OHL contenders for 2018/2019

[Hammer9001]

Here is my guess on the seeds next season, keeping in mind I expect most of this Probable Graduates for each OHL Team to come to pass and my current understanding of picks available for making trades. I think it's a fairly nebulous list though, as I don't think it will stand up to intense scrutiny.

1 - Niagara
2 - Oshawa
3 - North Bay
4 - Barrie
5 - Ottawa
6 - Sudbury
7 - Peterborough
8 - Hamilton

Kingston and Missisauga miss the cut

As far as the West

1- Owen Sound
2- Windsor
3- London
4- Saginaw
5- Guelph
6 - Flint
7 - Soo
8 - Kitchener

Sarnia and Erie miss the cut

 

[RayzorIsDull]

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.

I choose to ignore players that won't play their senior in the OHL. That goes for every team in the OHL except fot Schechvnikov. You talk about Boka being a 15 goal scorer do you think he will score 25 this year?? Not every player will improve if that's the case you should think every player from every team will improve. I understand that you trust Warren that' s fair but if you can't sell me on the Spits being on the top 5 this year after this year don't tell me that the Warren and the Spits are a great organization. Why are you looking a year after 2018? Maybe Warren has something up his sleeve but considering the import draft he doesn't have some deep intel. Nothing against Warren but unless the Spits have a top 20 import pick they haven't it large. That's not Warren's fault but look at their history, teams are really smart the Spits probably don't have some secret player under wraps. Keep that under consideration. If they do have a secret player it isn't a secret to the 29 other teams that draft before them.

 

[NA Hockey]

My early guess

East
1 - Niagara
2 - Ottawa
3 - Barrie
4 - Oshawa
5 - North Bay
6 - Sudbury
7 - Hamilton
8 - Peterborough


West
1- Owen Sound
2- London
3- Saginaw
4- Windsor
5- Guelph
6 - Soo
7 - Kitchener
8 - Sarnia

 

[AttackSound]

Best guess although really to early to tell

Owen Sound
Windsor
London
Guelph
Saginaw
Sarnia
Flint
Kitchener
Erie
Soo

And the only reason I put Kitchener ahead of the Erie and the Soo is simply because both the Otters and Hounds are in similar circumstances draft picks wise after Soo went all in last season and the Otters still playing for the year before.

Guelph should have a slightly better team next season than last year and the same with Saginaw. Sarnia will probably take a step back after a fairly successful run last season and just falling short.

If DiPietro returns to Windsor then I'd say it would be safe to consider them at least a contender for the conference.

Owen Sound is in a very similar position as the core of the team will return this season with a big question mark on goaltending if Laferenire returns and can stay healthy for the entire season then the Attack would have a decent chance at taking a run at the conference finals.

The big question that sits on OS fans minds will be OA situation having a handful to choose from and only a few spots to fill.

With about a month and a half till training camp starts it will certainly be interesting to see how everything shakes out this season

 

[Snippit]

Best guess although really to early to tell

Owen Sound
Windsor
London
Guelph
Saginaw
Sarnia
Flint
Kitchener
Erie
Soo

And the only reason I put Kitchener ahead of the Erie and the Soo is simply because both the Otters and Hounds are in similar circumstances draft picks wise after Soo went all in last season and the Otters still playing for the year before.

Guelph should have a slightly better team next season than last year and the same with Saginaw. Sarnia will probably take a step back after a fairly successful run last season and just falling short.

If DiPietro returns to Windsor then I'd say it would be safe to consider them at least a contender for the conference.

Owen Sound is in a very similar position as the core of the team will return this season with a big question mark on goaltending if Laferenire returns and can stay healthy for the entire season then the Attack would have a decent chance at taking a run at the conference finals.

The big question that sits on OS fans minds will be OA situation having a handful to choose from and only a few spots to fill.

With about a month and a half till training camp starts it will certainly be interesting to see how everything shakes out this season

SSM will contend again. They have Frost and Hayton as their 1-2 center punch, which will easily be the best in the OHL.

 

[Generalsupdates]

SSM will contend again. They have Frost and Hayton as their 1-2 center punch, which will easily be the best in the OHL.

Unless they trade Frost, which I would think they might be inclined to do to get back all the Raddysh/Sambrook picks. Will likely all depend on how good/bad their start is as a team

 

[Generalsupdates]

My early guess

East
1 - Niagara
2 - Ottawa
3 - Barrie
4 - Oshawa
5 - North Bay
6 - Sudbury
7 - Hamilton
8 - Peterborough


West
1- Owen Sound
2- London
3- Saginaw
4- Windsor
5- Guelph
6 - Soo
7 - Kitchener
8 - Sarnia

What makes you think Barrie will be so high? Losing their goalie and by far their 3 best scorers

 

[Firebrd828]

My early guess

West
1- Owen Sound
2- London
3- Saginaw
4- Windsor
5- Guelph
6 - Soo
7 - Kitchener
8 - Sarnia

I don't see any way Flint misses the playoffs this year.

 

[Generalsupdates]

I don't see any way Flint misses the playoffs this year.

They don't have a goalie nor any above average '98's and only 1 above average '99 (Gordeev). I think it's very possible. Very young team

 

[Firebrd828]

They don't have a goalie nor any above average '98's and only 1 above average '99 (Gordeev). I think it's very possible. Very young team

Maybe young, but a ton of talent at the '00 birth year and after, and I disagree about the goalie. Cavallin is going to be very good for them.

 

[Savard18]

Maybe young, but a ton of talent at the '00 birth year and after, and I disagree about the goalie. Cavallin is going to be very good for them.

I don't see the West as a whole being quite as competitive next year as they have been for the last few seasons. An above average '98 won't be hard to come by at a decent price and they have an opening. Cavallin was better as a 16yo than Keyser was and I expect a solid season out of him as a 17yo starter. Not quite 17yo DiPietro level but not REAL far from that either. Scoring a high end import with their 1st pick and getting him to report will go a long way towards determining how high up the standings they climb. Owen Power or Joel Farabee wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Maybe young, but a ton of talent at the '00 birth year and after, and I disagree about the goalie. Cavallin is going to be very good for them.

Cavallin is going to be very good I agree, but not next year. You don't jump from a .872 save % goalie to a .910 in one season, And they'll need him at least at .905-.910 to make the playoffs I think. Goalie that isn't ready yet (not fault of his own, he wasn't put into a good situation having to play so many games so early) and a very young team, I think it's extremely possible (maybe even likely) that they miss the playoffs, or finish 7/8


If Dellandrea has even just a decent year, Flint could be in trouble in terms of the standings next year. Not that it would be a big deal, they're clearly not built for next year but the years after, which they're setting up nicely for

 

[Generalsupdates]

I don't see the West as a whole being quite as competitive next year as they have been for the last few seasons. An above average '98 won't be hard to come by at a decent price and they have an opening. Cavallin was better as a 16yo than Keyser was and I expect a solid season out of him as a 17yo starter. Not quite 17yo DiPietro level but not REAL far from that either. Scoring a high end import with their 1st pick and getting him to report will go a long way towards determining how high up the standings they climb. Owen Power or Joel Farabee wouldn't hurt either.

17 yo DiPietro was a .917 save %.... You think Cavallin won't be far from that next season....?

 

[Firebrd828]

Both Firebirds goalies had their save percentages impacted by the absence of Busby and the fact the Smereck, who played 30 minutes a night, cared far more about putting shots on the opposing goalie than he ever did about preventing shots on his own goalie.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Both Firebirds goalies had their save percentages impacted by the absence of Busby and the fact the Smereck, who played 30 minutes a night, cared far more about putting shots on the opposing goalie than he ever did about preventing shots on his own goalie.

Yeah I'm not saying Cavallin sucks, I think he'll be very good when he's older. But to expect him to jump from .872 to .910 in one season is very, very unrealistic if you ask me

 

[Savard18]

Yeah I'm not saying Cavallin sucks, I think he'll be very good when he's older. But to expect him to jump from .872 to .910 in one season is very, very unrealistic if you ask me

To be fair, you weren't watching the Firebirds game in and game out last year. For a long stretch before the Moore/Caamano trade they were horrible defensively. I've never seen so many open backdoor shots and tap-ins. Ouhlahen returned from coaching Canada U17's and then trade happened. Things cleaned up immensely after that. If I'm not mistaken, Cavallin had about an .850 save percentage at that point. I'm sure he was much closer to .890 or so save percentage in the final third of the season. So, yeah I fully expect to see a .900+ save % next year. I saw a lot of Keyser as a rookie, and I'm a big fan and think Oshawa has one of the best goalies going into next year but Cavallin played better as a rookie no matter what the stats say. They were a better team after the trade deadline, defensively and as a whole. They're only going to lose Smereck, Colella and Forrest. Smereck was a leader for the kids and a strong offensive threat but often a defensive liability. The return of Busby should offset that loss. Colella was a veteran, 3 zone player but a bit of a complimentary player on a line with

 

[Savard18]

accidentally hit "post reply" and apparently I can't edit today?....complimentary player on a line with Dellandrea and Roberts. A quality import pick could easily offset the loss of Colella. Forrest was a backup to Cavallin by seasons end. The entire team is just going to be a year older with the additions most likely outweighing the subtractions. I don't see any way they miss the playoffs unless they have a Windsor 2016-17 injury type season. How far they climb will depend on a lot of other factors.

 

[Generalsupdates]

To be fair, you weren't watching the Firebirds game in and game out last year. For a long stretch before the Moore/Caamano trade they were horrible defensively. I've never seen so many open backdoor shots and tap-ins. Ouhlahen returned from coaching Canada U17's and then trade happened. Things cleaned up immensely after that. If I'm not mistaken, Cavallin had about an .850 save percentage at that point. I'm sure he was much closer to .890 or so save percentage in the final third of the season. So, yeah I fully expect to see a .900+ save % next year. I saw a lot of Keyser as a rookie, and I'm a big fan and think Oshawa has one of the best goalies going into next year but Cavallin played better as a rookie no matter what the stats say. They were a better team after the trade deadline, defensively and as a whole. They're only going to lose Smereck, Colella and Forrest. Smereck was a leader for the kids and a strong offensive threat but often a defensive liability. The return of Busby should offset that loss. Colella was a veteran, 3 zone player but a bit of a complimentary player on a line with

That's very true, only saw Cavallin the 2 games they played the Gens and he was an .864 in those 2 games. But to be honest it's not even a Cavallin specific thing as it is of most young goalies take until their 18U season to really come into their own, unless they're on a dominant team. Cavallin's time line is set up perfectly with Flint's timeline as a team and should all be hitting their stride in the '19/'20 season

 

[Savard18]

That's very true, only saw Cavallin the 2 games they played the Gens and he was an .864 in those 2 games. But to be honest it's not even a Cavallin specific thing as it is of most young goalies take until their 18U season to really come into their own, unless they're on a dominant team. Cavallin's time line is set up perfectly with Flint's timeline as a team and should all be hitting their stride in the '19/'20 season

Let's hope. I don't expect them to make a LOT of noise in the playoffs next year, but I do expect them to be there. I do think you'll be watching a lot of playoff hockey in Oshawa next year and then hopefully Flint makes a serious run the following year.

 

[AttackSound]

SSM will contend again. They have Frost and Hayton as their 1-2 center punch, which will easily be the best in the OHL.

Highly doubtful most teams are all chips in once every 3 seasons and then pay for it the following year.

Hounds will dismantle and restock youth and assets before they contend again. Last team to do that was Erie when they went on a back to back to back seasons success and had paid for their success last season.

With a team like the Hounds they moved key pieces of the depth system last season to win. Even with returning players they will age out before the season starts and wouldn't be able to hang on to everyone in their team.

Even with Frost and Hayton up front they will loose key pieces in Sambrook not to also count they aren't really swimming in draft picks either for the next few seasons.

Hounds will finish either low playoff seed or miss in 2018/19, if they do reload up again then they'll pay for it for the following year and the year after, which the fans won't have in a city that is passionate about there Hounds.

Soo will have to build around what returning youth they hung onto last season and purge the senior players for assets in 2018/19

 

[TheGremlin]

To be fair, you weren't watching the Firebirds game in and game out last year. For a long stretch before the Moore/Caamano trade they were horrible defensively. I've never seen so many open backdoor shots and tap-ins. Ouhlahen returned from coaching Canada U17's and then trade happened. Things cleaned up immensely after that. If I'm not mistaken, Cavallin had about an .850 save percentage at that point. I'm sure he was much closer to .890 or so save percentage in the final third of the season. So, yeah I fully expect to see a .900+ save % next year. I saw a lot of Keyser as a rookie, and I'm a big fan and think Oshawa has one of the best goalies going into next year but Cavallin played better as a rookie no matter what the stats say. They were a better team after the trade deadline, defensively and as a whole. They're only going to lose Smereck, Colella and Forrest. Smereck was a leader for the kids and a strong offensive threat but often a defensive liability. The return of Busby should offset that loss. Colella was a veteran, 3 zone player but a bit of a complimentary player on a line with

His save % was closer to 875 his last 19 games and 846 over last 8 games. Maybe he will improve greatly but with goaltenders you just never know.

 

[saska sault]

Brand new coach coming in, lots of returning talent and potential imports returning and showing up. Vilatta, Frost, Hayton and potential Sandin and Kupari make any team a contender. Not saying they should not sell and recoup picks... but even if they do, you have those players for 2/3rds of the year... likely finish with home ice and have a solid squad. Hounds will be a good team.. the resources and way the team is developed and managed is to compete for championships, but always be competitive in down years. Both Raftis and Dubas stated this when hired... the Soo has alot of underated young talent also. We will see....

 

[Generalsupdates]

Brand new coach coming in, lots of returning talent and potential imports returning and showing up. Vilatta, Frost, Hayton and potential Sandin and Kupari make any team a contender. Not saying they should not sell and recoup picks... but even if they do, you have those players for 2/3rds of the year... likely finish with home ice and have a solid squad. Hounds will be a good team.. the resources and way the team is developed and managed is to compete for championships, but always be competitive in down years. Both Raftis and Dubas stated this when hired... the Soo has alot of underated young talent also. We will see....

Here was a report today that Sandin is going back to Sweden next year



Of course whoever takes him in the first round will have a say in that

 

[Hammer9001]

They don't have a goalie nor any above average '98's and only 1 above average '99 (Gordeev). I think it's very possible. Very young team

Correct me if I am wrong, but don't they have a glut of 2nd and 3rd round picks to make some decent trades? I mean, Hamilton, Kingston and Mississauga will likely be looking to recoup picks. I can completely see picks getting thrown in with some trades with these teams. Donofrio if he performs for example.

 

[saska sault]

Of course Sandin returning and Kupari ever reporting are not certain. NHL teams who draft them will have a say.. but the Greyhounds in recent memory have been pretty successful in getting quality players and also getting players to report. We will wait and see but even a long shot at 1 of those players showing/returning still yields a top end talent. One has already played here, had success and resulted in his draft stock rising.. the other was a potential top 10 pick who may fall to the lower end of the first. Greyhounds are a developmental hot bed lately for prospects and that helps in any form.