Windsor Spitfires 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 2)

[EON]

Continued from: Windsor Spitfires 2019-20 Season Thread

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[Cherrydon]

Medina playing 1 game is not criteria to pull the plug on Kari. What will be said after Xavier has some off nights? I am not saying Kari has not struggled and is fighting the puck. A couple of good outings can do wonders for confidence. Pirroinen played very good early last season up to the Dipietro trade. Imagine the pressure of being now the starter trying to fill the shoes of a giant. Both goalies have not had good support on both sides of the special teams play so far. For now, I would rotate between goalies on losses and keep them in after wins. Both are young and inexperienced at the OHL level. After maybe 20 games in, a clear front runner may be evident. Few goalies even on great teams find their stride until their 3rd and 4th seasons. In this league wins are more important than pure goalie stats. The Spits have or at least supposed to be a offensive minded team. Goalie stats will suffer from this style however if you are winning so be it. Grant Fuhr never had stats other than wins on the Oilers. The biggest challenge is having a goalie that can make that key stop when you need it most. That's the goalie I'm looking for.

 

[ohloutsider]

Medina playing 1 game is not criteria to pull the plug on Kari. What will be said after Xavier has some off nights? I am not saying Kari has not struggled and is fighting the puck. A couple of good outings can do wonders for confidence. Pirroinen played very good early last season up to the Dipietro trade. Imagine the pressure of being now the starter trying to fill the shoes of a giant. Both goalies have not had good support on both sides of the special teams play so far. For now, I would rotate between goalies on losses and keep them in after wins. Both are young and inexperienced at the OHL level. After maybe 20 games in, a clear front runner may be evident. Few goalies even on great teams find their stride until their 3rd and 4th seasons. In this league wins are more important than pure goalie stats. The Spits have or at least supposed to be a offensive minded team. Goalie stats will suffer from this style however if you are winning so be it. Grant Fuhr never had stats other than wins on the Oilers. The biggest challenge is having a goalie that can make that key stop when you need it most. That's the goalie I'm looking for.

I mentioned this earlier but it has more to do with the team in front of you ( confidence) this time of year. At this point both Kari and Medina need to earn their teams confidence. There will be a clear #1 at some point but until the team settles in defensively it is too early to start pointing fingers at the goalies.

This is a real down year for goalies so there is not really many options other than to let the 2 of them push each other and develop into a clear 1A/ 1B by midyear.

I'm more concerned with total team defense - all 6 players on the ice working as a unit. That is what TL needs to figure out.

 

[hockeylegend11]

I mentioned this earlier but it has more to do with the team in front of you ( confidence) this time of year. At this point both Kari and Medina need to earn their teams confidence. There will be a clear #1 at some point but until the team settles in defensively it is too early to start pointing fingers at the goalies.

This is a real down year for goalies so there is not really many options other than to let the 2 of them push each other and develop into a clear 1A/ 1B by midyear.

I'm more concerned with total team defense - all 6 players on the ice working as a unit. That is what TL needs to figure out.

Actually I am not as concerned as you re the 6 man unit defensively, in 4 games they have officially given up 8
6 on 6 goals,3 in the 1st game,5 in the last 3,including 1 put in our own net at home vs Erie in the 1st, and a goal scored 1 second after a penalty elapsed for Windsor which counts as an even strength goal.
Given those numbers all be it small sample I dont have the same concerns yet.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I don't think Piroinen and Rychel saying he's one of the best Finnish goaltenders for his age group should have any bearing on this situation. There were 20 goaltenders selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, only 1 selected from Finland and it wasn't Piroinen. Is it possible he's one of the best goalies in Finland for his age group? Yes. Is it possible this crop of goalies in Finland isn't that strong? Absolutely it is. So what we are left with is looking at Piroinen last year and this year at the early stages. He can make some very strong saves at times but he can also let in some poor goals, he doesn't seem to read plays very well eg.(player in no position to possibly score from a spot on the ice and his only choice is to feed it off and Pirioinen doesn't see it), he doesn't play the puck very well either.

The question that needs to be asked is if the D is a sore spot and Piroinen can't do the job. How do you address the situation? It's a lot easier to find another goalie than it is to ship out 3 D or so and see what happens.

Should Medina get a start this week?? Absolutely.

 

[OHLTG]

Should Medina get a start this weekend? Yes. Is he THE starter? Of course not. Piiroinen has looked much better this season and that's undeniable. Has he allowed some softies? Sure. Are we still comparing him to DiPietro? Mmmhmmm. The mere idea of talking about changing starters after one (1) game with Medina (against an average-at-best club, to boot) tells me everything. Give Kari a couple of months, at least, to get going and see what he can do. IF there's an issue at that point, look at options, but not on Oct 2 haha

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Should Medina get a start this weekend? Yes. Is he THE starter? Of course not. Piiroinen has looked much better this season and that's undeniable. Has he allowed some softies? Sure. Are we still comparing him to DiPietro? Mmmhmmm. The mere idea of talking about changing starters after one (1) game with Medina (against an average-at-best club, to boot) tells me everything. Give Kari a couple of months, at least, to get going and see what he can do. IF there's an issue at that point, look at options, but not on Oct 2 haha

I'm not comparing him to DiPietro I am merely looking at what he's done to date as a Spitfires goalie. When is it okay to discuss his overall body of work as a Spitfire?

 

[OHLTG]

I didn't say anyone specifically, but when we're talking about replacing Piiroinen as our starter this quickly, there's a reason. I'd give him a solid couple of months before we can evaluate the season so far; say the 20-25 game mark.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I didn't say anyone specifically, but when we're talking about replacing Piiroinen as our starter this quickly, there's a reason. I'd give him a solid couple of months before we can evaluate the season so far; say the 20-25 game mark.

Nobody has said that he's not capable of being the starter. What are we basing Piroinen being the entrenched starter though? I'm just curious. Is it based strictly upon his experience from last year?? If so that's fine. I would be hard pressed to say the reason he should be starter this year is because of how he performed last year.

 

[OHLTG]

He's the starter based on being the veteran goaltender and his experience in the league. His peformance last season wasn't great, we know that, but that's not abnormal. Now, he's being given the chance to be the starter, his head is clear, and he's ready to go. If Medina proves more capable after 20ish games, then you deal with that when the time comes.

 

[punch1943]

He's the starter based on being the veteran goaltender and his experience in the league. His peformance last season wasn't great, we know that, but that's not abnormal. Now, he's being given the chance to be the starter, his head is clear, and he's ready to go. If Medina proves more capable after 20ish games, then you deal with that when the time comes.

As has been pointed out ad nauseam this vet has roughly 30 games experience. At this point the job is up for grabs and is anyone’s to win. I’d give Piiroinen 30 games to win/lose it.
If he loses the starters gig to Medina then the Spits let it play out for the season and plan for the future. If the two are basically even in the minds of management then the advantage goes to Medina as he’s not an import.
Since it would be difficult to get another import into the lineup this year you can expect things to remain as is.
The bigger problem would be if one or the other should get injured...

 

[member 71782]

Game day, Ottawa in town for what should be a very tough challenge for Windsor. Ottawa missing Rossi which could help Windsor but they still have lots of talent on their roster.

I would guess Piiroinen starts.

Jodoin likely sits along with one of Johnston or Zito, probably Zito since Johnston I believe was the last of these two to sit. Maggio sat last game and McDonald had two of Windsor's three goals. Would be nice to see all four in every night but they are going to have to force their way in by outplaying the vets. While the four of them have played solid to this point in whatever combination they've been in the line up in none of the vets have played themselves out of a spot at this point. Hopefully in the next few weeks the kids can push the team to make some tough decisions as to who sits and who plays every night.

Hoping to see a bit of a shakeup throughout the lineup, getting McDonald and Maggio in more prominent roles with the regulars and definitely hoping for some special teams changes. There is some solid talent on this roster but the younger kids are definitely the more talented part of the roster, just need to match some skill sets a bit better and clean up some of the systems.

When issues come up they need to be addressed quickly and this team has a few issues to clean up, so hopefully they get it done.

 

[windsor7]

Game day, Ottawa in town for what should be a very tough challenge for Windsor. Ottawa missing Rossi which could help Windsor but they still have lots of talent on their roster.

I would guess Piiroinen starts.

Jodoin likely sits along with one of Johnston or Zito, probably Zito since Johnston I believe was the last of these two to sit. Maggio sat last game and McDonald had two of Windsor's three goals. Would be nice to see all four in every night but they are going to have to force their way in by outplaying the vets. While the four of them have played solid to this point in whatever combination they've been in the line up in none of the vets have played themselves out of a spot at this point. Hopefully in the next few weeks the kids can push the team to make some tough decisions as to who sits and who plays every night.

Hoping to see a bit of a shakeup throughout the lineup, getting McDonald and Maggio in more prominent roles with the regulars and definitely hoping for some special teams changes. There is some solid talent on this roster but the younger kids are definitely the more talented part of the roster, just need to match some skill sets a bit better and clean up some of the systems.

When issues come up they need to be addressed quickly and this team has a few issues to clean up, so hopefully they get it done.

Guess it will depend on if the coaching staff actually wants to do something different. If not its vets first n the younger players 2nd. Like last bunch of years.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Cfaub

Probably would not sit Zito tonight,he has 3 points in his last 2 games,ditto McDonald, my guess it will be Johnston,not because of poor play,more circumstance then anything, Maggio draws in to play against former teammates from Ottawa.

 

[member 71782]

Cfaub

Probably would not sit Zito tonight,he has 3 points in his last 2 games,ditto McDonald, my guess it will be Johnston,not because of poor play,more circumstance then anything, Maggio draws in to play against former teammates from Ottawa.

Zito has been outplaying him to this point so no problem with Zito being in. Just wasn't sure if they were going to try to rotate them pretty evenly in the early going or if they would go with who is performing better when playing against stronger teams. Whichever way they go just hope they start moving them throughout the line up a bit, particularly McDonald and Maggio having experience.

I know you like to check out practice when you have time, have you had a chance since the weekend and if so does it look like they're trying anything new or still going to run with how they've set their lines so far?

 

[member 71782]

Guess it will depend on if the coaching staff actually wants to do something different. If not its vets first n the younger players 2nd. Like last bunch of years.

While you I know I normally agree that vets have been given priority the last couple of years including when the kids were outplaying them by quite a bit like last year and this year the kids are off to a good start for the most part, but while there are issues I don't think any vets have played themselves out of a spot yet. The kids are playing well four games in and would like to see them everyday but the vets have to play themselves out or the kids have to force someone's hands like Foudy, Cuylle and to a lesser extent McDonald did last year. They're playing well but they haven't stepped up to that point consistently yet and the vets haven't come down to that point yet either. I can see it happening soon if things continue to progress, which is a good thing any way you look at it but right now I think McDonald and Maggio due to experience have earned a shot every night, McDonald has shown what he can do last year and this year when given a chance and when you spend two seconds on Maggio the return shouldn't be sitting every third game. Johnston and Zito, on an improved roster, still with plenty of warts need to show consistency in the first ten games or so to show they are ready for full time duty then it's time to consider what the next step is.

The one thing that does come with depth is players sitting, just hope as the season progresses it's the right players sitting at the right times.

 

[OHL 17]

" just hope as the season progresses it's the right players sitting at the right times."

Won't happen with this coaching staff!

 

[RayzorIsDull]

The one thing that does come with depth is players sitting, just hope as the season progresses it's the right players sitting at the right times.

I would agree with this. The only issue is you have Maggio a healthy scratch already and they dealt 2 2nd's for. Sure you want to play the best players but I am not happy spending 2 2nd's on a guy sitting upstairs.

 

[member 71782]

" just hope as the season progresses it's the right players sitting at the right times."

Won't happen with this coaching staff!

Then when the time is right hopefully some are taken away from these coaches if they don't improve on how they handle things.

Last season I disagreed with how they handled the kids versus the vets, especially since the vets weren't performing.

This year I feel again, the kids will step up in time but so far the vets for the most part are playing for their jobs, that's a good thing.

Depending on where things stand heading into the U17s the main thing is Bowler and Letowski need to recognize the right direction for the team and act on it. Barring any major surprises this isn't an all in year, our high end talent is still young so there should be no standing pat. With the OAs and four potential OAs move out those with value by the deadline that won't be back. Those who will and have no value need to drop into depth roles and if there is likely to be a solid OA in the group, weigh your options/plans/expectations for next year before the deadline.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Windsor vs Ottawa
Medina starts for Windsor and Cedric Andree starts for Ottawa
Not dressed for Windsor are Pasquale Vito and James Jodoin.

 

[member 71782]

Windsor vs Ottawa
Medina starts for Windsor and Cedric Andree starts for Ottawa
Not dressed for Windsor are Pasquale Vito and James Jodoin.

Surprised to see Medina getting the start with Ottawa being one of the early favourites, first regular season start at home for Medina. Let's hope the team is up to give him the support he will likely need. Throw him right into the fire in his second game, hope he's carrying over a lot of confidence from last Friday night.

 

[OHLTG]

Foudy on top line with DAmico and Afanasyev will be fun to watch.

 

[member 71782]

Foudy on top line with DAmico and Afanasyev will be fun to watch.

Just saw the lines posted on Twitter...
let's hope they do better than they look because they look pretty brutal.

Agree with changing them up but this looks like Letowski just pulled names out of a hat, doesn't look promising.

 

[OHLTG]

Its worked ok so far; Afan and Foudy are gelling well.

 

[member 71782]

I like Afanasyev and Foudy together, I think that's what Afanasyev needed but the rest of it, just don't see a lot of good fits.

We'll see how it goes but the little bit we've seen so far wasn't looking very good so far.