OHL contenders for 2018/2019
- Thread starter ohloutsider
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Probably the GMs are pretty busy with the Import D coming up and all the variables involved.
Most teams probably only have a partial depth chart of theirs and everyone else's roster right now, as the NHL draft might offer some clues on some top choices being returned or if they could be kept.
Off the top with that in mind I see the West still having the stronger conference. Tough to see the East right now, Niagra might be the best team on paper now, I expect some of last years contenders to drop. Ottawa is likely better, but still a year short possibly, Petes and Sud rebuilding, not sure about NBay. They did have a good second half after Xmas.
Lots of OA spots to fill, and as always goaltending, big questions that make ot break a Jr season.
Most teams probably only have a partial depth chart of theirs and everyone else's roster right now, as the NHL draft might offer some clues on some top choices being returned or if they could be kept.
Off the top with that in mind I see the West still having the stronger conference. Tough to see the East right now, Niagra might be the best team on paper now, I expect some of last years contenders to drop. Ottawa is likely better, but still a year short possibly, Petes and Sud rebuilding, not sure about NBay. They did have a good second half after Xmas.
Lots of OA spots to fill, and as always goaltending, big questions that make ot break a Jr season.
Snippit
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If Formenton is back in London, they'll be up there as well. Or if Boqvist comes over.
North Bay's entire top line is returning and their goaltending should be strong right out of the gate. But their defense is likely going to be built on the fly this summer seeing Thilander, Bruce and Saban all graduate this off-season. If we can trade for a quality OA D and see some success in the Import Draft, the Battalion could be in the conversation in the East.
I thought they were looking good going into this year. Did their season swing after the trade into the second half of the season.
aresknights
Registered User
While I may not disagree that the 2020 or 2021 OHL championship is the goal ( n next year a team that competes for it would be a bonus)
Don't read too much into the London thread hyperbole. It has gotten ridiculous.
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OMG67
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The Ottawa 67’s will challenge for sure.
Seven returning D-Men. We’ll see how the NHL draft goes in a couple weeks but it looks like of the seven, at least three and maybe four will be NHL draft picks entering the season with Okhotyuk (Team Russia under-18 Team Captain) a high pick in the next draft.
Up front they return virtually all of their scoring with Travis Barron being the only significant graduate. They’ll easily fill three high tempo scoring lines. I’d argue they need a centre to really fill those lines out but guys like Chmelevski and Keating have played a lot of centre.
The only question mark is in net where they seriously suffered this season. There are rumours out there that the Import Draft will allow goaltenders to be picked and some other rumours out there that teams will be able to carry a 4th OA if it is a goaltender. IF either of these prove to be true, that opens the door for the 67’s to add a piece more easily.
They also hold a crap load of high picks, something like ten 2nds and eight 3rds over the next five drafts. So they have a lot of trade capital.
If the 67’s can add a difference maker in net, they will be at the top of the Eastern Division, maybe on top of the Conference. IF they cannot find the goaltender, it will be another long year of bad goals killing their chances game after game. Average goaltending would have seen the Poles finish around 4th - 5th this season and a probable first round win. Unfortunately, the goaltending was as bad as I’ve ever seen in Ottawa this season and they ran into Hamilton Round One. GLWT. Let the DiPietro rumours heat up again!
Seven returning D-Men. We’ll see how the NHL draft goes in a couple weeks but it looks like of the seven, at least three and maybe four will be NHL draft picks entering the season with Okhotyuk (Team Russia under-18 Team Captain) a high pick in the next draft.
Up front they return virtually all of their scoring with Travis Barron being the only significant graduate. They’ll easily fill three high tempo scoring lines. I’d argue they need a centre to really fill those lines out but guys like Chmelevski and Keating have played a lot of centre.
The only question mark is in net where they seriously suffered this season. There are rumours out there that the Import Draft will allow goaltenders to be picked and some other rumours out there that teams will be able to carry a 4th OA if it is a goaltender. IF either of these prove to be true, that opens the door for the 67’s to add a piece more easily.
They also hold a crap load of high picks, something like ten 2nds and eight 3rds over the next five drafts. So they have a lot of trade capital.
If the 67’s can add a difference maker in net, they will be at the top of the Eastern Division, maybe on top of the Conference. IF they cannot find the goaltender, it will be another long year of bad goals killing their chances game after game. Average goaltending would have seen the Poles finish around 4th - 5th this season and a probable first round win. Unfortunately, the goaltending was as bad as I’ve ever seen in Ottawa this season and they ran into Hamilton Round One. GLWT. Let the DiPietro rumours heat up again!
ohloutsider
Registered User
Some good thoughts here - I myself find this a tough year to figure out who is going to be "that team". Prediction thread needs to wait to September before there is at least a clearer picture on who will be the contenders.
I myself think early on that the Soo will come out of the west mostly for 2 reasons - 1) they are returning a core of good experienced players and 2) nobody else in that division is ready to challenge this year. -
Midwest I see Owen Sound having the edge but as other teams if a couple of key players stick in the NHL that could change.
Middling teams will be London, Guelph - with Erie, Windsor, Sarnia fighting to stay out of 9th/10th. The rest who knows.
East I see Ottawa they will make the moves they need to win.
Central will be the Ice Dogs - maybe conference champs as well .
Middling teams will be Oshawa and North Bay - Hamilton and Missy will be in that 9th/10th position with the rest of the teams just looking for a playoff round.
I myself think early on that the Soo will come out of the west mostly for 2 reasons - 1) they are returning a core of good experienced players and 2) nobody else in that division is ready to challenge this year. -
Midwest I see Owen Sound having the edge but as other teams if a couple of key players stick in the NHL that could change.
Middling teams will be London, Guelph - with Erie, Windsor, Sarnia fighting to stay out of 9th/10th. The rest who knows.
East I see Ottawa they will make the moves they need to win.
Central will be the Ice Dogs - maybe conference champs as well .
Middling teams will be Oshawa and North Bay - Hamilton and Missy will be in that 9th/10th position with the rest of the teams just looking for a playoff round.
A bit surprised you think Windsor will be fighting to stay out of 9th or 10th with Sarnia and Erie, finishing 6th last year, especially after gutting the lineup, before and at the deadline going 9-6-2 the last 17 games of the regular season,plus a strong playoff showing,toss in only 2 players that have to leave, Smith and Shankar,along with letting Schiemenz go to allow for another Euro,I look for every returning player to improve,and in some cases even if they do,could be moved,I see them higher then lower in the standings when said and done.
ohloutsider
Registered User
For me I see it as both goaltending ( does DiPietro stay all year) and goal scoring - not sure how many over 20 goals a year scorers we have? I'm ok with them finishing better than 8 or 9 but they need to make some moves if they want to get there. A high end Euro forward would up the anity for me.
I think with the right trades, and another good and HEALTHY year from G Kyle Keyser, the Gens will be able to make that push too. Lots of picks in the cupboard as well to bid against the teams like Niagara and Ottawa.
Looking for a final breakout year from Antropov, and repeat seasons from Noel, McShane and hopefully Brassard if he is returned from Utica, where I could see him making the roster.
Looking for a final breakout year from Antropov, and repeat seasons from Noel, McShane and hopefully Brassard if he is returned from Utica, where I could see him making the roster.
Firebrd828
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- Oct 21, 2015
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Flint, realistically, is gearing up for 2019-20. Nice goals for this year would be home-ice for the first round and a first round win. I think any Flint fan would be thrilled with that. Anything more would be a nice bonus.
TcNorth
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- Jan 25, 2015
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Flint going from 10th to at least 4th in the West is highly unlikely, but with trades and the import draft we can hope.
I can get behind that I was along your lines thinking Windsor might be around a 6 or 7 seed. I still see teams like OS/Soo/London collectively returning more talent and production. Sarnia will lose a fair bit but still returns a nice nucleus of talent not including the possibility of a real good mix of OAs (Rymsha/Salinitri/Pezzetta/Sprovierio/Calvas/Eliot) any combination of those 3 would be quite good. If you look at a team that could drop below Windsor I guess the most likely could be Kitchener but on the other hand a team like OS/London is more likely to hop them. Windsor was a final home game loss to Saginaw falling to 8th. The drop from 6th to 8th is much less than the jump from 6th to 4th.
AttackSound
Junior Hockey Fan Since Birth
Owen Sound should be still in the mix again this season with a fairly strong returning core of players upfront and on the blueline.
The questions that will puzzle fans right now will be the obvious ones will OL play as an OA tender and what decisions will DeGray have to make to move forward and up the standings.
From a starting point OS should seed somewhere between 4-6 standings wise if everyone returns that can.
As of right now and in no particular order of lines OS should look something like this postitionally
Lafreniere -(OA)
Guzda -(17)
Durzi-Bourque (both OA)
Phillips-Lyle (19-19)
Cameron-Chibrikov (OA-17)
Seed (16) - (rotated in and out of the lineup)
Lyszczaryk (OA)
Dudas (18)
Hancock - (if he returns) (OA)
Groulx (18)
Doherty (18)
Moro - (18)
Robinson - (19)
Roberts - (if he's healthy) - (19)
Russell -(17)
Campbell - (Not sure about) (OA)
Meaning 3 players will need to find new places to play before the season hits the OA deadline and before you add 2 more rookie signings before the season starts.
Training camp will certainly be a stiffer one this year for OS. But I'd expect the team to contend in the top half with teams like the Knights and Spits for home ice again from the returning depth chart of OS.
The questions that will puzzle fans right now will be the obvious ones will OL play as an OA tender and what decisions will DeGray have to make to move forward and up the standings.
From a starting point OS should seed somewhere between 4-6 standings wise if everyone returns that can.
As of right now and in no particular order of lines OS should look something like this postitionally
Lafreniere -(OA)
Guzda -(17)
Durzi-Bourque (both OA)
Phillips-Lyle (19-19)
Cameron-Chibrikov (OA-17)
Seed (16) - (rotated in and out of the lineup)
Lyszczaryk (OA)
Dudas (18)
Hancock - (if he returns) (OA)
Groulx (18)
Doherty (18)
Moro - (18)
Robinson - (19)
Roberts - (if he's healthy) - (19)
Russell -(17)
Campbell - (Not sure about) (OA)
Meaning 3 players will need to find new places to play before the season hits the OA deadline and before you add 2 more rookie signings before the season starts.
Training camp will certainly be a stiffer one this year for OS. But I'd expect the team to contend in the top half with teams like the Knights and Spits for home ice again from the returning depth chart of OS.
Firebrd828
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AttackSound; A few things to add/subtract from your post, IMO.
You have 7 OA players listed on your projected roster. That leaves us guessing as to who you might think will be the 3 OA keepers but it has you taking roster spots with 4 names that will simply not be with the team. There are 3 guys that most certainly will not be back as OA players this coming season. G-Lafreniere / RW- Campbell / RD-Cameron.
Up front you left out; LW Sushko and RW-Suzuki.
You have 7 OA players listed on your projected roster. That leaves us guessing as to who you might think will be the 3 OA keepers but it has you taking roster spots with 4 names that will simply not be with the team. There are 3 guys that most certainly will not be back as OA players this coming season. G-Lafreniere / RW- Campbell / RD-Cameron.
Up front you left out; LW Sushko and RW-Suzuki.
I don't agree about London collectively having more talent/ production returning then Windsor especially when u consider both Alex Formenton and Luc Bouchard are both likely to make NHL teams this coming season, should that happen,it's unlikely London will contend like some they will.
Excluding those 2 for now,means the Knights are only returning 101 goals up front from 12 returning forwards,and only 3 were in double digits, Foudy (24), Dunkley (21),Popov (10),and 5 of them had 3 goals or less.
Windsor on the other hand has 8 of 12 forwards returning with double digits in goals, Purboo (22), Douglas (21), MacDougall (17), Boka (15), Kitkevicius (13), D'amico (12), Angle (10), Morgan (10),and only 1 forward had less then 5 and that was Frasca(1) who played only 11 games.
Defense wise other then Bouchard who scored 25 goals, London's D returns with 15 goals, while Windsor returns 14.
No doubt should Formenton and Bouchard return London's outlook is much better,fact is I don't see either returning especially Formenton.
In fairness both teams will add at least 1 Euro and 1 overager, possibly 2 of each in London's case.
Also both teams will be bringing in some youngsters upfront and on the D,though it's far too early to predict how any of the young players make out.
For me I like the overall depth Windsor returns in all positions, improvement necessary no question,but I like our chances moving forward.I do think Windsor will be even better in 2019-2020,2020-2021.
