Ottawa 67's 2014-15 Season Thread

[sirius67fan]

My first impression is that we have added size and skill. Vlajkov, Bradford, Bell, Konecny did not play, but that makes sense.

Barron looks like he is a player. Good size, physical.

AAA threw three hits in 2 shifts, surpassing last year's total, but he continues to avoid the front of the net on the rush. One of his hits was a very bad-looking shot from behind, but I did see effort.

Pittman is pretty solid defensively and plays it tough along the boards.

Todd scored a beauty off a massive rebound. He saw the goalie sliding over and blew the perfect shot into the top of the net. He struggled late in the game as the increased speed of play caught up to him. Mercer seemed to slow up as well.

Henley looks bigger and more physical this year, much less tentative in his own zone.

Tyanulin seems to be that quick-strike scorer that we have been missing. Not big, but has slick moves and a bit of an attitude.

Addison looks like a solid pickup.

Salituro hurt in the first and did not return.

Herbst look very solid and ... massive.

Decent effort

Agree about the size and skill. Our forward group is also much quicker even with Konecny not playing. I expect we' ll be spending way less time in our zone and defending this year. If we can keep our shots on goal to 30-35 game it will help our goalies a lot. Also was impressed with Herbst, sure fills up the net but mobile for a big man. Hope he's the answer between the pipes. Really liked the kid line last night..Barron,Mcdonald,Fanjoy. Good size and they can skate and hit,hope they keep em together for a while. I missed Salituro's injury anybody know what the injury is and if its serious?

 

[Babula]

I doubt there is any stats anywhere here is a match report http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/09/06...ck-in-pre-season-win-over-gatineau-olympiques

found it now. http://theqmjhl.ca/schedule/show/game/67884

 

[beastintheeast]

What was the defense corp like last night. Is this a good crop.

Wondering with the players that they have if there are any holes that need filig with trades.

If the Jr A club does not want Brown would the 67's send him back to midget or would hunt work a deal to get him to Smith Falls?

 

[sfan]

found it now. http://theqmjhl.ca/schedule/show/game/67884

Thanks for this Jeez. It is interesting to see that in the Q they officially capture not just shots, but DS/S (dangerous shots/shots) and face-off win/loss stats. Furthermore, this is not new. As we know the OHL doesn't track these stats and neither does the WHL.

This said, looking at the stats posted, I can see at least some shot, hit and face-off data errors of omission.

 

[sfan]

found it now. http://theqmjhl.ca/schedule/show/game/67884

Last year Gatineau won 41 of 68 games. Notwithstanding the data accuracy or completeness concerns I mentioned earlier, some insights drawn from Saturday's game summary:
- Gatineau had 7 skaters and one goalie from last year's team vs 12 returning skaters on the 67's.
- Gatineau played 9 skaters new to the team (didn't check how many were league rookies), we played 7 rookies.
- Gatineau's returning skaters combined for 2 of their 3 goals and half of their dangerous shots and total shots.
- In 30 minutes of play, we scored 2 against Brodeur, Gatineau's returning goalie, beating both his 2013/14 save percentage and GAA.
- 11 of our 14 dangerous shots came from our rookie players, including of course 3 of our 4 goals. Rookies scored both goals against Brodeur.
- Our rookies won 70% of face-offs compared to 58% for our vets.
- Our rookies recorded 11 of our 16 hits.

 

[44 95 plus tax]

I got a tweet that Mete to the Knights for a boatful of picks is done. Starts with three second rounders.

 

[OTownApologist]

Mete to London for:

2nd round picks in 2017, 2018, 2019
3rd round picks in 2015, 2016
Conditional 6th in 2017 (turns into a 3rd if Mete goes in the first two rounds of his NHL draft)

 

[mianjo]

After the Fury game wondered over to the north side, and 2 of the doors into the lounge next to the arena were open, so wondered in and peeked through the curtains to look at the arena. All of the seats on the south side were covered with dark plastic covers which were covered in dust, there was steel fencing all along the south side at about the 3rd row of seats, i could'nt really see across to the north side as it was fairly dark in there, lots of construction equipment on the concrete floor of the arena, not sure when the first game is scheduled there but looks like it should be ready within the next few weeks.

 

[Duke Guy]

The 67's first home game is October 10th. Should be good to go.

 

[OttawaHockeyFan]

Mete to London for:

2nd round picks in 2017, 2018, 2019
3rd round picks in 2015, 2016
Conditional 6th in 2017 (turns into a 3rd if Mete goes in the first two rounds of his NHL draft)

Well that ends my hopes of seeing him in Ottawa. Would have been a welcomed addition to a squad that could seriously contend in a couple of years. Mete can QB the power play and will be a stud.
That being said, London overpaid. Surprised they did.. He's not American

 

[sirius67fan]

Well that ends my hopes of seeing him in Ottawa. Would have been a welcomed addition to a squad that could seriously contend in a couple of years. Mete can QB the power play and will be a stud.
That being said, London overpaid. Surprised they did.. He's not American

Agreed they overpaid, at this point they paid for a potential stud only. Time will tell but I'm glad the 67's didn't pay that price.

 

[OMG67]

Agreed they overpaid, at this point they paid for a potential stud only. Time will tell but I'm glad the 67's didn't pay that price.

This is another mistake made by the perrenial basement dwelling London Knights. It is trades like this that keep them in pretender status.

I don't understand why that team continually makes trades like this just to continually lose. How is their GM still working in this league?

 

[OttawaHockeyFan]

This is another mistake made by the perrenial basement dwelling London Knights. It is trades like this that keep them in pretender status.

I don't understand why that team continually makes trades like this just to continually lose. How is their GM still working in this league?

What keeps them in perennial contender status is drafting American kids who have stated they won't report to the OHL and then magically these players change their minds and end up in London. Everyone knew Mete wanted London and London wanted Mete. Too many bloggers and Scouts were mentioning it.

London paid a kings ransom for Mete. Maybe the rest of the league will clue in and not let these players slip in the draft, allowing the Knights to scoop them up.

Seems like the prudent thing to do. I'm sure Niagra and Owen Sound are happy they did what they did this draft.

All that being said, given the asking price, I'm sure glad the 67's didn't make this move.

 

[beastintheeast]

This is another mistake made by the perrenial basement dwelling London Knights. It is trades like this that keep them in pretender status.

I don't understand why that team continually makes trades like this just to continually lose. How is their GM still working in this league?

OMG I almost missed the tongue in cheek.

I still do not understand how Hunter keeps trading draft picks then gets teams to trade with him so that he has a contender every year.

I think he must have been watching Killer although I do not remember him making these kids of deals.

While it would have been nice to have him i agree the price would have been too high for Ottawa to pay.

That being said i am sure they are looking at making deals.

 

[sirius67fan]

This is another mistake made by the perrenial basement dwelling London Knights. It is trades like this that keep them in pretender status.

I don't understand why that team continually makes trades like this just to continually lose. How is their GM still working in this league?

Well OMG I guess we'll agree to disagree on these trades for defected first rounders. IMO the prices are out of whack!

 

[44 95 plus tax]

I think you will see an adjustment to the defected player rule, in that if the player gets traded, the team will lose their compensatory 1st round pick. They rule was intended for those teams that lost a player to the US college system, not scooping up a boatload of draft picks with a trade.

 

[BigBuck]

I think you will see an adjustment to the defected player rule, in that if the player gets traded, the team will lose their compensatory 1st round pick. They rule was intended for those teams that lost a player to the US college system, not scooping up a boatload of draft picks with a trade.

I think the rule is working fine London and Windsor had to pay a lot of future picks to get an extra 1st round pick this year,The OHL is happy because they get these players in their league and Owen Sound and Niagara are happy because they get a bunch of picks as compensation for losing their 1st round pick. It makes it safer to pick high end players remember when Logan Couture slid to Ottawa after Tavares got exceptional status.

 

[sfan]

Jeff Brown's thoughts on Saturday's game

ICYMI on TSN1200 yesterday: http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/179/24793/Jeff Brown.mp3

 

[OMG67]

I view these trades much differently. The price is the price. If you believe what is out there regarding Victor Mete only playing for London then this value that Owen Sound received is exactly that, the going rate. There was no auction. No other teams that were bidding because it was one team of one for the trade demand.

If you are going to play this game, you have to play it all the way. People point out that the Knights draft American players in later rounds that make up for the loss of the 2nd round picks. Why is that? It is because they have a solid reputation of developing hockey players and the organization treats their players really well. The days of significant "inducements" is gone. Too many eyes now that Windsor got punched in the gutt.

It is Ottawa's responsibility now to be the other team in the league that develops talent so those late picks want to come here. Pittman decided to report as a 19 year old. That is a start. Trading for Mete, if it were possible, would have been another start. Trading Bradford at the deadline to recoup some of those picks may have been another strong move to help line us up for a championship run in two years.

But, you have to commit to the cycle. You have to go through years of trading the picks cupboard dry and then years of trading to refill them. You have to build your organizational reputation and draft US born players that are NCAA bound and prove to their families that the Ottawa 67's are where they should and need to be.

People point to Killer as a great junior hockey coach and he was. However, he was an average GM. He put together good teams but he did so by getting the most out of "his" players. The emphasis is on "his." He wouldn't make sweeping trades for the purpose of contending and he wouldn't make those trades for the purpose of rebuilding. This made the 67's a great team to watch most years but it did nothing for championships. For the sheer number of years he was in the OHL, he won a grand total of three OHL championships and two of those were won when we only had 15 teams in the league. When you are in it for over 30 years that is not the greatest. When you consider how many times he went to the semi finals and finals but was unable to close the door, it is even more telling that he wasn't willing to play the game to win the hardware.

We need to change our mindset. We need to make a commitment to winning, not just being entertaining. That starts with making splashes and pay the going rate for top flight players, whether it be through the draft in the middle rounds or using the top picks to acquire. On the flip side, if the team is not championship bound, you need to flip your 19 and 20 year old assets to other teams to acquire picks to make those deals in the future.

 

[stickhandle]

People point to Killer as a great junior hockey coach and he was. However, he was an average GM. He put together good teams but he did so by getting the most out of "his" players. The emphasis is on "his." He wouldn't make sweeping trades for the purpose of contending and he wouldn't make those trades for the purpose of rebuilding. This made the 67's a great team to watch most years but it did nothing for championships. For the sheer number of years he was in the OHL, he won a grand total of three OHL championships and two of those were won when we only had 15 teams in the league. When you are in it for over 30 years that is not the greatest. When you consider how many times he went to the semi finals and finals but was unable to close the door, it is even more telling that he wasn't willing to play the game to win the hardware.

.

Chirping Killer that does alot for your credibility

 

[OMG67]

Chirping Killer that does alot for your credibility

There is no questioning Killer as a tremendous coach. He was an average General Manager. It was his coaching that rose his teams near the top. It was his GM skills or lack thereof that kept his teams from going over the top.

This is a fact.

 

[analyser]

I agree with OMG67, we have had some really good teams but maybe we were missing 1 key ingredient and nothing was done. For example when Foy and Locke were here, we played in the finals but could of used another experienced forward to push us over the top.

Killer was very good coaching the resources we had but was not adept at obtaining additional pieces to fit the puzzle.

Over 30 years we should of had more OHL championships and trips to the memorial cup.

 

[beastintheeast]

Killer made the deals that created this team. Did the players let him down at times. IMHO yes.

Killer had the belief that the OHL was there to develop players and to bring exciting hockey to Ottawa every year.

You can chirp all you want about whether he was a great GM but i personally would say that yes he was. He found players in later rounds that others missed.

He drafted and developed teams that year in and year our were contenders and brought exciting hockey to Ottawa.

Why was it Couture came to Ottawa. Simple once he missed the top he said it ws the only team he would play for

Remember also that the owners that Killer worked for did not want to break the bank for this team and it was a very frugal set up.

 

[Kenny Bania]

Why was it Couture came to Ottawa. Simple once he missed the top he said it ws the only team he would play for

Kilrea was on Liam McGuire's show last Saturday and the guest host (Dave Gross) was asking him about his relationship with Cherry.

One of the stories he recalled was the 2005 draft. The couldn't believe Couture was still there at their pick - everyone was scared of him threatening to go the scholarship route. So the 67's took him without ever speaking to him or his family.

So a few weeks later the Memorial Cup is in London and Cherry finds out that Couture's parents are there, goes up to them and tells them how lucky they are to have their son playing for Killer. Kilrea said that pretty much sealed the deal for him to come to Ottawa.

 

[OMG67]

Killer made the deals that created this team. Did the players let him down at times. IMHO yes.

Killer had the belief that the OHL was there to develop players and to bring exciting hockey to Ottawa every year.

You can chirp all you want about whether he was a great GM but i personally would say that yes he was. He found players in later rounds that others missed.

He drafted and developed teams that year in and year our were contenders and brought exciting hockey to Ottawa.

Why was it Couture came to Ottawa. Simple once he missed the top he said it ws the only team he would play for

Remember also that the owners that Killer worked for did not want to break the bank for this team and it was a very frugal set up.

Most teams get lucky now and then with players deep in the draft; however, if we are speaking in general terms, the top 5 draft picks usually make the team. Outside the top 5 rounds, there were not many players that made an impact in Ottawa. You can list them if you want but I could also list many other team's picks outside the top 5 rounds that made an impact.

I would suggest that Killer's coaching ability is what made the impact. It was his ability to tap into what made a player tick and bring out the best in that player.

The Ottawa 67's lost in the finals in 1997, 1998, 2003, and 2005. Each of those years other than 2005 the 67's should have and could have won the OHL Championship. They had contender type teams in 1996, 1999, and 2000 as well. they won the Championship in 2001. Killer was unwilling to make the sort of deals necessary to put his teams over the top.

When the 67's were in the crapper, he refused to trade the likes of Joslin, McGinn, Couture etc to give the team the necessary boost the following year. We continued to dwell in the basement with no hope of getting out.

This league is dedicated to the development of hockey players and that is true; however, the individual teams should be in business to win championships. Settling for mediocrity or just above for the sake of player loyalty is, in my opinion, a flawed way of operating a team.

As long as players are given an opportunity to develop their skills and not just play defense first, the obligation is being met on behalf of the team. I hate when teams install systems of defense that shackle the players ability to create offensively. Killer never did this as a coach. I loved that about him. I think Killer exceeded all expectations to the player as a coach but as a GM he did a disservice to the hockey fans of Ottawa.