Ottawa 67's 2018 Offseason Thread

[ETA 2000 Fan]

 

[BarberPole9]

If the season were to start tomorrow, how would the team line up? Here's my best guess:

Goalie:
Andree
Cranley:

Defence:
Okhotyuk-Hoefenmayer
Bahl-Robertson
Rippon-Wilson
Peric
Belanger

Forwards:
K.Clark-Chmelevski-Felhaber
Keating-Rossi-G. Clarke
Tolnai-Hoelscher-Bitten
Quinn-Boomhower-Yule
Losev

Things that NEED to happen:

1) Add a Goalie who can put up a .905+ save percentage;
2) Add an Overage Forward who can play in the top six (even if Barron returns)

 

[OMG67]

If the season were to start tomorrow, how would the team line up? Here's my best guess:

Goalie:
Andree
Cranley:

Defence:
Okhotyuk-Hoefenmayer
Bahl-Robertson
Rippon-Wilson
Peric
Belanger

Forwards:
K.Clark-Chmelevski-Felhaber
Keating-Rossi-G. Clarke
Tolnai-Hoelscher-Bitten
Quinn-Boomhower-Yule
Losev

Things that NEED to happen:

1) Add a Goalie who can put up a .905+ save percentage;
2) Add an Overage Forward who can play in the top six (even if Barron returns)

I know this is a "today" roster but I doubt we see Boomhower and Losev back. I think if they do manage to acquire the assets they need int he off season, it will make those two odd men out. We may see Boomhower to start the season if they are unable to get that OA you are referencing but I doubt we waste an OA on a 4th line role and I think you are correct with he depth chart. He would be 4th line or at least 3rd line but only out of age respect with Tolnai in the 4th centre role because of his rookie status, but he won't remain there.

It will be interesting to see if any other players like Afanseyev manage to work their way into the lineup if we get some NCAA reports.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

If the season were to start tomorrow, how would the team line up? Here's my best guess:

Goalie:
Andree
Cranley:

Defence:
Okhotyuk-Hoefenmayer
Bahl-Robertson
Rippon-Wilson
Peric
Belanger

Forwards:
K.Clark-Chmelevski-Felhaber
Keating-Rossi-G. Clarke
Tolnai-Hoelscher-Bitten
Quinn-Boomhower-Yule
Losev

Things that NEED to happen:

1) Add a Goalie who can put up a .905+ save percentage;
2) Add an Overage Forward who can play in the top six (even if Barron returns)

My take? Hoelscher, Tolnai and Bitten (sometimes) are all centres and none of Boomhower, Yule or Quinn are. Hoelscher is a drafted 18 year old and Rossi will need some time to adjust to NA game.

My guess is it looks more like:

Felhaber-Chmelevski-Clark
Keating-Hoelscher-Clarke (hopefully GC's 'complete' game is ready for top-6)
Bitten-Tolnai-Quinn
Yule-Rossi-Boomhower/Losev (IF Boomer's energy can be brought under control - I'm not sure Losev is an OHL player)

I'd much rather see Chem on RW and a legit #1 centre brought in. That bumps down everyone on the right side and you'll likely lose 1D and/or 1F in the process, depending on the trading partner's needs.

Also, to get a legit #1 goaltender, you KNOW at least one of the D are gone and possibly one of the F. The bulk of last season, Ottawa played with 7D and 11F (mostly, I assume, because Peric was a pleasant surprise). That eliminates a 4th line and leaves you two 'spot duty' forwards which limits their playing time and taxes one or two of the other forwards who do double time to get them minutes. I don't see that as an effective long-term strategy.

Losing nothing on the back end, they have 7 experienced OHL D-men now. They'll have to make room for Belanger. One is likely gone but that still leaves 7, which, of course, is fine if they don't all expect to play every game.

It will be interesting to see what Mr. Boyd and Mr. Tourigny have up their collective sleeves.

 

[sirius67fan]

Goalie, goalie, goalie!
Cartage must be destroyed.

 

[OMG67]

My take? Hoelscher, Tolnai and Bitten (sometimes) are all centres and none of Boomhower, Yule or Quinn are. Hoelscher is a drafted 18 year old and Rossi will need some time to adjust to NA game.

My guess is it looks more like:

Felhaber-Chmelevski-Clark
Keating-Hoelscher-Clarke (hopefully GC's 'complete' game is ready for top-6)
Bitten-Tolnai-Quinn
Yule-Rossi-Boomhower/Losev (IF Boomer's energy can be brought under control - I'm not sure Losev is an OHL player)

I'd much rather see Chem on RW and a legit #1 centre brought in. That bumps down everyone on the right side and you'll likely lose 1D and/or 1F in the process, depending on the trading partner's needs.

Also, to get a legit #1 goaltender, you KNOW at least one of the D are gone and possibly one of the F. The bulk of last season, Ottawa played with 7D and 11F (mostly, I assume, because Peric was a pleasant surprise). That eliminates a 4th line and leaves you two 'spot duty' forwards which limits their playing time and taxes one or two of the other forwards who do double time to get them minutes. I don't see that as an effective long-term strategy.

Losing nothing on the back end, they have 7 experienced OHL D-men now. They'll have to make room for Belanger. One is likely gone but that still leaves 7, which, of course, is fine if they don't all expect to play every game.

It will be interesting to see what Mr. Boyd and Mr. Tourigny have up their collective sleeves.

Yes, they will roll with SEVEN D-Men. Usually the 16 year old gets spot duty here and there during injuries and rest days for 3 in 3’s. The only issue is it will be tough to “rest” any of our current top 6 as they are all bonafide OHL D-Men. You are likely right. They will dress 7 D-Men and 11 Forwards. The good part about that is if you are correct and Rossi starts on the 4th line then he will always get a legit winger to play with when that player drops down for a shift.

It is fun to do these projected lineups but the reality is we know we will likely lose a few players in the process. Something tells me Hoelscher is the odd man out if we make a big move for a top centre. Clarke will likely not waive his NTC. Bitten and Quinn are local. No sense trading a top 6 player in Keating, Clark or Chmelevski to get a similar aged player. That leaves Hoelscher as the likely candidate to move if we have to toss a young’ish forward back. I just can’t see any of the other players that don’t have trade protection being all that coveted up front, at least until the underage window opens and they will start asking for Tolnai.

 

[sirius67fan]

Yes, they will roll with SEVEN D-Men. Usually the 16 year old gets spot duty here and there during injuries and rest days for 3 in 3’s. The only issue is it will be tough to “rest” any of our current top 6 as they are all bonafide OHL D-Men. You are likely right. They will dress 7 D-Men and 11 Forwards. The good part about that is if you are correct and Rossi starts on the 4th line then he will always get a legit winger to play with when that player drops down for a shift.

It is fun to do these projected lineups but the reality is we know we will likely lose a few players in the process. Something tells me Hoelscher is the odd man out if we make a big move for a top centre. Clarke will likely not waive his NTC. Bitten and Quinn are local. No sense trading a top 6 player in Keating, Clark or Chmelevski to get a similar aged player. That leaves Hoelscher as the likely candidate to move if we have to toss a young’ish forward back. I just can’t see any of the other players that don’t have trade protection being all that coveted up front, at least until the underage window opens and they will start asking for Tolnai.

I doubt Hoelscher goes anywhere, too much upside and I've been told really liked by the brass. We have plenty of other assets so we don't need to touch him. If we do load up with another top 6 forward, having Hoelscher as your third center starts to look like we have a true contender.

 

[sirius67fan]

My take? Hoelscher, Tolnai and Bitten (sometimes) are all centres and none of Boomhower, Yule or Quinn are. Hoelscher is a drafted 18 year old and Rossi will need some time to adjust to NA game.

My guess is it looks more like:

Felhaber-Chmelevski-Clark
Keating-Hoelscher-Clarke (hopefully GC's 'complete' game is ready for top-6)
Bitten-Tolnai-Quinn
Yule-Rossi-Boomhower/Losev (IF Boomer's energy can be brought under control - I'm not sure Losev is an OHL player)

I'd much rather see Chem on RW and a legit #1 centre brought in. That bumps down everyone on the right side and you'll likely lose 1D and/or 1F in the process, depending on the trading partner's needs.

Also, to get a legit #1 goaltender, you KNOW at least one of the D are gone and possibly one of the F. The bulk of last season, Ottawa played with 7D and 11F (mostly, I assume, because Peric was a pleasant surprise). That eliminates a 4th line and leaves you two 'spot duty' forwards which limits their playing time and taxes one or two of the other forwards who do double time to get them minutes. I don't see that as an effective long-term strategy.

Losing nothing on the back end, they have 7 experienced OHL D-men now. They'll have to make room for Belanger. One is likely gone but that still leaves 7, which, of course, is fine if they don't all expect to play every game. Can't see Hoelscher and Keating together, as other posters mentioned the chemistry wasn't great and I agree. They did not get Rossi to play fourth line imo. I wonder if Rossi although only 17 can be that dynamic forward, game changer we have not had since TK?

 

[OMG67]

I doubt Hoelscher goes anywhere, too much upside and I've been told really liked by the brass. We have plenty of other assets so we don't need to touch him. If we do load up with another top 6 forward, having Hoelscher as your third center starts to look like we have a true contender.

I agree but it looks more like certain teams will want a top 17 or 18 year old forward involved in any trade. Regardless of our other assets, if we get involved in a bidding situation, Hoelscher is the odd man out. For example, if Windsor demands one of Hoelscher, Clarke, or Quinn and Clarke and Quinn holding no trade protection refuse to move, it leaves Hoelscher. IT is something we need to consider as a possibility in a depth chart of we bring in a true #1 Centre as well. Although, I think that position can be acquired for just picks as an OA.

 

[sirius67fan]

Just noticed I botched my last post. Was essentially replying to ETA fan and saying I don't see Hoelscher/ Keating on the same line. Poor chemistry last year which was mentionned by a few posters. I don't think they picked Rossi so he plays fourth line, and I suspect to get him over there will be some type of icetime garantee. Speaking of Rossi the more I hear and see, I wonder if despite being 17 if he can be that offensive game changer we have not had since TK?

 

[OMG67]

Just noticed I botched my last post. Was essentially replying to ETA fan and saying I don't see Hoelscher/ Keating on the same line. Poor chemistry last year which was mentionned by a few posters. I don't think they picked Rossi so he plays fourth line, and I suspect to get him over there will be some type of icetime garantee. Speaking of Rossi the more I hear and see, I wonder if despite being 17 if he can be that offensive game changer we have not had since TK?

I believe both of you are correct. I think Rossi will start as the 3rd or 4th line centre as ETA says but once he gets comfortable, he will elevate as high as his skill and talent will allow.

The clips I have seen suggest he has the same sort of skill set as Mitch Marner. We all know what Marner looked like at 17. I believe we could see something similar once he is comfortable.

I think it will be Tolnai who starts as the 4th line centre. He will also get comfortable and need to be elevated.

Here's the problem. If we keep Chmelevski at centre with Hoelscher, Tolnai and Rossi, that is 4 centres. One will have to shift to the wing for sure. I doubt it will be Hoelscher. If we acquire a centre, it theoretically shifts Chmelevski to the wing. That would mean one of Tolnai or Rossi will need to shift to wing to stay off the 4th line.

 

[beastintheeast]

Goalie:
Experienced Goalie
Andree
Cranley:

Defence:
Okhotyuk-Hoefenmayer
Bahl-Robertson
Rippon-Wilson
Peric
Belanger

Forwards:
K.Clark-Chmelevski-Felhaber
Keating-Hoelscher-G. Clarke
Boomhower-Rossi-Bitten
Quinn-Tolnai-Yule
Losev

Trade Bait Rippon and Wilson.


I think that if some of the young draftees do well
A team that is rebuilding will be looking for a good player but will really be looking for draft picks.

 

[OMG67]

Goalie:
Experienced Goalie
Andree
Cranley:

Defence:
Okhotyuk-Hoefenmayer
Bahl-Robertson
Rippon-Wilson
Peric
Belanger

Forwards:
K.Clark-Chmelevski-Felhaber
Keating-Hoelscher-G. Clarke
Boomhower-Rossi-Bitten
Quinn-Tolnai-Yule
Losev

Trade Bait Rippon and Wilson.


I think that if some of the young draftees do well
A team that is rebuilding will be looking for a good player but will really be looking for draft picks.

Not a bad depth chart. As Sirius has said, Keating and Hoelscher aren’t really a good match so swapping Clark and Keating may be a solution. KEating was a good match with Chmelevski.

I think if we keep Boomhower, it may be better to slide him up the roster a little beside Hoelscher and Clarke. He may add that extra umph that the lineup is missing. That puts Clark with Rossi and if he is the passer he looks like, Clark may end up with a lot of scoring opportunities. It may balance the lines a little better.

As much as I dislike Robertson, playing him with Bahl may be interesting as Bahl can cover for him BUT I think Bahl may start to assert himself a little more offensively this season. If so, playing him with Wilson who will simply stay back at all times may be a better fit. Either that or Wilson and Robertson to allow Robertson some more time and space to push the play (which should be his strong suit). Rippon and Bahl would be a nasty pairing physically.

 

[PEPSIHEAD]

Not a bad depth chart. As Sirius has said, Keating and Hoelscher aren’t really a good match so swapping Clark and Keating may be a solution. KEating was a good match with Chmelevski.

I think if we keep Boomhower, it may be better to slide him up the roster a little beside Hoelscher and Clarke. He may add that extra umph that the lineup is missing. That puts Clark with Rossi and if he is the passer he looks like, Clark may end up with a lot of scoring opportunities. It may balance the lines a little better.

As much as I dislike Robertson, playing him with Bahl may be interesting as Bahl can cover for him BUT I think Bahl may start to assert himself a little more offensively this season. If so, playing him with Wilson who will simply stay back at all times may be a better fit. Either that or Wilson and Robertson to allow Robertson some more time and space to push the play (which should be his strong suit). Rippon and Bahl would be a nasty pairing physically.

I think the 67s are a Michael DiPietro away from being Memorial Cup favourites, what do 67s fans think? Am I out to lunch on this line of thinking?

 

[three dog night]

I think the 67s are a Michael DiPietro away from being Memorial Cup favourites, what do 67s fans think? Am I out to lunch on this line of thinking?

Lol I think you need to lay off the Kool aide.

 

[PEPSIHEAD]

Lol I think you need to lay off the Kool aide.

I think a reading comprehension course is in order. I asked for opinions from 67s fans, not IceDogs fans

 

[Runback]

I think the 67s are a Michael DiPietro away from being Memorial Cup favourites, what do 67s fans think? Am I out to lunch on this line of thinking?

I don't think we are that close. I do think we will have a very competitive team, which will be a great change from previous years.

 

[OMG67]

I think the 67s are a Michael DiPietro away from being Memorial Cup favourites, what do 67s fans think? Am I out to lunch on this line of thinking?

I think we would be in the conversation for OHL favourites. Right now, without DiPietro, we are favourites for home ice in round one.

Although I would like a top centre or prolific scoring winger to fill out or OA spot, we need the goalie. DiPietro is a game changing talent. He can elevate an 85 point team to a 100 point team with how many additional one goal games he can win.

 

[SaginawFan]

I'm still hearing that Saginaw and 67's are in discussions! Not sure what players now. But previously Busdeker, Grondin, Gilmour, Hill, Lamour have all been discussed about.

 

[beastintheeast]

I think the 67s are a Michael DiPietro away from being Memorial Cup favorites, what do 67s fans think? Am I out to lunch on this line of thinking?

It could be but unless Windsor can make him give up his NTC then he is not going anywhere until the Christmas break. Dipietro is in a very enviable position that he can call the shots and I am sure he is going to want to go to a team that is on the ice performing like a championship team.
If you look at this team we are the same team that he turned down last year.
If you are looking for him then you would have to go with the goalie3s that we have now for a few months. I am not sure that is a good idea.

 

[OMG67]

It could be but unless Windsor can make him give up his NTC then he is not going anywhere until the Christmas break. Dipietro is in a very enviable position that he can call the shots and I am sure he is going to want to go to a team that is on the ice performing like a championship team.
If you look at this team we are the same team that he turned down last year.
If you are looking for him then you would have to go with the goalie3s that we have now for a few months. I am not sure that is a good idea.

You are making an assumption that goes against all the rumours heard and reported last year.

What was reported was DiPietro didn’t want to move at the deadline last year to ANY team. He wanted to finish out the year with the Spits. Then, the following season he would move wherever was best for Windsor from a trade perspective.

If that report is true, then it wasn’t that he didn’t want to join the 67’s last year. It was he didn’t want to leave the Spits. There is a BIG difference.

Also, if that report is true, he will go anywhere he is traded. And let’s be honest, the teams willing to pony up the type of compensation to acquire him will be HIGHLY confident int heir ability to compete.

I’m not saying that report is true. I am just regurgitating the report.

If you are correct and he will only go to a team he is confident in, then that would hurt the potential trade return with such a small list. That would fly directly opposite to what everyone says about his character. So, I am not too sure that would be accurate.

I’m also not saying the 67s have any real interest in DiPietro because of the potential compensation required. They may not even have the pieces required. We may have players (17 years old) that have NTC in their contracts that they won’t waive to go to a rebuilding team. Who knows. All I know is it is an interesting topic for the month of July.

 

[analyser]

I do not feel that we really need Hill or Lamour. Gilmour and Grondin could be valuable assets.

Lamour had a strech of 3 games where he hsd a decent average and sv % in 2016/17. Last season his av. was over 4.00 and sv % was .867 or so in 17 games.
Not really flattering.

As far as Hill goes our defence is fine without him. We do not need to overload on the back end.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

Some interesting 67's reading in Brock Otten's (OHL Prospects blog) interview:

An Interview With Brock Otten of OHL Prospects

 

[OMG67]

Some interesting 67's reading in Brock Otten's (OHL Prospects blog) interview:

An Interview With Brock Otten of OHL Prospects

HE really drew a line in the sand there. He projects him as anywhere from a “no-sign” draft pick to a two way 2nd line centre depending on his development. I sorta found that funny.

 

[ETA 2000 Fan]

HE really drew a line in the sand there. He projects him as anywhere from a “no-sign” draft pick to a two way 2nd line centre depending on his development. I sorta found that funny.

Kind of translates to, "High ceiling, low floor", or what one might say about 90% of 18 year old prospects (not taken in the 1st round).