Well i certainly agree. Scouting has been a downfall up here with the imports...that may have changed because this year we have a couple real good ones..also we should be taking some chances on Americans and players who say they will not report to the OHL...
Dubas seems to have the guts of a riverboat gambler so think things will change for sure, and the ownership and directors have given him the green light to run the team.
A playoff team each year should be a reasonable goal for any franchise...the fortunate thing up here is the fan base is solid and patient..
Half way through the year, and one thing is certain... not many, if anyone predicted at the start of the year for Saginaw to be in 9th, Kitchener is above expectations while Sarnia is below. Plymouth, Soo, Windsor and Guelph are close to what most predicted. Should be an interesting second half... predictions for year end standings...
1 - Plymouth - Have solid experience, depth and assets to spend if needed. Velucci has quietly built this team without going on spending sprees the last couple of seasons.
2 - London - Solid and young in a weak division that has a couple of teams that are pretty close to each other.
3 - Saginaw - They have experience, some decent assets and motivation after falling short last season.
4 - Sarnia - Young and high end offence. Defence should be much improved and coaching is much improved as well. Early season growing pains will keep them out of the top 3.
5 - Owen Sound - Went all the way last season without spending a whole lot. They have assets to add as well as a solid core of experienced depth players. They can make lots of noise this year again but will they spend to do it?
6 - Soo - Still young and somewhat inexperienced to go along with all the changes in the front office and behind the bench. A big team that will show much improvement but will save their assets for next season when they should be able to dominate.
7 - Windsor - Rebuilding with a core that had a decent playoff run in a year that was full of mixed messages. BB returning will bring stability for the returning pleyers while the older vets will likely be moved at the deadline to add more youth and assets.
8 - Kitchener - Without the ability to add significantly a solid young core will not have the support they need to go far. Add for the future instead of trying to get by.
9 - Erie - Some good young kids, not enough experience for the youth there and not enough support in terms of experienced vets. A couple of nice pieces to move at the deadline.
10 - Guelph - They couldn't get it done with a veteran line up they certainly won't get far with a young and inexperienced line up. Let the kids play and gain the experience needed for the future. Move whatever you can for youth and picks and stockpile for the future.
Original picks above:
1 - Sticking with Plymouth - Just starting to roll now and they will be tough to hold back if they add a few solid pieces.
2 - Sticking with London - Still young but still talented. A potential dilema for Hunter. Do you add at the expense of the future? Do you roll with what you have, a minor tweak or two but nothing more? Most betting on a couple of sideways moves that keeps them competitive but adds even more assets for the future.
3 - Sarnia - Too many have fallen apart and Sarnia will still be adding some final touches.
4 - Kitchener - I think they are overachieving a bit and instead of making moves (Murphy,Gibson) Spott will ride them out with only a couple of vets moved out.
5 - Owen Sound - Right now they are where I thought they would be and even if they move a couple of vets out they will maintain their young core and still play solid.
6 - Sault Ste. Marie - They have had their ups and downs to this point and will spend the second half learning to play consistently. Still bet on moves in and out but by the time playoffs roll around they will be a better team.
7 - Sticking with Windsor - Still moves to be made but they should be able to hold a playoff spot with a young yet somewhat experienced team.
8 - Guelph - A decent start for what should have been a tough year. I think they hold onto the final playoff spot.
9 - Saginaw - Time to clean house and startr from scratch. They can spend assets and add to what has become quite a mess or sell off some solid pieces that are better than they totalled up to be in Saginaw. New coach and a new GM starting fresh with a huge pile of assets that can be gained from who they move.
10 - Erie - Most figured they would be bad but I think they turned out to be in more trouble than anyone expected them to be. Time to start at the top and start cleaning house. Bassin, time to retire and go from there.
It's always fun to look back on these prediction threads and see how drastically wrong we all were at the end of the season. I know there's still a couple games left, but we can pretty much tell which predictions were crazy and which were not.
I vaguely remember the Sault fans getting annoyed when some had the audacity to suggest their team might miss the playoffs, let's rewind a bit shall we?
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogsandwings
Well not sure if this is allowed on these posts??But if it isn't please forgive me..i am willing to donate 100 dollars to charity (My favorites being homeless people, addicts and similar) if they don't ..is anyone as sure they won't make the playoffs??
Where i come from a man is only as good as his word by the way
We all remember this, don't we? The hounds sit perilously close to missing the playoffs heading into the last weekend, and some lucky hobo is going to get a new pair of sneakers if they do.
I also remember this little bon mot from a hound fan, who didn't think much of Kerby Rychel (38 goals, 32 assists this year so far)
Quote:
Originally Posted by saska sault
I think most fans take things personally. Even Windsor who are in a big rebuilding year, start talking about how they could be a ok team is people can outscore Rychel on a regular basis? A 16 year old, drafted 2 rounds to early, who scored 7 goals? Rychel has Trevor Morbeck potential... nothing that special. You guys have your two euro's.. and isn't one probably gonna stay in Pittsburg's farm? and a 17 year old defensemen.. not exactly a recipe for success either.
That's some tasty crow! While you're digesting that, I'll finish up by digging up another hound fan prediction. This one was actually right on the money, but probably doesn't wash the stink off their season:
Quote:
Originally Posted by saska sault
Someone once predicted all the computers would stop during Y2K.. that became pretty popular... or what about the world ending because of an ancient calendar... lot of believers there. From watching training camp this year, this is going to be a solid team. When in reality we are going to have Elsner and Schumacher playing on our 3rd line, we are going to be fine. Watching Cousins in pre-season so far, I would bet he is closer to 100 points this year then Catenacci will be.
Cousins does have 12 points more than Catenacci! 1 out of 3 ain't bad boys! Don't feel bad, I said in my prediction that Erie wouldn't be as terrible as everyone thought they would be. They were worse.
It's always fun to look back on these prediction threads and see how drastically wrong we all were at the end of the season. I know there's still a couple games left, but we can pretty much tell which predictions were crazy and which were not.
I vaguely remember the Sault fans getting annoyed when some had the audacity to suggest their team might miss the playoffs, let's rewind a bit shall we?
We all remember this, don't we? The hounds sit perilously close to missing the playoffs heading into the last weekend, and some lucky hobo is going to get a new pair of sneakers if they do.
I also remember this little bon mot from a hound fan, who didn't think much of Kerby Rychel (38 goals, 32 assists this year so far)
That's some tasty crow! While you're digesting that, I'll finish up by digging up another hound fan prediction. This one was actually right on the money, but probably doesn't wash the stink off their season:
Cousins does have 12 points more than Catenacci! 1 out of 3 ain't bad boys! Don't feel bad, I said in my prediction that Erie wouldn't be as terrible as everyone thought they would be. They were worse.
Ill admit I was wrong, and horribly wrong... have not seen much of Kerby but you gotta imagine not that many people predicted him to be a 40 goal guy this year. I was surprised, but you dont score 40 by luck..... as for the Hounds.. well had to be positive, I thought we would be a playoff team and middle of the pack.... they proved most Soo fans wrong and stink.... as for Cousins, he has been great. Just pray we can get him some support next year, and see what he can do as a veteran with some talent around him.... Ill admit another thing, we got ROBBED on the Campbell trade.. and from my point of view are turning into the laughing stock of the league.. 3 of 4 years golfing before anyone else and horrible after horrible draft, poor coaching, players wanting out and seats still being filled... sounds like a Brian Burke recipe
Also you can notice as the year went on I avoided the forums.... this years Hounds edition has turned me off from junior hockey like never before.... I was clapping for Plymouths nice goals tonight.....
after watching Sarnia lose 7-1 last night, I'm still hoping that Owen Sound can sneak in to 4rth place and take home ice advantage. Odds are getting better for Owen Sound, 2 games left for each team, and Sarnia is playing though teams.
after watching Sarnia lose 7-1 last night, I'm still hoping that Owen Sound can sneak in to 4rth place and take home ice advantage. Odds are getting better for Owen Sound, 2 games left for each team, and Sarnia is playing though teams.
Looking more likely OS will be 6th with Saginaw sneaking into the 5th or 4th spot pending the results of the 3 teams final games. The Sting only need an OT point to clinch home ice but are playing Plymouth in their barn so it won't be an easy task.
Looking more likely OS will be 6th with Saginaw sneaking into the 5th or 4th spot pending the results of the 3 teams final games. The Sting only need an OT point to clinch home ice but are playing Plymouth in their barn so it won't be an easy task.
yes it does, Owen Sound looked lost in yesterday's game. All the lines were changed and Daniel Catenacci was playing without is right arm. It went dead for 10 games. It's going to be tough, alot of rookies have regular jobs on that team and as good as they can be, they're gonna have a taste of what it's like to play in the playoffs. Definitely not the same flow of the regular season play.
One good thing about yesterday's game for the Owen Sound rookies though, is they had a taste of that yesterday as Guelph played very tight, disciplined, and a brick wall as a defense core. A few players are gonna have to step up if Owen Sound wants to go any distance in the playoffs as they are missing 2 elite players... Halmo and Maiden. The team have to put the bad OHL officiating behind them and find hunger to win for their captain to see to it that this suspension is not the final episod in the OHL for Halmo. It's a Cinderella story maybe, but I would love to see it happen.
I am interested in seeing if any of the predictors who were virtually unanimous in picking Guelph for last in the West this year come clean on their errors. I do of course realize how hard it is to make accurate predictions in junior hockey but this year's team has been a pleasant surprise. So I am going to enjoy it at the expense of the prognosticators.
I am interested in seeing if any of the predictors who were virtually unanimous in picking Guelph for last in the West this year come clean on their errors. I do of course realize how hard it is to make accurate predictions in junior hockey but this year's team has been a pleasant surprise. So I am going to enjoy it at the expense of the prognosticators.
Do you want a cookie?
With losing pretty much every one of their offensive weapons, you can't really blame people for picking Guelph last. I also didn't expect Erie or SSM to be so bad this year.
I am interested in seeing if any of the predictors who were virtually unanimous in picking Guelph for last in the West this year come clean on their errors. I do of course realize how hard it is to make accurate predictions in junior hockey but this year's team has been a pleasant surprise. So I am going to enjoy it at the expense of the prognosticators.
Last vs 3rd last - not really a big stretch. It's not like Guelph finished in the top half of the West. And Soo should have been better.
No, Libbs, no cookie needed but I am open to offers. Just thought I would see if anyone would acknowledge that they were off on the predictions about the Storm. For whatever reason, if others are of the same mind as you, I guess not. No problem. Better to ignore wrong predictions than address them. As an aside, this team seems to play better when under the radar. Sort of like the Leafs.
No, Libbs, no cookie needed but I am open to offers. Just thought I would see if anyone would acknowledge that they were off on the predictions about the Storm. For whatever reason, if others are of the same mind as you, I guess not. No problem. Better to ignore wrong predictions than address them. As an aside, this team seems to play better when under the radar. Sort of like the Leafs.
Well then I'm going to hunt down those Mayan's and ask them if they are willing to acknowledge that the world isn't going to end in 2012!
Pre-Season predictions are silly anyway...if you REALLY want to hold people to them, then that's your own issue. The only prediction I care about is that I said the Spits would finish 8th... well I might be right with that one. Like Otto said...if you would have pulled a Barrie and got home ice in round 1 then I might be singing a different tune. It took Guelph till the last weekend to clinch a playoff spot... not all that impressive.
Well Libbs. I prefer the tea leaves to the Inca predictions. More reliable. I guess that a lots of things don't impress you much, but when a team like Guelph avoids what everyone doing predictions says they are going to do and makes the playoffs to boot, that is a cause for a little bit of "how about that." I get it is not for you but it is something for celebrate for those who follow the team and are happy it exceeded the low expectations of the pre season. As for when they clinched, who cares? They did it.
1) Plymouth - Likely the most balanced team and well coached
2) London - Should cruise in what looks to be a very weak midwest division
3) Sarnia - Team loaded with high-end talent, will be fun to watch
4) Saginaw - Solid overall team; goaltending might be an issue
5) Kitchener - Hopefully Gibson adapts to the O better than Campbell did last year
6) Soo - Good young defence corps; Cousins and Broll will be counted on
7) Owen Sound - They lose a lot of talent; Binnington will have to steal some games
8) Windsor - A season like London had last year would be a success for the Spits
9) Erie - What kind of goaltending will they get? How does Olden adapt to the O?
10) Guelph - I'll be totally shocked if they don't finish tenth, they lose a ton
Well, 1 correct out of ten. Not great but overall not off by much other than overating the bloody Greyhounds. And yes stormtracker I did underestimate the Storm. I figured they lost too much high end offence. You have to give Scott Walker and his staff a lot of credit. I can admit when I'm wrong. Though I never claimed to be Nostradamus or anything.
