Windsor Spitfires 2015 Off-Season Thread (part 2)

[hockeylegend11]

Spits

I guess we can all judge by their performance during the year and what NHL GM's think come draft time. It isn't about being stubborn either. Do you think Kirwan came into camp last year in poor shape because he knew he had an extra year to get in shape?

Who cares about the past, I look at the present and the future and Kirwan apparently got the message, Day has not and that's where u are being stubborn, with you its always the past.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Who cares about the past, I look at the present and the future and Kirwan apparently got the message, Day has not and that's where u are being stubborn, with you its always the past.

You're right you never bring up the past like the back to back Memorial Cups which has bought the organization 4 years of goodwill. You have to be kidding me with the last message you just sent. It's only about the past if it was successful if it was a poor year we won't discuss it at all and just look towards the future. If they finish in 7th place can we not discuss this year because that's a poor year and look forward to 16/17?

 

[OHLTG]

When was Day listed at his above-average weight? I thought it was nearly a month ago now? In hockey time, that's a LONG time. I'll reserve judgement until he shows up at camp well-overweight.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Rayzor

Here is a deal for you though I doubt you will accept, from here forward no talk about the past, whether its 7 years or last yr
Only talk what occurs from here forward. Accept or deny, no ifs or buts, its from August 27 till the end of the season coming.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Rayzor

Here is a deal for you though I doubt you will accept, from here forward no talk about the past, whether its 7 years or last yr
Only talk what occurs from here forward. Accept or deny, no ifs or buts, its from August 27 till the end of the season coming.

No because like it or not the reasons for success or failure can be traced back to how you did in your draft a couple years ago. I know you don't like that but the Spits success will be dictated by how strong the OA, 19 year olds and 18 year olds perform.

 

[punch1943]

Punch

Prior to his injury Gauvin would have been 8th or 9th on the depth chart
re the d, 7 and 8 imo belongs to Burns and Auger, though Coffey and or Markovic may have something to say about that after camp.
As for defected players situation I see Rychel having zero interest in participating, one because of lack of picks, plus no 1st rd in 16, and no 2nd in 17, plus I don't see the need to acquire those possibly being declared defected.
As for the final o/a spot you are correct Soberg is most vulnerable, it will depend on a couple of things,1- how the other Euro forward Krumpf plays, 2- how Brandon Shea performs.
He is bigger 6'2"-215 lbs, and with the Spits going with a larger team model, and depending what the Spits will do in goal, do they chase an o/a tender or not.
Some of these answers won't be known for a couple of weeks yet.

IMHOBeauty is in the eye of the beholder..My guess is you rate Murray,Burns and Auger as the 6th,7th & 8th D-men on the totem pole at this point with Gauvin injured.If he had not been injured I can envision Gauvin ahead of them as both Burns and Murray would have more value as far as trade bait than the less experienced Gauvin. Gauvin is more of a physical presence than Burns and as he is younger than Murray has more potential. Auger has the advantage of being a R shot, only the 2nd on the team but unless his draft status means he must play on the Spits in my opinion his career would be better served playing in LaSalle than in the 8th slot on the Spits. As for the other two, Coffey and Tomassetti have an advantage over Markovic being RH but it would depend on if they want their 7th or 8th D-man to be physical or offensive...

 

[OHLTG]

Success this year is determined by much more than just how the veterans perform. It'll be how everyone performs, how they adjust to the new systems, how Thompson adjusts to the league, how the rookies and veterans chemistry blends out, and their off-season training. We're almost a brand new team with significant turnover from last year, so everyone has to up their performance, not just veterans.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Punch

Re Auger I would agree if he were to be the 8th guy LaSalle would be the best place for him to get lots of ice.
That being said I think Burns is the most vulnerable to be moved, have to see how he bounces back from a disappointing last season.Others such as Coffey and Markovic may be in the mix, though if it were me I would go with Auger instead of Coffey.Markovic is an interesting one, left camp last season prior to the blue and white game, though he did have a dinged up knee, gave him problems throughout the season, missed time, got traded, and overall had a non descript year probably with little notice from NCAA scouts.
He has an edge to his game, has nice size, decent puck skills, who knows maybe he pushes his way on the club,
I don't know.Coffey because we don't know his plans is tough to get a read on, has offensive skills, OK d wise, not big, guess we will see on him.
Others such as Thomasetti and Fineman we may see down the road, just not now.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Spits

Success this year is determined by much more than just how the veterans perform. It'll be how everyone performs, how they adjust to the new systems, how Thompson adjusts to the league, how the rookies and veterans chemistry blends out, and their off-season training. We're almost a brand new team with significant turnover from last year, so everyone has to up their performance, not just veterans.

Agreed onus is on everyone from staff to players to do their jobs, should be interesting to see how things turn out.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Spits

No because like it or not the reasons for success or failure can be traced back to how you did in your draft a couple years ago. I know you don't like that but the Spits success will be dictated by how strong the OA, 19 year olds and 18 year olds perform.

Not surprised, you did not disappoint, you bring up one bad cycle I bring up a great one that's fine by me.

 

[hockeylegend11]

With training camp just around the corner thought it was a good time to take a look at some of the question marks, possible story lines and other tidbits of info.
6 goalies are expected in camp, and while 2nd yr. goalie Brendan Johnston may have the inside track on the no1 job that is far from certain.
Rookie tender Michael Depietro will give him all he can handle, the 16 yr old 2nd rder is the real deal and could definitely win the starting job.
2 free agent goalies invited could prove interesting, soon to be 17 yr old Myles Hektor from Chicago and 18 yr old Mario Culena both 6'2" put impressive numbers with their respective teams,Chicago Mission and Sault Thunderbirds, garned some impressive ink, sure would be nice if 1 or both could challenge Johnston
I do have concerns re Johnston, so if one free agents plays great then it becomes intriguing.
Up next we talk about the D

 

[hockeylegend11]

16 defensemen will be expected in camp on Monday, and while I think the starting 6 is pretty much set in stone, in particular order, Sanvido,Chatfield, Murphy, Sergechev, Murray and Stanley
After that it becomes cloudy.
With Nick Gauvin done for the year, it opens things up a bit.
Andrew Burns will look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign after a promising playoff as a 16 yr old.
He will some competition from Kyle Auger a promising looking 16 yr old, drafted in the 2nd,Blake Coffey a 17 yr old 5th rounder who had a great yr last season with Pickering, and Ryan Markovic an 18 yr old who I thought was headed NCAA, is back and this could prove interesting.
He might be a Rocky Thompson type guy, gritty with a fairly decent skill set
Others such as Fletcher Fineman and Daniel Thomasetti will look to impress though this yr won't be their time.Other dmen named Busby,Guidorov,Stevenson and Graham, the last 3 rookies aren't expected to make an impact at this camp.
Should be interesting, and with 3 dmen leaving for pro camps it will give hope for those looking to leave their mark with the coaching staff
Forwards up next.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Re the d meant to say about the starting 6 no particular order.

 

[hockeylegend11]

29 forwards will be looking to leave a mark at this year's camp with 18-19 guys having a legitimate shot of making the squad.
Players pretty much assured of garnering a spot are L.Brown,McCool,Latour,Luchuk,Digi,
Stefano,Kirwan, Fischer, Vertiy,Boka,
Cole Carter should win a spot too, while small he is quick and has great hands.
It gets cloudy from here,2-20 yr olds Marcus Soberg and Brandon Shea, are in the mix but not both will stay, Shea missed last season, while Soberg struggled early and late last year, and taking 2 spots Euro/o/a will be a gamble, Shea has size, while Soberg has speed and has added almost 10 lbs to his thin frame.
Another guy in the mix is 19 yr old forward Dan Beaudoin, gritty, works hard and can score, whether he has OHL speed is the question , wish he were 18 not 19.
Big 18 yr old forward Daniel Miller is to be at camp, not sure if he has enough of a skill set to make it, he is tough, can fight, ok skater, not sure about him
Import forward Christof Kromp is to be at camp, will be interesting to see if outplays Soberg to grab the Euro spot.
The other forward I see challenging could be Sean Ross, the 17 yr scored 20 goals last yr as a 16 yr old for a bad team in Lambton Shores Jr B.
Most of the other forwards invited probably won't have a chance, though 2 Russian-Belarus guys Anton Troublin and Guigorov Fedulov a late 98 born Russian American RW who played well at rookie camp bears watching.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Interesting fact re upcoming training
camp roster
Spits will 5 Russian or Belorussian players
Vertiy
Sergechev
Guidorov
Troublin-Belorussian
Fedulov-American Russian

 

[OHLTG]

Few thoughts on those...

G - Part of me is expecting a veteran goalie to come in, but part of me wouldn't mind the young guys taking the reigns. I'd imagine DiPietro will challenge Johnston for top spot, regardless, while the two FAs will be in a fight for the back-up spot. I can't see Johnston taking the back-up spot.

D - The set-six sounds good to me, but it wouldn't shock me if a veteran gets beat out by a rookie. Someone like Auger or Coffey could sneak in there and really impress. I'm also expecting someone off the radar to make people go "whoa", and make it tough on the coaches.

F - Same with the D, most are set, though having a rookie outplay a veteran to earn a spot isn't out of the question. I'm intrigued by the rookies - Carter and Boka, specifically - as they're a bit of a wildcard. The thing is, with the F, there aren't many open spots barring a significant meltdown by a vet. The only guys who might be on the bubble, outside of Soberg, are Stefano and Luchuk. Even with those guys, though, they have speed and offensive abilities, which would prove valuable.

With the new coaching staff, there's a bit of a toss-up feel in the air, in that they could have a slightly different vision than Boughner et al. The old coaches had a certain style and look for the team, but that's all different now. The kids will be eager to impress. It kind of reminds me of the early Boughner days at the Barn.

That said, I am going to be there both Tues and Wed morning, and likely in the afternoons, too (barring something I'm currently unaware of).

 

[hockeylegend11]

ohltg

I agree will be curious to see how Carter and Boka,I expect them both to make team
As foe the D,I like the starting 6, will be interesting to see how it all shakes out

 

[OHLTG]

Legend, I assume you'll be at camp again?

 

[hockeylegend11]

Spits

Legend, I assume you'll be at camp again?

Yes, I will be there, Tuesday and Wednesday for all sessions, not Thursday have to work 13 hours that day 8am-9pm,see u there.

 

[punch1943]

ohltg

I agree will be curious to see how Carter and Boka,I expect them both to make team
As foe the D,I like the starting 6, will be interesting to see how it all shakes out

The guy I have interest in is Cole Purboo who looked so good at the Mini Camp. I'm surprised you guys failed to include him. I guess the question is will he get signed and if so will they try to bring him to Lasalle. With Bowler now in the mix regarding decision making will he be more inclined to get Spit draftees on the Vipers..

 

[OHLTG]

It was nothing more than a slip of the mind on my part. Frankly, I think he's got a chance, but he needs to sign.

 

[hockeylegend11]

The guy I have interest in is Cole Purboo who looked so good at the Mini Camp. I'm surprised you guys failed to include him. I guess the question is will he get signed and if so will they try to bring him to Lasalle. With Bowler now in the mix regarding decision making will he be more inclined to get Spit draftees on the Vipers..

Punch

You are right I forgot about him,and if he plays anywhere close to what he showed
at rookie camp and of course signed he will be here.

 

[PhlyerPhanatic31]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1940323

 

[oldPeng]

oops!

29 forwards will be looking to leave a mark at this year's camp with 18-19 guys having a legitimate shot of making the squad.
Players pretty much assured of garnering a spot are L.Brown,McCool,Latour,Luchuk,Digi,
Stefano,Kirwan, Fischer, Vertiy,Boka,
Cole Carter should win a spot too, while small he is quick and has great hands.
It gets cloudy from here,2-20 yr olds Marcus Soberg and Brandon Shea, are in the mix but not both will stay, Shea missed last season, while Soberg struggled early and late last year, and taking 2 spots Euro/o/a will be a gamble, Shea has size, while Soberg has speed and has added almost 10 lbs to his thin frame.
Another guy in the mix is 19 yr old forward Dan Beaudoin, gritty, works hard and can score, whether he has OHL speed is the question , wish he were 18 not 19.
Big 18 yr old forward Daniel Miller is to be at camp, not sure if he has enough of a skill set to make it, he is tough, can fight, ok skater, not sure about him
Import forward Christof Kromp is to be at camp, will be interesting to see if outplays Soberg to grab the Euro spot.
The other forward I see challenging could be Sean Ross, the 17 yr scored 20 goals last yr as a 16 yr old for a bad team in Lambton Shores Jr B.
Most of the other forwards invited probably won't have a chance, though 2 Russian-Belarus guys Anton Troublin and Guigorov Fedulov a late 98 born Russian American RW who played well at rookie camp bears watching.

you forgot last years first rounder Gabe Villardi!

 

[hockeylegend11]

Spits

you forgot last years first rounder Gabe Villardi!

You are right meant to put him on my list, oversight.