Flint Firebirds 2019 Offseason Thread

[SeaOfBlue]

"Jokes aside, Flint is gonna be lethal next season"
found this online.

Strong group of forwards, still way too many question marks on defense and in net though. Will Busby and McCourt be healthy? Can Bangs, Cavallin/Linton and Gretz step up? How will Dunbar do? Also, Bianconi and Deline should also be factored in, possibly even before Dunbar.

It should be a playoff team, but I'm not sure it's good enough to make justify keeping someone like Dellandrea at the TDL.

 

[Savard18]

They could still pick an import goalie too

They could, but I'd prefer they pull another Vella. Get an OA for a 4th-5th round pick to be there to back up, spell Cavallin and use that Import pick on a forward. Preferably a 17yo so they don't leave the same year as Koly but picking an 18yo NHL drafted prospect would be safer. Or so the theory goes if BB isn't your GM.

 

[Savard18]

Strong group of forwards, still way too many question marks on defense and in net though. Will Busby and McCourt be healthy? Can Bangs, Cavallin/Linton and Gretz step up? How will Dunbar do? Also, Bianconi and Deline should also be factored in, possibly even before Dunbar.

It should be a playoff team, but I'm not sure it's good enough to make justify keeping someone like Dellandrea at the TDL.

It'll be close and I like the core group of 01's a little better for a run anyway.

 

[MJ5]

They could, but I'd prefer they pull another Vella. Get an OA for a 4th-5th round pick to be there to back up, spell Cavallin and use that Import pick on a forward. Preferably a 17yo so they don't leave the same year as Koly but picking an 18yo NHL drafted prospect would be safer. Or so the theory goes if BB isn't your GM.

I agree with another OA goalie.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

They could, but I'd prefer they pull another Vella. Get an OA for a 4th-5th round pick to be there to back up, spell Cavallin and use that Import pick on a forward. Preferably a 17yo so they don't leave the same year as Koly but picking an 18yo NHL drafted prospect would be safer. Or so the theory goes if BB isn't your GM.

There aren't really too many OA goalies out there.

Popovich in Guelph maybe, but Guelph may also decide to trade Daws instead. Popovich may also be somewhat expensive, since he was pretty good this year for them.

Colton Incze in Windsor, but he was also not very good as soon as he got to Windsor, and I don't imagine it'll be any easier for him in Flint next year. He'd be cheap though.

Bonello in Kingston wouldn't be too bad, since he knows what it's like to have to go up against a ton of shots, but Kingston may decide to keep him too unless they really like Dugas and Frappier (or a prospect). He too would likely be pretty cheap.

Propp in North Bay, same situation as Popovich in Guelph. He was good for North Bay, so they may decide to deal Purboo instead to open up a spot for Vrbetic.

McGrath in Niagara, but he's sucked there and he doesn't even have the excuse of playing on a crap team. He may just be released altogether and Niagara just trades for a better goalie to replace Dhillon.

Nick Donofrio. Same as McGrath, but Hamilton was worse than Niagara. Still, not really an excuse for him. He was bad last year, but at least he'd be cheap if you decided to go for him.

Richardson in Kitchener. I'd expect them to keep him.

So really your best shot at an OA goalie is for North Bay, Kingston or Guelph to move on from theirs and trust their 00'/01' backups instead. Otherwise, you essentially are just taking a chance on a struggling OA goalie like Incze, McGrath or Donofrio instead.

My personal opinion would to give Linton a serious look as the backup and start planning on life after Cavallin. I'd give Cavallin one more season as the starter but if he can't hack it by then, then it may be time to look at Linton as the goalie of the future and to give him serious reps as soon as this season.

 

[ohloutsider]

They could, but I'd prefer they pull another Vella. Get an OA for a 4th-5th round pick to be there to back up, spell Cavallin and use that Import pick on a forward. Preferably a 17yo so they don't leave the same year as Koly but picking an 18yo NHL drafted prospect would be safer. Or so the theory goes if BB isn't your GM.

Incze from Windsor is an OA and maybe he is available.

 

[Savard18]

Incze from Windsor is an OA and maybe he is available.

With you guys signing Medina today, I'd think that's quite possible. I know he's had some ups and downs but he's played good in the occasions I've seen him live. Kind of wish Flint would have taken Parekh in the U18draft and worked out a deal for Incze. Maybe Parekh for Incze and a couple 2nd's.

 

[ohloutsider]

With you guys signing Medina today, I'd think that's quite possible. I know he's had some ups and downs but he's played good in the occasions I've seen him live. Kind of wish Flint would have taken Parekh in the U18draft and worked out a deal for Incze. Maybe Parekh for Incze and a couple 2nd's.

Fun to be on the "other" side now.

 

[MJ5]

Fun to be on the "other" side now.

Little bit. Since the Windsor ordeal could be x3 as bad as Flint's.

 

[Savard18]

Fun to be on the "other" side now.

I'd rather there not be an "other side" for any team to be honest. It caused so many ripple effects in Flint that will still be felt for some time. Hopefully we're past the worst now and things work out much different for Windsor. The start so far looks even worse though....

 

[OHLTG]

Colton Incze in Windsor, but he was also not very good as soon as he got to Windsor, and I don't imagine it'll be any easier for him in Flint next year. He'd be cheap though.

I cannot recommend Incze enough. Seriously. He took a bit of time to get adjusted, but he was also coming into a n incredibly tough situation, following DiPietro. When he's on his game, Incze is an acrobatic goaltender who will win you games. Look what he did for Windsor and we're a defence-oriented club right now (hoping that changes, but that's a whole other topic).

If you have a young goaltender to groom, Incze a guy I'd grab for a season for a reasonable price.

 

[dirty12]

Strong group of forwards, still way too many question marks on defense and in net though. Will Busby and McCourt be healthy? Can Bangs, Cavallin/Linton and Gretz step up? How will Dunbar do? Also, Bianconi and Deline should also be factored in, possibly even before Dunbar.

It should be a playoff team, but I'm not sure it's good enough to make justify keeping someone like Dellandrea at the TDL.

Unless there is a crazy good offer, I can’t see why Dellandrea would be traded. Flint doesn’t really have room for the picks and prospects they have now, imo.
Import/OA-Dellandrea-Durham
Keppen-Morgan-Wismer
Othmann-Vierling-Pierce
Holmes-Roberts-Uba

Harris, Kressler, Silich, Giroux, Winterton,

Kolyachonok-Busby
OA-McCourt
Gretz-Bianconi

Deline, Bangs, Power, Dunbar, Matthew

 

[Savard18]

Unless there is a crazy good offer, I can’t see why Dellandrea would be traded. Flint doesn’t really have room for the picks and prospects they have now, imo.
Import/OA-Dellandrea-Durham
Keppen-Morgan-Wismer
Othmann-Vierling-Pierce
Holmes-Roberts-Uba

Harris, Kressler, Silich, Giroux, Winterton,

Kolyachonok-Busby
OA-McCourt
Gretz-Bianconi

Deline, Bangs, Power, Dunbar, Matthew

Pretty similar to what I'd have. Few pieces up front moved around a bit maybe. Would definitely have Dellandrea-Durham, Othmann-Vierling, Keppen-Morgan-Wismer together. The rest can be moved around to find chemistry and a hot hand. D just as you have, if someone wants to step up and prove us wrong, good for them. Eventually I'll get around to making a list of potential OA D.

 

[Firebrd828]

Unless there is a crazy good offer, I can’t see why Dellandrea would be traded. Flint doesn’t really have room for the picks and prospects they have now, imo.
Import/OA-Dellandrea-Durham
Keppen-Morgan-Wismer
Othmann-Vierling-Pierce
Holmes-Roberts-Uba

Harris, Kressler, Silich, Giroux, Winterton,

Kolyachonok-Busby
OA-McCourt
Gretz-Bianconi

Deline, Bangs, Power, Dunbar, Matthew

For this to happen, Flint is going to have to do a complete 180* on their ability to sign quality Imports and OAs. Until then, this lineup had better only be written down in pencil.

Also, I'd at least start the season with Vierling and Holmes together. They both started clicking once they were matched up. It was like Flint suddenly brought in two free agents who hadn't been there all season prior to that.

I have a hard time thinking of Roberts and Holmes as only 4th line pieces, but if the rest of the lineup is good enough to push them into that role, then Flint is in a good position.

 

[RedRover]

Pierce's biggest downfall to me is his skating ability and I'm not the only one who has made that observation. He's slow and just not that good of a skater which is concerning. In today's game it's all about speed and skating. You either have it or you don't. Sure he's a big body and scored (but who wouldn't if they are matched up with Dellandrea/Durham line). Also, if you noticed in many games Pierce would start out on the 1st line, but by the 3rd period he didn't see much ice. I wouldn't count out Harris and Winterton, to me they are way better skaters with great speed, bringing different elements to their game. I felt Harris towards the end of the season was picking it up and I have to say I liked the Vierling, Harris and Holmes line, I thought they were clicking. Wellwood also had Vierling and Harris on the PK which I felt was a good match, they were effective. Uba was sent down to the 4th line, can't remember exactly when, but for whatever reason the coaches felt the need to do that? Winterton, he also went to the 4th shortly after Wellwood arrived, again, for whatever reason. We may not always see what the coaches see, but Wellwood is a Memorial Cup winner and past NHL player, so I believe he knows what he is doing. Holmes did pick up his game at the end of the season, but too many games throughout the season he seemed like he didn't even want to be there. Wellwood hasn't even seen Roberts play in a game setting yet (unless he's watched video) so it will be interesting to see where he thinks he fits in the line-up after coming back from his injury. Bottom line is we can all have our thoughts and "fantasy line-ups" but the end of the day the coaches have their own perspective and vision on players in what they see in their individual game. Each player has a certain roll on a team and it’s up to the coaches to find that group of players who bring their components to make a team successful and competitive. It will be interesting to see what Wellwood does for next season. On another note, I noticed nobody has mentioned Phibbs at all in any of these predictions, do you feel he's not returning?

 

[MJ5]

Pierce's biggest downfall to me is his skating ability and I'm not the only one who has made that observation. He's slow and just not that good of a skater which is concerning. In today's game it's all about speed and skating. You either have it or you don't. Sure he's a big body and scored (but who wouldn't if they are matched up with Dellandrea/Durham line). Also, if you noticed in many games Pierce would start out on the 1st line, but by the 3rd period he didn't see much ice. I wouldn't count out Harris and Winterton, to me they are way better skaters with great speed, bringing different elements to their game. I felt Harris towards the end of the season was picking it up and I have to say I liked the Vierling, Harris and Holmes line, I thought they were clicking. Wellwood also had Vierling and Harris on the PK which I felt was a good match, they were effective. Uba was sent down to the 4th line, can't remember exactly when, but for whatever reason the coaches felt the need to do that? Winterton, he also went to the 4th shortly after Wellwood arrived, again, for whatever reason. We may not always see what the coaches see, but Wellwood is a Memorial Cup winner and past NHL player, so I believe he knows what he is doing. Holmes did pick up his game at the end of the season, but too many games throughout the season he seemed like he didn't even want to be there. Wellwood hasn't even seen Roberts play in a game setting yet (unless he's watched video) so it will be interesting to see where he thinks he fits in the line-up after coming back from his injury. Bottom line is we can all have our thoughts and "fantasy line-ups" but the end of the day the coaches have their own perspective and vision on players in what they see in their individual game. Each player has a certain roll on a team and it’s up to the coaches to find that group of players who bring their components to make a team successful and competitive. It will be interesting to see what Wellwood does for next season. On another note, I noticed nobody has mentioned Phibbs at all in any of these predictions, do you feel he's not returning?

Pierce is such a weird one, kid finds the net when he's playing, but his minutes have obviously been limited.

Holmes seemed to find his stride in late Feb the last 2 years and then the season ends.

And Phibbs would be an OA, I think most here hope that spot is filled with a scoring top 6 forward or a top 4 dman, not a bottom 6 forward.

 

[dirty12]

I would not expect lines to be set beyond one period I was using my imagined line up to illustrate that the firebirds are too full of picks, players, and prospects to be really contemplating a Dellandrea trade.
I do really like Pierce. He does not need a lot of oppurtunity to score; intelligent player, imo.

 

[MJ5]

 

[Savard18]

Congratulations boys. I was really hoping Cody Morgan would make the final list too. He was a consistent producer on a nightly basis shortly after his arrival and has all the tools to be a pro hockey player.

 

[Firebrd828]

Congratulations boys. I was really hoping Cody Morgan would make the final list too. He was a consistent producer on a nightly basis shortly after his arrival and has all the tools to be a pro hockey player.

Agree. He was a little late to the party, but I'd bet he gets taken before both Cavallin and Uba.

 

[MJ5]

Yeah, little bit surprised Morgan didn't make the list at all. Agree with 828, I think hes a sleeper pick that someone definitely grabs.

 

[Firebrd828]

I caught a box score that showed Evan Morrison named the #1 Star in a GOJHL playoff game two nights ago. He led his Listowel Cyclones to a 2-1 OT win over the London Nationals. London outshot Listowel, 47-18. Morrison leads the GOJHL in both playoff save percentage (.935) and goals against average (1.80).

 

[LR8]

OA goalies - Windsor option is better than Kingston. North Bay has too many goalies, but that will be expensive. Has anyone heard anything about rule changes to affect OA goalies?

 

[RedRover]

I'm not that surprised about Morgan because he didn't really flourish in Kingston/Windsor at all. He only really started once he came to Flint. The scouts have been watching these players since they were drafted into the OHL. A little late to the party, like the others have said, but hey if not this year, I'm sure another! But congrats to the others!! That's good for Flint.

 

[TcNorth]

Still really high on Cody Morgan. He still has two years left after his very good half season with Flint. 30 points in 30 Flint games was impressive.