Windsor Spitfires 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 2)

[OHLTG]

There's more fighting on here than at an actual game Weird world...

I say Piiroinen starts tonight, Medina in London. Give the kid a real test.

 

[TheGremlin]

There's more fighting on here than at an actual game Weird world...

I say Piiroinen starts tonight, Medina in London. Give the kid a real test.

So you are saying Flint isn’t a real test?

 

[ohloutsider]

No easy games this weekend ( there never is an easy game in this league). If I were the coach I would start Medina tonight and Piirionen tomorrow. Medina needs some home starts to gain confidence. Piirionen has played in London and starting Medina in front of 9000 not a good plan - let him see/hear the first game from the bench before he gets a start there.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I don't think it matters what goalie plays which game. It matters how the D plays and how responsible the forwards want to be getting back. We can say the players look better in front of Medina but I still think it's a leap to start thinking which goalie should get which game. Unfortunately this is the case because Windsor doesn't have a #1.

 

[OHLTG]

So you are saying Flint isn’t a real test?

Flint's a very good team, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we don't believe in London is tougher than at home to Flint.

Unfortunately this is the case because Windsor doesn't have a #1.

Piiroinen is number one, straight from Letowski's mouth, and he's played double the minutes. This is just how last year should have gone (remember all that complaining?).

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Flint's a very good team, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we don't believe in London is tougher than at home to Flint.



Piiroinen is number one, straight from Letowski's mouth, and he's played double the minutes. This is just how last year should have gone (remember all that complaining?).

Letowski says a lot of things. What's interesting is he's number 1 in name only not based upon play. Another example from Letowski in rewarding experience and not merit.

 

[TheGremlin]

Flint's a very good team, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we don't believe in London is tougher than at home to Flint.



Piiroinen is number one, straight from Letowski's mouth, and he's played double the minutes. This is just how last year should have gone (remember all that complaining?).

The way London has played to this point it not necessarily a tougher game just cause it in London.

 

[OHLTG]

The way London has played to this point it not necessarily a tougher game just cause it in London.

I'm not taking away anything from Flint; just looking at our track record in London. It's not pretty lol

Letowski says a lot of things. What's interesting is he's number 1 in name only not based upon play. Another example from Letowski in rewarding experience and not merit.

It's up to individuals whether or not they believe what the coaches say. The stats show Piiroinen is the starter, which backs up what TL said. Piiroinen came into the season with more merit than Medina, too. I realize you don't like Piiroinen, though. (If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation)

 

[Savard18]

I'm not taking away anything from Flint; just looking at our track record in London. It's not pretty lol



It's up to individuals whether or not they believe what the coaches say. The stats show Piiroinen is the starter, which backs up what TL said. Piiroinen came into the season with more merit than Medina, too. I realize you don't like Piiroinen, though. (If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation)

As a Firebirds fan who likes our chances tonight, I think you're right. If your looking to get your young goalie going, start him at home vs Flint, not in London this weekend.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

I'm not taking away anything from Flint; just looking at our track record in London. It's not pretty lol



It's up to individuals whether or not they believe what the coaches say. The stats show Piiroinen is the starter, which backs up what TL said. Piiroinen came into the season with more merit than Medina, too. I realize you don't like Piiroinen, though. (If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation)

I am not a fan of Piiroinen because he hasn't played well the numbers show that. Also last year he pretty much did have the #1 job taken away from him with Incze arriving. Why do you bend over backwards to make a case for Piiroinen when everything staring at you in the face is that of a goalie who hasn't played well in the OHL??? I just want an answer no point in mentioning what Letowski says or how many minutes Piiroinen has played or that he was hyped as the 2nd best draft eligible goalie from Finland.

 

[OHLTG]

I am not a fan of Piiroinen because he hasn't played well the numbers show that. Also last year he pretty much did have the #1 job taken away from him with Incze arriving. Why do you bend over backwards to make a case for Piiroinen when everything staring at you in the face is that of a goalie who hasn't played well in the OHL??? I just want an answer no point in mentioning what Letowski says or how many minutes Piiroinen has played or that he was hyped as the 2nd best draft eligible goalie from Finland.

The numbers show inconsistency. There's a big difference. Medina also has been inconsistent but you don't seem to have the same gusto when criticizing him. Maybe the anti-Piiroinen thing is because of me? If I support, you can't possibly support?

Why do I make a case for Piiroinen? I've seen what he can do. He just needs to do it every game, plus having better support. In no place have I said he's a *great* goaltender, but I also know that the fan base had been seriously spoiled with DiPietro. People might not like going that route but it's true. When you deal away a franchise goaltender, expectations for the next are sky high. It's not much different than when Campbell struggled after our Memorial Cup wins; fans expected greatness, he didn't provide, and all heck broke loose.

Is that good enough of an answer? You can disagree if you like, I'm not overly concerned.

 

[member 71782]

Windsor has goaltending issues, a rookie with three starts and a second year goaltender who is still struggling with consistency issues. Definitely some questions in goal.

There are bigger questions though moving out from the D and up through the forwards and the struggles they have on the defensive side of the game.

We've seen they can play a low scoring game which shows some defensive ability the problem, they struggle to score when they do. We've also seen they can open things up offensively the problem, they give up too many goals when they do.

There is no balance with this group. They have the talent to score but are exposed defensively when they do. This comes down to systems, lack thereof and an inability to develop players/lines that can implement what the coaches are trying to do or a lack of understanding of just what systems fit the skill sets the coaches have to work with. This is up to the coaches to get right.

What changes, if anything for the upcoming games?

Is Boka back? If so is he back in a top six role or does Letowski shake things up again trying to get things right?

It's a couple of weeks in and he should have his combinations set by now but the problem is it's obvious he hasn't gotten it right yet which should be a concern. The various combinations have all had a limited amount of success but each has also had more questions about them that overshadows that limited success. It's time he realizes his approach isn't working, has very rarely worked and until he changes his approach there will be more struggles than success.

Waiting to see who plays with who but not expecting much in terms of players being put together with the potential for consistent growth and success. Probably going to be similar to last weekend which wasn't good.

 

[windsor7]

Windsor has goaltending issues, a rookie with three starts and a second year goaltender who is still struggling with consistency issues. Definitely some questions in goal.

There are bigger questions though moving out from the D and up through the forwards and the struggles they have on the defensive side of the game.

We've seen they can play a low scoring game which shows some defensive ability the problem, they struggle to score when they do. We've also seen they can open things up offensively the problem, they give up too many goals when they do.

There is no balance with this group. They have the talent to score but are exposed defensively when they do. This comes down to systems, lack thereof and an inability to develop players/lines that can implement what the coaches are trying to do or a lack of understanding of just what systems fit the skill sets the coaches have to work with. This is up to the coaches to get right.

What changes, if anything for the upcoming games?

Is Boka back? If so is he back in a top six role or does Letowski shake things up again trying to get things right?

It's a couple of weeks in and he should have his combinations set by now but the problem is it's obvious he hasn't gotten it right yet which should be a concern. The various combinations have all had a limited amount of success but each has also had more questions about them that overshadows that limited success. It's time he realizes his approach isn't working, has very rarely worked and until he changes his approach there will be more struggles than success.

Waiting to see who plays with who but not expecting much in terms of players being put together with the potential for consistent growth and success. Probably going to be similar to last weekend which wasn't good.

Coaching is a big issue.

 

[Teflon]

We get it 7 we really do. Are you stuck on repeat?? I’m still patient with goalies, that D is still not good enough to give young goalies a fair rating. Goalie coach is the only coach I’d keep, he’s very good. He says he likes both kids. They know this isn’t a go year so let’s get some bodies outta here and clear up the picture. Get the young guys playing time. Force TL hand and move his “boys”.

 

[member 71782]

Leaving DiPietro out of the Piiroinen discussion, because at this point it's no longer relevant the question has to be is he inconsistent, is it the team in front of him or is he simply not as good as hoped for?

He is inconsistent, that's obvious but I don't see that as the biggest problem.

The team in front of him can struggle defensively even though they supposedly have some of the better defensive players in the league and they have shown at times they can play a solid defensive game but because they struggle offensively when they do they don't do it consistently.

Piiroinen has had more bad games than good ones so even though he has looked good at times if he can't do it consistently than he's probably not as good as we all hoped he could be.

He's never really stolen a game. He's only kept the team in a couple of games where you could say he's given them a chance regardless of the final outcome.

I would say it's a mix of the team in front and him not being as good as was hoped for.

If he looked good three out of five games than consistency would be an issue. He's looked decent, not necessarily good maybe two out of every five games. The team playing poorly in front doesn't help but when he regularly hives up a goal he shouldn't in the first couple of shots that's a major issue.

If hasn't turned it around by the Christmas break he shouldn't be back.

 

[TheGremlin]

The numbers show inconsistency. There's a big difference. Medina also has been inconsistent but you don't seem to have the same gusto when criticizing him. Maybe the anti-Piiroinen thing is because of me? If I support, you can't possibly support?

Why do I make a case for Piiroinen? I've seen what he can do. He just needs to do it every game, plus having better support. In no place have I said he's a *great* goaltender, but I also know that the fan base had been seriously spoiled with DiPietro. People might not like going that route but it's true. When you deal away a franchise goaltender, expectations for the next are sky high. It's not much different than when Campbell struggled after our Memorial Cup wins; fans expected greatness, he didn't provide, and all heck broke loose.

Is that good enough of an answer? You can disagree if you like, I'm not overly concerned.

I think it is funny you are comparing now with Campbell. The whole world say campbell in the WJC and how he stood on his head. His numbers in U17, U18 and U20 tournament were great. I haven’t seen great numbers from Kari anywhere that come close to what Campbell was doing. That’s were the disappointment came is. People knew him and seen him play and his play in Windsor was no where near that

 

[Cherrydon]

Lots of bickering for one reason only, fans are frustrated for several reasons that all have legs to stand on. What I believe Spits fans desire is consistency from the top down. I'm talking ownership, MGMT, coaching. Players come and go and run out their OHL careers but having strong leadership and vision with a focus on being in the talk year in and year out is what I desire. Ex Dale Hunter in London, Brian Kilrea in Ottawa. People devoted to OHL hockey and not using it short term as a stepping stone to the NHL. When the group took over in 2006 we all thought that young group had a vision, they conquered and brought us championships and moved on from the Spits. Like I said, players are only here for 4-5 yrs max. Some great some not so much but if you're a fan of a team that's top to bottom trying to promote and maintain a competitive on ice product treating it professionally, well that's the vision that brings and keeps fans long term. I Havn't heard a word from the Cypher group since the spring. Not even a comment on how the season has been so far. Big disconnect for me. Kind of like owning a business just to write off loses against it for the greater sake of the corporation. I'd love to have the ownership, GM publicly state an altamatum on what is expected and what won't be tolerated. I have already heard of team rules regarding billets and location that have been ignored by MGMT this season. I won't mention players names directly to protect the billets who give more than they receive however that type of slide in discipline from the top leads to the lack of discipline on the ice. The ship needs tightening big time. Hold somebody accountable and now. We'd bitch at times about WR and guess what. He's not here and same s--t happening. As fans we have no avenue other than not showing up. That's not an answer, we need pressure from the media to get some kind of response from the top down. What is the vision of this team? I've no clue what is going on behind the scenes from Bowler or ownership long term.

 

[OHLTG]

Medina in net tonight.

 

[windsor7]

Boka playing .
There goes the minutes the young kids need. It will be cut in half for them so tl favorite boka can get more ice time tonight.

 

[OHLTG]

Boka's third line.

2-1 Flint after 20. A 5-on-3 didnt help Windsor; douglas hook and Henault disagreeing.

 

[windsor7]

Lots of bickering for one reason only, fans are frustrated for several reasons that all have legs to stand on. What I believe Spits fans desire is consistency from the top down. I'm talking ownership, MGMT, coaching. Players come and go and run out their OHL careers but having strong leadership and vision with a focus on being in the talk year in and year out is what I desire. Ex Dale Hunter in London, Brian Kilrea in Ottawa. People devoted to OHL hockey and not using it short term as a stepping stone to the NHL. When the group took over in 2006 we all thought that young group had a vision, they conquered and brought us championships and moved on from the Spits. Like I said, players are only here for 4-5 yrs max. Some great some not so much but if you're a fan of a team that's top to bottom trying to promote and maintain a competitive on ice product treating it professionally, well that's the vision that brings and keeps fans long term. I Havn't heard a word from the Cypher group since the spring. Not even a comment on how the season has been so far. Big disconnect for me. Kind of like owning a business just to write off loses against it for the greater sake of the corporation. I'd love to have the ownership, GM publicly state an altamatum on what is expected and what won't be tolerated. I have already heard of team rules regarding billets and location that have been ignored by MGMT this season. I won't mention players names directly to protect the billets who give more than they receive however that type of slide in discipline from the top leads to the lack of discipline on the ice. The ship needs tightening big time. Hold somebody accountable and now. We'd ***** at times about WR and guess what. He's not here and same s--t happening. As fans we have no avenue other than not showing up. That's not an answer, we need pressure from the media to get some kind of response from the top down. What is the vision of this team? I've no clue what is going on behind the scenes from Bowler or ownership long term.

Very well said.
Totally agree

 

[windsor7]

Boka's third line.

2-1 Flint after 20. A 5-on-3 didnt help Windsor; douglas hook and Henault disagreeing.

Boka getting way more minutes than a 3rd liner should get.
Tl u r very predictable.

 

[Spits1963]

Really liked the lines tonight, maybe Trevor reads this board and is listening to us, lol.
The Foudy, Cullye, Macdonald line should be kept together like Henrique, Hall, Nemitz
Was really impressed with how many guys skate by the penalty box to give a little tap on the glass to Zito after his scrap with Gretz. Showed good chemistry and respect to a rookie.
Sure hope Ladd is okay, think it might be a knee.
This team really dug deep tonight and deserve some credit. No complaints with anyone’s effort tonight.
Good job boys!!

 

[member 71782]

Spits took on Flint, two teams that are very similar and should be battling each other for positioning all season. Windsor gets the win but both teams kept coming so this game never truely over until the end.

Windsor scoring seven was great, giving up five wasn't. That's going to come back to haunt them eventually. Can't keep relying on scoring a lot to make up for giving up without eventually coming out on the losing side. Defense needs to tighten up.

Overall everyone put in solid efforts with varying degrees of success but yes, the effort was good.

The lines. I think they got line right finally.

Afanasyev/Angle/Purboo. Haven't they been down this road already to start the year? They've had some success, mainly Angle has had some success when these three were together before. The biggest issue with this line? Why is Purboo slotting in on the top line? His play and effort was questionable tonight until he scored and it improved significantly after that. He certainly should be further down the line up and off the first PP unit. Would still like to see Afanasyev with someone who can be more of a playmaker. So not thrilled with this line but can deal with Afanasyev and Angle if they removed Purboo.

Cuylle/Foudy/McDonald. A couple more games together and I can see these three gelling nicely offensively. They're still a work in progress defensively but the effort is there. All three are 02s with good to very good offensive upside and the more that part of their game grows it should have a positive effect on their offensive game. They will look very goid some games when they're producing but there will still be some growing pains defensively.

D'Amico/Douglas/Boka. Played relatively well together but still think that while Boka is playing up, as well as Purboo this team is limiting it's potential by not using higher skilled, younger players in one of those spots.

Zito/Playfair/Maggio. Maggio is steadily improving but if he's going to play limited minutes with less talented players his development will be limited. He needs to replace Boka or Purboo with one of them, Purboo right now playing on the fourth line. Now I'm not saying Maggio is a first line player, he's not but he's better suited than Purboo in a higher role up the line up. Playfair is pretty close to playing himself off the roster. The fourth line was better with any combination of Zito/Johnston/Maggio/McDonald. Playfair isn't helping them.

Off to London tomorrow and hopefully another solid offensive game but they will need to be better defensively.

 

[Crease Master]

I don't think the team has a goaltending problem at all, Medina gave them a chance to win tonight and they did. The other guy played pretty well against Barrie last week himself. What's the issue? Two guys who give us a chance to win sounds pretty good to me. I've blasted Piironen plenty but he's shown improvement this season. I no longer feel sick to my stomach every time he's facing a quality chance.

What did make me sick to my stomach is seeing our captain flattened with a cheap hit and no physical response from the team. Come on Bowler you of all people know what Spitfire hockey is, and keeping cool heads with a 2 goal lead after your captain is blatantly molested is not Spitfire hockey. I realize the era of OHL hockey we're living in, but certainly there's room for a guy with a bit of punching ability in this lineup. Stevenson is back there on the blue line being all veteran and slow with his intangibles, looking all crappy on the penalty kill with his slow stick and poor agility, maybe instead of wasting a roster spot on that plug you could find a guy who's equally as useless on the ice but can stick up for his team mates. It might put an ass or two in those seats, look into that for me Bill.

There was lots to like, the coach did a good job of shuffling the lines and finally coming up with some combos that work together, while the special teams looked vastly improved. The haters won't give him credit for any of that, but he's doing a good job with this team I think. There were patches where the team seemed to quit playing in front of Medina while Flint turned it on, but Letowski managed to get them back on track when that happened. It's not popular to say the coach is doing a good job, but it needs to be said when it happens.