August 31, 2004
Training Camp Roster
August 30, 2004
More On Wharton/Neil Incident
He said that he's been involved in summer hockey for 18 years, and he has never seen anything like that happen before. He said it was unfortunate. He didn't see it personally, but he knew that Neil was upset, apologized to Wharton, and that Wharton accepted the apology.
He also said that Brian Kilrea and Kyle Wharton have every right to be upset, because it will affect Kyle's training camp and season. He said again that is unfortunate that it happened, and that it shouldn't happen when guys are just trying to prepare for training camp.
Former 67s Player In Trouble With Law
Locke's Options Still Under Debate
A Little 67s History
It's important to put last season in perspective. In fact, Ottawa has been spoiled with a batch of winning seasons recently. Here's a summary. In the past 9 seasons, they have:
- finished 1st in their division 8 times (missing it by only 2 pts in 2001);
- made it to at least the 2nd round of the playoffs 8 times (missed it only this past year);
- gone to the OHL final 4 times, winning once in 2001; and
- gone to the Memorial Cup twice, winning in 1999.
I'd say that's a pretty good record. In light of this recent history, expectations are high for this season.
2003-04 -- 1st in East Division, Lost 1st Round to Brampton
2002-03 -- 1st in East Division, Lost OHL Final to Kitchener
2001-02 -- 1st in East Division (tied), Lost 2nd Round to Toronto
2000-01 -- 2nd in East Division, Won OHL Playoffs, 4th at Memorial Cup
1999-00 -- 1st in East Division, Lost 2nd Round to Belleville
1998-99 -- 1st in East Division, Won Memorial Cup
1997-98 -- 1st in East Division, Lost OHL Final to Guelph
1996-97 -- 1st Overall in Regular Season, Lost OHL Final to Oshawa
1995-96 -- 1st in East Division, Lost 2nd Round to Belleville
**Update from StatsGuy, Sep 2/04**
It is important to note that this is the 67s record since Brian Kilrea came back from a brief "retirement" for a season in 1994-95.
August 28, 2004
I Know This Isn't Exactly . . .
Watching Pat Quinn coach from the 'home' bench at the Corel Centre is just plain WRONG! [And Team C is losing 2-1 at this point.]
August 27, 2004
Pre-season Tickets Have Arrived
The enclosed form letter from Jeff Hunt outlined the various changes that we can expect for this season, including the new theatre-style seats in the Civic Centre. These seats have reduced the overall number of seats due to their increased width, and some seat numbers no longer exist. [I'm curious to see if our seat space has decreased, as our section - 21 - had wider spacing than many other sections.]
Also, Hunt mentioned the veterans that would be returning (Will Colbert, Bryan Bickell, Kyle Wharton, Peter Tsimikalis, and Julian Talbot), and the two new "European sensations" (Lukas Kaspar, and Jakub Petruzalek). No over-ager was mentioned (Jeremy Akeson, Greg Goodnough, and Brody Todd). Interesting. Training camp decision, I guess. Also, no goalie mentions (Danny Battochio and Anthony Guadagnolo). One notable absence is Corey Locke, though most have assumed he would be moving on to bigger and better.
The Season Ticket Holder Pick-up Night will be on Tuesday September 28 from 1700 to 2000h at the Civic Centre.
I'll be interested to see how the 67s will be affected by the upcoming NHL lock-out. Ottawa is a hockey crazy city and I think that if there is no NHL, people will come to see the 67s play. Here's to another season of record-setting attendance.
Can't wait.
Killer's P*ssed And So Are We
The reporter spoke with Brian Kilrea, who was not pleased and had some harsh comments for Neil. "I just feel it's one of those things where it's unnecessary to prove how tough you are. He had to prove he's Chris Neil." [Way to go Killer!]
I just want to say that I'm so sick of athletes that react violently (i.e., Bertuzzi, Perezhogin) and then try to explain it afterwards by saying it was instinctive. If that level of violence is your first reaction, you've got a BIG problem.
August 26, 2004
Wharton Gets Another Break
If the story is true, this will be the second consecutive season he will miss time due to broken bones. (Last season Wharton missed 25 games due to broken ribs.)
August 20, 2004
Mark Mancari
He still plays on defense sometimes when he's needed - he's pretty solid there, but this year he really shined when he was playing on the wing with Corey Locke. He's got good speed, works hard, and can put the puck in the net on a regular basis. He and Locke had a good system where Locke would take the puck out of their own end and feed it up to Mancari who was streaking up the right side. Mancari was able to charge into the zone with the puck and keep it in to make a play.
The talk on the discussion boards is that Mark will be made Captain this year. That should be a good choice, and it would be great to see him take on the leader's role on the team. He's developed well over the last three years - he finally looks comfortable in his 6'4" frame, and if he continues to progress at the current rate, we'll be talking about him a lot this year. I hope we do.
The players up for 'A's on their jerseys this year include Tsimikalis, Akeson, maybe Todd if he comes back, Colbert, and Wharton. Personally I see Wharton developing into a future leader on this team. I think he's got a lot of the traits that made Brendan Bell a great Ottawa 67.
August 19, 2004
Bryan Bickell
The great thing about junior hockey is that you see players progress and get better. So hopefully with an extra year of maturity, Bickell can fulfill his potential and show everyone why he was picked in the second round of this year's NHL draft. He should be getting people's attention with his scoring, rather than just relying on intimidating with his size.
August 18, 2004
Season Schedule
The first pre-season game is an Away game against the Kingston Frontenacs on Wednesday September 8 at 1900h.
The first pre-season Home game is against the Belleville Bulls Friday September 10 at 1930h.
Czech Stars En Route To 67s
Only two more weeks to Training Camp!
August 17, 2004
Corey Locke
I'd hate to see Locke end his career as just a junior superstar, and never move up in the sport. But, Locke has always been only average when you take away his time and space. I think this is why he has been left off of World Junior teams and wasn't selected higher in the draft. It will be interesting to see if he can adapt as he plays against higher calibre opponents. There's no question that in junior hockey he was one of the most dangerous players on the ice. If you forget he's there for just a minute, he'll find the back of the net, or find a team mate who's wide open.
He gave us some exciting hockey here in Ottawa. I'm sad to see him moving on, but I wish him all the best. This year's team seems to have a lot of depth, so hopefully others can take over some of the offence we'll be losing.