Windsor Spitfires 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 2)

[hockeylegend11]

OHLTG

Just a correction re Dylan Robinson,his goal was not his 1st OHL goal,he had 1 last year in his 8 games played last year, though it was his 1st of the season.
Furthur to your comment about 13 players registering at least a point in last night's affair,interestingly all 6Dmen picked up at least a point in fact 4 of them had 2 point nights,3 forwards,Douglas,Damico and Foudy picked up 3 points each,and 5 forwards
Playfair,Johnston,Zito, Cuylle and Maggio were the skaters who didn't get a point.Angle got his point in the third on the empty netter,as his line with Cuylle and Maggio were benched for parts of the 3rd.
Felt it was Douglas's best game of the season,he was quite dominant most of the night,D'amico was very good last night too,showed a nasty streak late in the contest to boot,his play has improved in the last week or so.
Purboo and Cuylle both continue to struggle to score,still only have 1 goal each through 9 games played.
Till the 3rd,game only had 2 penalties, 1 each and both teams scored on their respective PPs,Spits wind up 1-1 on the PP,while the Sting go 1-4.
With last night's victory, Spits remain unbeaten at home in regulation so far this season,home record now stands at 4-0-1.
Spits are 2-2-1 in their last 5 games, and currently are tied with 11 points for 2nd with Saginaw,Kitchener, 2 points back of Owen Sd.(13),and 1 point up on Flint,SSM and Erie, all at 10 points each in a tight Western Conference, not alot a separation between many teams.

Team wise goaltending particularly Piironen needs to better if not more consistent,there were at least 2 last night I felt he should have had,his worst game at home for goals allowed since opening night,to me in the early going Medina has been the better tender.
Defense ,more so team wise after period 1 got too sloppy or cute or both especially after a bigger lead,dont know if was looking forward early to long weekend as most players have gone home till Tuesday or what,pretty sure this will be addressed at practice next week.
Up front already wrote about Douglas,D'amico and Foudy,can toss in Afanaseyev who has scored 3 times in his last 5 games seems to be getting better most games.
Overall fairly pleased with the record,keeping pace with everyone in the standings, improvement no doubt needed and expected in some areas both team and individual, more positives then negatives imo,looking forward to the upcoming games this week, Thursday at home vs the improving Flint Firebirds,and Friday on the road at London.
Should mention the 4D who had 2 point
games were Henault 1G,1A,Robinson1G,1A
Corcoran 2A,Ladd 2A and Stevenson got his 1st point of the season by scoring in the 2nd period.
In the plus/ minus department Ladd leads the team with a +11,Henault, +10 and Curtis Douglas was a +5 last night,forgot to add that tidbit.

 

[windsor7]

Spits with a win.
2 points is a good thing.
Foudy line played well.
Others players struggled again.
This team is soft. Barely hits at all. Other teams must love playing Windsor as they dont have to worry at all about hitting.
The drop passes and the passes across to nobody is terrible. Bad coaching.
3100 at the arena they posted. However much much small than that. Haha.
Lots to work on this team needs.

 

[windsor7]

OHLTG

Just a correction re Dylan Robinson,his goal was not his 1st OHL goal,he had 1 last year in his 8 games played last year, though it was his 1st of the season.
Furthur to your comment about 13 players registering at least a point in last night's affair,interestingly all 6Dmen picked up at least a point in fact 4 of them had 2 point nights,3 forwards,Douglas,Damico and Foudy picked up 3 points each,and 5 forwards
Playfair,Johnston,Zito, Cuylle and Maggio were the skaters who didn't get a point.Angle got his point in the third on the empty netter,as his line with Cuylle and Maggio were benched for parts of the 3rd.
Felt it was Douglas's best game of the season,he was quite dominant most of the night,D'amico was very good last night too,showed a nasty streak late in the contest to boot,his play has improved in the last week or so.
Purboo and Cuylle both continue to struggle to score,still only have 1 goal each through 9 games played.
Till the 3rd,game only had 2 penalties, 1 each and both teams scored on their respective PPs,Spits wind up 1-1 on the PP,while the Sting go 1-4.
With last night's victory, Spits remain unbeaten at home in regulation so far this season,home record now stands at 4-0-1.
Spits are 2-2-1 in their last 5 games, and currently are tied with 11 points for 2nd with Saginaw,Kitchener, 2 points back of Owen Sd.(13),and 1 point up on Flint,SSM and Erie, all at 10 points each in a tight Western Conference, not alot a separation between many teams.

Team wise goaltending particularly Piironen needs to better if not more consistent,there were at least 2 last night I felt he should have had,his worst game at home for goals allowed since opening night,to me in the early going Medina has been the better tender.
Defense ,more so team wise after period 1 got too sloppy or cute or both especially after a bigger lead,dont know if was looking forward early to long weekend as most players have gone home till Tuesday or what,pretty sure this will be addressed at practice next week.
Up front already wrote about Douglas,D'amico and Foudy,can toss in Afanaseyev who has scored 3 times in his last 5 games seems to be getting better most games.
Overall fairly pleased with the record,keeping pace with everyone in the standings, improvement no doubt needed and expected in some areas both team and individual, more positives then negatives imo,looking forward to the upcoming games this week, Thursday at home vs the improving Flint Firebirds,and Friday on the road at London.
Should mention the 4D who had 2 point
games were Henault 1G,1A,Robinson1G,1A
Corcoran 2A,Ladd 2A and Stevenson got his 1st point of the season by scoring in the 2nd period.
In the plus/ minus department Ladd leads the team with a +11,Henault, +10 and Curtis Douglas was a +5 last night,forgot to add that tidbit.

Welcome back..........

 

[member 71782]

Windsor wins 8 - 5, you would think offensively it would be hard to find issues but defensively there were a few and their play overall was questionable as well.

A big win against a team missing a couple of it's top players, the only team in the OHL/CHL without a single point in the standings and yet they still outshot Windsor, they still kept coming back to try to stay in the game and they still exposed a number of Windsor's weaknesses.

The most goals Sarnia has scored in a game is five. They've done it against Flint when I think they were only missing one regular/top player and against Windsor where they were missing three. Defensively this shows how much Windsor can struggle in their own end, especially if their goaltending is struggling.

Sarnia obviously is not the most gifted defensive team so Windsor was able to put together a few passes together in a row. Did their "systems" look better because of this? Sure. In the end though I certainly don't see anything showing their systems are working when it takes playing the worst team in the league to finally accomplish this.

Definitely nice to see a few players click, see above for what was a big contributing factor but the chemistry issues were still obvious in many instances as there were some notable players who still weren't clicking together.

This game was really about which goaltender gave up the fewest goals and with what should be considered a much stronger and capable of being a more dominant team this game should have never been in doubt but Sarnia never went away, managed to remain within striking distance and Piiroinen managed to give up fewer goals than Sarnia's goaltender.

Windsor looked a bit better but certainly weren't dominating against the worst team in the league. This is a game where you take it for what it was, a chance to pad some stats, add another win and realize regardless of the level of competition there are major flaws with this team that while there may be attempts to address them they haven't been addressed yet.

Good to see a win, it was desperately needed. Good to see them score eight, a big total that also was desperately needed but this was in no way a dominating performance or confirmation of what this team is actually capable of.

As for where does Boka fit when he comes back? Really? Unless there is a sudden change in philosophy he'll slot right back in the top six racking more icetime than anyone else while better players play fewer minutes in fewer situations on lower lines. Is there any real doubt about that?

What his absence did was show there are players who have chemistry that we haven't seen together yet and while none of the lines looked like finished products there were some better fits at times and some players looking better in expanded roles.

 

[windsor7]

Windsor wins 8 - 5, you would think offensively it would be hard to find issues but defensively there were a few and their play overall was questionable as well.

A big win against a team missing a couple of it's top players, the only team in the OHL/CHL without a single point in the standings and yet they still outshot Windsor, they still kept coming back to try to stay in the game and they still exposed a number of Windsor's weaknesses.

The most goals Sarnia has scored in a game is five. They've done it against Flint when I think they were only missing one regular/top player and against Windsor where they were missing three. Defensively this shows how much Windsor can struggle in their own end, especially if their goaltending is struggling.

Sarnia obviously is not the most gifted defensive team so Windsor was able to put together a few passes together in a row. Did their "systems" look better because of this? Sure. In the end though I certainly don't see anything showing their systems are working when it takes playing the worst team in the league to finally accomplish this.

Definitely nice to see a few players click, see above for what was a big contributing factor but the chemistry issues were still obvious in many instances as there were some notable players who still weren't clicking together.

This game was really about which goaltender gave up the fewest goals and with what should be considered a much stronger and capable of being a more dominant team this game should have never been in doubt but Sarnia never went away, managed to remain within striking distance and Piiroinen managed to give up fewer goals than Sarnia's goaltender.

Windsor looked a bit better but certainly weren't dominating against the worst team in the league. This is a game where you take it for what it was, a chance to pad some stats, add another win and realize regardless of the level of competition there are major flaws with this team that while there may be attempts to address them they haven't been addressed yet.

Good to see a win, it was desperately needed. Good to see them score eight, a big total that also was desperately needed but this was in no way a dominating performance or confirmation of what this team is actually capable of.

As for where does Boka fit when he comes back? Really? Unless there is a sudden change in philosophy he'll slot right back in the top six racking more icetime than anyone else while better players play fewer minutes in fewer situations on lower lines. Is there any real doubt about that?

What his absence did was show there are players who have chemistry that we haven't seen together yet and while none of the lines looked like finished products there were some better fits at times and some players looking better in expanded roles.

Unfortunately i think u r right about boka. He get top minutes as tl favorite.
He shoukd be on 4th line with minimum minutes played.

 

[OHL 17]

Last night's game featured 2 teams that will be fighting for last place, if they stand pat with the coaching . Period!

 

[tomschman]

OHLTG

Just a correction re Dylan Robinson,his goal was not his 1st OHL goal,he had 1 last year in his 8 games played last year, though it was his 1st of the season.
Furthur to your comment about 13 players registering at least a point in last night's affair,interestingly all 6Dmen picked up at least a point in fact 4 of them had 2 point nights,3 forwards,Douglas,Damico and Foudy picked up 3 points each,and 5 forwards
Playfair,Johnston,Zito, Cuylle and Maggio were the skaters who didn't get a point.Angle got his point in the third on the empty netter,as his line with Cuylle and Maggio were benched for parts of the 3rd.
Felt it was Douglas's best game of the season,he was quite dominant most of the night,D'amico was very good last night too,showed a nasty streak late in the contest to boot,his play has improved in the last week or so.
Purboo and Cuylle both continue to struggle to score,still only have 1 goal each through 9 games played.
Till the 3rd,game only had 2 penalties, 1 each and both teams scored on their respective PPs,Spits wind up 1-1 on the PP,while the Sting go 1-4.
With last night's victory, Spits remain unbeaten at home in regulation so far this season,home record now stands at 4-0-1.
Spits are 2-2-1 in their last 5 games, and currently are tied with 11 points for 2nd with Saginaw,Kitchener, 2 points back of Owen Sd.(13),and 1 point up on Flint,SSM and Erie, all at 10 points each in a tight Western Conference, not alot a separation between many teams.

Team wise goaltending particularly Piironen needs to better if not more consistent,there were at least 2 last night I felt he should have had,his worst game at home for goals allowed since opening night,to me in the early going Medina has been the better tender.
Defense ,more so team wise after period 1 got too sloppy or cute or both especially after a bigger lead,dont know if was looking forward early to long weekend as most players have gone home till Tuesday or what,pretty sure this will be addressed at practice next week.
Up front already wrote about Douglas,D'amico and Foudy,can toss in Afanaseyev who has scored 3 times in his last 5 games seems to be getting better most games.
Overall fairly pleased with the record,keeping pace with everyone in the standings, improvement no doubt needed and expected in some areas both team and individual, more positives then negatives imo,looking forward to the upcoming games this week, Thursday at home vs the improving Flint Firebirds,and Friday on the road at London.
Should mention the 4D who had 2 point
games were Henault 1G,1A,Robinson1G,1A
Corcoran 2A,Ladd 2A and Stevenson got his 1st point of the season by scoring in the 2nd period.
In the plus/ minus department Ladd leads the team with a +11,Henault, +10 and Curtis Douglas was a +5 last night,forgot to add that tidbit.

Henault and Ladd are definately our shutdown defensemen. Henault was not on the ice for any of Sarnia's goals and Ladd was Ladd was only on for the last one.

 

[ohloutsider]

Game notes - Like I said yesterday this game does not really make the doubts go away. There were some good things and some bad things.

Bad - Playfair skating in front of his net with the puck on a PK - That is a rookie mistake - what were you thinking?
They were out played at many points during the game - being out shot should have never happened.
Game got chippy and the Spits let themselves get dragged into it- PK has not been good so teams will focus on chippy play trying to get the Spits shorthanded. Need to get better at the PK and stay out of the dumb stuff.
Piiroinen has to be better - 1 or 2 soft goals a game cannot be sustained.

Good - Very impressed with Robinson - will likely be a number 1 D in a year or two.
Had to chuckle - D'Amico going to the aid of Douglas in a scrum- maybe they will work out well together as line mates - oh wait, never mind, TL will have new lines for the next game.
Missing Ladd at the end of last year really hurt this team - him returning has made the D much better.
Yes the D is having issues but to be honest they are far better this year than I thought they would be and I do like the potential.
Foudy - lot of fans on him for hogging the puck but he has been better and it really is all about finding someone to play with him that can anticipate his next move and be in position to receive the puck and get a shot off. All night long he his putting pucks into position for shots and nobody is there to make that shot. He needs that winger to be ready because the puck is coming. That is a chemistry that can't be coached but the coach needs to find the right fit for that chemistry.

They got the 2 points so a 500 weekend - next weekend no easy games.

 

[OHLTG]

Just a correction re Dylan Robinson,his goal was not his 1st OHL goal,he had 1 last year in his 8 games played last year, though it was his 1st of the season.

Had not realized that. Appreciated.

Felt it was Douglas's best game of the season,he was quite dominant most of the night,D'amico was very good last night too,showed a nasty streak late in the contest to boot,his play has improved in the last week or so.

I like these two together. Just seems to be a fit.

Defense ,more so team wise after period 1 got too sloppy or cute or both especially after a bigger lead,dont know if was looking forward early to long weekend as most players have gone home till Tuesday or what,pretty sure this will be addressed at practice next week.

That's one thing I noted at the game - "it's becoming sloppy pond hockey." Which is one reason I'm not blaming Piiroinen for all five goals. He looked off at times, but his defence isn't stepping up like I had hoped.

As for where does Boka fit when he comes back? Really? Unless there is a sudden change in philosophy he'll slot right back in the top six racking more icetime than anyone else while better players play fewer minutes in fewer situations on lower lines. Is there any real doubt about that?

I'm a Boka guy and have been since literally the moment they drafted him. However, this is smack on and it's unfortunate. Boka's a great PK/energy/depth guy, but he's a bottom-six guy and that should be cemented.

 

[punch1943]

Wonder if anyone knows if DiPietro is headed to Kalamazoo or back to the OHL. So far it appears he’s low man on the Canuks Utica team...

 

[OHLTG]

I'd imagine it'd be ECHL. Their goaltending isn't exactly lighting it up.

 

[punch1943]

I'd imagine it'd be ECHL. Their goaltending isn't exactly lighting it up.

I was thinking that it might save them burning a year if he gets sent back especially if the Echl is the highest level he is cape able of playing at this stage...

 

[OHLTG]

I'd be shocked if he was sent to the OHL. There's nothing really for him to accomplish.

 

[randomhero4life]

I would put my money on the ECHL, seems to be the best fit for for him right now

 

[windsor7]

I was thinking that it might save them burning a year if he gets sent back especially if the Echl is the highest level he is cape able of playing at this stage...

Vancouver has lots of goalies in their system.
Dipietro going to be burried in echl for a long time.

 

[OHLTG]

Utica's season is still very young (just two games). Markstrom/Demko are in Vancouver, then McIntyre will likely be the AHL starter. DiPietro battles Bachman for the backup role. At worst, DiPietro gets a ton of ice in the ECHL. I don't see any reason he'd be back in the OHL.

 

[hockeylegend11]

After 9 games with a record of 5-3-1 with 35 GF and 33GA,interesting to compare the last 2 seasons after 9 games played
In 2017/18,just after the Spits won the Mem Cup ,Windsor started the year 6-2-1, behind the efforts of goalie Michael Dipietro who 9 appearances had an average of 1.62 and a record of 6--1-1,Brock Baier had the other loss in a 1 game start.Aaron Luchuk led the team, league for that matter to lead Windsor, this was the year where Sergachev made the NHL,a year early,Gabe Vilardi started the year injured prior to going to LA,never did play a game for Windsor and got dealt to Kingston, Logan Brown started the year in the NHL,hadn't played a game yet through 9,wound up playing 15 goals and later got dealt to Kitchener along with McEchnenny,Tyler,Nother wound up retiring because of concussion issues that occurred in exhibition season,so the start was impressive, goals for average was 2.89 on 26 goals for,while the goals against team wise was 2.56 for 23 goals against.
Last year the Spits started year with a record of 4-5-0-0,Dipietro returned from Vancouver after opening night,a game where Windsor won in OT with Piironen in goal,Dipietro started the year slow for him averaging 3.02 after the teams 9 games,while Pirronen stood at 2.70 in the same time frame
Unfortunately Piironen didn't keep up his fine play especially after Dipietro was dealt and the Spits suffered notably through the rest of season
Goals for average after 9 games,was the same as the year before 2.89 for 26 goals,goals against was a goal more per game 32 goals against for an average against of 3.56
Fast forward to this season,and as mentioned above Spits are 5-3-1 after 9 games played,they have scored 35 goals for a goals for average of 3.89,while they have allowed
33 goals for an average against of 3.67
Pirronen unlike last season has an average of 3.95,this needs to improve no question if the Spits want to do damage this season.
On the other hand been impressed with rookie goalie Xavier Medina,who so far has average of 3.00 and a record of 2-1. Hopefully he continues to push Piironen for playing time moving forward.
As well Spits need the likes of Cole Purboo and Will Cuylle to get their scoring acts together, if not changes might have to be made to help the team overall,especially Purboo.
Overall fairly pleased with the 9 game
start,considering the struggles of 4 or 5 guys offensively overall,penalty problems, inconsistent special team play,and Piironen moreso then Medina needing to be more consistent.
I like the youth on this club, though it pains me to say,the likes of Purboo,Boka,Piironen and perhaps Playfair run the risk of being dealt if their various areas of play/production does not improve.
That's my take at this time,subject to change,curious to hear the viewpoints of others on this forum, not all is bad with this team,more positive then negative imo but more to do.

 

[OHLTG]

I actually think Boka's brought more to the table than Purboo so far. Not sure what's going on, but you can't score once in nine games after 29 last season. While he's always been inconsistent, a strong start was needed and I haven't seen it.

 

[windsor7]

I actually think Boka's brought more to the table than Purboo so far. Not sure what's going on, but you can't score once in nine games after 29 last season. While he's always been inconsistent, a strong start was needed and I haven't seen it.

Too bad they can't trade the whole coaching staff...

 

[member 71782]

After 9 games with a record of 5-3-1 with 35 GF and 33GA,interesting to compare the last 2 seasons after 9 games played
In 2017/18,just after the Spits won the Mem Cup ,Windsor started the year 6-2-1, behind the efforts of goalie Michael Dipietro who 9 appearances had an average of 1.62 and a record of 6--1-1,Brock Baier had the other loss in a 1 game start.Aaron Luchuk led the team, league for that matter to lead Windsor, this was the year where Sergachev made the NHL,a year early,Gabe Vilardi started the year injured prior to going to LA,never did play a game for Windsor and got dealt to Kingston, Logan Brown started the year in the NHL,hadn't played a game yet through 9,wound up playing 15 goals and later got dealt to Kitchener along with McEchnenny,Tyler,Nother wound up retiring because of concussion issues that occurred in exhibition season,so the start was impressive, goals for average was 2.89 on 26 goals for,while the goals against team wise was 2.56 for 23 goals against.
Last year the Spits started year with a record of 4-5-0-0,Dipietro returned from Vancouver after opening night,a game where Windsor won in OT with Piironen in goal,Dipietro started the year slow for him averaging 3.02 after the teams 9 games,while Pirronen stood at 2.70 in the same time frame
Unfortunately Piironen didn't keep up his fine play especially after Dipietro was dealt and the Spits suffered notably through the rest of season
Goals for average after 9 games,was the same as the year before 2.89 for 26 goals,goals against was a goal more per game 32 goals against for an average against of 3.56
Fast forward to this season,and as mentioned above Spits are 5-3-1 after 9 games played,they have scored 35 goals for a goals for average of 3.89,while they have allowed
33 goals for an average against of 3.67
Pirronen unlike last season has an average of 3.95,this needs to improve no question if the Spits want to damage this season.
On the other hand been impressed with rookie goalie Xavier Medina,who so far has average of 3.00 and a record of 2-1. Hopefully he continues to push Piironen for playing time moving forward.
As well Spits need the likes of Cole Purboo and Will Cuylle to get their scoring acts together, if not changes might have to be made to help the team overall,especially Purboo.
Overall fairly pleased with the 9 game
start,considering the struggles of 4 or 5 guys offensively overall,penalty problems, inconsistent special team play,and Piironen moreso then Medina needing to be more consistent.
I like the youth on this club, though it pains me to say,the likes of Purboo,Boka,Piironen and perhaps Playfair run the risk of being dealt if their various areas of play/production does not improve.
That's my take at this time,subject to change,curious to hear the viewpoints of others on this forum, not all is bad with this team,more positive then negative imo but more to do.

You had to ask for other opinions, JK.

Overall there has been some noticeable improvements, I agree and there are some causes for concerns as I have stated a number of times.

Piiroinen is struggling IMO at this level. He has some flashes of being a solid goaltender then he gives up some questionable goals. Not sold on Medina yet. The kid has had three games and while he has looked good Piiroinen looked good in his first four or five starts last year before he started to struggle so the jury is still out on Medina but so far he's done a decent job. They both have the same team in front of them so some of it goes to the team itself IMO but I can see Piiroinen needing to show something soon or the potential to give Incze a call, if they have still retained his rights becomes a real possibility around Christmas. Let's see how this plays out between now and then.

The D in general has been improved offensively but still can struggle defensively. I like how Ladd and Henault have come along as a solid defensive pair, Robinson and Rafkin look good offensively with the potential to be the top pairing come the deadline if there are any moves made but they need some work on the defensive side of the puck. Corcoran looks a bit better at times with a slightly lighter work load. He's not a number one so he's still being asked to carry more than he should but he's seems to be doing a better job all around this year. Stevenson is still the question mark. He's a bottom pairing, six/seven D on any team in the league, including Windsor. He started out the first few games appearing to have adjusted to having more responsibility but the last few games you can see him fading a bit or being exposed while playing in the top pairing with Corcoran. With Jodoin still not playing anywhere else I'm waiting to see him get a game in the near future. Hopefully he's not tossed in against one of the top teams to sink or swim for his first game so it'll likely be another week or two before we see him at the earliest. I've been speculating about what their plans are with him keeping him up but not getting him in the line up. Will he be part of the bottom pairing after the deadline with someone being moved and the team runs with six D to finish out the season post deadline? Guess we won't now for a couple of months still but hopefully this kid gets to play soon. Practice is one thing but a bit of game action will help to determine where he's at more than simply practicing will.

Up front it's a mixed bag at the moment. Obviously there's more overall scoring which is a definite improvement but as you mentioned those expected to contribute have been struggling. Purboo possibly, as has been pointed out by others has been told he needs to expand on how he contributes which is true but right now if that's the case he's being put in a tough position to do it. He needs to be dropped down the line up if they want to expand his game. He's not a to line player but has been the last couple of seasons now so finding the right spot for him where he can both expand how he contributes and still put in a few goals will be critical. If they can't figure it out soon it's time to part ways as he's looking frustrated. Cuylle is another one that needs to get on track. Like Purboo though he seems to be focused on other things. He's playing a lot more along the boards and in the corners as well as trying to be more of a playmaker. Nothing wrong with expanding his game but it can't come at the cost of the main part of his game. He too looks frustrated and in his draft year he's got to show both, his known skill set and the ability to contribute more. He's doing a better job than Purboo but like Purboo there's no corresponding results. Playfair is the first one I would like to see them move on from. He's not doing a whole lot of anything and like Boka, he "thrives more in a defensive role but the problem there is defensively is where this team needs a lot of work, particularly the PK which he and Boka are the first ones over the boards for. Boka has been a bit of a surprise. I know the kid puts in the work and is all heart and so far he has been rewarded for his work with a few goal already this season. That being said the way he is used is what's hurting this team and that's more on the coaches. You want more from your OAs than for them to be defensive specialists. If this were year one of a rebuild or they were ready to contend he would have a role but at this point in time when the kids have to take over and he's being put out there getting to six icetime it's hurting the kids. Now that's not on Boka, that's on those deciding how he's going to be used but at the same time it makes Boka the target when fans get frustrated which isn't fair to him. He either has to be used in a fourth line role/PK duties and be available to cover when the kids struggle or he needs to be moved. Again, it's onLetowski to do this, Boka's not going to turn down icetime and to his credit he gives it all every shift but unfortunately he's being lined up with players who don't have a skill set he fits with. If the coaches won't use him right then move him, if they will than he still can play a role, albeit a limited role, at least on the ice. As you have said there's others who need to improve offensively up front but these are the ones with glaring issues at the moment.

Discipline is a big issue and needs to be addressed. The lines need to be addressed. I want to see them consistent for a bit but I want to see the right skill sets together before Letowski gets comfortable with who he is going to keep together. He needs to get away from having a vet or two on every line simply because they are vets. I've said it multiple times, this is two different teams, the 99s, 00s and some of the 01s have completely different skill sets than the remaining 01s, 02s and the 03s coming up. This teams biggest issue IMO is the coaching doesn't trust in the kids as a whole thus affecting the overall play of everyone on the team negatively be it the kids or the vets. Letowski has opened things up a bit but he's gone too far away from having some structure on the ice. he needs to find some balance between playing a structured game and giving the green light for everyone to go it alone. He has improved somewhat but he is still the biggest issue at this point beyond the issues with some of the individual players.

We're coming up on game ten. Their record is better but their overall play has both improved in some areas and still has a long way to go in many others. I don't think their record matches their play to date even though looking at their record alone they are about where they should be expected to be. They lack consistency at this point and Letowski needs to figure that out before we can say their overall game is turning around to one that is consistently better.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I think what ultimately holds this team back from actually being a top 2-3 seed.

1. Goaltending-Medina has done well in early games but the overall play in net isn't at a high enough level.

2. Special teams. PP is still struggling. They don't play a style that's conducive to getting a lot of PP's as we see they are 17th in the league in PP chances. PK is middle of the pack but they take far too many penalties for the PK to be an asset for the team.

As you said CFaub the consistency thing is the biggest issue. If it isn't Douglas having a big game and then going for silent for 7. It's Purboo not doing much. It's the PK being asked to kill off too many penalties.

Letowski has been here 2+ years as a head coach now we can talk about if he's changing systems etc.. He's still not changing the preconceived ideas he has of playing vets like Boka/Purboo and thinking that's the way to success. It doesn't matter if he has different systems if he deploys the players the same as he did last year. That's not being progressive that's just being stubborn.

 

[Cherrydon]

Wonder if anyone knows if DiPietro is headed to Kalamazoo or back to the OHL. So far it appears he’s low man on the Canuks Utica team...

Right now Mikey is with the Utica comets. Played well in a preseason game. Listed on their roster but has not played in either 2 games regular season so far. I think with Leighton announcing retirement a spot opened for now. He was originally destined for the K-wings but not listed on their roster, only on Utica's

 

[OHLTG]

I think the key word for everything right now is "consistency." If they can perform night-in and night-out the way they should - 30-35 shots a game, stingy defence, proper goaltending - then there's no reason they can't be a top four seed. As far as the specific groups go (O, D, G), offence is on it's own. They're the ones creating the shots, creating the chances, and putting it home. Defence and goaltending kind of go hand-in-hand. If the defence is stellar, it's on Piiroinen and Medina to stop the pucks. If the defence is lacklustre, you're going to have quality chances and there's only so much goaltenders can do. Tighten up defensively and aim for 30-35 shots a night (at minimum) and you'll go a long way.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I think the key word for everything right now is "consistency." If they can perform night-in and night-out the way they should - 30-35 shots a game, stingy defence, proper goaltending - then there's no reason they can't be a top four seed. As far as the specific groups go (O, D, G), offence is on it's own. They're the ones creating the shots, creating the chances, and putting it home. Defence and goaltending kind of go hand-in-hand. If the defence is stellar, it's on Piiroinen and Medina to stop the pucks. If the defence is lacklustre, you're going to have quality chances and there's only so much goaltenders can do. Tighten up defensively and aim for 30-35 shots a night (at minimum) and you'll go a long way.

You have to look just beyond getting 30-35 shots though. Spits 2 highest goal outputs on the year have happened to come against 2 of the worst goalies right now in the league. On Friday the Kitchener Rangers went to ambush tactics went up 3-0 and that's extremely difficult to come back from. Spits played better the final 2 periods but it wouldn't have mattered if they got 60 shots for the game they still probably wouldn't have won. You can preach being more consistent but was there been a game this year which all 3 phases were clicking O/D/G/PP/PK??? It's up to the players to perform us wishing them to be more consistent is only that a wish. In order to play at a high level you need to have the talent and players need to be used properly. We already know the latter isn't happening ergo the former needs to be brought into question.

 

[OHLTG]

All of that goes back to consistency, though. Not giving up three goals to start a period. Getting the quality chances, on top of quantity. Better preparing the players for a game. Having everything clicking for 60 minutes. It's all consistency that needs to be addressed.