The Ottawa 67’s are gearing up for what promises to be a compelling start to the 2024-25 OHL season. With many roster questions swirling around the team, there’s still plenty of work to be done before Ottawa’s regular-season opener at TD Place on Sept. 27.
After last season’s second-round playoff loss to the Oshawa Generals, many players have left the team with more departures to come as the 67’s whittle down their roster ahead of the season.
Onto the big leagues
The 67’s will have lost a total of 106 goals and 297 points from seven players on last season’s roster when the puck drops later this month.
Forwards Braeden Kressler and Jacob Maillet as well as defenseman Samuel Mayer have all aged out of the OHL. Kressler and Mayer are both fighting for a chance in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively. Maillet’s career will continue at St. Francis Xavier University.
Forward Brady Stonehouse left the 67’s to join the Edmonton Oilers after he signed an entry-level contract with the club last year. After putting up 44 points in 64 games last season, Stonehouse will most likely start this season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
Defenseman Derek Smyth committed to Brock University this month. Standing at 6-foot-5, Smyth put up 12 points and spent 49 minutes in the penalty box last year.
Forward Brad Gardiner was traded to the Barrie Colts for four draft picks. The Dallas Stars prospect put up 49 points in 61 games last season.
Defenseman Tuomas Uronen was also traded after putting up six points in 11 games last year. The Finnish Golden Knights prospect will develop with the Kingston Frontenacs this season.
The overage problem
Any 20-year-old players are considered overagers (OAs) in the OHL and teams are only allowed to roster three when the season begins.
At present, the 67’s have five OAs on their roster: forward Will Gerrior, defensemen Thomas Sirman and Matthew Mayich and goaltenders Collin MacKenzie and Ian Michelone.
“For those players, this period of a couple weeks is an extended evaluation,” said 67’s general manager James Boyd. “During that time there’s a lot of stuff that happens. There’s [the] possibility of suspensions or injuries throughout the league. It’s a changing landscape all the time.”
None of the OAs are safe from being cut from the team, but they all keep a positive attitude while trying to earn their place on the roster.
“What happens, happens,” Mayich said. “We’re all good buddies off the ice even when we’re battling for [roster] spots. That’s just how it goes this time of year.”
New faces look to make an impression
Three new players are looking to make their OHL debut with the 67’s this season: Ottawa’s 2024 first-round picks Nathan Amidovski and Kohyn Eshkawkogan, as well as Swedish import Filip Ekberg.
With the new cohort joining the squad this month, veterans on the team have become mentors to the young players.
“If you’re an older guy, you have to make [new players] feel comfortable,” Mayich said. “When we came here when we were 16, the older guys were great to us and we want to do the same thing and I’m sure they’ll do the same thing when they’re our age.”
For Amidovski, he said being surrounded by veteran OHLers is a learning opportunity. ith eight 67’s players attending NHL training camps this year, there’s also hope for a long future in hockey. Amidovski put up 69 points in 33 games with the U16 AAA Barrie Colts last year.
He said he’s already found a mentor in forward Nic Whitehead.
“He’s just a year older than me, but he’s been teaching me a lot,” Amidovski said. “He knows what it’s like [to be an OHL rookie] and knows what it takes so he’s been helping me along that route.”
Another youngster at training camp is Eshkawkogan, a defenseman with a flair for offense. Hailing from M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, the speedy D-man said he looks up to future teammates Henry Mews and Frankie Marrelli and their playing styles.
“I’m trying to learn to be a little more offensive like them, and find my way in the offensive zone,” Eshkawkogan said.
As for Swedish product Ekberg, he made the move to the OHL in his NHL draft year to get accustomed to the North-American style of play and to grab the attention of more NHL scouts. The playmaking forward played three games for Sweden at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the top international tournament for under-18 players.
Familiar faces return
Despite all the turnover and question marks covering this roster, Ottawa does have a few sure things.
67’s captain Luca Pinelli is looking to top the 50-goal mark this season after falling just short last season with 48.
Defenseman Marrelli will return from his invitation to Oilers training camp with a chip on his shoulder after going undrafted in this year’s NHL draft. The same thing can be said for Mews after falling to the third round of the 2024 NHL draft, later than many expected. Projections in the months leading up to the draft had Mews landing in the first round, but he was only scooped up by the Calgary Flames with the 74th overall selection.
While the club’s depth of talent from last season has certainly eroded, Pinelli and Mews remain as top-of-the-lineup players and will have the team relying on them this season.
As the regular season approaches, the 67’s are offering free admission to everyone for their preseason game against the North Bay Battalion in the “Hockey for All” game on Sept. 20.
Featured photo by Cody Gaudreault / the Charlatan
