Hamilton Bulldogs 2018-19 Season Thread

[bulldogsbaby]

I don't want to see any big names leave but I guess that's the name of the game sometimes. Who do you think goes first? I can't imagine our stars wearing another uniform

 

[Canadian Game]

I don't want to see any big names leave but I guess that's the name of the game sometimes. Who do you think goes first? I can't imagine our stars wearing another uniform

Completely agree. While it will be nice to have the cupboards get restocked with draft picks, it will suck to see any of those guys traded away. For the players' sake, I hope they go to contenders so that they can contribute to a winning team and do it all over again.

Not sure I could guess who goes first but I could see Nurse and Kaliyev staying. I think Nurse would be a great person to keep around and he's so versatile that he could play on any of the top 3 lines and contribute. Kaliyev is the star player that I would be most surprised to see if he's traded. However, the return would be enormous because of how likely he is to play another year or 2.

 

[Rounder8]

Nobody is talking about Mattinen being traded and I think that he has quietly had a very good season and I wouldn't be surprised if a contender tries to bolster their top 4 with him.

 

[bulldogsbaby]

Anyone else think its kind of BS that the CHL on Sportsnet have and will be showing London Knights games three in a row and can't show a single game for the OHL Champions? It's obvious who they care about. I understand the amount of seats empty doesn't look the greatest on TV but the Bulldogs earned that coverage the hard way.

Edit: Took a look at the future schedule and they have the Bulldogs on Sportsnet in December but only because the Greyhounds are in town..

 

[Tarantula]

Anyone else think its kind of BS that the CHL on Sportsnet have and will be showing London Knights games three in a row and can't show a single game for the OHL Champions? It's obvious who they care about. I understand the amount of seats empty doesn't look the greatest on TV but the Bulldogs earned that coverage the hard way.

Edit: Took a look at the future schedule and they have the Bulldogs on Sportsnet in December but only because the Greyhounds are in town..

Ratings wise London is a good draw on TV, good healthy local population and incredible fan interest. Not too mention the number of NHL prospects, London probably draws more TV attention around the rest of the province then most teams. Annoys me as well but I can see why it is. Bottom line is money for the network.

 

[Canadian Game]

Anyone else think its kind of BS that the CHL on Sportsnet have and will be showing London Knights games three in a row and can't show a single game for the OHL Champions? It's obvious who they care about. I understand the amount of seats empty doesn't look the greatest on TV but the Bulldogs earned that coverage the hard way.

Edit: Took a look at the future schedule and they have the Bulldogs on Sportsnet in December but only because the Greyhounds are in town..

Yep. Even last year I believe Sportsnet only showed one game with Hamilton prior to the playoffs, which I believe was against a team like Soo or London. And we had a very good roster (even before the Thomas trade) with notable players and a high-end rookie tearing it up. With the considerably weaker roster this year, I'm sure Kaliyev is Sportsnet's main interest for Hamilton since he's projected to be around a top 10-20 first round pick.

 

[digiblader]

Completely agree. While it will be nice to have the cupboards get restocked with draft picks, it will suck to see any of those guys traded away. For the players' sake, I hope they go to contenders so that they can contribute to a winning team and do it all over again.

Not sure I could guess who goes first but I could see Nurse and Kaliyev staying. I think Nurse would be a great person to keep around and he's so versatile that he could play on any of the top 3 lines and contribute. Kaliyev is the star player that I would be most surprised to see if he's traded. However, the return would be enormous because of how likely he is to play another year or 2.

As it stands, Kaliyev is currently projected as a top 10 pick, and may move into the top 5, and was recently ranked an A from NHL Central Scouting--Bulldogs may have no choice but to entertain offers on him, not wanting to risk losing him for nothing if he sticks with an NHL team, similar to 18-year old, 2 season guys like Jordan Staal, Steven Stamkos, Matt Duchene, and others. The chances of him returning to Hamilton in 2019-20 are about 50/50 at best at the moment..

 

[Hammer9001]

Sorta relevant for the Bulldogs because they're close to being out of contention:

Kingston just traded Robertson and Paquette for Constantinou, Martin and 11 picks

• Sarnia’s 2nd round pick in 2019
• Windsor’s 7th round pick in 2019
• Windsor’s 3rd round pick in 2020
• Peterborough’s 2nd round pick in in 2021
• Niagara’s 5th round pick in in 2021
• Niagara’s 2nd round pick in 2022
• Kitchener’s 3rd in round pick in 2022
• Niagara’s 2nd round pick in 2023
• London’s 3rd in round pick in 2024
• Niagara’s 13th round pick in 2020
• Niagara’s 11th round pick in 2021

For the Bulldogs sake--hopefully Staios is already on the phone trying to move Strome, Entwistle, Saigeon and possibly Kaliyev for picks/young players--considering what Kingston just got for Robertson and Paquette--Kingston just replenished much of its lost picks with this blockbuster trade. It basically means the Bulldogs need to start trading ASAP..

I would think this was a bit overpayment. I mean, 3 second rounds and 3 third rounds and two mid-pack prospects would have been my expectation. I think Constantinou would not have been a prospect I would have let go in this trade. That said, I suppose most of the other picks apart from that extra 5th aren't huge impact picks.

I will say this, this bodes very well for us if we do end up trading Saigeon, which I think everyone agrees will likely be in the cards.

 

[Canadian Game]

As it stands, Kaliyev is currently projected as a top 10 pick, and may move into the top 5, and was recently ranked an A from NHL Central Scouting--Bulldogs may have no choice but to entertain offers on him, not wanting to risk losing him for nothing if he sticks with an NHL team, similar to 18-year old, 2 season guys like Jordan Staal, Steven Stamkos, Matt Duchene, and others. The chances of him returning to Hamilton in 2019-20 are about 50/50 at best at the moment..

I would think he would go around number 10 but when the draft happens, but anything can happen. Among other things, interviews can have a major impact on draft results versus rankings. I don't know a lot about the current draft class but from what I've read, a lot of professionals had Kaliyev ranked between 15-30 early in the season, and more recently I've seen him rise to around 10-20. I've also read/heard a few times from scouting people that Kaliyev and Suzuki seem to be ranked fairly close and that teams may sway towards Suzuki because of Suzuki being a center and having a bigger skill set to offer over Kaliyev (a pure sniper). Regardless, I'd be shocked if Kaliyev cracks the NHL after 9 games next year. Even Robert Thomas, who really developed into an elite prospect since being drafted #20 in 2017, played another year in the OHL. 3 players drafted in the top 10 of that 2017 draft are still developing, including Owen Tippett - a pure sniper (drafted #10 overall).

No offence, but while J.Stall, Duchene, and Stamkos did all make the NHL immediately after being drafted, Stamkos was a #1 overall, and the other 2 were drafted #3. Those guys were the cream of the crop in their drafts, and Kaliyev isn't expected to go nearly as high. With time after the World Juniors, maybe that will change.

Here are examples of #10 overall picks to kind of give some perspective of the caliber of player .
2018 - Evan Bouchard (continuing development in OHL)
2017 - Owen Tippett (continuing development in OHL)
2016 - Tyson Jost (full-time NHL 2017-18)
2015 - Mikko Rantanen (full-time NHL 2016-17)
2014 - Nick Ritchie (full-time NHL 2016-17)
2013 - Valeri Nichushkin (full-time NHL immediately after draft)
2012 - Slater Koekkoek (never full-time NHL, played parts of 2016-17, 2017-18, still developing)
2011 - Jonas Brodin (full-time NHL 2012-13)
2010 - Dylan McIlrath (never full-time NHL, most games played was 34 games in 2016-15)
2009 - Magnus Paajarvi (full-time NHL 2010-11)
2008 - Cody Hodgson (full-time NHL 2011-12)

I was mainly curious for myself to see how some #10 overall picks did and figured I may as well share it. I find this sort of stuff interesting. Obviously, there's a lot missing about each player. Some have stayed in the NHL since (Brodin), and some guys didn't develop the way people had expected. But it's interesting to see what calibre of player a #10 generally looks like and how long it took before they stayed in the NHL. In the past 11 years, Valeri Nichushkin was the only #10 pick to make the NHL immediately after being drafted, and 4 of 11 players made it full-time a year after being drafted. If I were Staios, I'd hang onto Kaliyev this year and take a low risk gamble that he likely returns for one more season, and then consider trading him next year.

 

[Rounder8]

Good post. I don't see any way that Kaliyev is in the NHL next year. He can score goals, but he is nowhere near defensively good enough imo.

 

[digiblader]

Bulldogs acquire Conor Ali from Kingston for a 2022 12th rounder--betting another D-Man injury has happened, or they're preparing trades on Landry and/or Mattinen:

 

[Duke Guy]

135 OHL games with zero goals. Is it safe to say he is a stay-at-home D-man?

 

[Voice from the North]

135 OHL games with zero goals. Is it safe to say he is a stay-at-home D-man?

He was originally touted to be an offensive defenseman believe it or not. Good skater but not very good in either zone

 

[Hammer9001]

Yeah, gonna have to agree with Digi on this one, this is a trade because of an undisclosed injury, personal reason or the expectation of a trade.

 

[Duke Guy]

Is it Jenkins that is injured?

 

[digiblader]

Yeah, gonna have to agree with Digi on this one, this is a trade because of an undisclosed injury, personal reason or the expectation of a trade.

Should also point out, as mentioned a few days ago, Fronts are in full blown sell mode, looking to clear out vets for younger players, as they're headed for the #2 pick in the draft (Flint basically has the #1 pick by default because that org. is a circus).

Staios likely also made this trade to discipline the team's D-men after they were blown out all 3 games last weekend--including an embarrassing loss to last-place Kingston.

Ali's likely only here for the rest of this season, as there's no chance he stays as an OA next year unless the Bulldogs roster is that depleted for D-men--plus they need somebody to play D when Landry and Mattinen are dealt for picks and/or players in the coming weeks, providing ownership even allows a rebuild..

 

[Petes]

What would you guys expect a return on Kade Landry to look like?

 

[digiblader]

Ali in the lineup - and it's Renwick that's out (Injury?) and Jenkins (Injury?). Donofrio starting.

Out of lineup:
Renwick, Morrison (injured), Burnell (injury), Murray, Van Loon, Jenkins.

 

[digiblader]

Bulldogs trailing 2-1 after the 1st--Navrin Mutter with his 1st of the year, Donofrio still struggling, DJ King (-2).. it's like he's been a liability when he's been on the ice defensively.

 

[digiblader]

Bulldogs getting blown out again--down 4-1 to the Generals after 2. Too many penalties.. Hamilton is in danger of its 4th straight loss (and 8 of their last 11).. and Donofrio continues to struggle in net.

 

[digiblader]

Not even Conor Ali could help the Bulldogs tonight, as they lose 6-2 to the Gennies, losing 4 in a row and 8 of their last 11, moving solidly into 9th in the East (North Bay clobbered the Trout).

Strome picked up a goal tonight along with Mutter.. but the defense was once again awful, especially with Renwick now out as well (injury?). And Nick Donofrio is playing his way out of Hamilton, as he serves up all 6 of Oshawa's goals on 32 shots--he is increasingly looking like a candidate to be released instead of being traded for any picks, as his trade value is basically zero.

And it's not going to get any easier, as the loaded-up Niagara IceDogs(who blew out the Colts tonight) head into FirstOntario Centre tomorrow afternoon.

Bulldogs have given up 5 or more goals in all of their last 4 games--something is wrong with this team.

 

[Sinbad]

Conor Ali acquisition makes no sense; couldn’t make a significant contribution with either Sudbury or Kingston both bottom feeder teams when he played for them.

 

[digiblader]

Conor Ali acquisition makes no sense; couldn’t make a significant contribution with either Sudbury or Kingston both bottom feeder teams when he played for them.

My bet is injury (Jenkins, Renwick), plus the Bulldogs have no D-men in their system that will sign with the team for a call-up, as many of them are either not OHL calibre or are preferring to keep NCAA eligibility and are refusing to report to Hamilton.

 

[Rounder8]

Conor Ali acquisition makes no sense; couldn’t make a significant contribution with either Sudbury or Kingston both bottom feeder teams when he played for them.

He is pretty much a body. Staios wasn't going to give up much to bolster the current team. It wouldn't make any sense to do that.

 

[bulldogsbaby]

Will be at the game today, I have season tickets but have missed the last 3-4 games so should be nice to be back in the arena. Probably wearing a Bitten replica or a Studenic gamer.

I think we'll see Roy in net as last night was probably given to Donofrio to rest him for the 3 in 3. Facing a tough team, not sure how things will go but rooting for the boys!