Erie Otters 2020 Offseason Thread

[NOA]

Murphy is 100% making this team unless he really hasn't progressed since last season. Erie seems to love the Kingston dmen (Duff, Morton, now Murphy). He'll probably be the #7D this season but he seems like a solid piece for the future.

I agree but it’s more on Murphy at this point. Obviously he has to have improved on last year (which I’m sure he has) and then he has to agree to sign, which I don’t think is a huge worry but the state of the OHL right now doesn’t help

Hoping they do sign him though because it will just add to a nice core of younger guys on the roster

 

[NOA]

For anyone who didn’t see yet, Brock Otten released his unheralded 2003 (or 2002s who haven’t yet played) in the OHL

OHL Prospects: Sunday Top 10 - Unheralded Rookies Who Could Make an Impact in 2020/21

Brock had a huge list, and I count 39 players here of names to watch. He specifically only mentions 2002/2003s who have yet to play in the OHL or played very limited role last year.

Of the 39 players, at least 9 are still uncommitted to the OHL.

Of the 30 signed players (though this number is probably less), Erie has 3 names mentioned - Saganiuk, Bressette, Kyrou

They also have Wil Murphy mentioned (unsigned)

Good representation for Erie in this list!

 

[J Simmons]

In other news I’m fairly certain I walked by Hoffmann and Kischnick a couple days back. Hoffmann being a giant and Kischnick having a unique look being easy giveaways (if they weren’t already wearing otters apparel). Glad to see some of the players have been coming back, regardless of the reason...

 

[NOA]

In other news I’m fairly certain I walked by Hoffmann and Kischnick a couple days back. Hoffmann being a giant and Kischnick having a unique look being easy giveaways (if they weren’t already wearing otters apparel). Glad to see some of the players have been coming back, regardless of the reason...

I had a conversation with another poster a few weeks back which indicated that Hoffmann was living here all summer. He’s been working out with current/former Mercyhurst University players from my understanding.

I agree, it’s great to see!

 

[Mata]

I had a conversation with another poster a few weeks back which indicated that Hoffmann was living here all summer. He’s been working out with current/former Mercyhurst University players from my understanding.

I agree, it’s great to see!

There are probably close to half a dozen working out at the Sports Bank now. Golod has been here in Erie for a few weeks too. I forget who else my daughter has told me she has encountered up there while playing hockey.

 

[Saggy]

So what are you hearing ? Will it just be Saginaw, Flint and Erie playing against each other all year ?

 

[NOA]

So what are you hearing ? Will it just be Saginaw, Flint and Erie playing against each other all year ?

I have not heard anything local other than the general rumors from around the league.

Imo though I’m not sure how that works. If you had maybe 4/5 US based teams, it’s an easier discussion to have. But only 3 teams playing for even one month straight? That’s a dangerous situation where personal grudges and rivalries will occur (think a playoff series on steroids) and it’s also not fair competitive balance if the other OHL teams are able to shuffle through 6+ opponents in the same timeframe

I could see the US 3 playing heavily the first few months. Or even starting the first 3 weeks with only games against each other to delay border traveling as long as possible. Beyond that thoug But how long can you really continue with that if you are still trying to have a “real” season with a champion crowned at the end? Anything longer than about 3 weeks, or about 4/5 games vs each US team, starts to get ridiculous

 

[bcspragu]

I have not heard anything local other than the general rumors from around the league.

Imo though I’m not sure how that works. If you had maybe 4/5 US based teams, it’s an easier discussion to have. But only 3 teams playing for even one month straight? That’s a dangerous situation where personal grudges and rivalries will occur (think a playoff series on steroids) and it’s also not fair competitive balance if the other OHL teams are able to shuffle through 6+ opponents in the same timeframe

I could see the US 3 playing heavily the first few months. Or even starting the first 3 weeks with only games against each other to delay border traveling as long as possible. Beyond that thoug But how long can you really continue with that if you are still trying to have a “real” season with a champion crowned at the end? Anything longer than about 3 weeks, or about 4/5 games vs each US team, starts to get ridiculous

I mean Saginaw already plays Flint 8 times in a normal season. With no cross conference play and word that teams will play more in division, and the border it wouldnt be outrageous to see that number bumped up to at least 12. That's over a month of games those two can play against each other. If there is any chance of fans Flint-Saginaw doesnt have a ticket problem either.

The main issue with only having 3 american teams though is there is always going to be 1 team not playing any given night. How that works will be a mystery.

What I think is most likely is a heavy dose of each other at the start and then the league trying to create some sort of travel bubble for the US teams to travel into Canada. All of the West division OHL rinks are less than 10km from the border itself. If the teams are able test players at the home rink, bus them to the away game without any outside contact, play, and immediately leave it may be a scenario the Canadian government allows. Erie could do this with Niagara as well and maybe alter thier schedule to some other OHL cities close to the border

 

[NOA]

I mean Saginaw already plays Flint 8 times in a normal season. With no cross conference play and word that teams will play more in division, and the border it wouldnt be outrageous to see that number bumped up to at least 12. That's over a month of games those two can play against each other. If there is any chance of fans Flint-Saginaw doesnt have a ticket problem either.

The main issue with only having 3 american teams though is there is always going to be 1 team not playing any given night. How that works will be a mystery.

What I think is most likely is a heavy dose of each other at the start and then the league trying to create some sort of travel bubble for the US teams to travel into Canada. All of the West division OHL rinks are less than 10km from the border itself. If the teams are able test players at the home rink, bus them to the away game without any outside contact, play, and immediately leave it may be a scenario the Canadian government allows. Erie could do this with Niagara as well and maybe alter thier schedule to some other OHL cities close to the border

I think you missed my point

I never said Erie/Saginaw/Flint wouldn’t play more often than a “normal” year. And it makes sense that they do. My point was saying, to the original poster, that I don’t see how they can exclusively play each other ALL year long.
Let’s say the OHL ends up with a 40 game schedule... Those 3 American teams are expected to play 2 opponents for that amount of games while the rest of the league plays the remaining teams in their respective conferences?

That will not work if the goal is to actually play some type of season where a champion is crowned

It does make sense that they play each 8-10 times but beyond that, the schedules would not work to exclusively have all 3 play.

You brought up a point that I thought to make in my post: with only 3 US teams, there will be 1 off team per night if those teams were exclusively playing each other at any stretch of the year

It simply doesn’t work imo. It makes more sense to relocate the US teams to Canada for the first half of the year and I hate that idea too

 

[bcspragu]

I think you missed my point

I never said Erie/Saginaw/Flint wouldn’t play more often than a “normal” year. And it makes sense that they do. My point was saying, to the original poster, that I don’t see how they can exclusively play each other ALL year long.
Let’s say the OHL ends up with a 40 game schedule... Those 3 American teams are expected to play 2 opponents for that amount of games while the rest of the league plays the remaining teams in their respective conferences?

That will not work if the goal is to actually play some type of season where a champion is crowned

It does make sense that they play each 8-10 times but beyond that, the schedules would not work to exclusively have all 3 play.

You brought up a point that I thought to make in my post: with only 3 US teams, there will be 1 off team per night if those teams were exclusively playing each other at any stretch of the year

It simply doesn’t work imo. It makes more sense to relocate the US teams to Canada for the first half of the year and I hate that idea too

I think the thing we all need to look at is that the schedule is all made up. Sure there are normally guidelines but in reality things can be incredibly fluid. Is it a problem that SSM will likely get a heavy dose of Sudbury and North Bay for travel purposes when other western conference teams dont play them?Does it matter if all the teams dont play balanced schedules because some teams are better than others ? Especially if playoff schedules are altered. Things can be made to work.

As for moving the teams to canada there are some unique situations there. Right now in the Q american and import players arent able to play due to issues with covid and work visas. Saginaw's roster is about 50% imports and americans. Would be tough for them to fill a roster

 

[Mata]

So what are you hearing ? Will it just be Saginaw, Flint and Erie playing against each other all year ?

I have heard it will be that through the month of December and HOPEFULLY it will open to all other teams in January.

 

[NOA]

I think the thing we all need to look at is that the schedule is all made up. Sure there are normally guidelines but in reality things can be incredibly fluid. Is it a problem that SSM will likely get a heavy dose of Sudbury and North Bay for travel purposes when other western conference teams dont play them?Does it matter if all the teams dont play balanced schedules because some teams are better than others ? Especially if playoff schedules are altered. Things can be made to work.

As for moving the teams to canada there are some unique situations there. Right now in the Q american and import players arent able to play due to issues with covid and work visas. Saginaw's roster is about 50% imports and americans. Would be tough for them to fill a roster

Again, I think my points are being misinterpreted

I’m not saying that the 3 US teams playing exclusively each other is “unfair” from a talent perspective but rather it’s incredibly challenging to only have the same 2 opponents for majority of or all of a season

If the plan is to have them play each other 10 times each (particularly early in the year), that makes more sense and we will probably see something along those lines. But they also MUST play other opponents a good chunk of games or essentially their “season” is phony. Is the same plan to have SSM/NB/SBY play exclusively each other ALL season? Is that the plan? To have little pockets across the league of 3/4 teams in each “group” and they only play each other ALL year long? Or are they only subjecting the US teams to that?

My point is you can’t have the US teams only play each other while the other teams have more variety. Yes, the US teams can play a heavy dose against each other but my point is only that there is a limit to how far that can go...

Also, I have never liked the idea of the US teams playing in Canada for all the logistical reasons previously mentioned. But it seems more logical or realistic than shutting the US teams down to only playing each for a full “season” (approximately 40+ games) yet the rest of the league has more balance in their schedule in respect to the number of opponents

If that is their plan due to travel issues, etc, to have only the US teams play each other than the OHL needs to divide up the remaining 17 teams into groupings of 3/4 teams. And those teams also must only play within their groups. That way you can create some level of balance and maybe by February/March you have the rest of the season be against other opponents in the conference prior to playoffs. But again, I don’t know how this is interesting to the fans to have the same opponents most of or all of the year. If they do it for the first 1/2 months it’s possible that it works. But at some point, teams need a variety of opponents

 

[NOA]

I have heard it will be that through the month of December and HOPEFULLY it will open to all other teams in January.

This is the maximum amount of time imo that this could work. I certainly see it as a likely option.

I would encourage or hope (but realistically won’t expect) the OHL to also create groupings of the remaining 17 teams for the first month of the season so they also only play the same 2/3 opponents

A sample of what this could look like:

Group A:
Erie
Saginaw
Flint

Group B:
Sarnia
Windsor
London

Group C:
Kitchener
Guelph
Hamilton
Niagara

Group D:
SSM
North Bay
Sudbury

Group E:
Owen Sound
Barrie
Oshawa
Mississauga

Group F:
Peterborough
Kingston
Ottawa

Yes, I understand it mixes up the conferences and the OHL won’t think this logically but it makes sense to do it like this the first 5-6 weeks of the year. Given the circumstances anyways, the OHL could adjust the playoffs to 1-16 seeding (which could be a nice test run) and have no conferences this year and these groups are the temporary divisions. Winning your “division” or “group” gets you locked into a top 6 finish for the playoffs.

In groups of 3, each team plays each opponent 12 times for a total of 8 weeks. The groups of 4, they play their opponent 8 times for a total of 8 weeks. By that time you are looking at closer to February and the hope could be they travel across the border and at least have the remaining 20-25 games against “new” opponents before the playoffs.

Something like that seems reasonable and certainly accounts more for a “fair” season if you expect to crown a champion. I realize the groupings could be considered weighted or unfair but my list was an example and the only consideration was travel/location

 

[bcspragu]

Again, I think my points are being misinterpreted

I’m not saying that the 3 US teams playing exclusively each other is “unfair” from a talent perspective but rather it’s incredibly challenging to only have the same 2 opponents for majority of or all of a season

If the plan is to have them play each other 10 times each (particularly early in the year), that makes more sense and we will probably see something along those lines. But they also MUST play other opponents a good chunk of games or essentially their “season” is phony. Is the same plan to have SSM/NB/SBY play exclusively each other ALL season? Is that the plan? To have little pockets across the league of 3/4 teams in each “group” and they only play each other ALL year long? Or are they only subjecting the US teams to that?

My point is you can’t have the US teams only play each other while the other teams have more variety. Yes, the US teams can play a heavy dose against each other but my point is only that there is a limit to how far that can go...

Also, I have never liked the idea of the US teams playing in Canada for all the logistical reasons previously mentioned. But it seems more logical or realistic than shutting the US teams down to only playing each for a full “season” (approximately 40+ games) yet the rest of the league has more balance in their schedule in respect to the number of opponents

If that is their plan due to travel issues, etc, to have only the US teams play each other than the OHL needs to divide up the remaining 17 teams into groupings of 3/4 teams. And those teams also must only play within their groups. That way you can create some level of balance and maybe by February/March you have the rest of the season be against other opponents in the conference prior to playoffs. But again, I don’t know how this is interesting to the fans to have the same opponents most of or all of the year. If they do it for the first 1/2 months it’s possible that it works. But at some point, teams need a variety of opponents

You keep saying they cant play the entire season against each other. But why not? Is it ideal, of course not. Best case it lasts a month and then you see conference only But if that's the only option that's financially/border related viable realistically it's the only option. Schedules are already unbalanced as it is and with a global pandemic things arent going to be normal. "Fair" is going to fly out the window real fast if it means teams are actually able to play games.

Plus, ticket sales arent going to be an issue as best case senerio we are looking at 50% capacity. Saginaw and Flint wont have issues selling that many tickets as fans travel between the two rinks no problem due to proximity

 

[NOA]

You keep saying they cant play the entire season against each other. But why not? Is it ideal, of course not. Best case it lasts a month and then you see conference only But if that's the only option that's financially/border related viable realistically it's the only option. Schedules are already unbalanced as it is and with a global pandemic things arent going to be normal. "Fair" is going to fly out the window real fast if it means teams are actually able to play games.

Plus, ticket sales arent going to be an issue as best case senerio we are looking at 50% capacity. Saginaw and Flint wont have issues selling that many tickets as fans travel between the two rinks no problem due to proximity

You can’t play 40-50 games against the same 2 opponents and call it a season. It’s not..

And the OHL is set on having a Memorial Cup next year or in other words, calling it a “season.” So if that’s their plan, how is that balanced if the other teams are able to properly play, scout, and get better by playing many more opponents?

Yeah the current structure already has imbalanced schedules, I get that, but we are talking about a minor difference where teams still average about 4-6 games per opponent. The idea of the US 3 playing literally ALL games against just 2 opponents is far more crazy of a thought so don’t be foolish and try to say “YeAH BuT LiKe tHE OHL alReaDy HaS imBalAnced ScHedulEs, man so like what’s the difference”

It’s a stupid and a terrible idea

Again, the US teams relocating to Canada for half the year makes way more sense and I’m not even a fan of it either but recognize the challenge at stake with the border.

If the OHL plans on playing a “full” season with the 3 US teams playing only each other exclusively, then they MUST also force the other 17 teams into small groupings to do the same. Otherwise, it’s a ludicrous idea. It’s crazy either way but I would justify it more if everyone was doing it similarly

If there were 5 US based teams I would be on board with it but with only 3 teams I can’t stress how stupid it would be to have the same 3 teams play each other (1 always needing to sit ideal each night there is a game) for 4-5 straight months. It’s laughably a terrible idea. For the first 4-5 weeks? Sure. Makes sense. But if they can’t open the borders up or get more creative by February, what’s the point anyways considered the need to travel at some point for the postseason, etc.

 

[bcspragu]

You can’t play 40-50 games against the same 2 opponents and call it a season. It’s not..

And the OHL is set on having a Memorial Cup next year or in other words, calling it a “season.” So if that’s their plan, how is that balanced if the other teams are able to properly play, scout, and get better by playing many more opponents?

Yeah the current structure already has imbalanced schedules, I get that, but we are talking about a minor difference where teams still average about 4-6 games per opponent. The idea of the US 3 playing literally ALL games against just 2 opponents is far more crazy of a thought so don’t be foolish and try to say “YeAH BuT LiKe tHE OHL alReaDy HaS imBalAnced ScHedulEs, man so like what’s the difference”

It’s a stupid and a terrible idea

Again, the US teams relocating to Canada for half the year makes way more sense and I’m not even a fan of it either but recognize the challenge at stake with the border.

If the OHL plans on playing a “full” season with the 3 US teams playing only each other exclusively, then they MUST also force the other 17 teams into small groupings to do the same. Otherwise, it’s a ludicrous idea. It’s crazy either way but I would justify it more if everyone was doing it similarly

If there were 5 US based teams I would be on board with it but with only 3 teams I can’t stress how stupid it would be to have the same 3 teams play each other (1 always needing to sit ideal each night there is a game) for 4-5 straight months. It’s laughably a terrible idea. For the first 4-5 weeks? Sure. Makes sense. But if they can’t open the borders up or get more creative by February, what’s the point anyways considered the need to travel at some point for the postseason, etc.

Once again you keep saying its laughable, not possible, wont happen, but if its the only option that is financially feasible or works with the border for these teams to play its the only option. "Fair" or however you personally want to define what constitutes a season doesn't matter if it means putting money in the owners pockets and players getting games in. Remember this is a development league after all, what benefits the players future more not playing or actually getting games in, regardless of who they play?

As for moving American clubs to Canada to play as the alternative? From what I've read and been told American teams at this moment cant be housed in Canada. Canada isn't approving the visas for outsiders at the moment due to COVID and that's before you look at the overall financial viability of it. As it stands American and import players are not allowed to play and unsurprisingly comprise larger numbers on the American clubs. You would have teams having to bench 8-10 players leaving them housed in the states to practice, and with limited affiliate and signed players you'd see teams struggling to even put a full lineup on the ice.

Just to be clear I never said its a great option, its absolute worst case scenario, but its what the situation everyone is put in allows for currently. Things can and will change and I'm sure the schedule will be fluid and able to be reworked if needed, but the league has to play the cards the 2 international and individual state governments deal them

 

[NOA]

3 straight years of Erie Otters winning the Stanley Cup!

2020 - Cernak, Cirelli
2019 - O’Reilly, Nolan
2018 - Burakovsky

Hoping next year they can make it 4 straight!

 

[NOA]

Once again you keep saying its laughable, not possible, wont happen, but if its the only option that is financially feasible or works with the border for these teams to play its the only option. "Fair" or however you personally want to define what constitutes a season doesn't matter if it means putting money in the owners pockets and players getting games in. Remember this is a development league after all, what benefits the players future more not playing or actually getting games in, regardless of who they play?

As for moving American clubs to Canada to play as the alternative? From what I've read and been told American teams at this moment cant be housed in Canada. Canada isn't approving the visas for outsiders at the moment due to COVID and that's before you look at the overall financial viability of it. As it stands American and import players are not allowed to play and unsurprisingly comprise larger numbers on the American clubs. You would have teams having to bench 8-10 players leaving them housed in the states to practice, and with limited affiliate and signed players you'd see teams struggling to even put a full lineup on the ice.

Just to be clear I never said its a great option, its absolute worst case scenario, but its what the situation everyone is put in allows for currently. Things can and will change and I'm sure the schedule will be fluid and able to be reworked if needed, but the league has to play the cards the 2 international and individual state governments deal them

And I also said it’s the worst case scenario and yes, if the only option, I guess they have to make it work

I’m only stressing that if they do such a thing with the US teams, they better equally force the other 17 teams into groups because that’s just as feasible to do and at least in that case you are creating some balance or league integrity.

Otherwise having the US 3 play exclusively (ALL season) while the other 17 teams have more like 6+ opponents a piece is a complete joke and at that point (in my view) you can’t actually decide to have the playoffs/crown a champ. In that scenario the US 3 would be better off just scrimmaging local teams or themselves because that would be the same effect you get. If the idea is to do it for 4-6 weeks, sure. Makes sense. I’m only adamantly against a full season of it.

 

[Moroz]

Governor Wolf just announced new occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor venues: Health Details . For venues with occupancy capacity of 2001-10,000, it is 15% of capacity. Capacity is measured by fire code limits. Erie Insurance Arena lists 9360 as the capacity for concerts. I do not know whether the fire code occupancy limit is any higher than 9360. If 9360 is the number, then you could have 1404 in an event at EIA. That number would include players, coaches, staff etc. So maybe you could get in 1200 or so fans? Must meet all the social distancing requirements as well, so that could reduce the number also.

Not certain whether this works for the league or the Otters. But at least it gives them the possibility of playing in Erie. Under the old rules, you could not even put two hockey teams on the ice in the arena.

 

[Mata]

Governor Wolf just announced new occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor venues: Health Details . For venues with occupancy capacity of 2001-10,000, it is 15% of capacity. Capacity is measured by fire code limits. Erie Insurance Arena lists 9360 as the capacity for concerts. I do not know whether the fire code occupancy limit is any higher than 9360. If 9360 is the number, then you could have 1404 in an event at EIA. That number would include players, coaches, staff etc. So maybe you could get in 1200 or so fans? Must meet all the social distancing requirements as well, so that could reduce the number also.

Not certain whether this works for the league or the Otters. But at least it gives them the possibility of playing in Erie. Under the old rules, you could not even put two hockey teams on the ice in the arena.

I guess it depends on what occupancy they choose to use. I think for hockey the occupancy is somewhere just north of 5k.

We also still run into the border issue and it being closed to non-essential travel.

However, 750 capacity limit if they are realistic with the hockey capacity isn’t even going to satisfy season ticket holders, unfortunately.

 

[Mata]

Governor Wolf just announced new occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor venues: Health Details . For venues with occupancy capacity of 2001-10,000, it is 15% of capacity. Capacity is measured by fire code limits. Erie Insurance Arena lists 9360 as the capacity for concerts. I do not know whether the fire code occupancy limit is any higher than 9360. If 9360 is the number, then you could have 1404 in an event at EIA. That number would include players, coaches, staff etc. So maybe you could get in 1200 or so fans? Must meet all the social distancing requirements as well, so that could reduce the number also.

Not certain whether this works for the league or the Otters. But at least it gives them the possibility of playing in Erie. Under the old rules, you could not even put two hockey teams on the ice in the arena.

Also, hockey has been going on in state with I think it is 25% capacity rule, so there have been no issues with travel hockey and capacity cocnerns to my knowledge and many teams have been coming in from NY and Ohio to play here because their own states won't allow it for one reason or another.

 

[NOA]

Congrats to Drysdale.. 6th overall pick (2nd OHL player taken)

thought he should have been the 1st defender off the board and imo size comes back to bite an Erie Otter again on this one. To me, he’s the safest* pick in the draft after Alexis. I just don’t see how Drysdale doesn’t at least become a top end guy. Does he end up as a true legit #1 franchise guy? Idk. He will need to bulk up and add more offensive flair. But he’s a sure bet to be a really great player for 15-20 years. Byfield has a higher ceiling but I feel he also has much bigger “bust” potential

 

[EON]

Awesome to see an Otter go this high once again. We've been pretty spoiled in the last 5-6 years as fans with some of the talent that's come through here. It seems like Ducks fans in general want him back in juniors next season, hopefully the management shares the same sentiment. I doubt we see Drysdale in Erie in 21/22 though.

Now Marat watch is on.

 

[NOA]

Awesome to see an Otter go this high once again. We've been pretty spoiled in the last 5-6 years as fans with some of the talent that's come through here. It seems like Ducks fans in general want him back in juniors next season, hopefully the management shares the same sentiment. I doubt we see Drysdale in Erie in 21/22 though.

Now Marat watch is on.

We have been blessed with great character too.

McDavid, Strome, and now Drysdale. All guys I would want as ambassadors for my franchise. To a lesser extent, Dermott and DeBrincat were pretty solid guys on/off the ice.

Now the watch is on for Lockhart, who I also think is a great leader type.

 

[NOA]

Marat watch:

Washington (24)
Anaheim (27)
Vegas (29)
Anaheim (36)
Buffalo (38)

all I think would be great spots for him to land for the influence of coming to Erie. I still believe he’s very much interested in the OHL