Ottawa 67's 2016-17 Season Thread (Part 2)

[EasternOntario Fan]

Great win. That said, we all need to temper our excitement a little. It is not like Mississauga brought its "A" game today. They looked very disinterested for long stretches of the game. I think shutting them down in the first period really helped put them to sleep.

With any luck the lack of a crowd lulled them to sleep. That bodes well for the 67's because there will be a lack of a crowd in Ottawa on Tuesday and Thursday!

The OHL site stated they had a crowd of 2500 today. I think the 67's will be VERY hard pressed to top that number in either game. I will be surprised if we manage to get 2000 out.

I agree with most of that--it was a nice win and should give the 67's some confidence, but it is a long series and Mississauga is still the better team. I have voiced my opinion on matching lines, and obviously it is harder to do on the road--but I think Game 1 showed that we can't play our top line against their top line, that would be a very bad matchup for the 67's in my opinion. Hopefully there will be a decent crowd.

 

[Buttsy]

I think the 67's will be VERY hard pressed to top that number in either game. I will be surprised if we manage to get 2000 out.

Wow didn't realize it was that bad? Typical or just a reaction to the feeling of most likely being "one and done" do you think? Yikes....

 

[sirius67fan]

Wow didn't realize it was that bad? Typical or just a reaction to the feeling of most likely being "one and done" do you think? Yikes....

Not typical as our average is higher than that (far from our heydays however) but games during the week are just not a big draw. Tough for working people to get to.

 

[OMG67]

Not typical as our average is higher than that (far from our heydays however) but games during the week are just not a big draw. Tough for working people to get to.

I'm gonna call ******** on that one, sir. This has nothing to do with "hard to get to. If the Senators can coral 18 THOUSAND on a Tuesday night in Kanata then I think the 67's can coral 8000 for a playoff game. The problem is people "choose" not to go for a multitude of reasons. The main one being that people don't care enough to inconvenience themselves because they simply don't care about the team enough.

On top of that, all those promotions go away in the playoffs. So, people that go because of some sort of "special" no longer get that special. What the 67's do not understand is people that get those specials view that as the "price" or "cost" so when they have to pay regular price, they don't do it because it is above what their perceived cost is. IT is a coupon clipper scenario. Many people only go to restaurants they have coupons for. So, this "Prospects" promotion they have doesn't garner success unless the promotion is on. Very few of the tens of thousands of kids that got free tickets throughout the season will attend a playoff game unless they get their ticket for free.

The attendance, or lack thereof, is about awareness and popularity. People are not aware and they aren't popular enough for people to go. The 67's are irrelevant in Ottawa. We are back to the days of Earl Montagano. The funny part is they actually spend money marketing and a have large team of people working on attendance as opposed to Earl who had Doug Drain doing everything as one person. That shows even more how useless this organization is. At least Earl didn't spend hundreds fo thousands to make dozens of dollars.

 

[General Zodd]

At least Earl didn't spend hundreds fo thousands to make dozens of dollars.

Awe the good old days. Yes Earl and Howard (mostly Earl) would hardy spend a dime on promotion. Simply just the front doors and watch em walk in. I remember those pity crowds on the late 90's (ironic cause the Earl 67's were simply dominant I that era) However I also remember the great crowds of the late 70's and 80's. Attendance would actually slowly as the year progressed. By playoff time the 67's were the big ticket item in town and crowds of 7-9,000 were not out of the question. Not sure what that organization up there is doing to remain so "has-been" but congrats on that!

If the Senators can coral 18 THOUSAND on a Tuesday night in Kanata then I think the 67's can coral 8000 for a playoff game. The problem is people "choose" not to go for a multitude of reasons. The main one being that people don't care enough to inconvenience themselves because they simply don't care about the team enough.

BINGO!!

The 67's are irrelevant in Ottawa. We are back to the days of Earl Montagano. The funny part is they actually spend money marketing and a have large team of people working on attendance as opposed to Earl who had Doug Drain doing everything as one person. That shows even more how useless this organization is. At least Earl didn't spend hundreds fo thousands to make dozens of dollars.

It may come back. Popularity goes in cycles. Like I've stated before - sell the team to vested owners who have deep pockets that will keep the team in Ottawa and build a new arena. Clone the Bob over in Hull. It is the perfect rink for junior hockey. Slanted angle seating right on top of the play is the way to go. 4,000 seats is all you need in the OHL for it have niche. Build smaller. Why do you think CFL teams are building smaller stadiums now? Because having a 25,000 seat stadium creates more demand. Something I hope the Argos here in TO are going to learn. Either that or sell the team and relocate it to another Ontario city that wants a franchise.

 

[overtheboards]

Awe the good old days. Yes Earl and Howard (mostly Earl) would hardy spend a dime on promotion. Simply just the front doors and watch em walk in. I remember those pity crowds on the late 90's (ironic cause the Earl 67's were simply dominant I that era) However I also remember the great crowds of the late 70's and 80's. Attendance would actually slowly as the year progressed. By playoff time the 67's were the big ticket item in town and crowds of 7-9,000 were not out of the question. Not sure what that organization up there is doing to remain so "has-been" but congrats on that!



BINGO!!



It may come back. Popularity goes in cycles. Like I've stated before - sell the team to vested owners who have deep pockets that will keep the team in Ottawa and build a new arena. Clone the Bob over in Hull. It is the perfect rink for junior hockey. Slanted angle seating right on top of the play is the way to go. 4,000 seats is all you need in the OHL for it have niche. Build smaller. Why do you think CFL teams are building smaller stadiums now? Because having a 25,000 seat stadium creates more demand. Something I hope the Argos here in TO are going to learn. Either that or sell the team and relocate it to another Ontario city that wants a franchise.

Said it at the beginning of the year , send the 67s to Belleville and have the BABY SENS play at TD PLACE

 

[Larionov]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see the 67's take one in Mississauga. If they can take one at home they'll have officially exceeded expectations.

Yes, the home crowd for the first round of the playoffs will be poor, especially mid-week. As has been mentioned, all of the discounted tickets go away, plus the fact that it is the first round - when 16 out of 20 teams in the league make the playoffs, it's tough to make the first round feel special. Now, win this round and get to the second round and things would start to change. Get to the Conference Final and you would start to fill the place...

 

[OMG67]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see the 67's take one in Mississauga. If they can take one at home they'll have officially exceeded expectations.

Yes, the home crowd for the first round of the playoffs will be poor, especially mid-week. As has been mentioned, all of the discounted tickets go away, plus the fact that it is the first round - when 16 out of 20 teams in the league make the playoffs, it's tough to make the first round feel special. Now, win this round and get to the second round and things would start to change. Get to the Conference Final and you would start to fill the place...

Not gonna happen. First, they are not going to win the series and if I am wrong and they did win the series, they'd still be the AWAY team meaning they will end up with Tuesday and Thursday night game 3 and game 4.

The 67's are not relevant anymore. They have no marketable players. They won't have one next year either. They've alienated the vast majority of their dedicated fan base and have not done anything to try to regain those people.

They are trying to bring in the pennies at the expense of the long term dollars.

They need to make an investment but that investment will always conflict with other business; therefore, the 67's are in the toilet with no way of jumping out. It is the new reality.

The only way to save this team is to have a high profile marketable player OR host a Memorial Cup. They walked away fromt he opportunity to host the Cup so now they need to find a marketable player. They can't do that without drafting one. Good luck getting that guy at #6.

 

[General Zodd]

The only way to save this team is to have a high profile marketable player OR host a Memorial Cup. They walked away fromt he opportunity to host the Cup so now they need to find a marketable player.

They walked away because they knew they didn't have horses to complete. No sense hosting when your team mediocre at best. The writing was on the wall. Even IF by some miracle they upset Missy they still going to have to battle the Sens and their playoff run to compete for fans. I learned long ago in that town that the media will always follow the darlings of hockey. Only if they get a few weekend and preferably night games will they draw half decently. Ottawa is a fickle market. Unlike Calgary (same size as Ottawa) the 67's don't have the relevance stamp on their back like the Hitmen do.

..... They've alienated the vast majority of their dedicated fan base and have not done anything to try to regain those people.

Nor have they done anything to regain the tattered and lost relationships of their fans. Someone didn't care in the front office and neither should his former fans? . Let the franchise die a slow death as far as I'm concerned. Or sell the team to someone serious!

 

[OMG67]

They walked away because they knew they didn't have horses to complete. No sense hosting when your team mediocre at best. The writing was on the wall. Even IF by some miracle they upset Missy they still going to have to battle the Sens and their playoff run to compete for fans. I learned long ago in that town that the media will always follow the darlings of hockey. Only if they get a few weekend and preferably night games will they draw half decently. Ottawa is a fickle market. Unlike Calgary (same size as Ottawa) the 67's don't have the relevance stamp on their back like the Hitmen do.




Nor have they done anything to regain the tattered and lost relationships of their fans. Someone didn't care in the front office and neither should his former fans? . Let the franchise die a slow death as far as I'm concerned. Or sell the team to someone serious!

First, I am not 100% sure they are allowed to sell the team. They do have an operations agreement with the City of Ottawa. I know the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park was the main element but there may be some legal contracting that ensures the 67's remain at Lansdowne. Again, I am speculating.

Second, if they do sell the team, they would still need to play out of Lansdowne. There is no way the City will extend funding for a new arena, not after the money they dropped into Lansdowne. That would mean a new owner may need to foot the bill themselves. There is not a Business Plan out there based on OHL hockey that would turn a. Profit. IT will be difficult to book other events with Lansdowne in play as well as CTC and CTC's future replacement.

The only scenario that would make any sense is Melnyk buying the team, moving it to Kanata and they play out of CTC. They install the same type curtains as Hamilton has. They would definitly draw a bigger crowd. Kanata would support them for sure. The crowds at CTC were higher than the crowds at TD Place. The only issue is what happens when the Sens move into the new downtown rink? They will tear down CTC and develop the land for sure.

The only possible thing I could see is potentially tacking on a 5000 seat rink at Sensplex. They'd have parking etc. And the complex already has other rinks and a restaurant etc. So, it is not like they'd have to build an entire complex.

The last option is selling them and relocating but that would have many hurdles and I doubt the league would allow it.

 

[sec20forever]

ottawa 67s

They were not going to get the cup for the lack of boxes and parking and they new that. If I hear is true they play alot more games on fridays next year.

 

[OMG67]

They were not going to get the cup for the lack of boxes and parking and they new that. If I hear is true they play alot more games on fridays next year.

Excuses. No parking for 20+thousand for Red Blacks games is not an issue. They could have set up a shuttle system for the games with ease. The logistics is already in place.

How many boxes does Regina have? We have nearly 9000 seats and as part of a MEmorial Cup bid they may have found reason to repair/replace the boxes as an investment in the future.

The only reason why we don't have a competitive team for next season is because they made other choices like keeping three 16 year old D-Men. They could have made investments in next year. Bitten was available. We picked up Felhaber. We picked up Foget. The rules regarding compensation for Imports is different. We could pay Tyanulin a decent salary to play next year as an OA. We'd still have an additional OA spot for a D-Man and then go get another 19 year old D-Man. That would lay the foundation.

All I ever hear now for theis organization or those that support them are excuses for futility.

How about we start looking for ways to make things HAPPEN instead of looking at all the ways to keep things from happening.

 

[General Zodd]

.... there may be some legal contracting that ensures the 67's remain at Lansdowne. Again, I am speculating.

Good point. That may be a factor in all of this.

The only scenario that would make any sense is Melnyk buying the team, moving it to Kanata and they play out of CTC. They install the same type curtains as Hamilton has. They would definitly draw a bigger crowd. Kanata would support them for sure. The crowds at CTC were higher than the crowds at TD Place. The only issue is what happens when the Sens move into the new downtown rink? They will tear down CTC and develop the land for sure.

I would be in favor of this. Melnyk could rename the team to a Kanata moniker or just buy the Ottawa West Golden Knights Junior A Tier 2 name and move it up to Tier 1. Most people west of Bank Street whine and ***** about the CTC anyway so why cater to a certain segment of the city that won't even support them anyway?

The only possible thing I could see is potentially tacking on a 5000 seat rink at Sensplex.

Back in '83 when I lived in Nepean there was talk about expanding the Sportsplex to 15,000 seats to support an Ottawa NHL franchise. We lost the bid to New Jersey and I result have always hated the Devils. Anyway we were all favor of this but realistically people would probably object to this idea today citing west end favoritism. Again may be to change the team name to incorporate a "WEST theme!"

 

[OMG67]

Good point. That may be a factor in all of this.



I would be in favor of this. Melnyk could rename the team to a Kanata moniker or just buy the Ottawa West Golden Knights Junior A Tier 2 name and move it up to Tier 1. Most people west of Bank Street whine and ***** about the CTC anyway so why cater to a certain segment of the city that won't even support them anyway?



Back in '83 when I lived in Nepean there was talk about expanding the Sportsplex to 15,000 seats to support an Ottawa NHL franchise. We lost the bid to New Jersey and I result have always hated the Devils. Anyway we were all favor of this but realistically people would probably object to this idea today citing west end favoritism. Again may be to change the team name to incorporate a "WEST theme!"

I don't think it would be a good public relations move to change the team name. I don't favour that move. With some of the history surrounding the Ottawa 67's, most notably Brian Kilrea, I think it would be an insult to change the name or remove the barber poles.

Nepean Sportsplex would not work. There is no parking and nowhere else to park that could be a decent shuttle zone. Although, sometime in the future there may be an LRT I think that will run from Baseline to Barrhaven. Also, I am not sure how they would renovate the Yzerman to make that work. The side where there is a lane going to the back isn't very wide to add seating.

Adding a pad to Sensplex could garner a lot of interest for regular ice time rentals on top of the stadium seating. BEcause it is in Kanata there may be some local advantage of having 5k seats for non-hockey events? Considering they already own the land and wouldn't really need to do to much on the development side, I think the cost of adding a 5000-6000 seat rink would be in the neibourhood of $40mil.

 

[OMG67]

Someone out there can correct me BUT, I am pretty sure the "Prospects" promotion is not extended into the playoffs.

Also, Missy had 2200 last night for a make up game.

All that being said, I am pretty sure that the crowds in Ottawa on a Tuesday and Thursday night will be horrific. It might not be as low as 1000 but I can't see it being higher than 1500. Missy will probably be around 2500 for both days since it is a weekend.

It will not be a money making series for anyone, that is for sure. But, that is what happens when you alienate a fan base.

I was wrong. I said no more than 1500 but there were 1676.

 

[General Zodd]

I was wrong. I said no more than 1500 but there were 1676.

Wow. That actually would be a capacity crowd at the old St. Michael's College School Arena. Impressive Ottawa!

Oh and I predicted a Missy win tonight.


Ok back over to see if my Dogs can win in OT!

 

[BarberPole9]

Not our best effort out there tonight, it felt like the team was playing not to lose. Would love to see Tyanulin and Foget out there together more often to get things going.
Lousy crowd tonight- hopefully will be better on Thursday.

 

[OMG67]

Not our best effort out there tonight, it felt like the team was playing not to lose. Would love to see Tyanulin and Foget out there together more often to get things going.
Lousy crowd tonight- hopefully will be better on Thursday.

Better crowd? GLWT. Won't be 2000

 

[EasternOntario Fan]

Not our best effort out there tonight, it felt like the team was playing not to lose. Would love to see Tyanulin and Foget out there together more often to get things going.
Lousy crowd tonight- hopefully will be better on Thursday.

I thought it was a very good effort--the 67's cannot run and gun against Missy as they will lose that type of series every time. They need to play more defensively aware to cover up the lack of experience there, and take chances offensively when an opportunity arises. I don't care what anyone says about Barron, he is certainly bringing it every shift--also like the way Steege is also throwing the body at every chance.

Pet peeve for tonights game, and it is totally irrelevant, but who is the complete moron choosing the stars? I know it means nothing to players--but Barron battles all game long and idiot gives Dorval a star, seriously? No disrespect to Dorval intended by this at all, but he got in a fight and I am not sure I noticed him except for that. Again, this is not about play of Dorval at all, but obviously clown knows zero about hockey. Best of luck Thursday.

 

[OMG67]

I thought it was a very good effort--the 67's cannot run and gun against Missy as they will lose that type of series every time. They need to play more defensively aware to cover up the lack of experience there, and take chances offensively when an opportunity arises. I don't care what anyone says about Barron, he is certainly bringing it every shift--also like the way Steege is also throwing the body at every chance.

Pet peeve for tonights game, and it is totally irrelevant, but who is the complete moron choosing the stars? I know it means nothing to players--but Barron battles all game long and idiot gives Dorval a star, seriously? No disrespect to Dorval intended by this at all, but he got in a fight and I am not sure I noticed him except for that. Again, this is not about play of Dorval at all, but obviously clown knows zero about hockey. Best of luck Thursday.

Agreed. Barron is a playoff guy for sure BUT, at 3rd overall, I'd still rather have had McLEod or have traded McLeod and ended up with Gallant (who was picked 5th the following draft) as compensation plus the picks. So any criticism of Barron is based on what we could have had as opposed to what we do have.

I also agree regarding the choice to play a tight game. To me the turning point in the series was game two when we lulled Missy to sleep. Unfortunately, they came out and scored 10 seconds into the 2nd before we could keep them sleeping and Leo gave up a stinker for the 2nd goal. The way we are playing and sitting back is perfect for this series. We have enough explosive speed up front to get some scoring opportunities and Ingram shut the door today.

We are still in tough to win this series BUT the team has shown the ability to slow the game down and make the Steelheads play with us as opposed to us having to play with them which is a sure loss.

 

[connor macdavid]

Pet peeve for tonights game, and it is totally irrelevant, but who is the complete moron choosing the stars? I know it means nothing to players--but Barron battles all game long and idiot gives Dorval a star, seriously? No disrespect to Dorval intended by this at all, but he got in a fight and I am not sure I noticed him except for that. Again, this is not about play of Dorval at all, but obviously clown knows zero about hockey. Best of luck Thursday.

Pretty sure it's the TSN 1200 crew's selection.

Still hate the blatant homer-ism in giving two of three stars to the losing team. Dorval given third star for...getting in a very meh fight?

 

[Larionov]

I don't think the 67's are going anywhere for the forseeable future. They are part of the OSEG family, as it were, and are an anchor tenant in that building. They are Jeff Hunt's baby, and I just can't see him giving them up that easily.

My question is about the long range plan for the team on the ice. It has now been five years since this team won a round in the playoffs and this year the team clearly regressed, so much so that the club had to abandon ship on a Memorial Cup bid for next year. My question is - what happened? Why did the rebuilding plan, which was to see this club get ready to make a decent run in 2018, get set back? I know that the club drafted very poorly during a chunk of the Chris Byrne era, and bad drafting will always haunt you for a while, but we should be reaching the time soon when the players are Brown's picks and not someone else's.

 

[OMG67]

I don't think the 67's are going anywhere for the forseeable future. They are part of the OSEG family, as it were, and are an anchor tenant in that building. They are Jeff Hunt's baby, and I just can't see him giving them up that easily.

My question is about the long range plan for the team on the ice. It has now been five years since this team won a round in the playoffs and this year the team clearly regressed, so much so that the club had to abandon ship on a Memorial Cup bid for next year. My question is - what happened? Why did the rebuilding plan, which was to see this club get ready to make a decent run in 2018, get set back? I know that the club drafted very poorly during a chunk of the Chris Byrne era, and bad drafting will always haunt you for a while, but we should be reaching the time soon when the players are Brown's picks and not someone else's.

If you were to sit down with Jeff Brown and have a candid conversation, he would tell you that the 2018-2019 season is the goal for a Championship. The problem is there is a development gap between forward and defense.

The 2018-2019 potential roster:
Keating-Chmelevski-2017 1st round pick (potentially Graeme Clarke?)
Felhaber (OA)-Barron (OA)-Clark
Evans-Bitten-Hoelscher
Yule-2018 1st round pick-2018 2nd round pick

Hoefenmeyer-Bahl
Stratis-Wilson
Robertson-Auger

Lafreniere (OA)
2017 2nd Round pick

That still leaves us with two Import spots an all of our future draft picks. If that is the roster, I think we will be ok. But, Barron may very well sign an NHL deal and not be here. I say it is 50-50. Lafreniere could prove to not be a #1 goalie, Chmelevski may prove to have already hit his ceiling as is feared right now and none of Clark, Evans, Bitten, Hoelscher, and Yule take a step forward next year to play a significant role the following year. Then what?

 

[EasternOntario Fan]

Pretty sure it's the TSN 1200 crew's selection.

Still hate the blatant homer-ism in giving two of three stars to the losing team. Dorval given third star for...getting in a very meh fight?

Like I said, stars mean nothing--and I understand home teams pull the homer thing, but if someone with any knowledge of hockey watched that game and didn't or couldn't recognize that Barron was Ottawa's best player BY FAR, they obviously don't understand the game. Heck I could pick at least five Ottawa players more deserving. Again, ZERO slight against Dorval, as I don't recall him getting much ice time to try and make a difference, as Brown shorted the bench.

 

[EasternOntario Fan]

I don't think the 67's are going anywhere for the forseeable future. They are part of the OSEG family, as it were, and are an anchor tenant in that building. They are Jeff Hunt's baby, and I just can't see him giving them up that easily.

My question is about the long range plan for the team on the ice. It has now been five years since this team won a round in the playoffs and this year the team clearly regressed, so much so that the club had to abandon ship on a Memorial Cup bid for next year. My question is - what happened? Why did the rebuilding plan, which was to see this club get ready to make a decent run in 2018, get set back? I know that the club drafted very poorly during a chunk of the Chris Byrne era, and bad drafting will always haunt you for a while, but we should be reaching the time soon when the players are Brown's picks and not someone else's.

What happened is they decided to ice three 16 year old defence. No team could be very successful doing that.