Ottawa 67's 2018-19 Season Thread (Part 3)

[sirius67fan]

At this very early juncture trying to guess next year's lineup is very difficult but let's give it a shot for Draft purposes:

FORWARDS
Keating-Rossi-Clarke
Bitten-Hoelscher-Quinn
Yule-Tolnai-Maggio
Crete-open-Jesse Dick

WILDCARDS being Ambrosio and Peterson if they decided to come. This is a good group in the top 7 (counting on a big jump from Tolnai) or so but could use some help for sure.

DEFENCEMEN
Bahl-Rippon
Okhotyuk-Peric
Wilson-Belanger

LARGE WILDCARD being Hoefenmayer should he not go pro. He certainly deserves to go pro so I hope that he signs. The team absolutely needs to inject some youth into this group because as Sirius said, we will definitley lose Bahl, Okhotyuk and Wilson after the season and possibly Rippon as well. If somehow Hoefenmayer was returned the team would absolutely have an excess of returnees because they badly need to get Belanger going fulltime. It would be a very, very tough decision as to which player to move.

GOALIE
Andree
Cranley

As good of a group going into a season as the team has had in a long while.

As you mention if Hoef is back we have a big decision as Belanger needs/deserves regular minutes and I suspect our first pick will be a D. So I think we need to consider trading Wilson and possibly Okhotiuk. My reasoning is by trading Wilson we can add a top 6 OA and we can likely get a good return (2nd, 3rd ? In offseason for a top 4 D). As for Okhotiuk as much as I like him we can use the spot for a top import so we don't lose both our imports in one year as not convinced Rossi will be here for 3. Boyd has proven he will go after top imports so maybe he targets another one. Can also get a good return for a top 4 D import 2nd/3rd also?.OMG our value specialist what 's your take on what we could get for those two in offseason? Anyway our D would then look like this
Hoef/Bahl
Rippon/Peric
Belanger/First rounder
Sftill pretty good and we have a good care for the year after. Argument could be made to keep one of Wilson Okhotiuk however as between injuries, Bahl possibly at juniors there will be icetime.

 

[sirius67fan]

Can you post a link to the article where Prospect Pipeline says this is a strong draft? Would be interested to read it. All others are saying this is a flat draft, especially after first 5 or 10 picks.

Yes Barber Pole I'd like to see that also as I've mostly heard its not a great year.

 

[OMG67]

As you mention if Hoef is back we have a big decision as Belanger needs/deserves regular minutes and I suspect our first pick will be a D. So I think we need to consider trading Wilson and possibly Okhotiuk. My reasoning is by trading Wilson we can add a top 6 OA and we can likely get a good return (2nd, 3rd ? In offseason for a top 4 D). As for Okhotiuk as much as I like him we can use the spot for a top import so we don't lose both our imports in one year as not convinced Rossi will be here for 3. Boyd has proven he will go after top imports so maybe he targets another one. Can also get a good return for a top 4 D import 2nd/3rd also?.OMG our value specialist what 's your take on what we could get for those two in offseason? Anyway our D would then look like this
Hoef/Bahl
Rippon/Peric
Belanger/First rounder
Sftill pretty good and we have a good care for the year after. Argument could be made to keep one of Wilson Okhotiuk however as between injuries, Bahl possibly at juniors there will be icetime.

I’d be taking a much different stance than your proposal. I’d be trading Kevin Bahl.

This is our year to make a push. Next year should be a strong reset. With what we have returning, we can certainly afford to trade Bahl and recoup the assets for future deals. He would garner a serious return, maybe even a 2019 1st in a package. If not, it would be of the three or four 2nds variety.

I see Oshawa being head and shoulders the top team in the East next year after the deals they made this year. IT is why I felt they had the best deadline. I am not sure we have the stomach to make the deals required next year to compete at their level. This year we managed to trade from our surplus of picks. Next year we’d have to trade the remainder of them and be in draft oblivion going forward.

I’d also take stock of Hoelscher at the deadline and assess whether he will sign his Entry Level Contract and move on or be an OA the following year. I would deal him if it looked likely he would move on and not return as an OA.

That would set us up nicely for the following two seasons. We’d have Andree as an OA and Cranley in the fold for the following season. We have a solid crop of 16 and 17 year olds right now. We have the picks in this draft plus the potential to reach out to our NCAA commits from the 2018 draft.

To me, this makes much more sense.

Trading Okhotyuk and Wilson is meaningless other than opening roster spots for other players. Wilson might get you a 3rd and same with Okhotyuk. One is an Import and the other an OA. Neither have real value.

 

[sirius67fan]

I’d be taking a much different stance than your proposal. I’d be trading Kevin Bahl.

This is our year to make a push. Next year should be a strong reset. With what we have returning, we can certainly afford to trade Bahl and recoup the assets for future deals. He would garner a serious return, maybe even a 2019 1st in a package. If not, it would be of the three or four 2nds variety.

I see Oshawa being head and shoulders the top team in the East next year after the deals they made this year. IT is why I felt they had the best deadline. I am not sure we have the stomach to make the deals required next year to compete at their level. This year we managed to trade from our surplus of picks. Next year we’d have to trade the remainder of them and be in draft oblivion going forward.

I’d also take stock of Hoelscher at the deadline and assess whether he will sign his Entry Level Contract and move on or be an OA the following year. I would deal him if it looked likely he would move on and not return as an OA.

That would set us up nicely for the following two seasons. We’d have Andree as an OA and Cranley in the fold for the following season. We have a solid crop of 16 and 17 year olds right now. We have the picks in this draft plus the potential to reach out to our NCAA commits from the 2018 draft.

To me, this makes much more sense.

Trading Okhotyuk and Wilson is meaningless other than opening roster spots for other players. Wilson might get you a 3rd and same with Okhotyuk. One is an Import and the other an OA. Neither have real value.

I guess we continue to disagree about Oshawa's deadline moves. You see them as great and I see them as lateral moves especially for next year. Further I don't see them as head and shoulders above us. Imo we have an edge in goal and the D corps are a wash. I give them a slight edge up front. Don't forget they are losing Saigeon, Salinitri, Eggenburger Mattinen and most likey Keyser plus 3 other 19 y.o. by my count. That's a lot to replace! I really don't feel we're far behind for next year.
Anyway if all we could get for Wilson/Okhotiuk are thirds I do like your idea of shopping Bahl as he could bring back a lot. Would still leave us wit a D of:
Okhotiuk/Rippon
Wilson/Hoef
Peric/Belanger
1rst/2nd picks
Assuming we get Hoef back which started this discussion. If not a top four of Okh/Rip/Wil/Per is stll pretty good and I think with a few adds up front we can compete with Oshawa.

 

[sirius67fan]

Both prospect Pipeline and OHL prospects mocks give us Deni Goure a forward with our first rounder. I still think we go D.

 

[OMG67]

I guess we continue to disagree about Oshawa's deadline moves. You see them as great and I see them as lateral moves especially for next year. Further I don't see them as head and shoulders above us. Imo we have an edge in goal and the D corps are a wash. I give them a slight edge up front. Don't forget they are losing Saigeon, Salinitri, Eggenburger Mattinen and most likey Keyser plus 3 other 19 y.o. by my count. That's a lot to replace! I really don't feel we're far behind for next year.
Anyway if all we could get for Wilson/Okhotiuk are thirds I do like your idea of shopping Bahl as he could bring back a lot. Would still leave us wit a D of:
Okhotiuk/Rippon
Wilson/Hoef
Peric/Belanger
1rst/2nd picks
Assuming we get Hoef back which started this discussion. If not a top four of Okh/Rip/Wil/Per is stll pretty good and I think with a few adds up front we can compete with Oshawa.

The mistake many make is looking at what a team doesn’t have as opposed to what they do have. Oshawa has a lot of firepower coming back next year and a lot of it is top end.

Brett Neumann will return as an OA and should be top 10 in scoring.
Seron Noel may challenge for MVP.
McShane, Tullio and Antropov are all high end forwards.

They return their entire defense except Mattinen.

Keyser more than likely graduates but they will be able to find a goalie, probably in the Import draft.

They have a boatload of picks to help fill the rest of their roster.

Their moves this year were brilliant in my mind. They didn’t have the pieces to really put themselves ahead of us. So, they made a few sideways deals to replace the big guns they traded away and they did it by acquiring the OA’s on the cheap like we did. Then they used guys like Studnicka to acquire solid kids and picks that will be part of this group for a long time. The Brett NEumann deal was great too. It wasn’t likeNick Wong was anything special and Neumann replaces the scoring lost by Studnicka, who wouldn’t have been back next year while Neumann returns as an OA.

Considering they would have had to make the Suzuki-Durzi deal plus the Neumann deal and keep Studnicka etc to compete with us and Niagara with no real advantage, the next best alternative for them was to offset this year to next year and they did that. Plus they didn’t completely sell the farm so they see round two and give their team a chance at some needed experience. If Keyser can be stellar, maybe they even see round three.

They will go into next season as the favourite. Ottawa isn’t far behind of course but I doubt this management group will empty their cupboards to keep pace with Oshawa next year.

For Ottawa to compete at the highest level next year, they will have to make some serious decisions with respect to their future. They will have to commit to playing out all their 19 year olds. They may have to dangle their 2019 1st pick as well as the remainder of their 2nds.

We were fortunate this season was a buyers market. We cannot expect that to be the case next year. If it is a sellers market with teams like London in buy mode, it will inflate the prices to their usual level. That means the acquisition of a significant forward to replace the likes of Felhaber, Clark or Chmelevski will cost us the 2019 1st or four 2nds plus other picks.

We won’t have the luxury next year of open OA spots to fill key positions on the cheap like we had this year. Those spots are already accounted for with Keating and Wilson nailing down two of them. Both of our Import spots are filled as well so no added infusion there. It means we will have to compete on the open market for the stud 19 year olds.

To me it makes much more sense to shift forward a year and anchor our roster based on another two year window with a minor sell off next year that would still see us probably win a round in the playoffs. The foundation of our roster that season would look like:

Bitten (OA)-Rossi-Quinn
Crete-Tolnai-Clarke
Yule (OA)-Import-Maggio

Rippon (OA)-Peric
Belanger

Andree
Cranley

We have 8 picks in the top 100 this year that will be entering their 17 year old season. We have a few NCAA commits that may be able to be signed going into that season if their experience at school isn’t what was expected OR they are high NHL draft candidates and their NHL teams want to fast track them through Major Junior. Plus we’d have the player and pick capital from dealing Hoelscher and Bahl.

To me, that is a solid plan provided this year’s draft goes well and the players show well at training camp to give them a solid foundation from which to continue to build.

With 8 picks in the first 100 this season, they would all be 17 years old and be eligible to be traded that season as well. We all know there will be a bit of a log jam for those skaters so it is likely we would be able to dish a couple of them off to bolster that roster. That was something that handcuffed us this year. We managed to trade off the rights to two NCAA commits but the only 17 year olds we had were far too important to our roster to deal.

 

[OMG67]

Both prospect Pipeline and OHL prospects mocks give us Deni Goure a forward with our first rounder. I still think we go D.

The difference between pick 21 and 30-31 is negligible. I think each of those three will be used strategically. If there are a significant number of quality D-Men available at 21 and only a couple centres, they may simply go Centre to get one of the few remaining off the board while nailing down two D-Men back to back like they did with Robertson and Bahl.

 

[BarberPole9]

Yes Barber Pole I'd like to see that also as I've mostly heard its not a great year.

Prospect Pipeline‏ @NHLProspectLine 6h6 hours ago
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The 2019 #OHLDraft class is extremely deep, and the same can be said for this year's goaltending prospects. In our Final Goaltender Ranking of the season, meet our top-20 goalies as well as 15 honourable mentions to follow in the years ahead.
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[sirius67fan]

The mistake many make is looking at what a team doesn’t have as opposed to what they do have. Oshawa has a lot of firepower coming back next year and a lot of it is top end.

Brett Neumann will return as an OA and should be top 10 in scoring.
Seron Noel may challenge for MVP.
McShane, Tullio and Antropov are all high end forwards.

They return their entire defense except Mattinen.

Keyser more than likely graduates but they will be able to find a goalie, probably in the Import draft.

They have a boatload of picks to help fill the rest of their roster.

Their moves this year were brilliant in my mind. They didn’t have the pieces to really put themselves ahead of us. So, they made a few sideways deals to replace the big guns they traded away and they did it by acquiring the OA’s on the cheap like we did. Then they used guys like Studnicka to acquire solid kids and picks that will be part of this group for a long time. The Brett NEumann deal was great too. It wasn’t likeNick Wong was anything special and Neumann replaces the scoring lost by Studnicka, who wouldn’t have been back next year while Neumann returns as an OA.

Considering they would have had to make the Suzuki-Durzi deal plus the Neumann deal and keep Studnicka etc to compete with us and Niagara with no real advantage, the next best alternative for them was to offset this year to next year and they did that. Plus they didn’t completely sell the farm so they see round two and give their team a chance at some needed experience. If Keyser can be stellar, maybe they even see round three.

They will go into next season as the favourite. Ottawa isn’t far behind of course but I doubt this management group will empty their cupboards to keep pace with Oshawa next year.

For Ottawa to compete at the highest level next year, they will have to make some serious decisions with respect to their future. They will have to commit to playing out all their 19 year olds. They may have to dangle their 2019 1st pick as well as the remainder of their 2nds.

We were fortunate this season was a buyers market. We cannot expect that to be the case next year. If it is a sellers market with teams like London in buy mode, it will inflate the prices to their usual level. That means the acquisition of a significant forward to replace the likes of Felhaber, Clark or Chmelevski will cost us the 2019 1st or four 2nds plus other picks.

We won’t have the luxury next year of open OA spots to fill key positions on the cheap like we had this year. Those spots are already accounted for with Keating and Wilson nailing down two of them. Both of our Import spots are filled as well so no added infusion there. It means we will have to compete on the open market for the stud 19 year olds.

To me it makes much more sense to shift forward a year and anchor our roster based on another two year window with a minor sell off next year that would still see us probably win a round in the playoffs. The foundation of our roster that season would look like:

Bitten (OA)-Rossi-Quinn
Crete-Tolnai-Clarke
Yule (OA)-Import-Maggio

Rippon (OA)-Peric
Belanger

Andree
Cranley

We have 8 picks in the top 100 this year that will be entering their 17 year old season. We have a few NCAA commits that may be able to be signed going into that season if their experience at school isn’t what was expected OR they are high NHL draft candidates and their NHL teams want to fast track them through Major Junior. Plus we’d have the player and pick capital from dealing Hoelscher and Bahl.

To me, that is a solid plan provided this year’s draft goes well and the players show well at training camp to give them a solid foundation from which to continue to build.

With 8 picks in the first 100 this season, they would all be 17 years old and be eligible to be traded that season as well. We all know there will be a bit of a log jam for those skaters so it is likely we would be able to dish a couple of them off to bolster that roster. That was something that handcuffed us this year. We managed to trade off the rights to two NCAA commits but the only 17 year olds we had were far too important to our roster to deal.

Interesting read as always OMG and I guess I'd be more open about Oshawa's moves had they not spent assets on Saigeon/Mattinen this year that they could use next ( our draft cupboards are similar BTW). If they come out of the east I'll bow to their gm as then it will have proven brilliant but I think its unlikely they get through Niagara and us barring an upset by Sudbury. A lot will depend next year on not only who comes back but who takes the next step on those two rosters which is huge in junior. You are right Ottawa has a decision next year go for it with a stellar d-core returning or a mini-sell to give us a 2-3 year competitive window. As Barber Pole said I'd like us to become London east as theoretically we have the city, assets and financial backing to become a choice destination for top U.S/ imports. Tourigny/Boyd seem to be putting in a good program to develop kids and to be perennial contenders. Only question is the will and the priority there for OSEG ?

 

[OMG67]

Interesting read as always OMG and I guess I'd be more open about Oshawa's moves had they not spent assets on Saigeon/Mattinen this year that they could use next ( our draft cupboards are similar BTW). If they come out of the east I'll bow to their gm as then it will have proven brilliant but I think its unlikely they get through Niagara and us barring an upset by Sudbury. A lot will depend next year on not only who comes back but who takes the next step on those two rosters which is huge in junior. You are right Ottawa has a decision next year go for it with a stellar d-core returning or a mini-sell to give us a 2-3 year competitive window. As Barber Pole said I'd like us to become London east as theoretically we have the city, assets and financial backing to become a choice destination for top U.S/ imports. Tourigny/Boyd seem to be putting in a good program to develop kids and to be perennial contenders. Only question is the will and the priority there for OSEG ?

A few variables:
1> Can OSEG be a factor? They are losing money. The Lansdowne project is not generating the type of revenue it projected. The development in general (restaurants and retail outlets) is not making money outside of a handful of outlets.
2> A lot has been said about under the table deals in the OHL. Both Windsor and Niagara have been caught. We know it is reasonably certain teams are paying top players in some way or another. That can be easier when there is a singular owner. But, when you need to report to a board to financial matters, it is unlikely Ottawa would have the means to “compete” openly for these types of players.
3> I agree about the development but this tandem has not been here long enough to create a track record. Jeff Brown deserves just as much credit for all this as Boyd. Plus, Tourigny is probably going to be NHL bound again soon. If I were a parent with a kid looking ahead four years, I would want to know there was stability of coaching etc. It would be different for an 18 year old NCAA commit after their NHL draft year but either way, I am not sure this combo has much clout yet. It is a far cry from the Hunters that own the team and also operate it. That stability and overall track record trumps Ottawa hands down.

Regarding the Generals, the cost to acquire for Saigeon and Mattinen was small. Those acquisitions kept the team relevant to their fans and kept filling the building through end of season and now into the playoffs. IT generated a significant amount of revenue. IT kept the fan base engaged. It will also go a long way to continuing to develop the returning players net year.

They traded:
Wong
Brassard
Studnicka
Henderson
Rupoli
Ceci
Two 2nds
4th
6th

for:

Mattinen
Saigeon
Neumann
Leyton Moore (2018 1st rounder)
Schell
Two 10th’s

Out of all that, they actually have a better team this year. I like Studnicka but I think he is overrated. I think he is a solid NHL prospect but as a Major Junior player, he isn’t as impactful as his status. I like Saigeon just as much, if not more. Mattinen is head and shoulders better than both Henderson and Brassard combined and he only takes up one OA spot instead of those two. Neumann was a steal. I am shocked at what that cost was. On top of all that, they ended up with Leyton Moore. HE is a heck of a D-Man prospect.

So, for the relative cost of two 2nds and Nick Wong, they improved their roster this year tremendously and added Neumann as an OA next year and Leyton Moore for 3.5 seasons.

Sure, it wasn’t the typical Go All In and buy the whole store like Guelph and be damned about the future or the full on sell off and tank for the rest of the year. IT was a smart roster tweak that improved them this year as well as adding singnificant assets that will help them next year and beyond. They took advantage of a buyers market to add players and managed to sell high on Studnicka. That Studnicka trade alone is worthy of GM of the year when you consider what Degray got for Suzuki and Durzi.

 

[three dog night]

Interesting above article but Oshawa has not packed the building for the playoffs,

 

[three dog night]

What I have seen Studnicka is way better than Sagieon . Mattinen a turnover machine.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

The foundation of our roster that season would look like:

Bitten (OA)-Rossi-Quinn
Crete-Tolnai-Clarke
Yule (OA)-Import-Maggio

Rippon (OA)-Peric
Belanger

Andree
Cranley

Andree is a 2000 birth year as well and would return as an OA. With he, Bitten, and Rippon all locals, you'd have to expect Yule gets moved before his OA season.

 

[sirius67fan]

A few variables:
1> Can OSEG be a factor? They are losing money. The Lansdowne project is not generating the type of revenue it projected. The development in general (restaurants and retail outlets) is not making money outside of a handful of outlets.
2> A lot has been said about under the table deals in the OHL. Both Windsor and Niagara have been caught. We know it is reasonably certain teams are paying top players in some way or another. That can be easier when there is a singular owner. But, when you need to report to a board to financial matters, it is unlikely Ottawa would have the means to “compete” openly for these types of players.
3> I agree about the development but this tandem has not been here long enough to create a track record. Jeff Brown deserves just as much credit for all this as Boyd. Plus, Tourigny is probably going to be NHL bound again soon. If I were a parent with a kid looking ahead four years, I would want to know there was stability of coaching etc. It would be different for an 18 year old NCAA commit after their NHL draft year but either way, I am not sure this combo has much clout yet. It is a far cry from the Hunters that own the team and also operate it. That stability and overall track record trumps Ottawa hands down.

Regarding the Generals, the cost to acquire for Saigeon and Mattinen was small. Those acquisitions kept the team relevant to their fans and kept filling the building through end of season and now into the playoffs. IT generated a significant amount of revenue. IT kept the fan base engaged. It will also go a long way to continuing to develop the returning players net year.

They traded:
Wong
Brassard
Studnicka
Henderson
Rupoli
Ceci
Two 2nds
4th
6th

for:

Mattinen
Saigeon
Neumann
Leyton Moore (2018 1st rounder)
Schell
Two 10th’s

Out of all that, they actually have a better team this year. I like Studnicka but I think he is overrated. I think he is a solid NHL prospect but as a Major Junior player, he isn’t as impactful as his status. I like Saigeon just as much, if not more. Mattinen is head and shoulders better than both Henderson and Brassard combined and he only takes up one OA spot instead of those two. Neumann was a steal. I am shocked at what that cost was. On top of all that, they ended up with Leyton Moore. HE is a heck of a D-Man prospect.

So, for the relative cost of two 2nds and Nick Wong, they improved their roster this year tremendously and added Neumann as an OA next year and Leyton Moore for 3.5 seasons.

Sure, it wasn’t the typical Go All In and buy the whole store like Guelph and be damned about the future or the full on sell off and tank for the rest of the year. IT was a smart roster tweak that improved them this year as well as adding singnificant assets that will help them next year and beyond. They took advantage of a buyers market to add players and managed to sell high on Studnicka. That Studnicka trade alone is worthy of GM of the year when you consider what Degray got for Suzuki and Durzi.

I do agree that they got a good return for Studnicka and Brassard in this years' market. Kingston also got a great return on Robertson/Paquette. They both read the market right and sold a bit early. Degray waited too long and got sqeezed at the end imo...good on Guelph!

 

[sirius67fan]

OMG question? (Or anybody who knows the answers) I was never clear on the player's pay question. I don't want to get going on the under the table stuff as we can only speculate. But how does it work for the rules. I assumed players all get a stipend regulated by the league and OA's get a bit more. I also was told that rules are different and they can be paid more which is why some teams can better attract stellar players. Is this correct?

 

[beastintheeast]

OMG Sirius I am looking at things a little different.

I think you trade Hoef after the season is over. Yes, it would have conditional picks but it leaves an opening for a new player to make the team let's face it we definitely do not need and OA defenceman.

On Forward, I am not sure that in 2 years Rossi will still be here. With his talent, I can see him making the jump depending on who drafts him.
No one is going to give us anything for Ohtok he is a solid D but he is an import and most teams will want to find their own in the draft.

My question is can Ottawa make a deal with the Fronts for Wright.

I think many teams will try. Let's face it Kingston does not have a stellar reputation for developing players and their coaching is unsettled.

 

[OMG67]

OMG question? (Or anybody who knows the answers) I was never clear on the player's pay question. I don't want to get going on the under the table stuff as we can only speculate. But how does it work for the rules. I assumed players all get a stipend regulated by the league and OA's get a bit more. I also was told that rules are different and they can be paid more which is why some teams can better attract stellar players. Is this correct?

I don't know what the actual stipend is now but it used to be about $50 per week for players and $150 for OA. Each players billet got something like $400 per month and free season tix. If the player lived with their parents, the parents got the billet $$$.

Players also get school packages regulated and restricted under league rules. They get one year schooling for every season they suit up for games or part thereof. Each team is allotted an additional number of enhanced packages that include all school related expenses like lodging and meals etc.

All equipment and in season training is covered as well as insurance and medical benefits.

I believe Import rules are wide open meaning a team can make an arrangement with an Import player outside the standard rules. I am not 100% certain of this though.

Teams cannot pay a player outside of these rules in any way. They cannot pay for travel or accommodation for parents, off season training, additional stipends, gas money unless they are transporting other players to and from the rink, cars, or incentives on performance. All of that would be outside the rules.

We are all reasonably certain most, if not all, teams do side deals or give players extra. Only three CHL teams have been sanctioned. It seems as though unless there are external complaints by disgruntled players, the league turns a blind eye.

 

[OMG67]

OMG Sirius I am looking at things a little different.

I think you trade Hoef after the season is over. Yes, it would have conditional picks but it leaves an opening for a new player to make the team let's face it we definitely do not need and OA defenceman.

On Forward, I am not sure that in 2 years Rossi will still be here. With his talent, I can see him making the jump depending on who drafts him.
No one is going to give us anything for Ohtok he is a solid D but he is an import and most teams will want to find their own in the draft.

My question is can Ottawa make a deal with the Fronts for Wright.

I think many teams will try. Let's face it Kingston does not have a stellar reputation for developing players and their coaching is unsettled.

I am not sure if there is an official rule but when a player is granted exceptional status, he agrees to report to the team that drafts him. Kingston will draft him and he will report.

I don't see Rossi making the jump. He is a good player but he isn't Mitch Marner level good. Even current draft rankings have him outside the top 10. We'll see how they get updated going into next season but his weak finish to the season will cast some doubt unless he has a stellar playoff run this season. Even if he goes top 5, it may be tough for him to make the jump. It would have to be a perfect situation for him.

No one will trade for Hoefenmayer without knowing he will return. Even if they are conditional picks, the picks would be tied up for a whole season and not be able to be used in any other deals. It's not like they'd be freed up at the deadline either. Technically he could be returned after the deadline.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

OMG question? (Or anybody who knows the answers) I was never clear on the player's pay question. I don't want to get going on the under the table stuff as we can only speculate. But how does it work for the rules. I assumed players all get a stipend regulated by the league and OA's get a bit more. I also was told that rules are different and they can be paid more which is why some teams can better attract stellar players. Is this correct?

Current OHL SPA pay to a non-OA is $470 per month. That doubles in the OA season.

Bonuses are $100/player for 1st round playoff victory, $150 for 2nd round, $300 for 3rd round and $450 for 4th.

Each player receives $1,000 reimbursement each season for off-season training and $500 (each season) for career ending injury (not including head trauma) insurance. Receipts required.

All players/prospects receive either train tickets from/to any rookie camp, training camp, at Christmas and the end of the season or gas money in lieu of.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

Teams cannot pay a player outside of these rules in any way. They cannot pay for travel or accommodation for parents, off season training, additional stipends, gas money unless they are transporting other players to and from the rink, cars, or incentives on performance. All of that would be outside the rules.

We are all reasonably certain most, if not all, teams do side deals or give players extra. Only three CHL teams have been sanctioned. It seems as though unless there are external complaints by disgruntled players, the league turns a blind eye.

You're not wrong OMG but you know the old adage, "if you're not cheating, you're not trying." When a team gets caught that's just dumb. The OHL didn't hire a law firm to play he-said, he-said. There had to have been some tangible evidence; something in writing.

You can't pay for parents' plane tickets or hotels directly either as that's all traceable.

Imagine this scenario: an employee of a team's promotions department goes to the Esso station and buys $3,000 in gift cards, goes to the local haberdasher who sells Hugo Boss and buys a $3,ooo gift certificate, then to the Keg for another $3,000 and tops it off with a $1,000 Tim card. Boom. $10Gs of untraceable remuneration all left in one envelope in the player's locker, and all teenager friendly. Bingo.

 

[OMG67]

You're not wrong OMG but you know the old adage, "if you're not cheating, you're not trying." When a team gets caught that's just dumb. The OHL didn't hire a law firm to play he-said, he-said. There had to have been some tangible evidence; something in writing.

You can't pay for parents' plane tickets or hotels directly either as that's all traceable.

Imagine this scenario: an employee of a team's promotions department goes to the Esso station and buys $3,000 in gift cards, goes to the local haberdasher who sells Hugo Boss and buys a $3,ooo gift certificate, then to the Keg for another $3,000 and tops it off with a $1,000 Tim card. Boom. $10Gs of untraceable remuneration all left in one envelope in the player's locker, and all teenager friendly. Bingo.

Of course. It happens all the time. The question is whether the 67's organization has to account for those expenditures to a board and how "truthful" they need to be etc.

If it were Jeff Hunt as owner, it would be easy. But how easy is it for OSEG audits, especially if those audits are part of a City of Ottawa partnership? I have no idea how to answer that.

 

[44 95 plus tax]

I don't know what the actual stipend is now but it used to be about $50 per week for players and $150 for OA.

I used to work with a guy who played for SSM and Kitchener. He told me he got $50 and a bag of milk per week. LOL

 

[beastintheeast]

The team gives ittle perks to the players there is no doubt about it but with the 2 teams getting caught you can rest assured that the league is watching every team now.

 

[OMG67]

The team gives ittle perks to the players there is no doubt about it but with the 2 teams getting caught you can rest assured that the league is watching every team now.

Rest assured, the league is turning a blind eye unless they receive a complaint. Each of the two instances were born out of disgruntled players saying they didn’t receive what they were supposed to receive.

 

[La Masse]

Just bough some tickets for game 1 Friday hopefully the boys arent too rusty. This series should be a doozie with two great goaltenders going at it