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Post by ricardo on Apr 17, 2022 19:20:52 GMT -5
Now that this season is in the books, what does everyone think looking ahead to training camp in September? Here's a some I thought of. Feel free to offer your thoughts on these and add to it.
1. Will Lennox be back in goal, or will the team have to shop for an experienced goalie?
2. Will the two European players be back?
3. Will all the rookies from this season show improvement from this season when they probably played lots more hockey than they ever had before?
4. What will the draft bring to the Spirit, especially with two first round draft pick?
5. Can they get the top overall pick so they can select the 15-year-old who was given exceptional status?
6. This is a big one, will Coach Lazary be back? (I hope he will)
The Spirit have lots of work to do this summer, but this is what we get for the team going for it the past couple of seasons that were played.
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Post by donjohnson on Apr 18, 2022 11:59:34 GMT -5
Good questions
I don't see Lennox being back next year...I don't think he'll sign a pro deal (too many injuries this year) and I think he'll either leave the OHL or be traded somewhere. I think we're fine with Oke and Fullerton next year...the defense NEEDS to be improved...even Lennox gave up 3.2 GAA and only won 7 games as good as he is. You just can't give up 10 breakaway or 2 on 1's a game and expect that your goalie can keep you in it. I think some of that is the coaching style and some is the talent.
I think both imports will be back next year...Pavel is a great player but needs to shore up his defense a bit...he did the right thing coming to the OHL and playing for Lazary, he raised his draft stock with his offensive ability. He'll be taken pretty high IMO but he'll be sent back to the OHL for at least another year. Sapovoliv is a solid player and I expect him to be back next year as well.
I thought just about all the rookies improved as the season went along...you could see McNamara gaining more confidence and if he would eat a few burgers this offseason, he'll have a nice season heading into his draft year. Hopefully the defense improves in the offseason too.
I think the draft needs to bring speed...we were noticeably slower than the opponents in the neutral zone and I think that's one thing that lead to so many breaks for the other teams.
I don't see us getting the top pick...I've always felt like the league is rigged against us and I see us getting the #4 pick in the lottery.
I don't see any reason that they wouldn't retain Lazary...he'll need to show some improvement next year but IMO he won a championship during covid and his "record" got totally screwed because he should have a championship under his belt.
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Post by eric8199 on Apr 18, 2022 12:03:42 GMT -5
1. I don't think Lennox will be back. No inside info, just don't think so. We'll see. I'd like to see him back and having a healthy year though. Do you not think Oke has earned the spot going forward if Lennox doesn't return? I thought Oke grew into the position very well this year and with the right support around him could more than do the job.
2. I've got nothing here. Hope so.
3. Yes, because they already have. Honestly, if we started next season right now with what we have, I'd be pretty happy, and you have to assume we'll be better rather than worse to start the season next year with the draft, a couple of deals and some off-season work by these kids. I'm excited about next year, and really excited about the year or two after. I think we've got a good foundation that's only going to grow. They also get along very well, which might be more important than having top-skilled players on the roster.
4. The chances of us getting kids to report is a lot better than it used to be, hopefully we can turn this around for something special.
5. With the cancellation of the 2020-21 season, I feel like we deserve this. Not to mention the other teams in the running have either had their chances at something like this, or they just got in trouble with the league. So let's hope it falls our way.
6. I don't expect anything else. I think he's done a spectacular job with this team despite what the keyboard warriors on Facebook may have said earlier in the season. I think you saw growth with this team all season. Playing Flint as much as we did hurt us a lot too, because they were quite a bit better than us. The only solace in that is I think we also inflated their stats and made them look better than they are, and I think that will show in the next few weeks in the playoffs.
On another note, this is the first time we've finished a season with a victory in a while, since we've been in the playoffs for a while now and unless you win it all, your season will always end with a loss. Sure we played the London Jr. Knights this weekend and faced their like 8th string goalie, but a win is a win. lol.
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Post by ricardo on Apr 18, 2022 12:38:13 GMT -5
Which Spirit players are eligible to be overagers next season?
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Post by aj0512 on Apr 18, 2022 15:30:25 GMT -5
No official announcement yet, but it sounds like the draft lottery will be held tomorrow night (April 19). Saginaw, Niagara, Erie, and Sudbury will each have a 25% chance of getting the top pick.
Rounds 1-3 of the draft will be on Friday, April 29 and the rest will be on Saturday, April 30.
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Apr 18, 2022 16:39:38 GMT -5
Which Spirit players are eligible to be overagers next season? Lennox, Smith, and Schlueting. I’ll need to check and see if there is anyone else. |
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Apr 18, 2022 16:43:38 GMT -5
No official announcement yet, but it sounds like the draft lottery will be held tomorrow night (April 19). Saginaw, Niagara, Erie, and Sudbury will each have a 25% chance of getting the top pick. Rounds 1-3 of the draft will be on Friday, April 29 and the rest will be on Saturday, April 30. I believe the lottery only determines the draft order for these 4 teams in the 1st round of the draft. The remaining rounds revert to order of finish which would be 1. Niagara 2. Saginaw 3. Sudbury 4. Erie |
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Apr 18, 2022 17:46:40 GMT -5
In my opinion Niagara should have been stripped of their 1st round pick after what their owners did.
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Post by eric8199 on Apr 19, 2022 12:33:38 GMT -5
In my opinion Niagara should have been stripped of their 1st round pick after what their owners did. They've already been punished pretty heavily. Not saying what was done was OK by any means, but I think the penalty was already plenty stiff. |
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Post by bpfox on Apr 19, 2022 17:03:34 GMT -5
No official announcement yet, but it sounds like the draft lottery will be held tomorrow night (April 19). Saginaw, Niagara, Erie, and Sudbury will each have a 25% chance of getting the top pick. Rounds 1-3 of the draft will be on Friday, April 29 and the rest will be on Saturday, April 30. I believe the lottery only determines the draft order for these 4 teams in the 1st round of the draft. The remaining rounds revert to order of finish which would be 1. Niagara 2. Saginaw 3. Sudbury 4. Erie Draft Lottery is Wednesday the 20th. |
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Post by aj0512 on Apr 19, 2022 17:17:05 GMT -5
Will be streamed on CHL TV for free at 7:00 p.m.
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Post by donjohnson on Apr 19, 2022 19:02:45 GMT -5
Which Spirit players are eligible to be overagers next season? Lennox, Smith, and Schlueting. I’ll need to check and see if there is anyone else. Nope... That's it... I only see Smith returning of that group. |
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Post by spiritfan8 on Apr 20, 2022 8:45:26 GMT -5
1) Going to be the outlier here—I think Lennox returns to the OHL. He’s lost almost 2 full years of development, which is a real blow to a guy w his talent. Given that goalies are often sent back as OAs, I expect to see him play one more year in the O. Whether it’s in Saginaw is a completely different discussion.
2) Yes, unless they decide to play in Europe. Possible but unlikely.
3) no reason to think they won’t. They all improved a lot in the final third of this season, especially McNamara and Fink.
4) and 5) No idea who they will draft. I will be pleasantly surprised if they draft before the 4 spot.
6). If Lazary isnt back I will be one unhappy fan. (Unless, of course, he gets an offer to move up). The constant howling for his head this year—looking at you, FB Spirit Fan Nation—drove me nuts. IMO he did a fine job developing the team this year, especially considering all the injuries to experienced players and Baber being traded.
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Post by eric8199 on Apr 20, 2022 9:58:08 GMT -5
I will say, I like Fan Nation because there's a lot more discussion on there, but there are a lot of users there who just don't have the knowledge about the OHL or hockey in general that this board has, and it can be extremely frustrating to deal with. But if you think our FB group is bad, you should check out Flint's. lol. That's a clown show over there!
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Post by aj0512 on Apr 20, 2022 18:14:12 GMT -5
Saginaw wins the lottery! Well deserved for the team, IMO, after missing out on the 2020 playoffs and losing a lot of top guys resulting in a tough year.
#1 Saginaw
#2 Erie
#3 Sudbury
#4 Niagara
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