Millers Musings- Training Camp Edition

 With the start of the 2024-25 CCHL season just around the corner, here is an inside look at how the Georgetown Millers look as camps open. 

Forwards

Potential Lines (LW-C-RW)

1. Blake Coleman-Dylan Larkin-Trevor Moore

The Millers are expected to have a lot of offense on the top line, with Larkin’s point-per-game production combined with newcomer Moore’s 31 goals and Coleman’s 30 goals. All of them are at least respectable defensively as well and should hold up when matched against other top lines. 

2. Jared McCann- Evgeni Malkin- Nick Bjugstad

Malkin is a big upgrade over JT Compher as the 2nd line Center, while McCann comes off a 29 goal season and Bjugstad’s 45 point season was the 2nd best of his career. Bjugstad is the defensive conscience on the line but he’s also expected to contribute offensively. 

3. Dylan Guenther-Marco Rossi-Yanni Gourde

Gourde may have the biggest responsibility of any Millers forward as the veteran anchor of this line with 2 of the Miller’s brightest young stars. Guenther will also see power play time, something that Rossi won’t have the luxury of with Larkin and Malkin in front of him. 

4. Logan O'Connor-Casey Cizikas-Andrew Copp

Cizikas is the newest addition to the roster, and he’ll center the checking line and lead the penalty kill. O’Connor is coming off a career best offensive season but an injury-riddled one as well, and Ridley Greig is on hand to fill-in as needed, Copp was last year’s 3rd line Center and will play up the lineup as needed if injuries strike the top 3 lines. 

Reserves

The aforementioned Greig is the 13th forward and could play a good amount depending on injuries and performance. Jasperi Kotkaniemi is the wild-card, restricted to just C duty and unlikely to get above the 4th line when he does play. Andreas Athanasiou put up good number for the Millers last season, but injuries and new additions put him at the bottom of the forward depth chart. 

Defensemen

1. Shea Theodore-Sean Walker

Theodore has battled injuries but when in the lineup is a nearly ppg player and PP quarterback. Walker is a strong 2-way defender who’ll get first crack at pairing with Theodore. 

2. Jake McCabe- K’Andre Miller

Dubbed “The Altman Pairing” for those who know their 70’s movies, this is the Millers shutdown line. Both have the offensive skill to put up some respectable counting stats as well. 

3. Mario Ferraro-Shane Gostisbehere

An old-fashioned offense-defense duo, “Ghost” should put up good numbers and the hope is Ferraro can cover for Ghost’s occasional defensive lapses. 

Reserves

Jake Walman has a booming shot and is solid defensively, and Scott Mayfield is an old-school shutdown type. Either could start for a lot of teams. With only Theodore an injury concern ice-time will be hard to come by. If the forwards get hit by a lot of injuries don’t be surprised to see a 7 man D unit.  Zachary Jones is a deep depth option, whose shot will likely come next season. Jayden Struble is destined for the minors. 

Goalies

1. Stuart Skinner

Skinner is the uncontested starter, and the team can live with his occasional slumps with a solid backup in Dostal. Assuming good health and relative consistency, expect Skinner to be in net a minimum of 60 games this upcoming season. 

2. Lukas Dostal

Dostal is a riser among young goalies and should ably back-up Skinner this season and perhaps position himself for a larger role in a season or 2. 

Reserves

Jake Allen is a veteran warhorse who backed up Skinner down the stretch last year, but finds himself in a battle to be the 3rd net minder with new addition Vitek Vanecek. Neither are a threat to unseat Dostal as the backup, and only injuries would see them getting game time. 

The Jacks are Back!

 It has been an eventful off season with long term GMs moving on and new GMs arriving. These changes have created opportunities and The Crackerjacks have been working hard to take advantage as much as possible. With a complete reconstruction of the backend of the team we now have what we believe to be a very solid and highly competitive top four defence and goaltending depth. On the front we have seen a massive overhaul with almost a complete restructuring bringing in almost 90% new players. Although there is still work to be done, there is a competitive setup at this time that should be able to keep us in the game on any given night. There had been a focus on slotting players in the right spots to not over exert, and overuse them. It’s easy to lean too heavily on your top players and not have the depth required for a long season and playoff run. The Jacks have payed special attention to this in trying to have a strong player personnel overall but also in identifying specialists that fill specific roles well. Aligning our player acquisition efforts with our coaching style has also been a factor albeit less of one than just getting the best talent that fits our group. Cheers to an exciting off season and well wishes to everyone on a fun and exciting 2024/25 season!

Iceland deals two key defensemen

 Hello sports fans. We are back here in Iceland, speaking with GM Saouaf about a few recent deals he made. In both deals, GM Saouaf dealt away what would seem to be key defensemen on the Icecats. First, Iceland traded away young up and coming defenseman, Bowen Byram, to Amos, along with Zach Bolduc and Raphael Lavoie for prospects EJ Emery, Brennan Othmann and Halifax's 1st in 2025. When asked about the trade, GM Saouaf stated that he had a surplus of dmen and saw an opportunity to further stock his prospect pool and get a very good pick next year. With young defensemen such as Mason Lohrei and Olen Zellweger seemingly on the cusp of being NHL regulars, Byram could be moved.

Then, in a more shocking trade, GM Saouaf once again hooked up with Amos to deal away all around stalwart, Devon Toews, acquiring Nicolas Hague, prospect Filip Bystedt, and Capeside's 1st in 2026. This one is a head scratcher as it seemed like Toews was a starting dman for the Icecats. GM Saouaf stated that another young dman was ready to step in and take a spot, and that dman is Jake Sanderson. Jake has earned the right to a full-time spot based on his play and ratings. By getting Hague, Iceland keeps the depth needed to contend in the CCHL, while continuing to build up their prospect and draft pick pools. Iceland especially liked Bystedt's size and athletic ability. He had a wonderful start to his AHL career, notching 7 points in 8 games. Bystedt projects to be a middle six player, but with his size, could slot on the wing to create havoc for Mack Celebrini or Will Smith.

It's clear that GM Saouaf is up to shaking up his roster when needed. Stay tuned to see what else is brewing in Iceland!

Millers Musings August 2024

After a quiet summer, Georgetown woke up and made 3 trades in the past couple of weeks. 

(07/18/24) CHP trades Z. Jones to GEO for GEO 9th-25

Zachary Jones is a 23 year-old Defenseman coming off his first full NHL season where he served as the Rangers #7 blue liner. Expected to be a regular in the 24-25 season, Jones was an offensive Dman in college and showed some scoring ability in the AHL; he’s scored at a decent rate in limited NHL time. Best case scenario is that plays 15-17 minutes a night, including time on the 2nd PP unit, and puts up a 30 to 40 point season. Something like that could give him a 3rd line role for the Millers in the 2025 season. Jones is unlikely to see the ice this season, probably 10th on the depth chart currently. If he doesn’t have his breakthrough, the cost was just a 9th rounder, so it’s a worthwhile gamble. 

(07/31/2024) CAP trades E. Malkin, S. Mayfield & $2m to GEO for JT Compher, B. Skjei, Ryan Ufko-p & GEO 3rd-25…

The Millers have not had a slam-dunk Hall of Famer on their roster in quite some time. Evgeni Malkin is still an excellent player and will provide the Millers with a solid 2nd line Center who can easily step into the top line role when/if Larkin gets hurt. He’s a huge upgrade over Compher and allows the Millers to not rely on rookie C Marco Rossi as much for offense. Scott Mayfield is a solid defensive D coming off an injury-filled NHL season and saw a big drop in his scoring, although his defense remains elite. Mayfield will battle Walman for the 7th D slot and should receive some decent playing time even if he isn’t a regular. 

(08/01/2024) CHP trades S. Walker to GEO for D. Fabbro & Anton Wahlberg-p…

Losing Skjei in the Malkin trade left the Millers short on puck-handling, 2 way Defenders. Sean Walker, while not the point producer that Skjei is, brings a well-rounded game on both sides of the puck and may slot next to Theodore to form a fast-skating, puck-moving unit with Walker also providing the defensive conscience. Walker’s skillset should enable him to find a good fit with just about any partner on the Millers, and he could play up or down the lineup as needed. He’ll also get some time on the #2 units for both special teams. 

The possibility exists that the Millers are not done dealing, as they have 8 starting caliber Dmen and could use one more solid, 2-way top 9 winger. They are also carrying 4 Goalies and would like to move Jake Allen to a club looking for a depth upgrade in net. 

State of the Loons; 2025 preview

 Last year was the first time in Capeside history that the Loons made it past the first round of the playoffs. However, Donut domination in round two showed us that we are still a long way from being championship contenders. Being towards the bottom of the CCHL financially along with a barren prospect pool, adding to the roster was not in the cards. Instead we decided to take a step back in order to hopefully move forward in a few years. Our goal was to bring in prospects that would be ready to help the Loons once Zegras, Beniers and Oettinger rebound from a down 2024.

Out the door went Makar, Coyle, Malkin, Teravainen, Orlov, Lindholm, Terry and Suzuki. Czepiel brought in Tyler Seguin, Frank Vatrano, Brady Skjei and JT Compher to stabilize the roster while a improved prospect pool of Faber, Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Zeev Buium, Jimmy Snuggerud, Cam York, Cole Eiserman, Teddy Stiga and Ryan Ufko develop.

Our goal is to remain a playoff team this upcoming season, and with our current roster we think that is achievable. The CCHL went through contraction and realignment leaving the Loons in a division with former allies Halifax and Amos, previous rivals Seattle and Calgary and newcomer Baltimore. Navigating through this difficult division will be tough as Calgary and Seattle have strong rosters, Amos and Baltimore are retooling while Halifax is finishing up their rebuild. 

With only a few players to go til we have a complete USA roster - this year will be fun with a bunch of players we like even if a championship is not a possibility

Capeside's projected lineup for 24/25

Kreider    Eichel    Boldy   (all masshole line)

Vatrano   Seguin   Schmaltz

Caufield  Beniers  Compher.

Beecher  Dowd      Smith

Hanifin        McAvoy

Skjei            Faber

Werenski     York

Daccord

Oettinger

State of the Loons; Makar era ends

 Cale Makar is undoubtedly one of the five best players in the NHL and easily the best all around defenseman. So why then was Makar traded to the Norsemen last month? Some other GMs have openly suggested that Capeside is a organization with no direction, but even a madman has his reasons.

At only 25 years old Makar is a superstar in the NHL, but in the CCHL he is an above average defenseman. At the time of the trade Makar was not even the highest rated dman on the Loons, Noah Hanifin owned that distinction with a 79. That is hardly a reason to trade someone when Makar would easily surpass Hanifin within a year or two in the CCHL. Even though Makar does not get the respect he deserves by Simon, Capeside traded Makar for two reasons: his salary and his nationality. 

The trend within hockey is skyrocketing salaries amongst defensemen. If you are even a slightly above average dman you are being offered north of $9m per, ie Darnell Nurse. Makar at $9m is a bargain, however the Loons would have been paying Makar $9m, Werenski $9.5m and McAvoy $9.5m starting next season. Financially speaking the Loons are improving but are still in the bottom third of the CCHL. Capeside is only staying afloat by having a number of rising stars on their rookie deals. The Loons made the tough decision that one of these three have to go. Werenski - there would be no market after coming off of two injury plagued NHL seasons. If a team wanted to take on Werenski for his potential, his salary would be used against him and the return would be laughable. McAvoy - definitely would be a market but is also incredibly undervalued by Simon and the lowball offers would not be worth moving a player that is loved by our organization. So that leaves Makar. We know our reputation amongst other owners and that we likely would not get what Makar is worth but at worst he would bring back valuable assets. Our top priority in a deal would be a young, affordable defenseman with a lot of upside.

It is no secret that the Loons prioritize American born players and have a long term goal of an all American organization. For the record we are not some radical, pro American nationalist. In a few years I hope to be living elsewhere but it is more appealing to me to have players that I have watched grow up and develop. So that narrows down our search to a young, American defenseman with a lot of upside. A few CCHL teams had that but only the Norsemen had other pieces we wanted to go along with Faber. We reached out to Halifax and negotiated over a couple of days, when negotiations stalled Denver made an amazing offer but was draft pick based and their picks were going to suffer because Makar would make them even better then they already are. 

The final deal was Makar and Hagen Burrows for Brock Faber, Cole Eiserman, EJ Emery and a possible top 10 pick. 

Faber likely will never be the player that Makar is but we think it will be close. Eiserman could be Wahlstrom 2.0 but maybe his game evolves and he becomes an offensive force. Emery and a potential top ten pick are great assets that could turn into a player like say Cam York or Jimmy Snuggerud?

You may not agree with our reasons but deals like this is why I love the CCHL and have fun being a part of it, so maybe I am a madman  lol

State of the Loons; 2024 Draft recap

 Not since the dark days of covid has the CCHL draft preceded the NHL, but due to scheduling conflicts here we are again. Back in 2020 the Loons were able to hit some homeruns on the "Wisborg rating scale." The Donuts wrote a blog seeing how close their drafting was to the NHL's, this is known as the Wisborg scale.

In 2020 the Loons had 31 draft picks compared to only 9 in 2024. After a couple draft day trades another 2 players were added that we will throw in. So lets take a look at this year's draft class.

1.3  Tij Iginla : CCHL (3)/ NHL (6)  gives us a Wisborg rating of +3  Tij's dad Jerome was one of my favorite players as a kid and Tij was someone we were pining over to have on the Loons. However, Ryan Leonard was someone we like even more and a trade was worked out with the Crawdads. We wish Tij well and maybe our paths might cross again one day.  (+3)

1.7  Cole Eiserman : CCHL (7)/ NHL: (20) -  +13 This was not a Loon's draft pick but everyone knew that he was coveted by us. A masshole that scores at a record pace. Cole began the year challenging for the top spot in the draft but scouts started raising concerns about Cole's all around game. We are counting that when you can shoot the way he can - that is all the program asked of Cole. He will head off to BU in the fall and we have faith that Eiserman will take his game to a new level. If not he will follow the Wahlstrom footsteps. Not our pick so not taking the hit on the Wisborg Scale.

1.10  Zeev Buium : CCHL (10)/ NHL (13) - WR +3  The Loons had pick 11 and of course Zeev went the pick before. Zeev caught our eye during the juniors tournament. He was dominant at both ends of the ice, and then during the frozen four he led Denver to a national championship as a freshman. Zeev's skating has been compared to Makar and has a high hockey IQ. Scouts have called him the most well rounded defensemen in the draft.  (+6)

1.11  Sam DIckinson : 11/11 - 0  After talking to the Nugget's GM, we were informed that Sam was their second choice and if we were to take Sam a deal could likely be made for Zeev. It all worked out in the end, Val D'or got a top pairing dman. (+6)

2.5  Teddy Stiga; 29/55  +26  No one in this draft had just astronomical development as Stiga. Prior to this year he was considered lucky to go in the 7th round, but all Teddy did was show is determined to be a star. Every scout we spoke with raved about his non stop motor, his high hockey IQ and has the ability to drive his line from the wing. The doubts about Teddy are due to his size at 5'10'' and 175. We are counting on this Masshole's compete level to overcome those missing couple of inches. (+32)

3.2  EJ Emery: 50/30  -20  We can't take credit for this pick since we brought EJ over in the Eiserman trade. EJ projects as a shutdown defender that is an excellent skater. Likely someone that will be paired with an offensive dman and plays big PK minutes.

4.11  Torry Pitner:  83/185  +102   We had a scout really sell us on Torry but NHL scouts obviously did not feel the same. Torry will head to Denver U to try and prove people wrong.  (+134)

5.5  Blake Montgomery: 101/117  +16  Blake went undrafted his first year eligible but saw his game take off as an over-ager. Blake is known for his skating combined with his 6'4'' frame makes him an intriguing prospect. Headed to Wisconsin next year. (+150)

6.5  Max Plante: 125/47  -78  Our biggest hit according to the Wisborg scale. Max is a second generation NHLer known for his playmaking abilities. He will head to Minnesota Deluth in the fall and if all goes right then Detroit in a few years down the road. (+72)

7.15  James Reeder  159/198  +39  Inconsistency is what we heard over and over from out scouts on Reeder. Some nights he looked like first round talent and other games he looked like he could be playing beer league on Friday nights with me. The talent outweighs the risk, especially at pick 159. Reeder will join Pitner and maybe Buium at Denver U were he can show he is a steal. (+111)

10.20   Thatcher Bernstein 236/ NA  We did not have any hope of Thatcher being drafted this year. Our best hope is that this Masshole heads to Harvard in the fall and one day cracks the NHL as a free agent signing. Worse case we get to watch him in the Beanpot for the next 4 years .

Four years ago we came out of that covid draft with an overall Wisborg rating of an amazing -765 while this year a +111. The elimination of international scouts really affected our score.

Loon top 10 prospects 

1.  Will Smith             C          Sharks

2.  Ryan Leonard     RW       Capitals

3.  Zeev Buium          D          Wild

4.  Cole Eiserman    LW      Islanders

5.  Drew Commesso  G      Blackhawks

6.  Alex Jefferies       LW      Islanders

7.  Brandon Bussi      G          Bruins

8. Teddy Stiga           LW     Predators

9.  EJ Emery               D       Rangers

10. Sean Farrell         C       Canadiens