Ottawa 67's 2018-19 Season Thread

[analyser]

Personaly I do not think Boomhower is worth keeping as an overager. He is not a proven scorer, has trouble controlling his emotions and I would keep this position open for a proven point producing forward if required later. Let the young guys play for now and assess the situation as the season progresses.

Last season he was suspended for 12 games for a hit to the head of Ali from Kingston. He has a very hard time to play within the rules because of his reckless abandoment. Not a player who you would say oh we really need him and can tolerate his on ice antics.

I know we have another overage position available, but it might be a good idea to leave it open until we see what happens with the goaltending situation. Dipietro deal still very much speculation and just may not happen.

 

[sirius67fan]

Boomhower has veteran value for this team. If he can prove solid at shot blocking and P.K. as well as leadership, his hassle and determination is a solid example, he can provide some stability this team may need. The issue is the tradeoff. For him to provide that value, he’d need to play a top 9 role and I am unsure where that spot would be. That said, guys are always injured throughout the year so even if he started beside Tolnai on the 4th line he’d get opportunity throughout the year for sure.

Personaly I do not think Boomhower is worth keeping as an overager. He is not a proven scorer, has trouble controlling his emotions and I would keep this position open for a proven point producing forward if required later. Let the young guys play for now and assess the situation as the season progresses.

Last season he was suspended for 12 games for a hit to the head of Ali from Kingston. He has a very hard time to play within the rules because of his reckless abandoment. Not a player who you would say oh we really need him and can tolerate his on ice antics.

I know we have another overage position available, but it might be a good idea to leave it open until we see what happens with the goaltending situation. Dipietro deal still very much speculation and just may not happen.

You make good points OMG but I have to agree with analyser on this one. In my book overagers should be a key contributor and I don't see Boomhower as that. Another question is ,is it fair for an overager to play a fourth line role and would he accept that? With all the assets we have we can obtain two higher level OA's to plug holes whatever they may be.

 

[OMG67]

You make good points OMG but I have to agree with analyser on this one. In my book overagers should be a key contributor and I don't see Boomhower as that. Another question is ,is it fair for an overager to play a fourth line role and would he accept that? With all the assets we have we can obtain two higher level OA's to plug holes whatever they may be.

All I am saying is a team needs more than just scoring up front. Right now we have no presence really. I’m not saying Boomhower is going to knock kid lights out but he does add an element we currently do not have. We need to eith acquire it or keep Boomhower in the fold. If we look at this year in a vacuum, I’d rather have Boomhower on the 4th line instead of Maggio or Yule. He is a better player right now and he is a player that can drill up the lineup in an injury replacement situation.

I agree we should look at other options but until other options present themselves, I think keeping him is prudent.

 

[vouve]

OMG67
Quick question:
What is the track record for ohl owners who have a son who plays on their team? I know flint was a gongshow. I know the hunters had their kid play and it was fine (I think)
I find your writing the most astute and in-depth on this site and I just want to hear what you have to say on the subject.
Not trying to hijack, I just know that this is your team...so I'd find you the quickest here. Thanks.

 

[OMG67]

OMG67
Quick question:
What is the track record for ohl owners who have a son who plays on their team? I know flint was a gongshow. I know the hunters had their kid play and it was fine (I think)
I find your writing the most astute and in-depth on this site and I just want to hear what you have to say on the subject.
Not trying to hijack, I just know that this is your team...so I'd find you the quickest here. Thanks.

That is a loaded question. There is no steadfast answer. Flint is somewhat isolated. That was a gong show. That was a situation where the player was probably not OHL ready. There are quite a few solid examples of good OHL players coming from ownership and or coaches etc.

The reality is hockey is rife with politics that play above talent. I prefer to look at it from that perspective. There are many players regardless of their family name that are pushed ahead of others that may be more deserving. When those situations happen, it tends to be obvious fornthe other players and parents and then it becomes a gong show.

Tulio is going to play for Oshawa this year. He is the owners son. He is OHL calibre for sure. He would probably play as a 16 year old rookie on every roster. How ver, will he be given more ice time or will he have to earn everything he gets? If he is made to earn everything he gets, there will be little if any strife.

So, in short, it really depends on how each situation is handled. If a player that deserves his roster spot earns his playing time then all should be fine. If he doesn’t earn anything, look out. It has the potential of causing anymosity and discord amongst the team.

 

[Generalsupdates]

That is a loaded question. There is no steadfast answer. Flint is somewhat isolated. That was a gong show. That was a situation where the player was probably not OHL ready. There are quite a few solid examples of good OHL players coming from ownership and or coaches etc.

The reality is hockey is rife with politics that play above talent. I prefer to look at it from that perspective. There are many players regardless of their family name that are pushed ahead of others that may be more deserving. When those situations happen, it tends to be obvious fornthe other players and parents and then it becomes a gong show.

Tulio is going to play for Oshawa this year. He is the owners son. He is OHL calibre for sure. He would probably play as a 16 year old rookie on every roster. How ver, will he be given more ice time or will he have to earn everything he gets? If he is made to earn everything he gets, there will be little if any strife.

So, in short, it really depends on how each situation is handled. If a player that deserves his roster spot earns his playing time then all should be fine. If he doesn’t earn anything, look out. It has the potential of causing anymosity and discord amongst the team.

In Sarnia last year Hatcher played for his dad too, on a very good team

 

[OHLTG]

Kerby Rychel played for Windsor and seemed to do alright with back-to-back 40-goal seasons. He earned his playing time. I don't know how the room was, though. Rychel had his younger son, Maddux, get a cup of coffee with the Spits a couple of seasons ago and this year at camp. He's a much different player than Kerby and didn't see much ice. He did what he could, though.

 

[beastintheeast]

Boomhower is a left wing with experience. That being said I do not think Ottawa can afford to keep or cast off a player because he is OA. Having him play the 3rd and fourth line would add stability to the young players and also give them some help against other teams trying to run them. There is no downside to keeping him. It is not like Ottawa has a huge number of OA.

 

[beastintheeast]

The only issue players have would be if the player does not earn their p[osition. That would be a huge problem. If the player deserves to be on the team than so be it. But if your son were a goalie and you sat him on the bench all year well.

 

[beastintheeast]

Is Keating going to an NHL camp

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

Is Keating going to an NHL camp

No

 

[vouve]

The reality is hockey is rife with politics that play above talent.

This, I believe, is what will ultimately knock Canada out of being the best country in the world at hockey.
It is amazing to me that this is the case. All of the money, reach, effort and legend of the OHL and really its just a 'who you know' league.
Not a professional development league. Not a conduit to the NHL. Not a place where they find and develop the best wherever they come from and whatever their background...
just a 'who is your dad, who does he know and how much money is he worth?'
That is just amazing if you think about it.

anyhow thanks for the response. insightful as always.

 

[beastintheeast]

HUH

The reality is hockey is rife with politics that play above talent.

This, I believe, is what will ultimately knock Canada out of being the best country in the world at hockey.
It is amazing to me that this is the case. All of the money, reach, effort and legend of the OHL and really its just a 'who you know' league.
Not a professional development league. Not a conduit to the NHL. Not a place where they find and develop the best wherever they come from and whatever their background...
just a 'who is your dad, who does he know and how much money is he worth?'
That is just amazing if you think about it.

anyhow thanks for the response. insightful as always.

Where does this unfathomable rant come from? There is politics involved but it is never on the ice or the team. Teams draft players to for the most part develop them into better hockey players and embers of the community. Some go on to professional hockey some do not. The skill level of the players determines who plays where.

BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY BROAD COMMENTS IKE YOU HAVE PLEASE GIVE US EXAMPLES.

I HAVE SEEN SOME OWNER INVOLVEMENT IN SOME PLAYERS BUT NEVER POLITICS. mY OWNER INVOLVEMENT IS FROM THE 70'S SO I REALLY DOUBT YOUR COMMENT.

 

[vouve]

cmon. says the guy who drafted a guy and developed him purely because he is an ex nhl superstars son.
is he good now? ya, sure. but he was not good enough to be drafted during his draft year and he was drafted and developed because of his dad.
and the OHL is stocked full of examples like these. the name on the back of the jersey....
clutch your pearls somewheres else, and if you are a part owner - it's your mess. you created it.

 

[vouve]

and if the politics aren't on the ice or the team - where are they exactly?

 

[OMG67]

HUH



Where does this unfathomable rant come from? There is politics involved but it is never on the ice or the team. Teams draft players to for the most part develop them into better hockey players and embers of the community. Some go on to professional hockey some do not. The skill level of the players determines who plays where.

BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY BROAD COMMENTS IKE YOU HAVE PLEASE GIVE US EXAMPLES.

I HAVE SEEN SOME OWNER INVOLVEMENT IN SOME PLAYERS BUT NEVER POLITICS. mY OWNER INVOLVEMENT IS FROM THE 70'S SO I REALLY DOUBT YOUR COMMENT.

C’Mon Beast. You know politics plays a role in sport in general. In hockey there are a lot of relationships made that supersede talent. It starts at the lower levels and as you go up it becomes less and less the closer you get to pro hockey.

I agree that the OHL is less political than Minor Midget and Major Bantam or even PeeWee but there still are agendas that get pushed and some of those agendas involve players being given opportunities ahead of other more deserving players.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

C’Mon Beast. You know politics plays a role in sport in general. In hockey there are a lot of relationships made that supersede talent. It starts at the lower levels and as you go up it becomes less and less the closer you get to pro hockey.

I agree that the OHL is less political than Minor Midget and Major Bantam or even PeeWee but there still are agendas that get pushed and some of those agendas involve players being given opportunities ahead of other more deserving players.

OMG is correct. Cases in point:

Jake Gilmour at eliteprospects.com

Doug Gilmour picks his son in the 8th round in 2012, presumably because nobody else did, he plays Tier II in Brampton then gets traded to Niagara before the 2013-14 season, where he plays 3 games and then picks him up again as a free agent in the 2014-15 where he records 1 point in 43 games.

Tyson Gilmour at eliteprospects.com

Doug picks his other son in the 9th round in 2014. He has a couple of good seasons in the NOJHL after 2 years of major midget and is playing his OA year with Wellington in the OJ.

Ben Hawerchuk at eliteprospects.com

Dale Hawerchuk has Ben picked in the 6th round in 2014. One question: if you were an OHL GM, would you want a player who averaged 22 points and 66 PIM over 4 seasons and is a career -40 as one of your 3 OAs?

It's really no wonder why some players/parents/agents "steer clear" of certain OHL teams (i.e. Tie/Max Domi Kingston)?

The converse is also true:

Logan Brown at eliteprospects.com

Jeff Brown was Ottawa's head coach (and not yet GM) when Logan was picked 1-6 by Niagara. Ottawa picked Travis Barron 1-3. You could certainly argue that Brown would have been the better pick for the 67's, but hindsight is 20/20 and Jeff probably didn't want the label of "daddy-pick" on his son.

 

[Kenny Chu]

OMG is correct. Cases in point:

Jake Gilmour at eliteprospects.com

Doug Gilmour picks his son in the 8th round in 2012, presumably because nobody else did, he plays Tier II in Brampton then gets traded to Niagara before the 2013-14 season, where he plays 3 games and then picks him up again as a free agent in the 2014-15 where he records 1 point in 43 games.

Tyson Gilmour at eliteprospects.com

Doug picks his other son in the 9th round in 2014. He has a couple of good seasons in the NOJHL after 2 years of major midget and is playing his OA year with Wellington in the OJ.

Ben Hawerchuk at eliteprospects.com

Dale Hawerchuk has Ben picked in the 6th round in 2014. One question: if you were an OHL GM, would you want a player who averaged 22 points and 66 PIM over 4 seasons and is a career -40 as one of your 3 OAs?

It's really no wonder why some players/parents/agents "steer clear" of certain OHL teams (i.e. Tie/Max Domi Kingston)?

The converse is also true:

Logan Brown at eliteprospects.com

Jeff Brown was Ottawa's head coach (and not yet GM) when Logan was picked 1-6 by Niagara. Ottawa picked Travis Barron 1-3. You could certainly argue that Brown would have been the better pick for the 67's, but hindsight is 20/20 and Jeff probably didn't want the label of "daddy-pick" on his son.

 

[Kenny Chu]

Agree.

As far as I am concerned the top 15% in the OJHL and the GOJHL are interchangeable with the bottom 20% in the OHL Why are those kids there in the bottom 20% of the OHL? Why aren't other kids of equal or greater talent given a chance? A kid that is a late bloomer has it the worst. THe OHL draft is one big rush to draft the mature kids. Later bloomers get past over. If the late bloomer starts to flourish at 19 and can make an OHL team, guess what, hes past over for a younger kid. The system is broke and its not fail safe and we lose kids every year because of it.

 

[OMG67]

OMG is correct. Cases in point:

Jake Gilmour at eliteprospects.com

Doug Gilmour picks his son in the 8th round in 2012, presumably because nobody else did, he plays Tier II in Brampton then gets traded to Niagara before the 2013-14 season, where he plays 3 games and then picks him up again as a free agent in the 2014-15 where he records 1 point in 43 games.

Tyson Gilmour at eliteprospects.com

Doug picks his other son in the 9th round in 2014. He has a couple of good seasons in the NOJHL after 2 years of major midget and is playing his OA year with Wellington in the OJ.

Ben Hawerchuk at eliteprospects.com

Dale Hawerchuk has Ben picked in the 6th round in 2014. One question: if you were an OHL GM, would you want a player who averaged 22 points and 66 PIM over 4 seasons and is a career -40 as one of your 3 OAs?

It's really no wonder why some players/parents/agents "steer clear" of certain OHL teams (i.e. Tie/Max Domi Kingston)?

The converse is also true:

Logan Brown at eliteprospects.com

Jeff Brown was Ottawa's head coach (and not yet GM) when Logan was picked 1-6 by Niagara. Ottawa picked Travis Barron 1-3. You could certainly argue that Brown would have been the better pick for the 67's, but hindsight is 20/20 and Jeff probably didn't want the label of "daddy-pick" on his son.

These are some good examples. I was trying to portray the overall politics involved with hockey and developmental hockey. Another type of example is an NHL drafted prospect playing a position or getting more ice than he earns because of pressure from the NHL team that pays the OHL team developmental fees, for example. Or the sheer number of quality players that get overlooked for the WJHC Team Canada because they didn't previously participate for Team Canada or the Program of Excellence because they were late bloomers.

There are so many types of examples of players being overlooked or simply passed over because of internal politics. It is unfortunate that it isn't more merit based BUT we all know as adults that not everything in our lives is merit based. Even in our own jobs merit isn't always the be all and end all of our realization of employment goals or relationship goals. A lot of outside influence is placed on many situations in real life as well so we shouldn't be surprised that it is like that in the hockey world too. It is just unfortunate because we are adults and these are kids. They look up to us to be fair and just but unfortunately, we aren't.

 

[beastintheeast]

Fugly Gilmour is and was a joke as a coach a GM and a president.

I agree that players are drafted as favors to friends but the issue then that can be used is how many late round draft picks actually play in the OHL.

If you look at gilmours draft record there is not one pick that HE made without Gill telling him that did anything. or stayed with the team.

Have I seen players get drafted and come to camp that there was an outside connection Yeah.

BUT like OMG state4d the players do not get screwed by politics at the OHL level they get screwed at the major rep team level. i have seen players at that level that were superior but because daddy donates the bus or pays a lot of money in sponsor they make it.

To me inviting a kid or making a late round pick means nothing and players at that level have very little chance of making it. That being said a player making it on the team that does not have the skill is a different thought. Then it is crap.

If a player thinks they are good enough to make a team just like at the NHL level they can try to get some ice time during the camp and prove it. Mav got lucky with a kid named Stewart. That does happen.

 

[Kenny Chu]

Fugly Gilmour is and was a joke as a coach a GM and a president.

I agree that players are drafted as favors to friends but the issue then that can be used is how many late round draft picks actually play in the OHL.

If you look at gilmours draft record there is not one pick that HE made without Gill telling him that did anything. or stayed with the team.

Have I seen players get drafted and come to camp that there was an outside connection Yeah.

BUT like OMG state4d the players do not get screwed by politics at the OHL level they get screwed at the major rep team level. i have seen players at that level that were superior but because daddy donates the bus or pays a lot of money in sponsor they make it.

To me inviting a kid or making a late round pick means nothing and players at that level have very little chance of making it. That being said a player making it on the team that does not have the skill is a different thought. Then it is crap.

If a player thinks they are good enough to make a team just like at the NHL level they can try to get some ice time during the camp and prove it. Mav got lucky with a kid named Stewart. That does happen.

The problem is this. Its called developmental opportunities. A kid that develops late, lets 18 or 19 and is ready for the OHL, what chance do you think he has to making an OHL team as a free agent invite when he is competing in front of all the team scouts at training camp who past him over in minor midget? OK he gets cut for a younger but less skilled or developed player. This is the problem. We are drafting too early. I think if you consult most doctors they say the most important age for growing is between 18-19 for a young athlete. Consequently we should move the draft to better align it with a teenagers biological clock. On the other side you got kids that developed way too early and did not develop much more. John McFarland had over 100 points in minor midget for the JRC, every one thought he was next NHL superstar, but the kid didn't seem to develop much more after minor midget and his height and weight stayed relatively the same. Move the draft to midget.

 

[beastintheeast]

Kenny the problem with your idea which has merit is that players have sued the CHL effectively to have them ply at a younger age.

I agree that some kids mature at a later stage however, the NHL courts have to look at them and draft them at 18 again because someone sued that league. Do I think 15-year old are ready for life away from home and the puck bunnies, NO but there is nothing that can be done?

 

[OMG67]

Kenny the problem with your idea which has merit is that players have sued the CHL effectively to have them ply at a younger age.

I agree that some kids mature at a later stage however, the NHL courts have to look at them and draft them at 18 again because someone sued that league. Do I think 15-year old are ready for life away from home and the puck bunnies, NO but there is nothing that can be done?

I believe the term “puck bunny” is not as endearing as it used to be in the new #metoo movement so be careful.

The problem with any new way forward is it is meant to solve a perceived problem but as soon as you make a change it usually creates an alternate problem.

For example, if we were to draft kids at an older age to the OHL, it would mean we’ve have to also draft to the NHL at an older age, otherwise we’d have less years of eligibility for participation. Some would say 18 to 21 may be a better product for the OHL but could you imagine the top end players that are more than capable of playing NHL being stuck in the OHL?

It may solve the problem associated to not being able to identify and evaluate players accurately but it may create the problem of player graduation lessening the talent pool overall.

So, there is no real solution. The league ain’t broke so why try to fix it?

 

[Kenny Chu]

I believe the term “puck bunny” is not as endearing as it used to be in the new #metoo movement so be careful.

The problem with any new way forward is it is meant to solve a perceived problem but as soon as you make a change it usually creates an alternate problem.

For example, if we were to draft kids at an older age to the OHL, it would mean we’ve have to also draft to the NHL at an older age, otherwise we’d have less years of eligibility for participation. Some would say 18 to 21 may be a better product for the OHL but could you imagine the top end players that are more than capable of playing NHL being stuck in the OHL?

It may solve the problem associated to not being able to identify and evaluate players accurately but it may create the problem of player graduation lessening the talent pool overall.

So, there is no real solution. The league ain’t broke so why try to fix it?

The league has problems including a class action lawsuit for not paying their professional minimum wage and other benefits. The chickens are being called to roost and the farmer says several teams will go tits up and others will not be competitive if the action succeeds. Change will come OMG67. Including in the NHL.