OAs for 22/23

[Bra Wavers]

I apologize to those of you who are still focused on the playoffs, but some of us need to look to the future. So I'm wondering......

- who will be the best OAs in the league next season?

- which OAs will your team keep and who will be available?

- are there any teams who will trade a top OA because it will be a rebuilding year for them?


The Petes will be in the market for OAs with only Dman Spearing likely to return.

Click to read more...

 

[HockeyPops]

Soo doesn't have many OAs, but in a big retooling year I could see them definitely trading Tynan and maybe even Watson. Tynan with a below average regular season, but has been absolutely locked in for these playoffs. If he keeps it up, I can see him being a sought after commodity. Watson was the second most productive player on the team in the second half after Dickinson went down, behind only Kerins, and did it all playing on the 3rd line!

Really just depends if Raftis is ok running with just McMullen as an OA - I suspect he will keep around Watson to help the youngsters.

EDIT: For clarity, here are all our '02s in a list
Kerins - AHL
O'Rourke - AHL
Thompson - AHL
Dickinson - AHL
Tynan L (G) - likely traded, starter goalie material for sure
Watson R (RW) - unlikely that he is traded, but possible. Top 6/ top 3 material
McMullen - back as an OA. Bottom 6 material but may sneak onto the second line in a rebuilding year

 

[NOA]

Erie has 5 eligible:

Elias Cohen F
Noah Sedore F
Cam Morton D
Ryan Thompson D
Aidan Campbell G

Cohen is probably a lock to stay in Erie. Morton a close second. Thompson or Sedore are trade candidates. Campbell could be back if the goalie OA rule changes or if Erie doesn’t find another backup goalie option.

 

[member 71782]

Windsor will have lots with only one not likely returning. Ranked highest to lowest.

LW Cuylle - should be on Hartford
RW Maggio - had an invite from Washington, should get another look from someone but likely returns to see if he can repeat his season
RD Renwick - pleasant surprise with his play on both sides of the puck. Can play physical and can score
LD Ribau - He's been steady on the back end and quietly gets the job done. Can play physical but not a lot of offense
G Onuska - from having played only a few games in the league to starter in the playoffs. A bit unorthodox at times but does a helluva job on breakaways.
LW Currie - Was expecting a bit more but he's done fine as a role player. Some size but can take some questionable penalties at times
G Medina - When he's on he's tough to beat but when he's not he can give up a few

Windsor will likely be keeping Maggio, Renwick, Ribau and Onuska to start. If they allow goaltenders as a 4th OA that's who they'll run with if they're all in. If Cuylle came back, very doubtful then Ribau would be the odd man out. Onuska may or may not be here all season if the rule doesn't change to allow goaltenders as a 4th OA in which case how Downey looks could determine between Ribau and Onuska staying.

After Perrott, Henault and D'Amico Cuylle is the only other player likely not returning. The rest of the roster should be back.

 

[djscooter]

Wolves have a few but only one of any quality.

C/W - DeGrazia - Lock, top PKer, one of the best skaters in the OHL, suspect he'll be one of the top OAs in the league.
C - Ryan Smith - Jr. A caliber player, who should not be back, but we'll see, nepotism and all.
D - Dylan Robinson - Injury-plagued and undisciplined, better options on the roster, but may get a spot due to the price paid for him.
G - Lemaire - Likely out the door, and could not be trusted to start games this year.

 

[AttackBeacher]

Owen Sound

We have one for sure
G - Nick Chenard - Hopefully one of the best in the league if he can take the next step.

Otherwise, most of these guys are probably bubble players they will want to upgrade
D - Nolan Seed
W - Logan LeSage
W - William Portikalis

 

[StormWatcher]

Guelph has a solid group of OA's potentially returning:

D - Profaca
G - Bennett
LW - Papais
C - Walker
RW - McFadden

I could see them moving a forward if all return to the O.

 

[three dog night]

Niagara just one OA next season Cam Peters.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

The Sting have 4 eligible OA's:

Nolan Burke: 30 Goal scorer and most improved player in the Western Conference

Nolan Dillingham: steady d-man and Sting captain

Theo Hill: a hot and cold forward who put up 53 PTS in 67 GP

Ethan Ritchie: was the Sting top d-man since he was acquired early in the season. Had 36 PTS in 53 GP with the Sting.

 

[PensFan101]

Owen Sound

We have one for sure
G - Nick Chenard - Hopefully one of the best in the league if he can take the next step.

Otherwise, most of these guys are probably bubble players they will want to upgrade
D - Nolan Seed
W - Logan LeSage
W - William Portikalis

I agree Chenard is the one lock, but I would expect Seed and LeSage to be the other returning overagers. I don't see there being a ton of upgrades available, and both fill really useful roles on the team. Portikalis has had some real nice stretches this year, and I think he'll find a home on another team.

 

[All the Answers]

For the Rangers

Valade F
Serpa F
Cajan G - import
Harper D

Valade and Serpa should be back and do big time damage as OAs, Cajan as an import I expect will be gone, it'll be Parson's ream. Harper on D will likely be upgraded. I'd pencil Harper in as the 5th best defenseman next year with the roster as-is, with Andonovski not far behind.

Kitchener very heavy on 03 births. Lots of 19 year olds next year who can hopefully take a step forward and make some noise.

 

[leafs4life94]

Kingston has 7 '02s -

Wisdom - AHL
Chromiak - AHL
Murray - likely returning as Fronts #1 D - could be one of the top OA Defensemen
Belanger - likely returning as Fronts #2-3 D
Roger - based on the Sens 2nd round investment they may want him in the AHL, but will likely depend on if the Sens think he'll develop better in the AHL or OHL
Spooner - if OA goalie rules change possibly back as tandem with Vaccari, otherwise unlikely to return
Merilainen - AHL or Liiga

 

[Rounder8]

Hamilton has a solid group of potential OA.

Logan Morrison
Avery Hayes
George Diaco
Mark Duarte
Gavin White

Should be interesting to see who they keep.

IF all wanted to come back, my guess would be Morrison, Hayes and White (they're losing 3 dmen already)

 

[Kingpin794]

Saginaw potentially has:

Lennox
Schuelting
Smith

-Lennox will likely be moved to be a starter with someone else as Oke/Fullerton will be the tandem going forward.

-Schuelting, if he comes back, will be fighting for time on a crowded blue line. Think he ends up at university.

-Smith is an obvious OA assuming he doesn’t get a pro deal this off season. He will be one of the best offensive d men in the OHL.

So I think Saginaw will likely be shopping for an OA at forward to help with the new faces and solidify the depth on offense.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Saginaw potentially has:

Lennox
Schuelting
Smith

-Lennox will likely be moved to be a starter with someone else as Oke/Fullerton will be the tandem going forward.

-Schuelting, if he comes back, will be fighting for time on a crowded blue line. Think he ends up at university.

-Smith is an obvious OA assuming he doesn’t get a pro deal this off season. He will be one of the best offensive d men in the OHL.

So I think Saginaw will likely be shopping for an OA at forward to help with the new faces and solidify the depth on offense.

Lennox is a 3rd round pick to NYI, I'd think they'll sign him, no? If they did, he's gone to pro hockey next year

 

[AttackBeacher]

I agree Chenard is the one lock, but I would expect Seed and LeSage to be the other returning overagers. I don't see there being a ton of upgrades available, and both fill really useful roles on the team. Portikalis has had some real nice stretches this year, and I think he'll find a home on another team.

Id look at a team like Hamilton that has a ton of 02s. And honestly, why keep LeSage? He's not really playing that much and just will get in the way of kids.

I think they need to add a D, but up front they have tons of depth, shouldnt keep a depth 02 IMO.

 

[Kingpin794]

Lennox is a 3rd round pick to NYI, I'd think they'll sign him, no? If they did, he's gone to pro hockey next year

Unfortunately he’s had injury after injury. Never played more than 33 games in any season. He’s never been able to get into a groove and be THE guy. I don’t think he’s getting signed by the Islanders and even if he is, I highly doubt they’ll think he’s ready for AHL/ECHL. He needs to make it through a full year once.

 

[View from section 9]

Very solid choices for North Bay

D - Avery Winslow
C - Kyle Jackson
W - Kyle MacDonald
G - Joe Vrbetic (most likely to be moved based on the play of Divincentiis imo)

 

[dirty12]

Lennox is a 3rd round pick to NYI, I'd think they'll sign him, no? If they did, he's gone to pro hockey next year

Is he a late birth drafted last summer? I expect Roger & Vrbetic to be back in the league.

 

[Hockeyguy999]

Hamilton has a solid group of potential OA.

Logan Morrison
Avery Hayes
George Diaco
Mark Duarte
Gavin White

Should be interesting to see who they keep.

IF all wanted to come back, my guess would be Morrison, Hayes and White (they're losing 3 dmen already)

Constantini too

 

[Bra Wavers]

The Sting have 4 eligible OA's:

Nolan Burke: 30 Goal scorer and most improved player in the Western Conference

Nolan Dillingham: steady d-man and Sting captain

Theo Hill: a hot and cold forward who put up 53 PTS in 67 GP

Ethan Ritchie: was the Sting top d-man since he was acquired early in the season. Had 36 PTS in 53 GP with the Sting.

So which 3 do you guess they will keep?

 

[Bra Wavers]

btw......any word on when the league will decide whether OA goalies will count as one of the 3 OAs next season
IMO that decision will have a big impact

 

[SarniaStingFan]

So which 3 do you guess they will keep?

Burke, Dillingham, and Ritchie. Young forwards really stepped up late in the season while Hill quieted down. So they'll probably go in the younger direction with the forward group.

 

[TF519]

Knights have:

C- McGurn
D - Keane
D - Montgomery
D - Steklov
G - Brochu

McGurn and Keane are basically locks to return.

Expect Steklov to go back to Russia. Taking OA and Euro spot is a deadly combination even though he’s been a top pair guy this year.

Brochu may get drafted but believe he would be better served with another year in the O compared to the E.

Montgomery will be traded or released. He’s been relegated to third line D or fourth line winger minutes.

Evangelista and Stranges will be playing pro next year.

 

[HockeyPops]

btw......any word on when the league will decide whether OA goalies will count as one of the 3 OAs next season
IMO that decision will have a big impact

I doubt it will happen. You would have thought we would at least have heard they were considering it, if not already decided. GMs would have probably wanted to know before the draft as that could impact roster decisions.