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Post by donjohnson on May 6, 2024 15:20:10 GMT -5
Even though we have the Memorial Cup to go win, the 23/24 season is over and we can try to see what the roster will look like in 24/25 after we lose a lot of our team. Here is my prediction of what we'll look like next year and some notes:
Not sure who will be out there but we will need to add a defenseman. We got Will Bishop for a 6th and a 12th and we'll need to find a gem like that for cheap. Mangone is a surefire OA (unless he gets drafted) and it's likely we'll keep an OA goalie for stability. No offense against Forgione but we can certainly upgrade on him for relatively cheap I would think. It will be really interesting to see what direction Drinkell goes in the Import draft. I have a F and a D on my list below but I think he'll take the best available and figure it out from there. Unless someone is a world-beater, I don't see any draft picks other than Zhilkin making the lineup.
We're also going to be really SMALL at forward next year and we'll need to find some toughness somewhere.
As far as trades go, I can see us trading Ethan Hay to a contender looking for a faceoff guy and I've been on record that we should trade Zayne and get a massive haul of picks and/or players so we're ready to load up again in a few years.
Forwards:
1) Misa
2) Mangone (OA)
3) Willis
4) Hay
5) Sima
6) Moore
7) Harmer
8) Gervais
9) Storch
10) Cloutier
11) Zhilkin
12) Import Forward
Defense:
1) Parekh
2) Bishop
3) Guo
4) Import Defenseman
5) Forgione (OA)
5) Glavin
6) Jones
Goalie:
1) Oke or Lalonde (OA)
2) Papineau
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Post by kingpin794 on May 6, 2024 18:55:25 GMT -5
Seems like 5-7 seed team depending on who we move. I’d guess Hay, Mangone, and Willis are the big pieces next year. No need to move Parekh yet. He’s not making the NHL before he’s 20. Can wait til 25/26 to move him and Misa (doubt he makes NHL at 18). Really looking forward to see what Harmer does. I think he’s going to surprise some people. Also think that Cooper Bordeaux gets signed. He didn't have an amazing season for little caesers but...ya know. Zander Kechego from the latest U18 would be a decent depth option as well. On defense there is Tyler Vordstat. 6th rounder from 2023 who had a solid year in NOJHL. Think he could handle 7th/8th duty.
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Post by donjohnson on May 7, 2024 10:34:14 GMT -5
Only reason I'm hot on trading Zayne next year is because I personally don't like how he plays. I don't like all of the cheap shots and trash talking...he's an amazing talent but I think if we trade him next year, we stand to get more in return because he's that much of a difference maker now and a team could likely get two years of him which will likely mean picks AND young players.
Agree on Harmer, he'll likely be a big part of our future and could be someone to build around if he's as advertised.
I'm guessing Bordeaux (as an American kid) goes the NCAA route despite the connection. I think it will be tough for him to get ice time here but maybe he goes NCAA for a year, does well and then shows up here eventually...you never know.
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Post by eric8199 on May 8, 2024 11:16:50 GMT -5
I wouldn't get your hopes up for a Zayne trade. Anything is possible, but I'm willing to bet he sticks around. Another year of development for both he and Misa will probably go a long way. It's easy to forget how young both of them are.
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Post by kingpin794 on May 8, 2024 13:10:14 GMT -5
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Post by aj0512 on May 8, 2024 13:38:18 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing Cloutier develop more next season. Personally I thought he looked better than Aiden Young did whenever he was in the lineup. Excited for Harmer as well. He really stood out at training camp last August.
Probably not worth mentioning really, but I also believe Aiden Castle is eligible as an OA next year. Not sure if anyone in the league would use a spot on him, though.
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Post by ricardo on May 8, 2024 14:48:27 GMT -5
I read somewhere that Will Horcoff from last year's draft has committed to the USA Development Team. |
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Post by kingpin794 on May 8, 2024 15:07:14 GMT -5
Yeah he’s an NTDP kid and committed to Michigan
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Post by kingpin794 on May 13, 2024 10:14:47 GMT -5
Anyone go watch the prospects this weekend?
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Post by donjohnson on May 13, 2024 13:11:45 GMT -5
I wanted to because I wanted to see Harmer and Zhilkin but didn't make it out there.
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Post by eric8199 on May 13, 2024 15:15:10 GMT -5
I was there Sunday to get photos. Here's my gallery if you want to see them: www.dreambiggermedia.com/Saginaw-Spirit-Photos/2023-24-Season/2024-25-Prospect-Camp-51224I felt like Cloutier was the standout, especially in the 3-on-3. He looked really good. Zhilkin also was very impressive, as was Harmer as well. All in all I thought there was a lot of talent on the ice and the future definitely looks bright. Christo, Dionicio and LaLonde were all there helping out as well. |
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Post by spiritfan8 on May 14, 2024 8:18:48 GMT -5
I thought Zhilkin was noticeable every time he was on the ice, and he had some nice chemistry with Greyson Jones and number 21, a free agent invitee, I think his name was Clarkson? For the second year in a row I thought DiBlasi was the weakest of the 3 goalies in attendance. I mildly disagree with Eric—I wasnt as impressed by Harmer as I was last year. Since there were no numbers on the program, I spent the first half of the hour figuring out who everybody was!! The 2 impressions I came away with: 1) I didnt see any Parekhs or Misas out there (good news/bad news—means we’re not picking in the top 4 lately) and 2) 3 on 3 makes it REALLY hard to judge a player’s potential, because it’s glorified pond hockey. Still, an enjoyable Mothers Day gift to myself.
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Post by donjohnson on May 14, 2024 9:03:25 GMT -5
I thought Zhilkin was noticeable every time he was on the ice, and he had some nice chemistry with Greyson Jones and number 21, a free agent invitee, I think his name was Clarkson? For the second year in a row I thought DiBlasi was the weakest of the 3 goalies in attendance. I mildly disagree with Eric—I wasnt as impressed by Harmer as I was last year. Since there were no numbers on the program, I spent the first half of the hour figuring out who everybody was!! The 2 impressions I came away with: 1) I didnt see any Parekhs or Misas out there (good news/bad news—means we’re not picking in the top 4 lately) and 2) 3 on 3 makes it REALLY hard to judge a player’s potential, because it’s glorified pond hockey. Still, an enjoyable Mothers Day gift to myself. That's surprising on DiBlasi...I actually thought he was one of the better ones during training camp this year and thought he was the only one who really had good fundamental position play. It's always interesting to see what direction these young kids go...will they go the USHL or NCAA route or will the enter the Canadian system? I'm guessing that the two Saginaw natives will both head down the NCAA path but who knows. |
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Post by eric8199 on May 14, 2024 9:20:41 GMT -5
I agree with spiritfan's assessment of DiBlasi.
As for Harmer, you're right, he looked better last year. But there were many instances where I was like, "oh, that was a good play," and then I realized it was Harmer. So I stand by the fact that he stood out, even if it wasn't to the level of last year.
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Post by donjohnson on May 14, 2024 10:55:27 GMT -5
I felt like Cloutier was the standout, especially in the 3-on-3. He looked really good. I think he'll be a regular contributor in the lineup next year...he obviously didn't get much ice or team time this year but I thought he looked good when he got shifts. I still miss Young, I think he's going to be a really good player in this league but Cloutier, Harmer and others will make it a solid draft class. |
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