DiPietro and Rossi are the wildcards for Ottawa that could dramatically change the fortunes of the team. We know the top 6 will score with Chmelevski, Keating, Clark, Clarke, Felhaber and Hoelscher leading the way. If Rossi can make the North American adjustment and carry over what he has done so far in the preseason to the regular season with Quinn and Bitten as his linemates, it stretches the Poles to 3 lines deep. Add in the high pick, Tolnai centring the 4th line and you have solid minutes coming from the depths of the chart.
On the back end, there are a lot of stellar skaters with solid pedigree. Bahl is a wall. Hoefenmayer is a seasoned veteran. Highly drafted Import and under 18 Team Russia Captain, Nikita Okhotyuk really came on strong the second half of his rookie season last year. Rippon and Robertson are both bonafide top 4 guys on many OHL rosters. Peric is still the odd man out because he is the young 17 year old but even he is pushing Robertson for a roster spot in the top 6.
Cédric Andree has done well in net in the preseason but I still expect to see a DiPietro trade in the cards when he is returned from Vancouver. If you add the clear #1 goalie in the OHL to that lineup, it may be scary deep. Even with loads of picks going to Windsor for DiPietro, the Poles still have a ridiculous treasure trove of picks. Heck, they have four 2nds in next year’s draft alone and something like ten 2nds and six 3rds over the next four drafts. That only puts them into the 2022 draft. Teams are dealing picks from 2024! So there are loads of remaining assets for them if they choose to throw the sink at it.
As of right now with their current roster, I say they are behind Niagara and Oshawa. IF their goaltending doesn’t improve, they may only battle for home ice. If Rossi does make the transition (Look for Mitch Marner skills as a 17 year old) and DiPietro joins the fold, it may be lights out for the East as well as the League.