London Knights 2019-20 Season Thread

[zman77]

 

[aresknights]

Cant make it today.

Thanks for any updates.

Not players that will make the squad but would like any thoughts on G Beckford, Dmen Daer n MacKinnon, if he showed up
F Glover and Marche.

 

[zman77]

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

Cant make it today.

Thanks for any updates.

Not players that will make the squad but would like any thoughts on G Beckford, Dmen Daer n MacKinnon, if he showed up
F Glover and Marche.

Beckford let a couple weak ones in but made some decent saves

Daer looked pretty confident. made some good passes but also some errors.

MacKinnon didn’t look too bad but didn’t see much of him. didn’t notice Glover

Marche looked pretty quiet out there. didn’t really get too involved in much

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

there was a sort of fight today. didn’t catch the number of the guy in the visor but Jacob Chantler was on the other end. didn’t take his cage off which made it sort of difficult for the other guy. wasn’t really much

 

[GangGreen]

Does anyone think a trade for a high end LH dman should be considered? OA or 19 y.o. to lead this fairly young D corps. There is a lot of depth at forward, probably could spare a few bodies there in a trade.

 

[Buttsy]

A trade may not be a bad idea, we will have to rely on a few rookies this year on the backend and veteran leadership could help them potentially mature more quickly. Forwards for sure are a place to trade from but it also appears we may have more then a few rookie Defenders that may be ready to step into the OHL? These kids need ice time so hopefully if they are worthy they may trade one or two to get them the opportunity and get a better balance on the Knights. Traditionally the Knights will trade a kid rather then bury them somewhere that would hinder their dream. Another reason why kids and agents want to come to London IMO anyway.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

A trade may not be a bad idea, we will have to rely on a few rookies this year on the backend and veteran leadership could help them potentially mature more quickly. Forwards for sure are a place to trade from but it also appears we may have more then a few rookie Defenders that may be ready to step into the OHL? These kids need ice time so hopefully if they are worthy they may trade one or two to get them the opportunity and get a better balance on the Knights. Traditionally the Knights will trade a kid rather then bury them somewhere that would hinder their dream. Another reason why kids and agents want to come to London IMO anyway.

Liam Whittaker may disagree with that last part but other then him yea I’d agree with that

 

[aresknights]

Based on past practice it would be reasonable to think the team will add a vet D.
Lots of young talent back there but it can be a tough adjustment.
If the import and Skinner adjust quickly and a body is added they are in good shape. If not.....lets score 7 a game lol


TY 9102. Appreciated

 

[nelli27]

Does anyone think a trade for a high end LH dman should be considered? OA or 19 y.o. to lead this fairly young D corps. There is a lot of depth at forward, probably could spare a few bodies there in a trade.

Good question. I hope they don't keep Coome simply because of his 'experience'. Knights will likely consider bringing in a high-end D at some point but not before learning how the young group performs. Please no Merkley! Good thing he's a right shot.
To add to my earlier thoughts...I left before the morning scrimmage ended but I think Rolofs makes the team as 4th liner or inserted for x number of games. Mailloux looked terrific.

 

[Knights Watcher]

Any one notice who the Alumni skaters were during the lunch break Alumni Skate?

 

[Rubbers29]

Caught the 1st after lunch scrimmage. Few thoughts, 1st of can concur with Nelli that Stranges is unreal. The kid can skate through the other team with ease, should have a hell of a season. Cotter was very good playing with him and McCue rounded out that line very well, He looks ready but I doubt there’s room this year. The summer was very good to Evangelista and Keane, both had great games. Keane potted a couple and set up some great plays. Luke had a beauty bar down on Kooy to start the team white comeback. Guskov has just gotten better over the summer as well, 2 Nivea goals and hard to miss out there Skinner and Steklov will join the team without a issue. Both came to camp ready to play. Steklov very good at picking his times to jump in the play, will definitely ease the loss of Boqvist.

Other notables were Ben Roger, tons of skill but needs to bulk up. Federkow made some nice plays, Mitchell Lee, Tomasi and Twofoot all had me looking up their names a few times. Carson McMillan and Dario Beljo show some promise, Matt Homer and Jake Mack had a few good shifts.

As for goalies, hard to judge in a scrimmage but Donofrio let in a few soft ones that won’t help his case as an OA backup, and Kooy’s new mask is very nice. We’ll see how the 2nd afternoon game goes

 

[jgardz]

Any one notice who the Alumni skaters were during the lunch break Alumni Skate?

Figured out some of them...Cody sol, mckegg, dunkley, a mccarron (not Micheal), micheal Haley, demelo, a brown I never heard of (Panthers I believe), and Jenner. No idea who the goalies were....one of them was wearing Rochester amerks gear though. there were 9 or 10 skaters total, and not sure why Dunkley was with this group and not scrimmaging with Knights...hardly qualifies as an Alumni skate lol

 

[zman77]

 

[GobigorGohome]

What an exciting ,talented group of D men(boys)

 

[Rubbers29]

Not gonna break down the 2nd afternoon scrimmage like I did the first, there was more talent in the first, the returning Knights were good especially Moskal, a few rookies had good shifts but nothing mind blowing. Judging by limited viewings I see the D (in no order) as Keane, Regula, Skinner, Steklov and Winslow, with Montgomery, Roger and Mailloux fighting for ice time. Whittaker looked good but I see him getting traded and Coome will get lost in the OA numbers game.

Onuska was solid and can see him having the edge in the back up role.

Forwards are another animal I’ll look at later

 

[nelli27]

Not gonna break down the 2nd afternoon scrimmage like I did the first, there was more talent in the first, the returning Knights were good especially Moskal, a few rookies had good shifts but nothing mind blowing. Judging by limited viewings I see the D (in no order) as Keane, Regula, Skinner, Steklov and Winslow, with Montgomery, Roger and Mailloux fighting for ice time. Whittaker looked good but I see him getting traded and Coome will get lost in the OA numbers game.

Onuska was solid and can see him having the edge in the back up role.

Forwards are another animal I’ll look at later

Thx. And really good to hear Onuska played well. His debut was rather disappointing.

 

[Maxxim1]

For your preseason viewing pleasure...

 

[Fastpace]

Figured out some of them...Cody sol, mckegg, dunkley, a mccarron (not Micheal), micheal Haley, demelo, a brown I never heard of (Panthers I believe), and Jenner. No idea who the goalies were....one of them was wearing Rochester amerks gear though. there were 9 or 10 skaters total, and not sure why Dunkley was with this group and not scrimmaging with Knights...hardly qualifies as an Alumni skate lol

Could that be Boone Jenner of the Blue Jackets (former OSH Generals and St Thomas Stars) and Connor Brown

 

[zman77]

Evangelista ready to impress Knights with strong camp
This is Luke Evangelista’s big chance to carve out a prosperous career
with the London Knights. He isn’t planning on wasting it.
The team’s 2018 first-round pick regrouped from a 27-game, two-assist rookie season by spending five days a week on the ice and in an Oakville gym this summer. No one has to tell him what training camp, which started Monday at Budweiser Gardens, and the OHL exhibition games to follow mean to his future with the club.
“They’re really important for me,” the 17-year-old forward said. “I want to show Mark (Hunter), Dale (Hunter) and Rob (Simpson) I worked really hard and deserve a spot in the lineup. I knew this upcoming season was an important one and I had to take it seriously. I wanted to improve my body as much as I could.”
“Luke will be fine this year,” Knights GM Mark Hunter said. “I feel very good about him. I’m very confident in him. He’s ready to go. Now, it’s just a matter of going out and showing it.”
The biggest knock against the 165-pound Evangelista was that he lacked the strength to win the majority of his puck battles.
“I wanted to build up muscle and not fat,” Evangelista said, “so I was eating what I needed to and stayed away from junk food. It takes discipline when you’re hanging out with your buddies back home and they want to go get a meal at McDonald’s or something like that. You have to tell yourself that’s not going to get you where you want to be.”
He has already impressed the brass with his individual testing.
“Mitch Marner doesn’t weigh 200 pounds,” Hunter said, “but it’s 170 pounds of the right kind of strength. That’s what Luke is.”
Evangelista ready to impress Knights with strong camp

 

[Buttsy]

Onuska was solid and can see him having the edge in the back up role.

I see him as our BUG this season and then our go to guy once Kooy moves on. Based on his performance in Waterloo last season he has great upside. Not necessarily for the immediate but I think he is only 17 at this point?

 

[jgardz]

Could that be Boone Jenner of the Blue Jackets (former OSH Generals and St Thomas Stars) and Connor Brown

It is Boone Jenner, but not Connor Brown. I Believe it is Josh Brown?

 

[nelli27]

NELLI REPORT II:

GOLD 6 [Gruden, Tymkin, Rolofs, Coome, Shepler, Bibby] WHITE 1 [Evangelista]
-Among the young prospects, strong games from Mailloux (physical, confident rushing puck) and Rolofs (his goal was a hard snap shot from the face off circle, glove side)

GREEN 7 [Stranges (3), Cotter (3), Krupa] BLACK 3 [Panwar (2), Labelle]
BATTLE OF THE BUG: Brochu (Green) vs Onuska (Black). The score at half is 5-0 Green, Brochu with the shutout while Onuska looked shaky. Both goalies were replaced in the second half. I give Brochu the edge in the battle of the BUG!
-Heading into camp I wanted to see if I could rank our young defenders. Here's what I know: Winslow ranks higher than both Roger and Montgomery insofar as he's more poised, confident with the puck, doesn't panic, great skater and stickhandler. Roger is very skilled as well, but was outmuscled along the boards on a few occasions--that tells me that he still might not be as physically mature as the other prospects. Montgomery? Different issue. He's big and solid, but lacks the poise of Winslow, i.e. more prone to panic, pass the puck off too quickly, blindly. It's very close between Steklov and Winslow--looking forward to seeing more of them.
My guess is that our top 4 will be:
1.Regula 2.Skinner 3.Keane 4.Steklov Then, 5.Winslow 6.Montgomery 7.Mailloux 8.Roger
[I'm excluding Coome and Whittaker both of whom I think will be shipped out; trade, waived, whatever]
Mailloux looks like he can step into the regular season lineup right now. Montgomery, however, is an American and is not eligible to play Jr. B so he'd have that advantage over Mailloux, plus I think he's a year older.

The bigger issue for me (and I was talking to 'Bo knows' about this too) is on offence. Hunter and Simpson have some tough decisions to make. Take a look at this list, no I mean really take a look at it:
1.Foudy
2.McMichael
3.Stranges
4.Guskov
5.Gruden
6.Cotter
7.Dunkley
8.Nelson
9.Moskal
10.Tymkin
----------------------
11.Panwar
12.Evangelista
13.Rolofs
14.McGurn

In the top 10, obviously you've got 3 lines plus 1 extra player that would occupy one of the three 4th line positions. Now you tell me, which of those in the top 10 would be on the 4th line? Then, take a look at the remaining players. It's the draft year for Panwar and Evangelista, both talented kids. Are they going to be your 4th liners? Panwar could be a top 6 forward right now on most teams in the OHL. You earn your minutes. And I think both Panwar and Evangelista will earn more than 4th line minutes, so then what?
Can some trades be coming?

 

[Maxxim1]

Years ago, either on the old London board or the NOOF, there was a very heated discussion about the merits of retiring Patrick Kane's London Knight jersey. Some naysayers thought that because he wasn't a Knight for more than one season and citing his personal problems off the ice that he was not deserving. The more progressive fans among us thought that after looking at his short but exceptional career in the OHL and CHL, his Olympics and NHL achievements that he deserved the honour.

Keep January 17 open folks. The Hunters are retiring #88.
Discuss.

 

[PhlyerPhanatic31]

Secured my season seats for the OHL/Russia game.

60 bucks for 3 tickets = STEAL