Ottawa 67's 2018-19 Season Thread

[1967]

I am so surprised at how well this team is playing right now and just imagine when they at 2 top players and a goalie most likely they will then have three scoring lines and 1 good 4 th line that I’m sure will fight hard for ice time

 

[OMG67]

I am so surprised at how well this team is playing right now and just imagine when they at 2 top players and a goalie most likely they will then have three scoring lines and 1 good 4 th line that I’m sure will fight hard for ice time

It’s funny. I don’t think adding a goalie will result in a benefit in the standings. I think Andree is good enough. The only reason to add the goalie now is for insurance purposes and flexibility. I still think Andree will get tired at some point if he continues to play these types of minutes. And Cranley isn’t strong or experienced enough to play enough to give Andree the right amount of rest.

It looks like Bitten moving up with Chmelevski and Clark has created a strong line. They’ve done well together. When Rossi is back, you can slide him back with Felhaber and Keating.

That still leaves Clarke, Hoelscher and Quinn as players that need ice. If we acquire two forwards, that bumps two of those guys down to the 4th line.

Things will get complicated soon when everyone is healthy and they stat to add some pieces.

 

[1967]

I agree with you I only think we need another goalie for insurance purposes and I still think Sasha could use a strong player for his line even though Bitten is playing so well.
I can see Maggio and Tolnai sitting out the playoffs I we add more forwards.

 

[LDN]

Honestly how is this Ottawa team so good? What is making them so special?

 

[OMG67]

Honestly how is this Ottawa team so good? What is making them so special?

They were under rated going into the season. Most people had Niagara and Oshawa ahead of them because they were making their assessments based on previous standings. Unfortunately for the lazy prognosticators, it was their goaltending that cost them at least 4 spots in the standings last year.

Then they drafted Rossi in the Import draft and when I was trumpeting him for Rookie of the Year in the preseason, people had no clue who he was and pretty much dismissed him.

The reality is Ottawa has been in the shadows. Now that they have all the right pieces, they have emerged from the shadows.

A really solid defense corps with a solid goalie and top end talent (OHL LEVEL) on forward has created a solid team game fostered by strong coaching. They are the best 5 on 5 team in the league pretty much hands down. If they develop a power play it may get silly soon.

 

[BarberPole9]

Honestly how is this Ottawa team so good? What is making them so special?

First off, Andre Tourigny deserves a lot of credit. Players improve under him and seem to really enjoy the systems that he is putting in place. He was a highly regarded coach in the Q with Rouyn-Noranda for a long time and spent time with Halifax and in the NHL with the Sens and Avalanche. Quite honestly, he seems overqualified for the league right now.

For the past couple of years, they really committed to playing young defencemen and have benefited by having two fourth year guys in Wilson and Hoefenmayer who have really taken charge this year, as well as three high end 18 year olds in Bahl (already picked in the second last year) and Okhotyuk (likely 2nd this year,ranked some places in the first) as well Merrick Rippon who has been lights out this year. Lucas Peric has made huge strides as a 6th defenceman and I think he will be picked in this year's draft.

In nets, Cedric Andree has had a remarkable turnaround, even from the first couple of weeks to become a solid OHL goalie.

Up front, neither Ty Felhaber or Austin Keating were invited to NHL camps and used those slights to take off this year and have taken any/all linemates along for the ride including both dynamite rookies Marco Rossi and Jack Quinn (top two rookie scorers in the league). On the second line, Sasha Chmelevksi has really taken off of late with Kody Clark and Sam Bitten. Graeme Clarke was off to a good start but was recently hurt.

It's a weird dominant team in that there are only 2 surefire NHL'ers in my opinion, but the top 16 players are all very solid.

 

[beastintheeast]

The big difference in this team is that while they were criticized last year they found the right pieces this year. Andree last year was ok but not ready. he got the taste and has proven that he is ready. The defence iss giving him all the protection they can this is without a doubt the best defence in the league and should be that way for a long time.

The offence as a lot of Ottawa teams are is not built around NHL star wannabe it is built around players that will and have excelled at the OHL level. Keating even if he s not drafted or signed is a star so this year is fehlbauer . Ottawa has 2 lines that can and will score and be dangerous. If Rossi is moved to a third line that will make 3 dangerous lines that most teams cannot play against
The 4th line will be just as dangerous once they get the experience so the big thing with this team is the depth that Boyd and Tourigny have built.

Personally, I am not sure if we need any more players on this team but we have to use the draft picks or waste them.

If I am Ottawa and I still say it we don't need Dipietro we need someone that can take the strain off of Andree. We need a platoon goalie, not a starter

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

Honestly how is this Ottawa team so good? What is making them so special?

That's a good question and I agree with OMG, Barber and Beast. One of the factors not mentioned is team fitness. There is no 3rd period 'fade' on this team, even in the 3rd game of a 3-in-3 or 3-in 4. Also, even of the drafted and signed players there is no legitimate 'superstar' like a Formenton or Hayton or Dellandrea. The team is a team. There are scorers and there are plumbers and a relatively good mix of both on forward and D.

Yes, Felly and Keating are having lights-out seasons so far. Rossi is a budding superstar and nobody, except maybe Boyd and Tourigny, saw that coming as the import draft is a crap-shoot at best (remember Oliver True?). Andree is far exceeding expectations and now expectations are being re-adjusted. However 25 games into a 68 game season is too early to tell if he can run the marathon.

I happen to think this group really believes in themselves, which is HUGE! When you come to the rink every night believing you can win, often that is the result. Even if they fall behind in a game, they believe they can come back and win. You see it in their body language. Everybody is engaged on the bench. There's no dark cloud looming thinking Tremblay might give up a softie or a certain D-man might sh*t his pants and trip over the blueline while defending a 2-on-1 late in the game.

Look at this northern road trip. 5 of a possible 6 points and 15 goals in the last 2 games. And that's without Clarke, Rossi and Okhotyuk (I'm not sure what happened to Hoff today), each of whom are significant contributors in their own way.

The sky is clearly the limit for this group. I suspect Mr. Boyd will be very careful spending his draft capital leading up to or at the deadline. Chemistry is a funny thing and one wouldn't want to add an element that doesn't mix with the gumbo.

 

[sirius67fan]

The big difference in this team is that while they were criticized last year they found the right pieces this year. Andree last year was ok but not ready. he got the taste and has proven that he is ready. The defence iss giving him all the protection they can this is without a doubt the best defence in the league and should be that way for a long time.

The offence as a lot of Ottawa teams are is not built around NHL star wannabe it is built around players that will and have excelled at the OHL level. Keating even if he s not drafted or signed is a star so this year is fehlbauer . Ottawa has 2 lines that can and will score and be dangerous. If Rossi is moved to a third line that will make 3 dangerous lines that most teams cannot play against
The 4th line will be just as dangerous once they get the experience so the big thing with this team is the depth that Boyd and Tourigny have built.

Personally, I am not sure if we need any more players on this team but we have to use the draft picks or waste them.

If I am Ottawa and I still say it we don't need Dipietro we need someone that can take the strain off of Andree. We need a platoon goalie, not a starter

Not that I disagree with what you said but the contributions of Jeff Brown as a GM and Patty Higgins need to be mentionned. The last three drafts have been very good with hopefully more coming in next few years... Ambrosio, Peterson, Swankler? Brown's moves are all over this roster and he largely built the draft capital we will use in the next few weeks.

 

[OMG67]

That's a good question and I agree with OMG, Barber and Beast. One of the factors not mentioned is team fitness. There is no 3rd period 'fade' on this team, even in the 3rd game of a 3-in-3 or 3-in 4. Also, even of the drafted and signed players there is no legitimate 'superstar' like a Formenton or Hayton or Dellandrea. The team is a team. There are scorers and there are plumbers and a relatively good mix of both on forward and D.

Yes, Felly and Keating are having lights-out seasons so far. Rossi is a budding superstar and nobody, except maybe Boyd and Tourigny, saw that coming as the import draft is a crap-shoot at best (remember Oliver True?). Andree is far exceeding expectations and now expectations are being re-adjusted. However 25 games into a 68 game season is too early to tell if he can run the marathon.

I happen to think this group really believes in themselves, which is HUGE! When you come to the rink every night believing you can win, often that is the result. Even if they fall behind in a game, they believe they can come back and win. You see it in their body language. Everybody is engaged on the bench. There's no dark cloud looming thinking Tremblay might give up a softie or a certain D-man might sh*t his pants and trip over the blueline while defending a 2-on-1 late in the game.

Look at this northern road trip. 5 of a possible 6 points and 15 goals in the last 2 games. And that's without Clarke, Rossi and Okhotyuk (I'm not sure what happened to Hoff today), each of whom are significant contributors in their own way.

The sky is clearly the limit for this group. I suspect Mr. Boyd will be very careful spending his draft capital leading up to or at the deadline. Chemistry is a funny thing and one wouldn't want to add an element that doesn't mix with the gumbo.

Fitness is a great point! I never really thought of that.

Regarding the other point about chemistry. I think there are two solid offensive lines:
Keating-Rossi-Felhaber
Bitten-chmelevski-Clark

After that there doesn't seem to be any clear fit with the puzzle pieces. This is where I feel a player or two could really help. Quinn is showing the capability of being a bonafide point producer, whereas Tolnai and Maggio probably need the 4th line minutes to continue developing. Yule is probably a decent piece for either the 3rd or 4th line. Clarke is obviously in the mix as well.

So, it really depends on Hoelscher now. Does he centre the 3rd line with Quinn and an acquired player or Clarke or does he centre the 4th line with Tolnai and Maggio?

As of right now, with all the info we have, I think acquiring a veteran centre with point per game ability to play with Clarke and Quinn on the 3rd line and then having Hoelscher, Tolnai, Maggio and Yule sharing 4th line duty is the combination.

 

[BarberPole9]

The sky is clearly the limit for this group. I suspect Mr. Boyd will be very careful spending his draft capital leading up to or at the deadline. Chemistry is a funny thing and one wouldn't want to add an element that doesn't mix with the gumbo.

I agree with this. The argument that "they need to use all those picks" makes no sense to me. Theoretically, if they kept thee second round picks (Niagara, Peterborough and Mississauga's ideally) and deal their own and London's, they could be looking at adding four guys (including their own first) in the first 32 picks. Worst case scenario, deal one of those picks pre-draft for a 2nd a couple years down the road plus another pick. You've got to remember that this team needs to win fans back and having only one good year that they sell out for followed by a couple down years isn't going to accomplish that objective.

In a perfect world for the team, Travis Barron returns and they trade for another fast, physical forward which would push the 3rd line to the 4th line and give the team much needed depth. Also, I would trade for a Goalie to play in tandem with Andree and get Cranley regular reps in the CCHL with an availability for a callup in an injury situation. In this scenario, you are probably only trading two 2nd round picks out of the five this year and a couple more down the road.

Other that the first week of the season when they were scratching Sirman at forward, this team has been living without healthy scratches at all. In fact, they've played several games with only ten forwards and still seem to get better as the game wears on. They've had Belanger and Crete available to call up from the CCHL as a Forward and Defenceman but those guys have been getting regular shifts in the CCHL, as Jack Quinn did last year.

 

[OMG67]

I agree with this. The argument that "they need to use all those picks" makes no sense to me. Theoretically, if they kept thee second round picks (Niagara, Peterborough and Mississauga's ideally) and deal their own and London's, they could be looking at adding four guys (including their own first) in the first 32 picks. Worst case scenario, deal one of those picks pre-draft for a 2nd a couple years down the road plus another pick. You've got to remember that this team needs to win fans back and having only one good year that they sell out for followed by a couple down years isn't going to accomplish that objective.

In a perfect world for the team, Travis Barron returns and they trade for another fast, physical forward which would push the 3rd line to the 4th line and give the team much needed depth. Also, I would trade for a Goalie to play in tandem with Andree and get Cranley regular reps in the CCHL with an availability for a callup in an injury situation. In this scenario, you are probably only trading two 2nd round picks out of the five this year and a couple more down the road.

Other that the first week of the season when they were scratching Sirman at forward, this team has been living without healthy scratches at all. In fact, they've played several games with only ten forwards and still seem to get better as the game wears on. They've had Belanger and Crete available to call up from the CCHL as a Forward and Defenceman but those guys have been getting regular shifts in the CCHL, as Jack Quinn did last year.

I'm torn. The reason why is I know things change.

1- we are riding high right now which is good. We haven't had a tough stretch yet and it is bound to happen.
2- other teams will make trades to improve and close that gap.

You take a combination of the two above and all of a sudden we are no longer the front runner and we lose in the conference final and look back and ask ourselves if it was worth it? Was it worth keeping three or four extra picks that may or may not ever really make an impact?

I know one thing. If we acquire DiPietro, we will not lose games because of shoddy goaltending and will win games we shouldn't because of good goaltending. That's a fact.

I would be fine even if that is all we did. If we can find a way to acquire an impact OA forward to compliment the DiPietro deal, it would be good. I still want a slick D-Man to add a different dimension to our offense but that is an added luxury as opposed to a need.

If we can get DiPietro for three 2nds, three 3rds, a 4th and 5th and then trade two 2nds and 3rd for an impact OA forward we'd still have a full compliment of picks every season. We'd only have traded our surplus picks.

 

[1967]

I agree that we must still acquire a starting goalie like Diepietro and a bonafide scoring forward
Some one is going to have to sit and that is reality if we are going for it all.

 

[mianjo]

67's 3 game road trip stats

Chmelevski 1g 6a 7pts

Bitten 4g 2a 6pts

Clark 2g 4a 6pts

Quinn 2g 3a 5pts

Hoefenmayer 2g 2a 4pts

Bahl 4a 4pts

Felhaber 3g 3pts

Peric 1 g 1a 2pts

Hoelscher 2a 2pts

Keating 1g 1a 2pts

Rippon 2a 2pts

Maggio 1g 1pt

Wilson 1a 1pt

very well balanced team, when the big 2 have a few problems the rest of the team step up

Goalies

Andre 2 games 6 g 48/54

Cranley 1 game 3g 23/26

 

[beastintheeast]

OMG and 1967 It should come as no surprise that I completely disagree with you both. DiPietro is the last thing you need on this team. He is a goalie that will demand to be in all the games. Vancouver wants him to play every game. You are then in my mind telling Andreee thanks for what you did but sorry kid we don't have faith in you.

Is that the message you want to send to him then write him off as a goalie and trade him. because he is not going to be happy and is not going to develop if you do that.

Andree so far has stood n his head to give the team great goaltending and is not that far in stats than the GOD Dipietro. The players n the team have confidence in him and play their ass off in front of him.
You talk about chemistry but in the next breathe you want to screw it up.

We need a back up pure and simple we need a goalie that can go into the nets and the team feel confident. Cranley needs to go to the CCHL and get some game experience for next year. The move of Cranley will not screw up the chemistry it will add to it if they find the right player to platoon with Andree during the run.

Please stop saying that the only opton is Dipietro or infer that he is the only option for this team.

There are other goalies out there that would be IMNSHO a much better fit Vilardi, Raymaker, are 2 and there are others.

Dipietro will not be a platoon goalie. Vancouver will not allow it and he will not want it.

Let's put the extra we would save on him and get a player that can fit into the 3rd line and make it a scoring/shutdown line for this team.

 

[OMG67]

OMG and 1967 It should come as no surprise that I completely disagree with you both. DiPietro is the last thing you need on this team. He is a goalie that will demand to be in all the games. Vancouver wants him to play every game. You are then in my mind telling Andreee thanks for what you did but sorry kid we don't have faith in you.

Is that the message you want to send to him then write him off as a goalie and trade him. because he is not going to be happy and is not going to develop if you do that.

Andree so far has stood n his head to give the team great goaltending and is not that far in stats than the GOD Dipietro. The players n the team have confidence in him and play their ass off in front of him.
You talk about chemistry but in the next breathe you want to screw it up.

We need a back up pure and simple we need a goalie that can go into the nets and the team feel confident. Cranley needs to go to the CCHL and get some game experience for next year. The move of Cranley will not screw up the chemistry it will add to it if they find the right player to platoon with Andree during the run.

Please stop saying that the only opton is Dipietro or infer that he is the only option for this team.

There are other goalies out there that would be IMNSHO a much better fit Vilardi, Raymaker, are 2 and there are others.

Dipietro will not be a platoon goalie. Vancouver will not allow it and he will not want it.

Let's put the extra we would save on him and get a player that can fit into the 3rd line and make it a scoring/shutdown line for this team.

We essentially have a chance of trading for PAtrick Roy in his prime. The Avalanche had a lot of regular season success but lacked the clutch goaltending in the playoffs. Roy was the player they needed to get them over the top. The Ottawa 67s are somewhat in the same boat. We have solid defense and offense but an unproven goaltender. No offense to Andree but loads of goalies go on hot streaks. We are essentially only 1/3 of the way through the season. We have ZERO OHL Track Record on Andree to suggest he will continue this pace for a whole season plus 20+ playoff games.

You say there is basically no difference in statistics right now. I beg to differ. Andree is arguably playing in front of the best defense in the league right now. He is sporting a 2.66 and a .905%. DiPietro is playing in front of a very average defense and is getting hardly any goal support and is sporting a 2.23 and a .925%. If we were to simply add the difference of those two stats to what Andree is doing it would be a goalie with a 3.09 and a .885%. That goalie would be someone more like Mack Guzda in OS. So the difference right now between Andree and DiPietro stats wise is the same as the difference between Andree and Guzda. That’s a pretty big frickin’ difference. Andree in Windsor wouldn’t have the stats he has now let alone anything close to DiPietro. So, let’s be at least a little more respectful to DiPietro and stop calling him a GOD sarcastically.

As of right now, I don’t see one goalie available other than DiPietro. I doubt London trades Raymaakers. Unless SSM trails off, I doubt they make Villata available. Outside of those guys, who may be available the would be anything other than a clear backup? If we acquire a clear backup, we may as well just keep Cranley and ride Andree to death.

I am of the opinion that players should play for the crest on the front of their jersey not for the crest on the back. I am pretty sure that Andree wouldn’t be overly upset losing his starting job to a player of the calibre of DiPietro. DiPietro is also a great player for Andree to learn from. Just think of all the stuff he could share with Andree. His experience in the MEmorial Cup and on the World Stage in the WJHC and his experience in an NHL camp. How to deal with heightened expectations etc. Just the soft skills DiPietro could pass on is valuable for Andree’s development. He’d be that much better prepared next year as a 19 year old.

Let’s shift gears a little and compare the idea that Andree would be pissy and sulk with adding a stud OA centre to the team. Theoretically, Rossi is the # centre because he has the top two wingers in Keating and Felhaber. Let’s assume that Chmelevski keeps Clark and Bitten as his wingers. That leaves the new OA centre with Clarke and Quinn. Right now I would suggest Clarke and Quinn are the better two wingers compared to Bitten and Clark. If that centre is someone high profile, that line would have to be considered the #2 line. My opinion anyway. That would suggest Chmelevski is relegated to the 3rd line centre role. WIll he sulk and be pissy for his diminished role because we acquired an additional player that takes his ice time away? Or, will he relish the fact his team is much improved and work harder to win games? The rest of the team would be unhappy to acquire a World stage goalie? I doubt that. I think they would be over the Moon with that acquisition.

I am assuming that DiPietro is in fact on the trade block after the WJHC. I am also assuming his cost would be pretty much just draft picks and wouldn’t cost one of the young guns we currently have.

I am fine with either Raymaakers or Villata as OA’s in a platoon situation as well, especially if the cost is much cheaper but I just don’t think either are really available. First, if London really thinks Ottawa is the team to beat, they are in no way going to make them stronger. They will trade Raymaakers to a team they are more confident in not having to face in the playoffs.

Ingham is a 200 born and Missy has been on a good run so he won’t be available. No way Keyser is traded from Oshawa. Dillon is also in a good situation in Niagara. Jones in Peterborough is in the same boat as Ingham. We clearly cannot trade for an Import.
MAybe Propp in North Bay but he’s had such a poor season and they reached back to get him so I doubt they trade him again.

So, at this point, if Ottawa wants a goalie, even as a competent platoon guy, I just don’t see one available right now. I doubt one will become available either.

 

[Square Corners]

I think Ottawa should be able to hold onto 1st considering how big their lead in the conference is, but man Niagara looks good on paper. Wonder how Ottawa responds. The 2 OAs they get will be interesting

 

[44 95 plus tax]

Niagara has just added Jason Roberson and Jacob Paquette from Kingston. That ups the ante.

Time to make some moves?

 

[BarberPole9]

Niagara has just added Jason Roberson and Jacob Paquette from Kingston. That ups the ante.

Time to make some moves?

I don't think that there's a huge rush. The beauty of the 67's current position is that they are good and deep everywhere and have gotten points in 17 straight games. Niagara REALLY sold the farm to make that deal, I don't think that Ottawa needs to because with the two overage openings they can afford to be patient and see which teams need to unload. You've got to remember that with Ottawa's good young roster and pick surplus, this window can last 2-3 years whereas it seems like 2/3 out of Niagara's roster are OA or 19 year olds.

 

[analyser]

I would be seriously looking at Maksimovich and Hollowell as our overage candidates.

A poInt producing forward and PP quarterback.

 

[OHLTG]

...and down the stretch they come...

My guess - strictly a guess - Windsor wouldn't ask for your 2002 1st. With Foudy and Cuylle in the mix, there's almost no need.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

Niagara has just added Jason Roberson and Jacob Paquette from Kingston. That ups the ante.

Time to make some moves?

Robertson alone represents 36.5% of Kingston's goal scoring (23 of 63). Fronts will have trouble winning another game.

 

[BarberPole9]

Robertson alone represents 36.5% of Kingston's goal scoring (23 of 63). Fronts will have trouble winning another game.

Flint may have a legit chance to catch Kingston after this trade. They are going to be BAD.

 

[Wolfman Jack]

Too bad Sudbury couldn't trade Ukko. It would have been a perfect fit for Ottawa. We would have taken Andree with the Russian Import Dman along with Quinn. And we would have sent the Pilon twins to fill in your overage spots as well. Of course the regular change of picks. But wishful thinking as we can't deal first year imports. And with the Niagara deal today I don't see Sudbury getting past a first round match up. Niagara, Ottawa, Oshawa the Petes and Mississauga I believe will all be a head of Sudbury. Sudbury just doesn't have the depth this year or the amount of high end picks to make a significant splash.

WJ

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

Too bad Sudbury couldn't trade Ukko. It would have been a perfect fit for Ottawa. We would have taken Andree with the Russian Import Dman along with Quinn. And we would have sent the Pilon twins to fill in your overage spots as well. Of course the regular change of picks. But wishful thinking as we can't deal first year imports. And with the Niagara deal today I don't see Sudbury getting past a first round match up. Niagara, Ottawa, Oshawa the Petes and Mississauga I believe will all be a head of Sudbury. Sudbury just doesn't have the depth this year or the amount of high end picks to make a significant splash.

WJ

Luukkonen and the Pylon twins for Andree, Okhotyuk and Quinn!?!?!?

It's a little early to be sh*tfaced drunk, no?