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September 20, 2013

A Brand New Season: 67's/Bulls preview


The Ottawa 67’s are coming off a very tough season where the team saw their playoff hopes disappear for the first time in 17 years.  As one of the youngest teams in the league, the 67’s are up for another big test.  Despite the youth, the 67’s have 18 returning players to their lineup (19 if Sean Monahan returns). Due to the dynamics of last year’s squad, a lot of these young players were called upon in key situations fast tracking their experience.



New to the lineup are Troy Henley and Tyler Hill who were both drafted in the past OHL Priority Selection.  In addition are both picks from the CHL Import Draft – Alex Lintuniemi & Adrian Sloboda.  Rounding out the new players are Sam Studnicka and Connor Graham who were both acquired in the off-season.  However, all eyes will be on the #1 overall pick of the OHL Priority Selection, Travis Konecny who was selected over the “expetional status” defenceman, Sean Day .

The Bulls squad has changed drastically from their Eastern Division championship team last season including Malcolm Subban, Tyler Graovac and Joseph Cramarossa.  The Bulls will see 10 new faces in the lineup including 7 players who were drafted by the team in the 2012 & 2013 drafts.  The latest addition to the lineup is goaltender Jason Da Silva who was recently acquired from the Guelph Storm.  Da Silva split last season between Guelph Storm and the Junior B Guelph Hurricanes.

The Bulls have struggled out of the gate in the preseason posting a winless record in 5 games.  Meanwhile, the 67’s have surprised many with their 3-1-0 preseason record.  These two clubs faced each other only once during this time where 67’s veteran Mike Vlajkov tallied a goal and an assist to lead his team to a 4-2 victory over the visting Bulls.  Game Report.  The victory came at a bit of a cost.  Defenseman Jonathan Duchesne & Chris Byrne will miss the first two games of the season after an altercation during the game. 

There were several players missing from both squads, so tonight will be a better test.  The 67’s will see Joseph Blandisi back in the lineup after attending Colorado Avalanche training camp.  They still await to hear from Captain Sean Monahan at Flames camp.  The Bulls will also have a bit of a boost as Jordan Subban and Brady Austin return from their respective NHL camps.

Pre-season Record
Ottawa 67’s:  3-1-0
Belleville Bulls:  0-5-0

2012-13 Regular Season Record
Ottawa 67’s:  16-46-0-6
Belleville Bulls:  44-16-5-3

2012-13 Playoffs
Ottawa 67’s:  Did not qualify
Belleville Bulls:  Lost in OHL East Final to the Barrie Colts in 7 games.

Players to watch
Belleville Bulls:  Niki Petti, Jordan Subban, David Tomasek
Ottawa 67’s:  Travis Konecny, Joseph Blandisi, Jacob Middleton (NHL draft eligible)

Potential scratches

Belleville Bulls
Brendan Gaunce – Vancouver Canucks camp
Alan Quine – New York Islanders camp
Ottawa 67’s
Sean Monahan – Calgary Flames camp
Johnathan Duchesne – game 1 of 2 game suspension

Belleville Bulls

Who’s gone?
Malcolm Subban - in the Boston Bruins farm system still fighting for a roster spot with the Bruins.
Tyler Graovac – in the Minnesota Wild farm system still fighting for a roster spot with the Wild.
Daniil Zharkov – signed contract with Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo in the KHL. He is still in the Edmonton Oilers farm system.
Carter Sandlak – traded to Plymouth for a 4th round pick in the off-season
Austen Brassard – in the Winnipeg Jets farm system
Joseph Cramarossa – graduated from OHL last season
Stephen Silas – graduated from OHL last season
Jake Cardwell  – graduated from OHL last season

Who’s new?
Jake Marchment – acquired from North Bay for a 6th round pick in the off-season
Luke Cairns – acquired from Erie for Michael Curtis and a 3rd round pick in the off-season
Jason Da Silva – acquired from Guelph for a 7th round pick (just completed on Sept 19th)
Andrew Ming – 7th round pick in 2012 OHL Prority Selection
Body Morris – 9th round pick in 2012 OHL Prority Selection
David Tomasek – 1st round pick in the 2013 CHL Import Draft
Justin Lemcke – 1st round pick in 2013 OHL Prority Selection
Jake Bricknell – 2nd round pick in 2013 OHL Prority Selection
Adam Laishram – 4th round pick in 2013 OHL Prority Selection
Justin Bean – 9th round pick in 2013 OHL Prority Selection

2012-13 Head-To-Head Stats

Record:  7-1-0-0 Bulls
Combined Scores:  34-20 Bulls

Top scorers

Ottawa 67’s
Sean Monahan – 5 goals, 6 assists in 6 games
Ryan Van Stralen – 4 goals, 2 assists in 7 games
Joseph Blandisi – 2 goals, 4 assists in 4 games
Michal Cajkovsky – 1 goal, 5 assists in 8 games

Belleville Bulls
Alan Quine – 5 goals, 5 assists in 4 games (also posted 4 assists in 3 games with the Petes before being traded)
Joseph Cramarossa – 1 goal, 8 assists in 8 games
Jordan Subban – 3 goals. 5 assists in 8 games
Danill Zharkov – 4 goals, 3 assists in 7 games

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