After a delayed start to writing the previews , here we go again for the 11th edition of the season preview. That’s a lot of typing and listening to great music and podcasts while we talk crap about Quintin.
Not so much lately as the back to back champs look to be the first team to three-peat. Will the Kings finally win a cup, will the Royals make the finals once again.
Miramichi Moose - 17.48 : 1
We’ll just get this out of the way early but the odds are a lot better than they were last year when the team was still focused on making moves.
Finally after years of making trades and off loading contracts for prospects , picks and cap flexibility it seems the plans are coming together. Youngsters Byfield , Rossi , Drysdale , Velano and Hoglander all have made the jump from Harcourt whether they wanted to or not according to Ashton rule 10.1 . The team will finally start making strides towards the future that has been the focus of the entire rebuild.
Still waiting in the wings is Perfetti , Mctavish , Rosen , and Shakir are close but are not expected to make the team this year. Also adding 3 first round draft choices in D Edvinsson , G Cossa and C Bolduc will add to the prospect pool.
The roster isn’t yet fully developed and the team had a development issue where the league deducted the team 3 development points and then the team was able to send a random player to a special camp at the cost of 5 pdc’s. Unfortunately for the Moose 4th liner Jake Guentzel was randomly chosen. This cut on team development and hopefully there won’t be any long term effects.
Also of note, high school staffers working for the Harcourt Hitmen with the team community building furniture for the underprivileged , have been enlisted in the upcoming draft. GM Ashton has taken a keen interest in scouting the twins for the possibility of joining the franchise.
Albert County Renegade - 11.78 : 1
With a 80 point campaign the Renegades were the biggest surprise of the ODBHL last season not because they made the playoffs but the fact they outperformed almost the entire Lemieux Conference. Between the Plavsic winning Karlsson to the evolution of Tim Stutzle 200 foot game.
The roster is a mashup of veterans brought in for experience and the younger players starting their careers and will be the face of the franchise. Tavares , O’Reily and Hall are here to show the youngsters their trophy cases and championship ring and bring a better understanding of what it takes to win it all.
With the youngsters Stutzle and Boldy starting season 4 of playing together they can finish each other's sentences as well as find each other on the ice without looking. Season 10 1st overall pick Owen Power joined the deep soft defense core due to Ashton rule 10.1 and will take over first line duties from Karlsson and will soon be one of best defensemen in a few seasons similar to the Ducks Jake Sanderson.
Between the 3rd and 4th line, depth could be an issue especially against teams like Saint John and Riverview. The other issue that could come up in the coming seasons would be the decline of Igor Shesterkin while prospect Wallstedt will be developing AT CFB Chatham for at least the next two seasons.
Dorchester Devils - 10.88 : 1
After a long Matthews & Tavares tenure is over and it’s time for the next wave of Delis to begin. The team has a great young core on defense that will take some time to develop together and the center position will soon be the team's strength with Beniers and Sillinger to become the faces of the team.
The team has some great wing depth and with Kaprizov and Marner in the prime of their careers and free agent addition of Tarasenko and youngster McMichael. There is kind of a logjam on the left side. If they could move one of them to the right side it would balance the 3rd line better.
The team should be looking towards the off season working to create some cap flexibility. Either removing or resigning at a lower price Nylander, Chytil , Podkolzin , and Lindholm. The cap numbers for the 3rd and 4th line are too high and prevent higher end talent on the 1st and second line to be paid. Also in case goalie Samsonov wants to get paid like last season and have tougher contract negotiations.
Moncton Melons 9.88 : 1
For a team that always does well in the regular season there have been whispers of rebuilding as this team is close but also needs some help in certain areas.
Every good team always has great center depth and the Melons have two home grown ones in Hughes and Cozens. One is a super offensive dynamo and the other is a grindy defensive minded wizard.
Kaapo Kakko looks to have finally found a home and will look to contend for the Modano trophy every year from this year on. Aside from Pelletier, the left wing needs some help. The Breadman should be retiring soon , Fabbri has bounced around the league and David Gustafsson will be in a pressure cooker again after things didn’t work out for him in Riverview last time.
Due to cap issues the defense has take a hit over time with Brett Burns leaving in free agency. The other issue could be the slowly declining Matt Murray, while still the best option for the Melons, the question will be , can he get it done in the playoffs one more time against better competition .
Oromocto Senators 9.59 : 1
This is where Oromocto usually is the rankings. This is how high they get until they stop underachieving like last season and based on talent can’t put them any lower. On forward the team is stacked with young talent with more to chrome next season possible in the form of Quinn and Radimov. Also Kent Johnson & Seth Jarvis started the season on the pro roster and should be top contenders for the Mogilny award along with Alberts Power and the Miramichi delegation.
The end result for this team is going to depend on two positions:
Will this finally be the season that Spencer Knight turns into the next great goalie. Last year's 886 save percentage and 3.51 goals against will need to be improved upon ascending to the goaltending elite.
One again the defense will be tested in multiple ways. The defensemen are young and will improve but how loud are the fans getting and how patient will they be.
Does there need to be more emphasis put on the forwards to play more defense to help out the blue line. Of the 10 points spent last off season only 1 went towards DF.
That’s it for now, I’m looking at doing Part. 2 on Monday the Holiday or Tuesday Aug 4th or 5th.
8/2/2024 - 1155 words
