Plymouth Whalers 2014-15 Season Thread

[Whalers Fan]

Since the preseason is winding down, it's time to start the regular season thread.

The Whalers return a strong group of defensive players and the league's top goaltender from last season. They have also added some offensive punch, which should help with the team's biggest weakness from last season -- scoring goals.

The team's biggest change will be behind the bench, where Don Elland replaces longtime head coach Mike Vellucci, who has moved on to the front office of the Carolina Panthers. Hopefully Elland will be able to fill the very large shoes left by Mike.

The roster as of now. There could be one or two minor changes, but it looks to be pretty much set.

C Will Bitten (98)
C Mathew Campagna (94)
C Cullen Mercer (97)
C Victor Crus Rydberg (95)
C Francesco Vilardi (96)
LW Nicjholas Caamano (98)
LW Liam Dunda (97)
LW Sonny Milano (96)
LW Matt Mistele (95)
LW Danny Vanderweil (95)
RW Connor Chatham (95)
RW Brook Hiddink (97)
RW Vincent Scognamiglio (96)
RW Connor Sills (95)
RW Bryce Yetman (97)
D Alex Peters (96)
D Alex DiCarlo (97)
D Tyler Sensky (97)
D Mitch Jones (95)
D Josh Wesley (96)
D Matheiu Henderson (96)
D Yannick Rathgeb (95)
D Gianluca Curcuruto (94)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (96)
G Zach Bowman (97)

Team captain during the preseason was Alex Peters, although I have not seen an official announcement on this for the regular season.

The additions of Sonny Milano, Mathew Campagna and Will Bitten should help improve the offense. I expect Matt Mistele to be improved this season after being a disappointment last year, too.

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[CBJWhaler]

Here are a few thoughts on the game vs Guelph last night,

With lots of regulars out of the lineup I thought the youngsters looked pretty good. Connor Chatham dropped back and played D, and while you could see at times he was a forward playing D, he did not look out of place (I don't often see the Whalers, so I don't no if Chatham on D is a regular occurrence). In Net Zack Bowman looked fairly good despite letting in 4. The 2nd goal was a cheap one banged off a defenders skate an into the net, no chance for Bowman. The 3rd was a goal mouth scramble.. again no chance. An the fourth was an absolute lazer by Pius Suter to the top corner.. again no chance. Goaltending will definitely not be an issue for the Whalers in 14-15 (not that it was last season). Defensively, I liked the development of Alex Di Carlo & Tyler Sensky, even as 97's with limited OHL action they looked calm and composed and like veterans. Yannick Rathgeb, looked pretty good on the power play, made some nice outlet passes. Really liked Mathieu Henderson's game, very smooth skater, calm under pressure, made great outlet passes, skating the puck out of trouble numerous times, and ran the power play very well. Got tons of pucks through on the PP creating lots of opportunities. Up front, I was expecting Vilardi to really carry the team offensively, didn't exactly see that. He didn't stand out amongst players I think he is much better then, a disappointing viewing for myself. Nicholas Caamano, had what I'd call limited ice for a team dressing just 16 players, but you can see he has dynamic hands, and great offensive vision. He definitely needs to bulk up an be stronger in the corners, but he is 16 so some growing pains are expected. Liam Dunda looked improved over my two viewings last season, really used his big frame to protect the puck and win puck battles. Drove the net well, was a presence in front of the net, it also looked like his skating improved. If he could add some scoring touch he could be dangerous. Danny Vanderwiel wore the C and in my opinion he was one of the best forwards on the ice, scored the 1st Whalers goal. Brook Hiddink had the 2nd Whalers goal. Really liked what I saw out of 1st round pick Will Bitten, looked good on both the power play and penalty kill. Scored the 3rd Whalers goal, looked dangerous offensively, was directing traffic on the PK and was great on the forecheck. You can see he has a very high hockey IQ, the points may not come rapidly to start the season, but they will most definitely come, an in the mean time he will be a useful top 9 forward.

My potential lineup for the Whalers,

Milano-Campagna-Vanderwiel
Mistele-Vilardi-Crus Rydberg
Chatham-Bitten-Mercer
Dunda-Sills-Yetman
Caamano,Hiddink,Scognamiglio

Peters-Wesley
Curcuruto-Rathgeb
Henderson - Jones
Sensky, Di Carlo

Nedeljkovic
Bowman

Personally I feel between Mercer, Caamano, Yetman, Hiddink, Dunda, Sills & Scognamiglio they can all be interchangeable with whoever is exceling staying in the lineup. The top 6 looks really good, as does the d-core and the goaltending, the bottom 6 is where the upgrades can be added late in the season, although Bitten & Chatham look capable on the 3rd line. The Whalers should be in the top 4 in the West this season anything less id feel would be a bit of a let down.

Chatham on the 3rd line is crazy.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Whaler forward Sonny Milano out 8 weeks due to facial fractures suffered in Traverse
City,with 2 weeks till the start of the Whales season,he will miss 6 weeks or between 15-17 games to start the season

 

[Whalers Fan]

That's not good news on Milano. You usually expect the players to just get stitched up and sent back on the ice when they are sent off with a cut. Obviously this injury was more serious.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Reading the Columbus Bluejackets board, it looks like Sonny Milano may not be out that long. Current report is that he will miss "at least two weeks". I guess 8 weeks technically fits that description, but hopefully it means he will be back sooner.

 

[jprenkert]

Has anyone recieved their season tickets yet? I'm still waiting for mine. Just thought we'd get them a touch sooner. Maybe I'm just too excited being a first time season ticket holder.

 

[CBJWhaler]

Has anyone recieved their season tickets yet? I'm still waiting for mine. Just thought we'd get them a touch sooner. Maybe I'm just too excited being a first time season ticket holder.

I had gotten mine on Wednesday!

 

[Whalers Fan]

Our tickets arrived on Thursday.

 

[Whalers Fan]

It looks like the Whalers will have most of their players back from NHL camps for their opener in London on Friday. Nedeljkovic, Wesley, Campagna, Peters, Curcuruto and Jones have all been sent back. That just leaves Crus Rydberg, Chatham, Mistele and Milano as yet to be returned. I have not seen any more news regarding Milano's injury, either.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Matt Mistele has been returned to the Whalers by the LA Kings. That leaves only Crus Rydberg (Islanders), Chatham (New Jersey) and Milano (Columbus) as still being at NHL camps.

 

[jprenkert]

Saw chatham was returned. Swear I saw crus ryberg was too. Glad to see we are getting everyone back in time for Friday/Saturday. Excited to see what Milano and Campagna can do together.

Ps. I finally recieved my tickets Monday in the mail! So pumped to watch hockey again

 

[Whalers Fan]

Saw chatham was returned. Swear I saw crus ryberg was too. Glad to see we are getting everyone back in time for Friday/Saturday. Excited to see what Milano and Campagna can do together.

Ps. I finally recieved my tickets Monday in the mail! So pumped to watch hockey again

I had to dig, but found the announcement on Crus Rydberg being sent back on 9/23. That just leaves Milano as the only one not being officially back, and that may have more to do with his injury than anything else.

Glad you received your tickets. I think Char sends them out in batches, so they all do not go out on the same day. I always have conflicting feelings about the season starting -- I love the idea of watching hockey again, but also feel sad that it means summer is over.

 

[Macker88]

Any of you Plymouth Whalers fans interested in an in depth OHL Western Conference Preview, check out this link, its a must read,

http://everythingsports88.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/2014-ohl-western-conference-season-preview/

 

[WhalerBlue]

VCR 1G 3A, CHATHAM 2A, PETERS 2A, CAMPAGNA 2G AND NED WITH A SHUTOUT. Not bad for a season opener on the road. Now lets see what we can do with Erie tomorrow. Should be a pretty good gauge to see how we stack up in the West.

 

[WhalerBlue]

Any of you Plymouth Whalers fans interested in an in depth OHL Western Conference Preview, check out this link, its a must read,

http://everythingsports88.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/2014-ohl-western-conference-season-preview/

A good article. Suggested reading. Lets see at the end of the year who exceeded expectations and who fell short. There always is atleast one of both in each Conference every year. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[jprenkert]

I thought the team looked good for the most part. Bitten looked good and excited to see how he improves in the future. Mistele was another one that stood out to me. Defense for the most part looked good. Our penalty kill probably needs some work. But excited to see how things progress this season. Could see a move for a little sand paper for the front of the net area. They seemed to shy away a touch towards the end of the game.
And they got jobbed on a couple penalties tonight. Especially the one in overtime!

 

[EON]

McDavid didn't have the puck and Mistele ran him over. Fair call

 

[Sadist]

Whalers looked pretty good for the most part, but they took way too many penalties. Yeah there were some borderline calls, but they put themselves in the position for those calls to be made. They need to be a little more disciplined, especially against a team with a talent like McDavid. Hopefully they learned a lesson about finishing games.

 

[wingsfan17]

My takeaways from the game:

• The first period, the Whalers looked like a championship contender. Also the fastest team I have seen in many years
• Two super weak penalties that lead to goals (I believe Erie's first and third) That being said, you can't give up 5 goals down a man, no excuses.
• Hate when the Whalers stop attacking offensively and play conservative with the lead, backfires way too much.
• Mistele was awesome, could've had 6 goals honestly, which is good and bad.
• Wesley's goal was top 3 I've ever seen from a Whaler. Ned made a huge save at the end of regulation to give the team a point.
• On the 5 on 3 they had Campagna and Gianluca both at the center of the zone like two feet from eachother..... separate.
• SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. My goodness I hate when fans say that but someone should have been saying it tonight. I don't think there was a SINGLE shot from the point (maybe one?) all game. They were working way too hard to take the puck in when they had good looks. Shoot the puck and hope for a screen/deflection/lucky bounce, especially when Gianluca's got a cannon.

 

[Whalers Fan]

The team's puck possession looks so much better than last season. When Milano gets back in the lineup things will only get better. The team does need to work on its penalty kill, but the officials were extremely generous towards Erie tonight - especially official #44. I wonder if he had a Conner McDavid tee shirt under his striped uniform?

Wesley's goal was a beauty. I didn't expect those types of moves from him. As others have mentioned, Mistele looks like a completely different player from the invisible man of last year -- I noted the same thing in the team's exhibition game against Windsor. Henderson also looks much improved.

Overall, not a bad start to the season, and this team should continue to improve throughout the season.

 

[Colin Mcdavis*]

Erie had 7 power plays. Plymouth had 6. Mc David spent 6 minutes IN the box. I would hardly call that favoritism. Let's not forget the generous power play Plymouth was given late in the game.

 

[EON]

Erie had 7 power plays. Plymouth had 6. Mc David spent 6 minutes IN the box. I would hardly call that favoritism. Let's not forget the generous power play Plymouth was given late in the game.

Agreed. There were definitely some weak calls both ways but seemed like a pretty fairly called game to me.

Plymouth was better in the first but after that i think Erie was better, and Plymouth could not stop Erie's powerplay. Can't blame the refs for giving up 4 straight PP goals (Erie started 0-3)

 

[Sadist]

Please Whalers fans, don't blame the refs. That is a weak argument in any sport. I felt as though the refs called too many penalties on both teams. I don't want to watch a game filled with power plays. The Whalers took some bad penalties at the worst possible time. That Mistele penalty in OT was totally unnecessary. If they had a little better defensive positioning, then maybe they don't make those plays.

I agree that they seemed to back off a bit after getting that 3-1 lead. Should have stayed aggressive. Also as mentioned, their puck possession and skating seemed way better than last year. Can't wait to see what Milano brings when he is back. I am looking forward to watch the team more this season.

 

[jprenkert]

Still in awe of Wesleys goal. Just saw a replay of it from the Hurricanes, and wow. I was sitting right there and still don't know how that went in. Everyone around us was thinking the same thing. Excited for the rest of the season.
Otters number 12 was a huge **** stain in the early part of the game. And love seeing the bit of fire in ned this season when it comes from getting hit or messed with.

 

[Duke Guy]

Are the Whalers expected to sign another overager?