The worse crops out there will be the worst teams in the league. Czinder is another guy who has gone in the tank as well. You look at the teams in this league and tell me how this current crop stacks up.
The Spits have one of the weaker OA crops in the league, Kingston, Erie are clearly a step behind. The Sault and Guelph you can can discuss but just like Windsor neither group is very good. The only one that is surprising is Brampton but I don't think their team is very good and Mississauga is lacking as well. OHLTG how soon you forget the backbone of the successful Spitfire teams had to do with their OA's eg. Bragg, Reid, Snetsinger, Kwiet, Engelage, Shutron, Young, Mitchell, Timmins, Brown, Carrick, Johnston. All of those OA's I mentioned are markedly better than anybody this year and anybody Windsor currently stands to have next year.
Most teams next yr will have few quality o/a players as it projects
If u do u may have to pay price
Rayzor based on your theory London may not enjoy success this year because
the quality of their O/as are substandard compared to others in the league
ie Kitchener, Plymouth and sarnia
And next yr for the Knights not much better if Houser goes pro
Then they are stuck with Hughes,Ferry and Flemington,as I doubt Tinordi,McKegg,
Most teams next yr will have few quality o/a players as it projects
If u do u may have to pay price
Rayzor based on your theory London may not enjoy success this year because
the quality of their O/as are substandard compared to others in the league
ie Kitchener, Plymouth and sarnia
And next yr for the Knights not much better if Houser goes pro
Then they are stuck with Hughes,Ferry and Flemington,as I doubt Tinordi,McKegg,
Watson,Knight and Namestikoff return
London has already enjoyed success this year and stand to have the best record in the OHL. They probably should have gotten another OA but getting Cook was a good move. Houser should be back as he hasn't been drafted, nor is he ranked high in the draft rankings. Houser alone would make it a good OA crop. I would bet you a healthy amount of money Flemington will not be an OA.
London has already enjoyed success this year and stand to have the best record in the OHL. They probably should have gotten another OA but getting Cook was a good move. Houser should be back as he hasn't been drafted, nor is he ranked high in the draft rankings. Houser alone would make it a good OA crop. I would bet you a healthy amount of money Flemington will not be an OA.
I dont disagree about Flemington,however should the Knights go deep and
even win I would think Houser gets a pro contract,plus for him nothing to play for
next yr should they win it all
Bret Cook is a good o/a not great ,and I do like him but I do think London
is vulnerable both in goal {depth} overall experience, size and grit
Just because they have the best record does not mean they are best team
My money is on Plymouth,at least if wedgewood goes down they have mahalak
I dont disagree about Flemington,however should the Knights go deep and
even win I would think Houser gets a pro contract,plus for him nothing to play for
next yr should they win it all
Bret Cook is a good o/a not great ,and I do like him but I do think London
is vulnerable both in goal {depth} overall experience, size and grit
Just because they have the best record does not mean they are best team
My money is on Plymouth,at least if wedgewood goes down they have mahalak
if houser goes down they are finsihed
Besides the whalers have better O/A s then London
I think the playoffs will be interesting. I thought Plymouth was playing great hockey and they have now looked like garbage against Owen Sound and Brampton. I question whether Plymouth can put it all together in the playoffs. London really hasn't had a stretch where you question if they can put it together. Plymouth has had a few of those.
I think the playoffs will be interesting. I thought Plymouth was playing great hockey and they have now looked like garbage against Owen Sound and Brampton. I question whether Plymouth can put it all together in the playoffs. London really hasn't had a stretch where you question if they can put it together. Plymouth has had a few of those.
I dont think the Knights can match the Whales in the grit and toughness dept
and in a playoff series that will be key especially when both teams have talent as well
One can pt to the Boston /Vancouver series as an example from last year,in fact not
too far fetched to see whalers are like boston,knights are like vancouver.
The whales can wear down a team the knights cant
Admittedly the additions of watson and Mckegg and Cook helps, but the knights
defence is vulnerable as im afraid harrington and Matta could get hurt again,
Tinordi has been warned not to fight this year again,that will affect his effectiveness
I imagine,while Cook,Ferry,Hughes and Raine hardly install fear inn their opponents
It will probably come down to goaltending and the knights better hope Houser
next years will be ok with posa and briatwaite but czinder needs to go play cis
and then you look at the 93 a/o's were not looking that good at all ... with the team we have now we dont have an o/a which means we will need to get 3
next years will be ok with posa and briatwaite but czinder needs to go play cis
and then you look at the 93 a/o's were not looking that good at all ... with the team we have now we dont have an o/a which means we will need to get 3
I don't mind Posa and Braithwaite unfortunately I don't necessarily believe that either is better than Robertson who was with the Spits for half of this year. Back in 07/08 Snetsinger was going to be back. Rychel right around the draft dealt for Bragg, supposed to get Lashoff but that was a mess and in September he got Elgin Reid. Hopefully Rychel has his eyes on 93's already obviously Quine is questionable to be an OA but an upgrade. In fact there was a 93 on Guelph last night was one of the best players on the ice, not NHL drafted but has OA written all over Zack Mitchell. His career stats are what you want to see out of a player developing, goals on the increase, assists increasing, +- improving. He might cost a bit but he's exactly what Windsor needs going forward. Furthermore yes Czinder should be gone he's not good enough for this league.
I dont disagree that probably 10 or 12 guys will be here for 2013/14 for this years
group they would be in my mind,Ebert,Devlin,Bateman ,Mcnaughton maybe,Clarke,Rychel
Marchese,Vail,Johnson,Maletta,Bilcke,Smith,Dekort
I would think the next 2 drafts,entry and Euro will yield by that time 6-8 players
toss in some previously acquired americans draft or trade the odd free agent ala
johnson and a few trades and a way u go
Easier said then done but its been done before
Most teams with success falter before coming back,barrie, and kitchener are
prime examples,London has not dropped below eighth in their but then again have
not won since 2005,thats a long tome for them
Still think things will work just wont be easy
I agree with what you said. You also factor most of the guys you mentioned are all 1st and 2nd year guys.
You also have to consider that Marchese's development may have hit a bit of a road block and he was in a losing environment with many struggles. Devlin was in the press box and rotated between forward and defense on that young and rebuilding Barrie team.
Some people also make the arguement that guys don't hit their stride or make a real impact until their 3rd year.
I think Windsor will be fine and I personally wouldn't be surprised to see Di Guiseppe next year.
Kitchener was very similar after the year they went for it. The following year had a roster filled young good prospects and many guys that had no plans to be in the teams future ie. Ben Skinner, Steve Locke, Kevin Hudes, Josh Schram, and Andrew Wilson just to name a few. I feel Windsor is much farther ahead than Kitchener was when they started from scratch.
I dont think the Knights can match the Whales in the grit and toughness dept
Plymouth has beaten the crap out of London the last 2 times they played. The Whalers visit London again on Feb 10th, curious to see how that one goes with this new look Knights team.
Whalers do look very solid, but are not invincible. I agree with alot of what you are saying, but London deserves a little more credit here. Sure Maata/Harrington/Knight could all get hurt again, and if Houser goes down there is a big question mark with Teichmann. But I think its a little silly to play that card for one team and not the other, every team has the potential to be brought down by injuries to key players, its unfair to say "oh if so and so gets hurt they are done" - that goes for just about every team in some form.
Had to at "Tinordi being warned not to fight and that will affect his effectiveness" ...come on. That was 2 months ago when he got hurt, there is nothing about his play that suggests he is less effective because of it. There are fewer opportunities to fight in the playoffs anyways, so im very confused by that statement.
Yes, Plymouth is a team that can wear you down in a 7 game series, I know what you mean in this sense and it's what London should worry about if they do meet. But don't you think other teams will be trying to figure out how to stop 4 London lines that can score at any given time? They are a matchup nightmare with the depth they have created, and have the potential to be deadly if given PP opportunities.
Just wanna point out that though my location says London I am in no way a Knights diehard, been a Spits fan my whole life. The only way I can see alot of Jr Hockey is by going to the JLC, so I see them play alot, and just felt they were being undersold a little. These threads are great for keeping up with the team and I appreciate the information that all of you contribute.
Anyways, good to see Windsor bounce back after what sounded like a horrible effort Thursday. Sarnia has been playing very well at home lately so I was surprised to see them walk in there and get the W. Whatever Boughner said in the room clearly caught on... I forget where, but I saw a quote from him mentioning how that was one of the worst compete levels he had ever seen from a Windsor team on Thursday night.
Great game, the spits sure were not the same team that showed up on Thursday night. The first goal on Cully, he should of had easily, when it went in I thought oh boy here we go again. But he played solid after that. Im suprised Sarnia only had 35 shots.
Koko's play over to Marchese on the 1st goal was a beauty, he seemed very paiteint, if he had of shot on net there wasnt much room for the puck so the pass was brilliant. Kokos effort tonight is the reason he belongs to Boston.
Rychel went in for stitches I didn't see what happened I guess I missed it.
Bowen and Dundas, edge Dundas, Bowen couldn't get any solid punches in but may have briused his knuckles on the back of the helmut.
They need to play like that every night and they will make the playoff's might not go deep but they will extend the season.
Not sure what BB said but his no yelling speach after thursdays game worked.
Need to play the same way and add some toughness against SSM they will do alright.
Go Spits Go
Dundas vs Bowen was either a draw or an edge to Bowen. The two dropped their gloves so far away from each other than the needed to almost race together to start fighting or the linesman were ready to just grab them. I know there is a code about not fighting at end of shifts and all that jazz, but fights off a face off is "planned" and should be a 10-min misconduct.
McNaughton seems to have good hockey instincts - if only he was 2-3 inches taller (but I guess that would be the lament of a lot of guys). Even that being said he's a good bottom pairing option for us.
Outside Khokhlachev there is zero offensive creativity on the team - Spits play a really boring brand of hockey - but need to because the skill level isn't there to play any other way.
Hunter Smith might be a worse skater than John Bowen.
For all the fights the Spits have, I believe they lead the league, none seem to come off opposition contact with our goalies. I'd love to see much less of the pre-planned stuff and more instant sticking up when the goalies are hit/run. But I guess that is a result of Bilcke, Alonge and Bowen not playing regular shifts and the rest of our guys not being fighting types.
Great game, the spits sure were not the same team that showed up on Thursday night. The first goal on Cully, he should of had easily, when it went in I thought oh boy here we go again. But he played solid after that. Im suprised Sarnia only had 35 shots.
Koko's play over to Marchese on the 1st goal was a beauty, he seemed very paiteint, if he had of shot on net there wasnt much room for the puck so the pass was brilliant. Kokos effort tonight is the reason he belongs to Boston.
Rychel went in for stitches I didn't see what happened I guess I missed it.
Bowen and Dundas, edge Dundas, Bowen couldn't get any solid punches in but may have briused his knuckles on the back of the helmut.
They need to play like that every night and they will make the playoff's might not go deep but they will extend the season.
Not sure what BB said but his no yelling speach after thursdays game worked.
Need to play the same way and add some toughness against SSM they will do alright.
Go Spits Go
I was at the game lst nite,excellent team effort by all who were dressed
fite bertween bowen and dundas no contest- edge bowen by a huge margin
nice bounce back from the worst effort of the season the nite before
sets up an interesting game on Sunday vs SSM and Jack Campbell
Went to the game and got to see a surprising victory considering they haven't won a game I have been to this year. It certainly wasn't pretty but they got a win. Cullen played his first game since forever. Defense has better, still not sure about the forwards the Spits might have had 5-7 decent scoring chances, Khokhlachev created most of those opportunities. Clarke continues his decline now taking bad penalties. Chance to get a .500 weekend if they can beat the Sault. Saginaw got a 9-8 victory last night so they are definitely in the picture now.
I think some posters are way over zealous on their criticisms of the Spitfire organization. It's become schtick for Rayzor. Reading back throughout the Spits threads and the arguments to criticize Windsor are all over the place. I think it's just bait to stir things up more often then not at times because of the hypocrisy and cherry picking of facts.
It's a rebuilding year with a youthful roster. The team is going to have ups and downs, some nights look great others look horrible that's just the way it is and the way it's playing out. Bottom line is that Windsor is a premier franchise in the CHL, they'll have themselves a strong contending team shortly enough, if all the ducks fall inline time will tell, but things could be much worse then they are in Windsor. They are playing within expectation for the season projections.
Not only do Spitfire fans have hope of winning, or even belief they expect too. I do understand how that can draw out critics.
I think some posters are way over zealous on their criticisms of the Spitfire organization. It's become schtick for Rayzor. Reading back throughout the Spits threads and the arguments to criticize Windsor are all over the place. I think it's just bait to stir things up more often then not at times because of the hypocrisy and cherry picking of facts.
It's a rebuilding year with a youthful roster. The team is going to have ups and downs, some nights look great others look horrible that's just the way it is and the way it's playing out. Bottom line is that Windsor is a premier franchise in the CHL, they'll have themselves a strong contending team shortly enough, if all the ducks fall inline time will tell, but things could be much worse then they are in Windsor. They are playing within expectation for the season projections.
Not only do Spitfire fans have hope of winning, or even belief they expect too. I do understand how that can draw out critics.
Pretty good post
and u are dead on about seasons projections and where they are at currently
I think some posters are way over zealous on their criticisms of the Spitfire organization. It's become schtick for Rayzor. Reading back throughout the Spits threads and the arguments to criticize Windsor are all over the place. I think it's just bait to stir things up more often then not at times because of the hypocrisy and cherry picking of facts.
It's a rebuilding year with a youthful roster. The team is going to have ups and downs, some nights look great others look horrible that's just the way it is and the way it's playing out. Bottom line is that Windsor is a premier franchise in the CHL, they'll have themselves a strong contending team shortly enough, if all the ducks fall inline time will tell, but things could be much worse then they are in Windsor. They are playing within expectation for the season projections.
Not only do Spitfire fans have hope of winning, or even belief they expect too. I do understand how that can draw out critics.
It's hardly a shtick. I have people that told me right out of the gate during the draft that Smith was a huge project. People I know didn't like the DeKort pick because he wasn't going to get much run this year. From that perspective I understand the criticisms.
Yes the Spits are a young team just as Plymouth was last year when they won a playoff round. London is young this year with 2 16 year olds, 7 17 year olds that are in the lineup consistently and they are one of the best teams in the league.
Bob Jones in August said this year is a lot like the rookie year for Ryan Ellis and Taylor Hall, everybody can see watching this team that they aren't at that level. Maletta was touted as a better version of Greg Nemisz.
The Spitfires organization has brought criticism on themselves by all but throwing away this year and next year in hopes of hosting a Memorial Cup or contending for one. In fact we have heard more about 2014 than we have about this year and next year. Windsor could be good in a few years from now so could Guelph, Owen Sound and teams like Plymouth and London have shown they aren't going away. If you want to call me out on hypocrisy and cherry picking fine but at least show examples and just don't talk it.
It's hardly a shtick. I have people that told me right out of the gate during the draft that Smith was a huge project. People I know didn't like the DeKort pick because he wasn't going to get much run this year. From that perspective I understand the criticisms.
Yes the Spits are a young team just as Plymouth was last year when they won a playoff round. London is young this year with 2 16 year olds, 7 17 year olds that are in the lineup consistently and they are one of the best teams in the league.
Bob Jones in August said this year is a lot like the rookie year for Ryan Ellis and Taylor Hall, everybody can see watching this team that they aren't at that level. Maletta was touted as a better version of Greg Nemisz.
The Spitfires organization has brought criticism on themselves by all but throwing away this year and next year in hopes of hosting a Memorial Cup or contending for one. In fact we have heard more about 2014 than we have about this year and next year. Windsor could be good in a few years from now so could Guelph, Owen Sound and teams like Plymouth and London have shown they aren't going away. If you want to call me out on hypocrisy and cherry picking fine but at least show examples and just don't talk it.
Yes the organisation has brought the criticism on themselves.
I think it's a little unfair to say they are throwing next year away though. As for this year, what other course could they have gone? They just spent the last 3 years going on championship runs and everyone could see how depleted the cupboards were. Should they have kept Campbell and Kuhnhackl? I don't see how that benefits the team going forward. Yes I would have liked to see a legit OHL player or two come back back instead of just picks and US flyers... but maybe those picks will be parlayed into a player in the future.
at "Tinordi being warned not to fight and that will affect his effectiveness" ...come on. That was 2 months ago when he got hurt, there is nothing about his play that suggests he is less effective because of it. There are fewer opportunities to fight in the playoffs anyways, so im very confused by that statement. 
