Erie Otters 2020 Offseason Thread

[Mata]

If Khus. signs with Erie, and Drysdale returns, you'd have to think that the Otters would be instant contenders in the West, no? A Drysdale/Duff pairing doesn't get much better.

Our defense outside of Duff/Drysdale is a work in progress and depending on what they do with our net minder, it could also be a work in progress.

That being said, our offensive firepower should be pretty decent to give it a go if we are consistent in the back.

 

[NOA]

Our defense outside of Duff/Drysdale is a work in progress and depending on what they do with our net minder, it could also be a work in progress.

That being said, our offensive firepower should be pretty decent to give it a go if we are consistent in the back.

Morton / Kyrou need to take steps forward. Would be nice to see more consistency from Kischnick as a bottom pairing guy. Gillard a wildcard coming back from injury. Sova and possible Wil Murphy as the rookies. They certainly have bodies on defense but the question is who can establish themselves as a 3/4 guy?

I thought Golden was vastly overrated by the Erie faithful and though Henry is a big bodied guy, he made plenty of careless mistakes. They could actually be better on defense or I guess another way to put it is they have more “potential.” Will be a younger group but I see more overall talent

If they land Khusnutdinov, that all but guarantees they will need to trade or move on from 1/2 of their 2000 born forwards. Which could allow them to flip some picks for an older 4/5 defender.

It would be easier/cheaper to find a veteran backup goalie for Campbell if need be. But Campbell himself is going to have to put it all together. Campbell actually had an .885% on home ice last year and that includes his big stinker vs NB late in year. At teams he looked stellar. Other times he looked sloppy. Does being the clear cut number one guy keep him in check more? Because I think his biggest issue was his focus. Talent is there to be much better statistically

 

[Mata]

Morton / Kyrou need to take steps forward. Would be nice to see more consistency from Kischnick as a bottom pairing guy. Gillard a wildcard coming back from injury. Sova and possible Wil Murphy as the rookies. They certainly have bodies on defense but the question is who can establish themselves as a 3/4 guy?

I thought Golden was vastly overrated by the Erie faithful and though Henry is a big bodied guy, he made plenty of careless mistakes. They could actually be better on defense or I guess another way to put it is they have more “potential.” Will be a younger group but I see more overall talent

If they land Khusnutdinov, that all but guarantees they will need to trade or move on from 1/2 of their 2000 born forwards. Which could allow them to flip some picks for an older 4/5 defender.

It would be easier/cheaper to find a veteran backup goalie for Campbell if need be. But Campbell himself is going to have to put it all together. Campbell actually had an .885% on home ice last year and that includes his big stinker vs NB late in year. At teams he looked stellar. Other times he looked sloppy. Does being the clear cut number one guy keep him in check more? Because I think his biggest issue was his focus. Talent is there to be much better statistically

Morton and Kyrou are going to be the biggest impact on early success in the back. I believe Morton CAN replace Henry. As far as Kyrou, his play was very limited and even when called up he was situational at best. Sova at best starts in the 4th slot, but guaranteed a 5/6 spot on defense depending on the progression/health of Gillard and Kyrou.

As far as goaltending...I feel Campbell should get the load and take what we can for Murphy, but I suspect they will ride Murphy if they can. That being said, Campbell needs to show consistency in goal and if not, that could also lead to a very long season even if we land a vet goalie and Murphy departs.

As far as Marat...he will add to an already what appears to be potentially explosive offense and just allow our roster to get that much more depth as well as deal, like you stated, a player or two.

Major concerns will be health and development this off-season for players as well as coaching being extremely suspect.

 

[NOA]

Morton and Kyrou are going to be the biggest impact on early success in the back. I believe Morton CAN replace Henry. As far as Kyrou, his play was very limited and even when called up he was situational at best. Sova at best starts in the 4th slot, but guaranteed a 5/6 spot on defense depending on the progression/health of Gillard and Kyrou.

As far as goaltending...I feel Campbell should get the load and take what we can for Murphy, but I suspect they will ride Murphy if they can. That being said, Campbell needs to show consistency in goal and if not, that could also lead to a very long season even if we land a vet goalie and Murphy departs.

As far as Marat...he will add to an already what appears to be potentially explosive offense and just allow our roster to get that much more depth as well as deal, like you stated, a player or two.

Major concerns will be health and development this off-season for players as well as coaching being extremely suspect.

Murphy will not be here at all this year due to the OA situation..

Golod / Yetman / Duff the best 3 OAs they got and that’s who they will ride with. So it’s Campbell in net to start. If he’s not ready for a bulk of the season, they will need to find a cheap veteran on the market that can at least give them some games

I like Morton to improve. I don’t expect Kyrou to be ready for 3/4 pairing full time but I feel decent about him improving this offseason. Sova should be a 5/6 guy (no need to rush). The question really becomes Gillard. I loved his potential after 2018-19 then he had a nasty injury. Erie needs him to at least prove he can still be a middle pairing guy. Ideally they would get help in the import draft as well but I simply stress they have the bodies. Just a matter of 1 or 2 developing and taking a big leap for next season. The rest will provide that depth for the 3rd pairing

 

[NOA]

I think we all agree coaching is a big ?? but again, the talent and injuries have left this team in a tough spot the last 1/2 years in particular. Certainly will be their oldest group this year and with the addition of someone like Marat or another import - it will easily be their most talented. I said before, that the first 2 years of the rebuild were expected in terms of wins/points. Last year imo Erie left a lot of potential points on the table. We could find out this year if that was more to do with talent or coaching. Because this year there will be no excuse, ESPECIALLY if Erie adds 1/2 import players

Let’s not forget though
In 2017-18 Erie had Patry/Podd as imports (less than ideal)

In 2018-19 (after a high pick) Erie was only able to add Cajka. I liked his potential but for 1 year of him it was a wasted pick

In 2019-20 Erie had zero imports. Largely because Dave Brown botched the import situation

— how much better could Erie have been with Cajka and Khusnutdinov (or someone filling that 8th overall pick) last year? Answer: Way more talented and probably winning more OT/SO games at the least

I agree we have questions that need answered with coaching. Do or die year for the staff. But in the last 3 years Erie’s imports drafted/signed have been Podd/Patry/Cajka - that’s terrible when you consider higher picks and only 1 year of Cajka

Brown deserves some blame too for not putting a better team out there. I said before and I’ll say again: you can’t have a lack of high end OHL picks and then expect to also miss on imports. Those are crucial for Erie due to lack of draft capital. And they have botched the import draft basically since selecting Cernak

Let’s see if Brown can finally figure it out (though I do realize COVID will only make it tougher)

 

[Mata]

The thing is, they don't have to drop Murphy until early 2021. They can have 4 - 6 overage players but they can only dress 3 overage each night.

That being said, do they gamble and hold him until the deadline or do they gamble and trade him early? I don't think in either scenario they get a great return for him, but suppose they stand by him and he plays really well, it ups his stock a little. I would assume it has to do with their confidence in Campbell at or just after camp.

 

[NOA]

The thing is, they don't have to drop Murphy until early 2021. They can have 4 - 6 overage players but they can only dress 3 overage each night.

That being said, do they gamble and hold him until the deadline or do they gamble and trade him early? I don't think in either scenario they get a great return for him, but suppose they stand by him and he plays really well, it ups his stock a little. I would assume it has to do with their confidence in Campbell at or just after camp.

Yeah that’s definitely not going to happen though..
because you aren’t going to sit a 70/80 point guy per night (Golod/Yetman) or your 2nd best defender/captain in Duff

That scenario would only make sense if the 3rd OA was more of a depth guy but Erie has 3 really good quality OAs that need to play every night

Sitting one of those 3 just to play Murphy decreases their chance to win, definitely doesn’t increase it. This isn’t a scenario where Murphy is a stud OA goalie. He’s solid and would be a good backup to have but they don’t have space for him. He’s certainly not a 40-45 game starter if you want to be a good team

Campbell is the guy. Lalonde already signed so he will have a crack to be the backup. They have a few other goalies in their system that will get a look in camp. If they need to, they will trade for cheap veteran to be a backup. But they are going to do or die with Campbell. And that’s how it should be...

Campbell was a bigger recruit for them and he had other options (college). The time they spent swaying him to sign here surely meant he would be their #1 guy sooner than later. He’s going to be in his 3rd year of eligibility so if not now it’s sorta never really going to get there for him. Erie needs to find out what they have. That means making him the #1 guy early and often to start the year. “Let’s see if he can handle it” type of thing

 

[NOA]

Adding to the above and another reason keeping 4 OAs with Murphy makes no sense:

You can’t even dress him as a backup.. so essentially you have to carry 3 goalies and only dress Murphy when he starts which again means sitting a better OA player and an important impact guy on the team.

Too many logistics for that and it doesn’t make any sense. I guess it makes more sense if someone like Joel Wigle is your 3rd OA but in that scenario, Wigle wouldn’t be worth keeping over Murphy.

It actually would be more likely for Erie to draft an import goalie today. If they are concerned with Campbell as the clear 1, then draft an import.

 

[EON]

Well there you go, Erie takes Belarusian goalie Alexei Kolosov.

Elite prospects profile: Alexei Kolosov at eliteprospects.com

Good numbers but unclear what that level of competition is.

If he comes over, Murphy will obviously be dealt and they'll probably go with a 1A/1B between Kolosov and Campbell next season, with Lalonde getting more playing time in Junior A/Junior B. They should be able to get something for Murphy.

Curious as to what they'll do with their 2nd pick. I would hope they take some sort of swing for the fences on a forward as a contingency plan if Khushnutdinov is a no-go. Preferably an '03.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Well there you go, Erie takes Belarusian goalie Alexei Kolosov.

Elite prospects profile: Alexei Kolosov at eliteprospects.com

Good numbers but unclear what that level of competition is.

If he comes over, Murphy will obviously be dealt and they'll probably go with a 1A/1B between Kolosov and Campbell next season, with Lalonde getting more playing time in Junior A/Junior B. They should be able to get something for Murphy.

Curious as to what they'll do with their 2nd pick. I would hope they take some sort of swing for the fences on a forward as a contingency plan if Khushnutdinov is a no-go. Preferable an '03.

What's very interesting is that he literally signed in the KHL for next year, yesterday

 

[NOA]

What's very interesting is that he literally signed in the KHL for next year, yesterday

Cool, and there likely isn’t going to be an OHL season this year or at least not a normal one.

Obviously they need to figure out their goalie situation as it’s a bunch of unknown or young guys. I like the pick

 

[NOA]

Well there you go, Erie takes Belarusian goalie Alexei Kolosov.

Elite prospects profile: Alexei Kolosov at eliteprospects.com

Good numbers but unclear what that level of competition is.

If he comes over, Murphy will obviously be dealt and they'll probably go with a 1A/1B between Kolosov and Campbell next season, with Lalonde getting more playing time in Junior A/Junior B. They should be able to get something for Murphy.

Curious as to what they'll do with their 2nd pick. I would hope they take some sort of swing for the fences on a forward as a contingency plan if Khushnutdinov is a no-go. Preferably an '03.

Makes total sense to swing for the fences on Russian forward that is friends with Marat. Maybe convince both of them to come? Would mean a no go for Kolosov but would still be worth it

I like that Erie is going back to the import for goalies. They have had plenty of success with Janus/Dansk/Sadikov

 

[NOA]

Erie selects Artyom Kulakov with their second pick

Artyom Kulakov at eliteprospects.com

A 2003 born with good size. Had 40 points in 29 games playing for Spartak out of Russia u17 league

 

[Mata]

Well there you go, Erie takes Belarusian goalie Alexei Kolosov.

Elite prospects profile: Alexei Kolosov at eliteprospects.com

Good numbers but unclear what that level of competition is.

If he comes over, Murphy will obviously be dealt and they'll probably go with a 1A/1B between Kolosov and Campbell next season, with Lalonde getting more playing time in Junior A/Junior B. They should be able to get something for Murphy.

Curious as to what they'll do with their 2nd pick. I would hope they take some sort of swing for the fences on a forward as a contingency plan if Khushnutdinov is a no-go. Preferably an '03.

Definitely agree this is the nail in the coffin for Murphy. Lalonde will be the alternate should he choose not to report until they can trade for a veteran back-up with some of the OA they have to deal.

Good, smart move. I think by drafting a goalie and a defenseman they have 3 players who can come over and step in right away. The question now will be, what do they do if all 3 wanted to report?

 

[NOA]

Definitely agree this is the nail in the coffin for Murphy. Lalonde will be the alternate should he choose not to report until they can trade for a veteran back-up with some of the OA they have to deal.

Good, smart move. I think by drafting a goalie and a defenseman they have 3 players who can come over and step in right away. The question now will be, what do they do if all 3 wanted to report?

I think it’s highly unlikely to expect all 3 to want to report right away especially in a COVID world

IF it came to that, you take Marat and Kolosov. Kulakov could, as a 2003, be in the fold for the following year still. But Marat is elite and 1 year and done player.. if he wants to come you take him instantly. Kolosov could also be a major add if he can be a top goalie. Those 2 would make most impact for 2020-21

 

[Guy23]

where does Kyrou fit into the lineup?

 

[EON]

I think it’s highly unlikely to expect all 3 to want to report right away especially in a COVID world

IF it came to that, you take Marat and Kolosov. Kulakov could, as a 2003, be in the fold for the following year still. But Marat is elite and 1 year and done player.. if he wants to come you take him instantly. Kolosov could also be a major add if he can be a top goalie. Those 2 would make most impact for 2020-21

Yeah I'd take Khushnutdinov and Kolosov if all 3 wanted to come. Adding those 2 plus trading for a top 4 dman with the assets they get from dealing away extra players would make them a top 4 team talent wise in my mind.

But honestly, with the uncertainty around the season and a poor track record with imports since Cernak, I'll be happy if they get 1 of these guys to report.

 

[NOA]

where does Kyrou fit into the lineup?

Currently Duff and Drysdale are the only two locks in terms of top minutes on defense

Morton / Kyrou / Kischnick / Gillard will battle it out for 3/4 spots

Sova and now potentially Kulakov will also compete for time. Potentially a 2003 drafted player gets signed too

There are a lot of guys competing for the 3-7 slots on the backend. Don’t think any have locked themselves into anything so offseason crucial for all of them

 

[NOA]

Yeah I'd take Khushnutdinov and Kolosov if all 3 wanted to come. Adding those 2 plus trading for a top 4 dman with the assets they get from dealing away extra players would make them a top 4 team talent wise in my mind.

But honestly, with the uncertainty around the season and a poor track record with imports since Cernak, I'll be happy if they get 1 of these guys to report.

I agree. That assumes there even is a season too..

 

[EON]

where does Kyrou fit into the lineup?

Duff-Drsydale
Morton-????
Sova-Kyrou
Murphy

Traded: Henry
Question marks: Kischnick/Gillard

On defense, it's a little more questionable beyond the top pair. To me, the 5/6/7 should clearly be Sova/Kyrou/Murphy. These guys all have pretty good potential and should get regular playing time this season, as their development will be extremely important to replacing Drysdale in 2021 and beyond. Morton is probably ready for 2nd pairing duty given the right partner. Kischnick and Gillard are big question marks. If Kischnick takes a big leap forward, I'd welcome keeping him for the 2nd pair. But I would not keep him if he's still not more than a 3rd pairing player. The young guys need that time. It's totally unclear how Gillard will fit in given his injury last season. If he's capable of playing 2nd pair I'd like to see him there, but again, if he's only a 3rd pairing guy, I would not keep him, since he's an '01.

 

[NOA]

Yup lots of question marks

The good news is that Erie has accumulated a good amount of talent now. They have clawed their way back the last few years with basically no draft captial to now having a pretty good core to build around (especially if they sign 1/2 of the imports drafted today). I mean I would feel better as an Erie fan about the current young players in our system than most other teams

2004:
Sova
Ross
Lalonde

2003:
Lockhart
Saganiuk
Bressette
Kyrou
(unsigned) Murphy / Kulakov

2002:
Cohen
Sedore
Morton
Campbell
(Unsigned) Khusnutdinov/ Kolosov

There is a lot of balance too

Among signed players, they have 6F, 3D, 2G. Plus 1F, 2D, 1G that are probably at least solid prospects that are unsigned

Need to start hitting on some import players but the core of this team is starting to get better and deeper. Erie has no excuse to not at least be a 4-6 seed team the next few years. The question will be (and this in part comes down to development of players and signing imports) when will Erie be ready and able to go “all in” for a run?

 

[Mata]

Order of importance IMO:

Marat > Kolosov > Kulakov

Chance of reporting:

Kulakov > Kolosov > Marat

 

[NOA]

Order of importance IMO:

Marat > Kolosov > Kulakov

Chance of reporting:

Kulakov > Kolosov > Marat

Yes I think that is pretty obvious at this point

I can’t overstate the pandemic though. I think under normal circumstances, Erie would have a really good chance at getting Marat. The pandemic might cost the OHL a season or at the very least, most of the normal routine things that happen in a season (i.e. 68 games, full arenas, etc). So as a result, Kulakov might not even be an option anymore. Let alone someone like Marat who is in a good league with maybe a chance to play in the KHL.

But from what I hear, Kulakov seems the most interested. I don’t know with Kolosov but Dave Brown made interesting comments post draft that, if you read between the lines, looks like they feel they can get him

Things with Marat can easily change depending on the NHL draft. For instance, if the Chicago Blackhawks draft him, I’m sure Strome and DeBrincat will talk highly of Erie to him. Or maybe if a team like Pittsburgh, Columbus, or Buffalo drafts him, they want him close to their main personnel? Then there are just certain teams like Toronto that are very pro OHL/CHL. Erie also has recent history with their imports while dealing with LA Kings and Washington.

Where he gets drafted certainly will have an impact

 

[GetOutDaKitchin]

Yes I think that is pretty obvious at this point

I can’t overstate the pandemic though. I think under normal circumstances, Erie would have a really good chance at getting Marat. The pandemic might cost the OHL a season or at the very least, most of the normal routine things that happen in a season (i.e. 68 games, full arenas, etc). So as a result, Kulakov might not even be an option anymore. Let alone someone like Marat who is in a good league with maybe a chance to play in the KHL.

But from what I hear, Kulakov seems the most interested. I don’t know with Kolosov but Dave Brown made interesting comments post draft that, if you read between the lines, looks like they feel they can get him

Things with Marat can easily change depending on the NHL draft. For instance, if the Chicago Blackhawks draft him, I’m sure Strome and DeBrincat will talk highly of Erie to him. Or maybe if a team like Pittsburgh, Columbus, or Buffalo drafts him, they want him close to their main personnel? Then there are just certain teams like Toronto that are very pro OHL/CHL. Erie also has recent history with their imports while dealing with LA Kings and Washington.

Where he gets drafted certainly will have an impact

It's important to note that Kolosov is repped by Daniel Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, the same agency who represents Ivan Lodnia. Some on this forum may have direct knowledge, but if I was a betting man, Milstein was the one who orchestrated Lodnia's exit from Erie after the 17-18 season. Now that's not to say that he was the one that felt that Erie wasn't the right place for Lodnia to develop - just have to wonder what kind of relationship he has with Brown.

Regardless, I would hope that Brown learned his lesson and did extensive due diligence on Kolosov before the Import Draft to ensure there was better than a 50/50 chance he'd report. If these were normal times, losing out on two high-profile Imports in back-to-back years is the kind of stuff that gets you fired.

That all being said, I'm good with the Kolosov pick so long as Marat or Kulakov reports. If neither of them do, you've got to think that the 22nd pick would have been better spent on an impact forward or defenseman instead of a goalie. There's plenty of capable (albeit not elite) '01, non-import goalies out there that could have split time with Campbell this season before we (should) hand him the reins in 21-22.

 

[NOA]

It's important to note that Kolosov is repped by Daniel Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, the same agency who represents Ivan Lodnia. Some on this forum may have direct knowledge, but if I was a betting man, Milstein was the one who orchestrated Lodnia's exit from Erie after the 17-18 season. Now that's not to say that he was the one that felt that Erie wasn't the right place for Lodnia to develop - just have to wonder what kind of relationship he has with Brown.

Regardless, I would hope that Brown learned his lesson and did extensive due diligence on Kolosov before the Import Draft to ensure there was better than a 50/50 chance he'd report. If these were normal times, losing out on two high-profile Imports in back-to-back years is the kind of stuff that gets you fired.

That all being said, I'm good with the Kolosov pick so long as Marat or Kulakov reports. If neither of them do, you've got to think that the 22nd pick would have been better spent on an impact forward or defenseman instead of a goalie. There's plenty of capable (albeit not elite) '01, non-import goalies out there that could have split time with Campbell this season before we (should) hand him the reins in 21-22.

It’s interesting to note that Gold Star actually represents both Kolosov and Kulakov ..
So either Brown is really slow to the party if his relationship with that agency is bad (because he just drafted 2 guys from there) or Brown has a working relationship with them and that’s why he drafted these 2 particular players

Important to note with Lodnia:
Yes he wanted out and largely due to the coaching change and Erie in full rebuild. He didn’t want to nor did the agency want him playing for a bad team. That was a huge part in it.

But what did Brown do to upset those parties? He actually wanted to trade Lodnia during the 2017-18 season. Lodnia/his agency halted that. Then Lodnia wanted traded prior to OHL season in 2018-19 and Brown did that, sending him to Niagara (the team Lodnia requested). In fact, Brown got porked in that trade by receiving a 5th and Singer (laughable) for an experienced and good, signed NHL prospect. Brown could have played hard ball and said no to that trade and made Lodnia sit at home until Niagara offered even just 1/2 high end picks (which still would have been a bargain for Lodnia). I wanted him to do that in hindsight because they essentially gave away Lodnia for free and partially screwed their rebuild. Brown 100% let Lodnia dictate everything

So again, why would Gold Star have a bad relationship with Brown? If anything, Lodnia didn’t have an issue with Brown and should be appreciative. So should that agency because Brown did everything they asked, including the idea of getting screwed out of assets