Sarnia Sting 2023-2024 Off-Season Thread (Part 1)

[nelli27]

continued from... Sarnia Sting 2023-24 Off-Season Thread

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[HkyBeegs3]

What reasons would the Sarnia Sting not be a destination for potential ohl players being drafted into the league. I keep reading other team threads that player a or player b said no to sarnia. Also heard something about Seca being hard to work with and arrogant. Anyone in the know care to share details?

 

[StingUpdates]

What reasons would the Sarnia Sting not be a destination for potential ohl players being drafted into the league. I keep reading other team threads that player a or player b said no to sarnia. Also heard something about Seca being hard to work with and arrogant. Anyone in the know care to share details?

Fitzgerald and Wassilyn. Who knows. Fitzgerald might be a no go for the OHL entirely. His hometown team took him & he didn't go to their rookie camp.

Wassilyn has had a cooked deal with Niagara for a long time. I remember hearing about it months ago.

As for Seca OHL4Life (who said the part about him) knows people so id imagine some agents have maybe said it. They've rarely had commitment issues lately. Have gotten a few USA kids over (Filak, Fischer the big ones.) Along with their import picks. not to worried about it. From what I've heard players have really appreciated how they were treated, handled here since Seca, Letang, Legwand have took over.

Some kids just can't be convinced or swayed. Is what it is.

 

[stinger94]

Anyone heard anything on Beckham Edwards?

As for the above comment - I actually think Sarnia has a lot to offer - good location (especially so for nabbing US/Michigan players), good ownership, WJC pedigree coach (say what you want about his performance as HC but he still made it there lol), good/decent facilities, track record of guys with NHL success, especially recently.

I’d put Sarnia somewhere in the lower top half of the league in terms of teams that players would want to play for. This is all on average of course. I say this as someone who grew up in the GTA and has lived in eastern Ontario as well, so I’m not just biased towards Sarnia

I have said it before and I will say it again, I do think the OHL/CHL are losing MASSIVELY to NCAA as a whole right now, which of course affects guys that want to come to any OHL team, not just Sarnia.

 

[OHL4Life]

Fitzgerald and Wassilyn. Who knows. Fitzgerald might be a no go for the OHL entirely. His hometown team took him & he didn't go to their rookie camp.

Wassilyn has had a cooked deal with Niagara for a long time. I remember hearing about it months ago.

As for Seca OHL4Life (who said the part about him) knows people so id imagine some agents have maybe said it. They've rarely had commitment issues lately. Have gotten a few USA kids over (Filak, Fischer the big ones.) Along with their import picks. not to worried about it. From what I've heard players have really appreciated how they were treated, handled here since Seca, Letang, Legwand have took over.

Some kids just can't be convinced or swayed. Is what it is.

i believe at the end of the day fitzgerald will be in peterborough, sarnia put alot of work into him, but for whatever reason the fitzgerald camp was turned off by sarnia. wasslyn was their next pick, he would have gone originally but i think there was some communication between the two that was not great either. a week before the draft wasslyn would go 1, 2 or 4, that changed with fitzgerald closer to the draft, not sure the whole story.

i know seca isnt loved by agents, some gms, but i have no knowledge of it personally.

 

[StingUpdates]

Hes probably one of the younger, lesser experienced GMs in the league. So got things to work on like all do. Still love his drafts & trades so far.

Would've preferred Wassilyn, but I actually like Di Iorio over Fitzgerald so I'm more than happy it went the way it did.

Hoping to go to rookie camp this weekend at the legionnaires arena. See who all attends & how some of them look in person.

 

[HkyBeegs3]

finally have a weekend off so I'll most likely be at the arena Saturday! can't wait to see the new sting draftees! Hopefully we get some of them signed this weekend also

 

[davewheeler]

Vilmanis tied for most points in the playoffs yet could hardly get on the ice for Sarnia last year and parts of this year. I love seeing his talent shine. Florida must be happy too.

 

[robp1219]

Vilmanis tied for most points in the playoffs yet could hardly get on the ice for Sarnia last year and parts of this year. I love seeing his talent shine. Florida must be happy too.

Looks like he was able to find the net lol , good for him tho! I liked his game, just needed better accuracy on the shot.

 

[davewheeler]

Looks like he was able to find the net lol , good for him tho! I liked his game, just needed better accuracy on the shot.

Amazing what confidence can do for a kid.

 

[stingwagoner]

Amazing what a coach that sees talent and puts you with linemates that compliment him.
Letang has problems seeing which guys can play together, he has favourites and plays them regardless or chemistry and players ability. Perfect example
Filak or sikic Played with vilmanis yet couldnt help vilmanis excel. There are issues I see with Letang as a Coach, that need addressing. Mostly in his lines and players to carry team.
Namesntikov excelled leaving Sarnia
Macdonnell excelled leaving Sarnia
Martone excelled leaving Sarnia
Dann excelled leaving Sarnia
GAUDREAU excelled leaving Sarnia that's just last bunch of years
Why is this the case? Confidence is the biggest developer of next level players. We need to wake letang up on this aspect

 

[HockeyPops]

 

[StingUpdates]

Amazing what a coach that sees talent and puts you with linemates that compliment him.
Letang has problems seeing which guys can play together, he has favourites and plays them regardless or chemistry and players ability. Perfect example
Filak or sikic Played with vilmanis yet couldnt help vilmanis excel. There are issues I see with Letang as a Coach, that need addressing. Mostly in his lines and players to carry team.
Namesntikov excelled leaving Sarnia
Macdonnell excelled leaving Sarnia
Martone excelled leaving Sarnia
Dann excelled leaving Sarnia
GAUDREAU excelled leaving Sarnia that's just last bunch of years
Why is this the case? Confidence is the biggest developer of next level players. We need to wake letang up on this aspect

Uh Dann did not excel. He actually completely went backwards. 29G as an 18 yr old with Sarnia. Never hit that again. Went -56 after moving.

Namestnikov played great last yr. This yr? Nope. Totally regressed. 15 less goals & 11 less points in more games.

MacDonell & Martone didn't excel leaving Sarnia, they got older & are now T6 players. That's how Jr works. They'd be doing the same thing if they were here.

Gaudreau didn't either. In 3 seasons with us his sv% was 0.891, 0.890, 0.889. with Erie this year? 0.890. the exact same.

There was nobody on this roster you could put with Vilmanis that would have the impact that playing with Arnsby, Romani, Nelson, Van Steensel does for him in NB.

Also we seem to be forgetting he completely & utterly disappeared vs LDN last yr. He was a complete non factor when we needed him to be a difference maker going against their 3rd line. He played with Lantz & Wainwright who each had great series vs them while he did not.

We always joked he'd be leading the league in goals if the dude just hit the bloody net. In NB he has been & then some. Awesome to see but not everything comes back to Letang. Especially in this case.

 

[robp1219]

Amazing what a coach that sees talent and puts you with linemates that compliment him.
Letang has problems seeing which guys can play together, he has favourites and plays them regardless or chemistry and players ability. Perfect example
Filak or sikic Played with vilmanis yet couldnt help vilmanis excel. There are issues I see with Letang as a Coach, that need addressing. Mostly in his lines and players to carry team.
Namesntikov excelled leaving Sarnia
Macdonnell excelled leaving Sarnia
Martone excelled leaving Sarnia
Dann excelled leaving Sarnia
GAUDREAU excelled leaving Sarnia that's just last bunch of years
Why is this the case? Confidence is the biggest developer of next level players. We need to wake letang up on this aspect

I agree with what you are saying about Letang. But Gaudreau and Danns best years statistically were in sarnia. Gaudreaus best year was his 16 year old season. And dann had a great year in sarnia as a 18 year old and had slightly better numbers this year as an OA tho. Martone and Macdonell played solid for very young’s players and were both starting to produce more before the sting got rid of them, they both would have produced whether they stayed or went somewhere else. Vilmanis I agree with he benefited from a change of scenery as did namestnikov but he was givin all the chances to prove himself but never did. Sometimes it’s just chemistry with certain players.

 

[robp1219]

Uh Dann did not excel. He actually completely went backwards. 29G as an 18 yr old with Sarnia. Never hit that again. Went -56 after moving.

Namestnikov played great last yr. This yr? Nope. Totally regressed. 15 less goals & 11 less points in more games.

MacDonell & Martone didn't excel leaving Sarnia, they got older & are now T6 players. That's how Jr works. They'd be doing the same thing if they were here.

Gaudreau didn't either. In 3 seasons with us his sv% was 0.891, 0.890, 0.889. with Erie this year? 0.890. the exact same.

There was nobody on this roster you could put with Vilmanis that would have the impact that playing with Arnsby, Romani, Nelson, Van Steensel does for him in NB.

Also we seem to be forgetting he completely & utterly disappeared vs LDN last yr. He was a complete non factor when we needed him to be a difference maker going against their 3rd line. He played with Lantz & Wainwright who each had great series vs them while he did not.

We always joked he'd be leading the league in goals if the dude just hit the bloody net. In NB he has been & then some. Awesome to see but not everything comes back to Letang. Especially in this case.

Namestnikov really missed poirtas this year lol

 

[StingUpdates]

Namestnikov really missed poirtas this year lol

Oh yah lol. Think this yr really showed how much Portrais carried that team/offense last year. Still surprised he stuck in the NHL though.

 

[StingUpdates]

Nobody to surprising at rookie camp. Gaughan is there, but that wasn't thought to be a maybe. No Edwards.

Gabriel Trozzo (our 11th rounder) is though. He was taken in the USHL draft last year. Adds to a crowded Dcore.

 

[stinger94]

Nobody to surprising at rookie camp. Gaughan is there, but that wasn't thought to be a maybe. No Edwards.

Gabriel Trozzo (our 11th rounder) is though. He was taken in the USHL draft last year. Adds to a crowded Dcore.

Too bad on Edwards, was hoping maybe there was a chance he’d show up.

 

[StingUpdates]

Too bad on Edwards, was hoping maybe there was a chance he’d show up.

The way Seca spoke it seemed like maybe more of a next year thing. Realistically for a lot these kids they come back to Canada because they dislike their coach/team/living arrangement/ice time or are home sick.

Hopefully at some point one of those happens & he wants to come our way. Be big.

 

[StingUpdates]

Actually Im an idiot & didn't notice that Nicholas Bogas is at camp. 11th round pick that would've went significantly higher. Played for Oakland this year. The neutral zone live stream for the OHL draft mentioned that in their opinion he's a top Dman for his age group in Michigan & that he has a ton of USHL interest.

That would be a huge signing if they got it done. Encouraging he's here though. Came from Oakland. Their other American picks Brayden Hughes is also here.

 

[Jason M]

One name to keep an eye on. Is Dracen Campbell FA. Had 49pts in 41 games for Mooretown this year. Also is still only 16.

 

[StingUpdates]

Di Iorio has a wicked shot. It's the best one here & it ain't close. He's a great skater too. Gonna be such a fun player to watch.

Brown looks bigger already. It's noticeable. I really do hope Bridgewater works out. Not saying he's ANYWHERE near these guys level, but he's like Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar with how the instant he gets it he's going 100mph the other way to generate offense.

Bogus is impressive. Good size, good skater, lengthy, good puck skills. This team is absolutely loaded on defence. Never seen them have so many guys who can probably play OHL level that are 17U.

 

[davewheeler]

The way Seca spoke it seemed like maybe more of a next year thing. Realistically for a lot these kids they come back to Canada because they dislike their coach/team/living arrangement/ice time or are home sick.

Hopefully at some point one of those happens & he wants to come our way. Be big.

I always found it weird when Canadian kids would go play in the ushl for like Youngstown or Green Bay ... Adam Fantail for example.... guy went to New Hampshire to a prep school for a year... then Chicago USHL for two years then Michigan for 1 year.... That just seems like a ton of work for a 16-18 year old kid. ....

 

[StingUpdates]

Alright back from the rookie camp. Gonna mainly focus on the recent draft class as we know the 07 guys well. But as i mentioned Brown looked bigger to me. He dominated play every time he was out there. Barr looked a bit bigger too i thought. Luecke was good. He;s gonna be a guy i really focus on come camp.

As for the 2008s. This class has some serious potential IMO. A lot of these kids are really raw, but possess elite traits.

Di Iorio as advertised is sick. Best shot of anyone there includingt the 07s. Nasty hands too as he turned multiple guys inside out. He's gonna be so fun to watch.

Gaughan will take some time to find his footing in the league if i had to guess as his jump is gonna be bigger than most with where he played but really like his skillset. 6'1", solid skater, uses his length a lot, good shot, soft hands. Like ADI (Di Iorio) he made a couple guys look real silly. The potential of a 1-2 C punch with him & ADI is really fun.

Simpson, Chamberlain, Neusteter & Garret all have legit potential IMO. But all need to refine their skills/develop other areas. All 4 skate well, especially Chamberlain who's an elite skater. He can absolutely fly & showed nice skill on a couple breakaways. Simpson is very raw but is big, skates well, showed flashes of skill & is known as one of the bigger hitters from this draft class. Neusteter is a typical London pick. I know i say that a lot but their the gold standard. Big, mean, skates well. Gotta develop the other areas. If he does he'll be a good T4, steady Dman. Garret just looked solid everywhere. Size, skating, puck skills, defence. Can see why they were happy about him.

Josh Denes (9th rounder) was very good. Bit undersized, but legit skill & shooting ability. Good skater too. Could see him having a good yr wherever he ends up. If he could grow just a little we might have something there. Brayden Hughes is the definition of hate to play against him, love to have him on your team. He was going at anything that moved. He & Brown were going at it every time they were out there. Has a lot to work on, but he'd be an awesome one to have work out and he'd have the best hair we've seen maybe ever! haha. Goes down to the number on the back. Bennett (13th RD) is a fire plug, too. Good skater with high motor, physicality.


Kapagerdis showed off some great skill, but also struggled at times. Bogus has all the tools to be a great Dman. Just wonder if we can sell him on signing when we have 100 other Dmen. Of the goalies Grovestine was the best. He stood on his head for sometime during the 3on3 portion.

Overall quite happy with what i saw. As mentioned this class has some legit potential IMO, but as we've seen witb McIntyre, Hogue etc being very raw doesn't mean you'll pan out & some of these guys won't just hopefully more of them do than don't!

Apologies for the short story, but let's be real you guys were due! it's been a couple weeks, haha.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

Alright back from the rookie camp. Gonna mainly focus on the recent draft class as we know the 07 guys well. But as i mentioned Brown looked bigger to me. He dominated play every time he was out there. Barr looked a bit bigger too i thought. Luecke was good. He;s gonna be a guy i really focus on come camp.

As for the 2008s. This class has some serious potential IMO. A lot of these kids are really raw, but possess elite traits.

Di Iorio as advertised is sick. Best shot of anyone there includingt the 07s. Nasty hands too as he turned multiple guys inside out. He's gonna be so fun to watch.

Gaughan will take some time to find his footing in the league if i had to guess as his jump is gonna be bigger than most with where he played but really like his skillset. 6'1", solid skater, uses his length a lot, good shot, soft hands. Like ADI (Di Iorio) he made a couple guys look real silly. The potential of a 1-2 C punch with him & ADI is really fun.

Simpson, Chamberlain, Neusteter & Garret all have legit potential IMO. But all need to refine their skills/develop other areas. All 4 skate well, especially Chamberlain who's an elite skater. He can absolutely fly & showed nice skill on a couple breakaways. Simpson is very raw but is big, skates well, showed flashes of skill & is known as one of the bigger hitters from this draft class. Neusteter is a typical London pick. I know i say that a lot but their the gold standard. Big, mean, skates well. Gotta develop the other areas. If he does he'll be a good T4, steady Dman. Garret just looked solid everywhere. Size, skating, puck skills, defence. Can see why they were happy about him.

Josh Denes (9th rounder) was very good. Bit undersized, but legit skill & shooting ability. Good skater too. Could see him having a good yr wherever he ends up. If he could grow just a little we might have something there. Brayden Hughes is the definition of hate to play against him, love to have him on your team. He was going at anything that moved. He & Brown were going at it every time they were out there. Has a lot to work on, but he'd be an awesome one to have work out and he'd have the best hair we've seen maybe ever! haha. Goes down to the number on the back. Bennett (13th RD) is a fire plug, too. Good skater with high motor, physicality.


Kapagerdis showed off some great skill, but also struggled at times. Bogus has all the tools to be a great Dman. Just wonder if we can sell him on signing when we have 100 other Dmen. Of the goalies Grovestine was the best. He stood on his head for sometime during the 3on3 portion.

Overall quite happy with what i saw. As mentioned this class has some legit potential IMO, but as we've seen witb McIntyre, Hogue etc being very raw doesn't mean you'll pan out & some of these guys won't just hopefully more of them do than don't!

Apologies for the short story, but let's be real you guys were due! it's been a couple weeks, haha.

I always appreciate your short stories especially when I can't be there in person. Very encouraging reports on all the players. Love to hear that Brown has gotten bigger. That's the one thing that I was bit worried about with him. Awesome that Bogas was there too. Hopefully they were able to convince him to come. I'm assuming Edwards and Walos were the only two no shows from the 2024 draft picks