line as Swankler and Cohen.

Dan Murphy. He's our guy and I think the surge of goals in the second was due to Niagara winning a coaches challenge and the let down of the defense (where I believe there was legit goaltender interference).

Hopefully we can keep bringing crowds in like last night. We are in a good position to make a push since the western conference is anyones game. We tend to make almost 90% of the games, but know it can be expensive. Glad a good game was played by all.

Erie has had rough crowds this year but that goes back to the product on the ice. Everyone knew after the 4 year run that things would be underwhelming for a bit. But I thought Erie did a good job the last 2 years of competing and doing the most with the limited talent they had. So I supported the team a bit more because I understood the rebuild. I am starting to get frustrated as a fan though

Now it’s 2.5 seasons removed from that title team. It’s time to start seeing more wins and certainly more consistent play. And at the very least, more effort. The crowd will continue to dip and dip because at some point, most fans are going to get tired of paying $20 to watch the same boring stuff. It was why I stressed the importance of winning (at least) 35-36ish games this year. They NEED that to help the fan morale and team morale. Or else it’s going to get even harder to recruit players and fans in the coming years

this was sort of that line in the sand type of year. You can, as an organization, explain to your fans why you were bottom tier in 2017-18 and 2018-19. “We were rebuilding. Young team.” And most fans will accept that. Same thing with recruiting guys like Lockhart. But have 3 straight years of the same crap is going to start swaying things back to how they were pre McDavid. Going to be hard to recruit, which in turns means hard to win, and in turn means no fans. It’s a vicious cycle.
After 2016-17, I would say that about 95% of incoming draftees who were committed to playing OHL would have been all about coming to Erie. The few 5% that would be skeptical probably would have been more about us being a US based team. I would imagine that number has dipped and will continue to dip if we don’t start trending upwards. And of course that number gets wayyy tougher with recruiting of imports or college committed guys.

Bottom line - this 2nd half of the season is critical to future of this team. We build up a great thing (very quickly) from 2013-2017. But right now the structure is starting to crack. The next step at this stage in the rebuild should be to start getting imports/top recruits so a “championship” run can be made.. however, that isn’t going to happen with 25 win seasons, missing playoffs, and 2800 fans a game.

 

[nofriendsinhockey]

Let’s see what this team is really made of. Can they hang with the Rangers?

 

[NOA]

Let’s see what this team is really made of. Can they hang with the Rangers?

Nope

 

[SHL]

They will struggle to make playoffs once again for 3rd straight year. Lines were asleep today so we will see how they do next game. Some guys on the lower lines with talent not seeing much ice time. I watched the game today and some key players Imo did not get on the ice much at all. Players with a couple of minutes of play per period will not prove what they can do.
Amazing how the pp just sucks now without Drysdale.

 

[NOA]

They will struggle to make playoffs once again for 3rd straight year. Lines were asleep today so we will see how they do next game. Some guys on the lower lines with talent not seeing much ice time. I watched the game today and some key players Imo did not get on the ice much at all. Players with a couple of minutes of play per period will not prove what they can do.
Amazing how the pp just sucks now without Drysdale.

I have a hard time buying in on them making the playoffs too. And if they don’t, I have no way of understanding how Hartsburg would keep his job. This team should, at the very least, be playing with great chemistry and show development. Most of these guys have now been together 2-3 years. There is no excuse

 

[Mata]

As many have already commented, a lot of fans came out of the wood work last night and it was our best crowd in almost 2 years or at least where I have been in attendance for. I had my sense of regret when purchasing tickets (we go to almost all games but with work/school/activities it becomes tough), however, they pulled through.

There was a lot of good things that happened last night. Breaking up the lines was huge and I think we need to stick with this. Having a rookie on each line with a top 4 guy is huge. I want us out of the mentality of "me first" and I think that this is what flipped that switch. We don't have top talent fighting with each other to get the highlight reel goal when we don't stack our top lines.

Brenden Kischnick doesn't disappoint. Always tries to pump everyone up and isn't afraid to get gritty. Almost a MacDermid like player which Erie needs.

If we picked the most improved player today, Elias Cohen is on my ballot. He always tries to make plays and isn't afraid to get to the net despite his size. Sedore and Sellan have been tremendous as well. I don't see much from Cam Morton, but I think he's just overshadowed with Drysdale, Duff, and Henry in the lineup.

Jacob Golden has been overshadowed as well and hasn't been super impressive, but a 3 pt night last night hopefully we see more from him.

Maxim Golod had a sick celly last night using his stick as a lightsaber in spirit of the theme. 4 pt night, glad he's on the same line as Swankler and Cohen.

Dan Murphy. He's our guy and I think the surge of goals in the second was due to Niagara winning a coaches challenge and the let down of the defense (where I believe there was legit goaltender interference).

Hopefully we can keep bringing crowds in like last night. We are in a good position to make a push since the western conference is anyones game. We tend to make almost 90% of the games, but know it can be expensive. Glad a good game was played by all.

As many have already commented, a lot of fans came out of the wood work last night and it was our best crowd in almost 2 years or at least where I have been in attendance for. I had my sense of regret when purchasing tickets (we go to almost all games but with work/school/activities it becomes tough), however, they pulled through.

There was a lot of good things that happened last night. Breaking up the lines was huge and I think we need to stick with this. Having a rookie on each line with a top 4 guy is huge. I want us out of the mentality of "me first" and I think that this is what flipped that switch. We don't have top talent fighting with each other to get the highlight reel goal when we don't stack our top lines.

Brenden Kischnick doesn't disappoint. Always tries to pump everyone up and isn't afraid to get gritty. Almost a MacDermid like player which Erie needs.

If we picked the most improved player today, Elias Cohen is on my ballot. He always tries to make plays and isn't afraid to get to the net despite his size. Sedore and Sellan have been tremendous as well. I don't see much from Cam Morton, but I think he's just overshadowed with Drysdale, Duff, and Henry in the lineup.

Jacob Golden has been overshadowed as well and hasn't been super impressive, but a 3 pt night last night hopefully we see more from him.

Maxim Golod had a sick celly last night using his stick as a lightsaber in spirit of the theme. 4 pt night, glad he's on the same line as Swankler and Cohen.

Dan Murphy. He's our guy and I think the surge of goals in the second was due to Niagara winning a coaches challenge and the let down of the defense (where I believe there was legit goaltender interference).

Hopefully we can keep bringing crowds in like last night. We are in a good position to make a push since the western conference is anyones game. We tend to make almost 90% of the games, but know it can be expensive. Glad a good game was played by all.

Cam, IMO has grown up a lot since preseason. While he is still slow, his positioning on the ice has become a lot better and he is starting to use his frame more.

If you went back and watched him on tape you'd see early on he was timid and fragile. While he has yet to establish himself as a bruiser, I think he will be the reason Henry is traded/gone next year.

As for the others on defense...I would agree, Drysdale, Duff, and Kish are the ones everyone wants to see. I was rooting for Beamish as well, but unfortunately he is no longer here.

 

[Mata]

They will struggle to make playoffs once again for 3rd straight year. Lines were asleep today so we will see how they do next game. Some guys on the lower lines with talent not seeing much ice time. I watched the game today and some key players Imo did not get on the ice much at all. Players with a couple of minutes of play per period will not prove what they can do.
Amazing how the pp just sucks now without Drysdale.

I don't understand why Drew wasn't leading PP1 when Drysdale left to go play in the world juniors. I'm not doubting Golden, just figured Golden would move into pp2 and Carter would move into PP1. I actually think Carter is more poised to run our top line.

 

[NOA]

Cam, IMO has grown up a lot since preseason. While he is still slow, his positioning on the ice has become a lot better and he is starting to use his frame more.

If you went back and watched him on tape you'd see early on he was timid and fragile. While he has yet to establish himself as a bruiser, I think he will be the reason Henry is traded/gone next year.

As for the others on defense...I would agree, Drysdale, Duff, and Kish are the ones everyone wants to see. I was rooting for Beamish as well, but unfortunately he is no longer here.

Morton is still very young and learning. But I have hope for him too. Losing Beamish was a blow for the defense. That said, his injury history should have had Erie not relying on him to begin with. Hunter has helped

 

[OttersFan]

Cam, IMO has grown up a lot since preseason. While he is still slow, his positioning on the ice has become a lot better and he is starting to use his frame more.

If you went back and watched him on tape you'd see early on he was timid and fragile. While he has yet to establish himself as a bruiser, I think he will be the reason Henry is traded/gone next year.

As for the others on defense...I would agree, Drysdale, Duff, and Kish are the ones everyone wants to see. I was rooting for Beamish as well, but unfortunately he is no longer here.

Fair, Cam has definitely improved without a doubt. He’s definitely getting more comfortable than he had been. At the beginning of the season I would say to myself who is that kid as many do when rookies join the lineup and he has definitely distinguished himself. He’s getting better and learning. I’m sure not many people thought he’d crack the line up to stay.

I think he is the extra guy for gathering experience and we see Henry elsewhere either this year or next. Duff, Kischnick, Drysdale all here to stay. Duff for his experience (captain), Kischnick for his grit, and Drysdale well, he needs no explanation.

Add an import on the back end with Morton and we have something rolling.

If we really plummet, I wouldn’t mind calling Kyrou up and having him play on the back end for experience. It sounds like he has a chance at making it next year. If we don’t win closer to 30-32 games by then end of February, first I’m questioning the coaching, but secondly get kids the experience early to maybe make playoffs the next year. Honestly, it’s a broken record being said year after year after year. Three years, two being early golf outings and this year not looking any better.

I hope we can have Gillard back before the end of the season as well. Anyone have any updates on him or know what exactly happened?

 

[Mata]

Fair, Cam has definitely improved without a doubt. He’s definitely getting more comfortable than he had been. At the beginning of the season I would say to myself who is that kid as many do when rookies join the lineup and he has definitely distinguished himself. He’s getting better and learning. I’m sure not many people thought he’d crack the line up to stay.

I think he is the extra guy for gathering experience and we see Henry elsewhere either this year or next. Duff, Kischnick, Drysdale all here to stay. Duff for his experience (captain), Kischnick for his grit, and Drysdale well, he needs no explanation.

Add an import on the back end with Morton and we have something rolling.

If we really plummet, I wouldn’t mind calling Kyrou up and having him play on the back end for experience. It sounds like he has a chance at making it next year. If we don’t win closer to 30-32 games by then end of February, first I’m questioning the coaching, but secondly get kids the experience early to maybe make playoffs the next year. Honestly, it’s a broken record being said year after year after year. Three years, two being early golf outings and this year not looking any better.

I hope we can have Gillard back before the end of the season as well. Anyone have any updates on him or know what exactly happened?

IIRC with Gillard it was a lower body injury and he wasn't expected back until Feb/March.

I did see him at the game the other day walking so I can only assume he is rehabbing/strength conditioning until he is game ready.

 

[Dhockey16]

Pretty pitiful effort against Kitchener tonight. Feels like the sort of game that loses the head coach his job. Erie should relieve Hartsburg of his duties as soon as they have a replacement lined up, if not sooner. It's painfully obvious this isn't working.

 

[OttersFan]

Pretty pitiful effort against Kitchener tonight. Feels like the sort of game that loses the head coach his job. Erie should relieve Hartsburg of his duties as soon as they have a replacement lined up, if not sooner. It's painfully obvious this isn't working.

Not sure how you can play a team two nights ago and not figure out their game plan.

 

[SHL]

Yes pathetic. A change is much needed. Coach has lost the team. I keep saying this, but enough is enough.
A good coach needs to be tough but at the same time needs to know how to coach (he does not) and be positive. I do not think he is a good coach, and definitely not a positive guy. He tries to be tough but from what I see has been so selective on who he is tough on.
Being down and negative on players does not help their play. It just gets them feeling down and frustrated with themselves and added pressure every time they get on the ice. A snowball effect that creates a very negative environment.
10 pp tonight and no goals and 1 goal against is absolutely pathetic. There comes a time where you need to sit your usual pp guys, to wake them up, and give others a chance, instead of just throwing the same guys out there. Guys getting top 6 minutes, and playing most of the pp and getting nothing is pathetic.
I am done being a fan until their is a change. This game was absolutely pathetic.
President and GM wake up!!! You have obligations to the players that play for this pathetic coach, obligations to the fans and the the city of Erie to put forth a competitive team.
It is not working!!!

 

[NOA]

Pretty pitiful effort against Kitchener tonight. Feels like the sort of game that loses the head coach his job. Erie should relieve Hartsburg of his duties as soon as they have a replacement lined up, if not sooner. It's painfully obvious this isn't working.

Couldn’t have said it better. And after a long break for the holidays, they come out flat as heck in all 3 games. Getting their butts kicked in back to back games against the same team, who although good.. not like they are some powerhouse. Embarrassing. I’m just out of words to say. You want the team to wake up? You want to send a message to your fans? You want to salvage the season and MAYBE make the playoffs (which you need to do)? Then Hartsburg should be fired ASAP

 

[Mata]

A few of the players parents were livid tonight, if that should be any indication if the frustration throughout.

Great comments...now we wait and hope there is a ship to save after all of this!

 

[Dhockey16]

A few of the players parents were livid tonight, if that should be any indication if the frustration throughout.

Great comments...now we wait and hope there is a ship to save after all of this!

Yeah, that's a terrible sign. Rumours start floating amongst parents and potential commits will drop like flies. Mark Scheig (@markscheig on Twitter) covers Erie for thehockeywriters and he said he was waiting 30+ plus minutes for a post-game "team meeting" to conclude. Hopefully the parents are just upset about being kept waiting on NYE and it's not a sign of bigger problems.

 

[Mata]

Yeah, that's a terrible sign. Rumours start floating amongst parents and potential commits will drop like flies. Mark Scheig (@markscheig on Twitter) covers Erie for thehockeywriters and he said he was waiting 30+ plus minutes for a post-game "team meeting" to conclude. Hopefully the parents are just upset about being kept waiting on NYE and it's not a sign of bigger problems.

He (Mark) just posted the post game interview...

Hartsburg is blaming EVERYTHING on the players while sounding confused and unsure of any of his answers. These kids need a leader/coach and it isn't him.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Yeah, that's a terrible sign. Rumours start floating amongst parents and potential commits will drop like flies. Mark Scheig (@markscheig on Twitter) covers Erie for thehockeywriters and he said he was waiting 30+ plus minutes for a post-game "team meeting" to conclude. Hopefully the parents are just upset about being kept waiting on NYE and it's not a sign of bigger problems.

Jay McKee is looking for a job.

 

[ReLyT]

What is going on with Fowler?

 

[NOA]

A few of the players parents were livid tonight, if that should be any indication if the frustration throughout.

Great comments...now we wait and hope there is a ship to save after all of this!

I will reiterate the problem.. money. You have to pay to fire a coach. Then pay for a new coach. I guarantee that’s half (if not more) of the battle for Dave Brown. Because I have to believe he is not happy with things

 

[NOA]

He (Mark) just posted the post game interview...

Hartsburg is blaming EVERYTHING on the players while sounding confused and unsure of any of his answers. These kids need a leader/coach and it isn't him.

That’s the same s***, different night from him. Always on the players. Always the same s*** about “we need to be better” “we will fix it” “have to be more accountable”
blah blah blah.
Been 3 years of it. I’m done with it. He’s a broken record with no results. Fire him

 

[NOA]

Jay McKee is looking for a job.

Would be a significant upgrade. Again though, it’s about the $$$$

 

[Mata]

What is going on with Fowler?

What do you mean?

 

[NOA]

Would it surprise anyone if, with a new coach, this team won more like .650% of their games instead of .500???

I feel like the players could finally breathe and be like “thank goodness, he’s gone.. let’s start playing”

I think it’s that bad right now in the room with Hartsburg. HUGE problem