Ah Sweet Sixteen.
The league is in transition:
Maybe it's the goalie changing of the guard.
Maybe it’s the legend named players coming in
Maybe it’s because we're doing the entire preview at once, it may be shorter on the team previews but no shorter on the sass.
Oromocto Senators 13.3 : 1
How long does it take to recover from your franchise goalie having a physical offseason transformation. Were 4 seasons in from Knight transitioning to modern day “Red Light Racicot”.
The team is loaded with lottery talent and has younger talent currently leading the roster but one question remains. When will the team stop drafting right wingers? Should Martin St. Louis starts shopping for houses in Perth Andover.
Albert County Renegade 12.8:1
With the off season shuffle of teams in conference ,we find our two lowest odds in the same conference. Is this the year the Renegade make the playoffs and make some noise? Can Mcdavid and Walstead make some memories for the Albert Count fans.
The team’s depth is what brings things lower on the list. The third and fourth line have been improved and will need to hold things down. Unfortunately losing two top 4 defencemen a few season ago without having replacements hurt the overall grades. With 24 million in cap space they could address that in the future.
Dorchester Devils 10.4 : 1
There is a lot I like about this version of the Devils.
The rookie could make an impact, I think Recchi could be the missing player to fully unlock Matty Beniers full potential. Eric Lindros will need to be protected playing 3rd line minutes and possibly more in future if his health would improve. The acquisition of York and Hienola along with the Commesso contract for Venhi was a superb trade for the Devils.
The high end talent up front is what is lacking, while Beniers is elite he needs more help and with the emergence of the rookies and the factory that is Kedgwick for developing talent they could be on the rise.
Moncton Melons 9.7 :1 (tie)
Speaking on the Melons, when you need a goalie to start and you're up against the cap you need to do. I think the trade with the devils fixed the goalie problem for now. Yes the defence was downgraded it was depth number 4 and 5 turning into a 3 and 4 in Dorchester. The two younger defenseman may work out long term for the Melons.
They will have some negotiating to do with Miller, Hayton , and Kakko. Every year Moncton balances the tipping point of cap space to remain competitive. If the goaltending isn’t sufficient the Melons can own their own 1st rounder , if they don’t trade it away.
Cains River Blues 9.7: 1 (tie)
I’m not the mathematician of this collaboration and have no idea on tie breakers but this is the order I picked.
The team is mostly returning the major players from last year except one but more on that soon. Any time you start with Zary , Hischer and Makar that is a threesome for success. Will all three take team friendly deals this year or will they finally look for a gold mine.
Monty was traded back to Riverview in a 5 player draft day deal that brought back Shesterkin and Anderson. While the team is stacked in front of him, what does the veteran and rookie have in them? Igor while posting 40 wins he stats were left to be desired and Anderson has a total of 4 career games as of today.
Riverview Royals 9 : 1
If you're thinking, wait, this is the last Gretzky Conference team and we have 4 teams left in the Lemieux Conference you are correct. A very weird way of sorting teams.
The Full Monty Returns - WIth the super swap of goalie Monty finds him back in familiar ground with the Royals after 4 productive seasons in Cains River. The defencemen are very focused on keeping the puck out of the net with tons of firepower up front.
The most interesting part of this team to my is the 2nd line and what do you get out of this unit. The combination of Sutzle, Robitaille and Dave(not spelling that) . The high skilled youngsters could bring out the best in Stutzle who has has issues with injuries in the past.
Bathurst Angry Ducks 8.2 : 1
I am a fictional professional journalist and will maintain my composure for the next paragraphs.
The ducks bring back mostly the same team with a big addition of Phil Housley from Miramichi. The move will greatly help with the transition game and increase the effectiveness of the power play and could add a dynamic with the pairing of Sanderson or Boquist.
So far so good.
The team has 2 solid lines of 80 mostly overall and good depth on the 3rd line as well. When all else fails, having a 90 rated Blackwood helps erase the mistake that could happen.
Miramichi Moose 7.6 : 1
We look great on paper but I’m surprised I’m this high. We lost some good depth pieces due to the salary cap going down and a good young greedy defenceman. As long as the team stays healthy we should be very competitive.
If you ever noticed, the Moose scores a ton of goals andee also let in a lot of goals. It’s not really a recipe for success but when you are building a goalie from scratch it comes with the effect. The last couple of years I’ve pointed a majority of PDC’s into defence. The +- hasn’t been awful but to be successful in this period it’s what has to be done. The defines are now my 2nd penalty kill forwards.
I can see my team finishing anywhere from 3 to 5th in our division.
Saint John Kings 6.8 : 1
Well this is confusing
By the smallest possible margin the Kings are the runner up. Mostly for the trade to secure the future of the franchise. With the trade that saw Sanding go for Roberto Louongo the Kings finally answered the long term goaltending question. The cost was Rasmus Sandin being sent the other way to Oromocto.
Besides that the team has one of the best assembled roster and the team has mostly remained mostly intact with the only minor tweak to the roster to remain cap compliant. With prime time players looking for new contracts will GM Kenny be able to pull more cap wizardry with Dobson and Thompson.
South Esk Scotsmen 6.7:1
The new preseason favorite. It seems like forever it’s been Saint John but that doesn't always equal playoff success.
It’s weird that the two notable losses were the two icons of the Scotsman retiring. They were likely the least aggressive of the team which means that the aggression is only going to go higher.
After two Essensa awards, it is time for the age of Askarov. The OBDHL has a history of cycling through dominant runs of goalies. As the highest rated goalie on the best defensive team is it time for him to go on a run of Cujo awards with a contract negotiation in between as we
9/26/2026 - 1168 words
