hockeyboards.com - bottom 4 predictions east

5. Ottawa 67’s
The strength of this year’s 67 showing will no doubt be its defense. Led by the healthy Tyler Cuma, Ottawa could very well have the best defense in the East. If Julien Demers returns (like it appears), he would join Travis Gibbons, first rounder Cody Ceci, and up and comers Marc Zanetti and Brian Birkhoff to form three very solid defense pairings. This is great news for goaltender Chris Perugini, who got left out to dry quite often last season, by an inexperienced and average blueline. My concern lies at forward. If Senators draft pick Corey Cowick returns as an overager, my concerns dissipate, but I have doubts that he does. This leaves three very talented forwards in Tyler Toffoli, Ryan Martindale, and Anthony Nigro, surrounded by a bevy of mediocre OHL forwards and inexperienced youngsters. I think Dalton Smith and Thomas Nesbitt have the potential to contribute as part of a secondary scoring unit; however I also think they’ll need a creative playmaker to help make things happen. This is where the loss of Logan Couture will hurt the most. I worry because this offence ran through Couture last season. When he didn’t play well, the 67’s had a heck of a time creating offensive chances. With the same group of forwards returning, who’s to say they can create without Couture now? Another wildcard lies in how the team responds to not having Brian Kilrea behind the bench. Will this team play as well for Chris Byrne? I’m on the fence about this 67 team. Depending on a few factors, I could see them finishing anywhere from second to out of the playoffs in the East. I just don’t know what to expect.

6. Kingston Frontenacs
The past three seasons, the last place team in the East from the year before has gone on to make the playoffs (Oshawa, Mississauga, Sudbury). Kingston looks to continue that trend. I think they’ve made great strides to do so this offseason. First and foremost, the acquisition of goaltender Tyler Beskorowany was huge. If he can gain more consistency, and fix some fundamental issues, he could be one of the best goaltenders in the OHL. He’s got a lot to prove after losing his job in Owen Sound to Scott Stajcer. He should have a pretty good defence in front of him too. The first pairing of Brian Lashoff and Erik Gudbranson could be one of the best in the entire OHL. Lashoff is very underrated and is coming off a very strong AHL playoff performance to end last season. I think he has a breakout year. A second pairing of Taylor Doherty and Euro Jaroslav Kruzik could also be very strong, if Doherty can finally begin to become the dominant force as was expected of him. At forward, the team needs a strong performance from Nathan Moon. And not another empty 70 point performance either. They need him to step forward and become the leader of this team, putting his questionable attitude aside. Ethan Werek also needs to have a solid year, leading a second scoring unit. Outside of those two, players like Zach Harnden, Colt Kennedy, George Lovatsis, Mitch Lebar, and second overall pick Alan Quine need to step up and produce. I think Dougie Gilmour finally gives this team an identity this season and gets the team to play hard game in and game out. If so, the positive results will follow.

7. Niagara IceDogs
The Dogs will once again be a tough team to play against, especially at home on the small ice. They return all of their key forwards, save the traded Matt Sisca and overager Patrick Lee. But they’ve got the depth to replace them. The Dogs band of undersized forwards, Agozzino, Friesen, and DeSousa are one year older and should look to continue to play a brand of in your face hockey. Euro Import Marco Insam will be returning for another year and he could be a real impact player this season. I also expect the energetic second year players Andrew Shaw and Freddie Hamilton to step into the top 6. While the Dogs don’t have any big name OHL stars up front, they’ve got a solid group of hard working, talented forwards who could really make a name for themselves this year. It’s preventing goals where I could see this team struggling. Thanks to Eric Brewer succumbing to knee surgery, I can’t help but assume Alex Pietrangelo starts the year in St. Louis again. If that’s the case, I can’t see them sending him back yet again. Without Petro, this defensive unit is only average at best, especially with the loss of Drew Schiestel too. Second round pick Dougie Hamilton could prove to be an immediate impact player, however others need to step up too, especially overager Reggie Traccitto. With the defense likely struggling, the Dogs are going to need strong starting goaltending. This is going to have to come from Habs draft selection and Import Petteri Simila. The giant goaltender is a bit of a mystery and could be anywhere from awful to exceptional. With the way this team has played at home so far in its two year existence, I can’t see them missing the playoffs. However, I’m also uncertain as to whether they’ve got enough talent to get higher than the middle of the pack in the Conference.

8. Oshawa Generals
I think the amount of success the Generals achieve this season will be determined by whether overagers Brett Parnham and Kory Nagy return. And since I do expect both to be back, I also expect the Generals could surprise some people this year. Offensively, they’d be led by Parnham, Nagy, and youngsters Christian Thomas, Andy Andreoff, and Boone Jenner. On top of that, newly acquired Imports Alain Berger and Jakub Strnad have apparently been turning heads in camp and could be impact players. Defensively, Calvin de Haan should become one of the best all around defenseman in the league. With him could be the improving Scott Valentine, forming a very dangerous two way defensive pairing. The depth defensively will most likely hold them back from being a top end team, but they do have some talent. In goal, Michael Zador will be looking to prove that he’s a capable number one OHL netminder. The once hyped prospect could definitely turn some heads this year. Overall, the Generals have a pretty solid team. If they get their overagers back, they should be a playoff team. If not, I definitely think one of Brampton or Belleville overtakes them for 8th.