Veterans survive as 67’s cut 19 players
When new Ottawa 67’s head coach Andre Tourigny huddled with all the returning veterans early Friday morning at TD Place, the first words out of his mouth were a welcome relief to at least a few incumbents who might have spent a restless Thursday night worried about their positions.
“I told them no cuts,” Tourigny said. “But now we get into the tough decisions.”
Less than 48 hours after first taking the ice for training camp, the 67’s trimmed the roster from 46 to 27. That remaining 27 players includes 16 veterans of the 201617 team.
Tourigny will continue to whittle down the number in camp until he gets to 22 — or 23 at the most — before their Ontario Hockey League opener Sept. 21 in Barrie.
And in making room for firstrounder Graeme Clarke, second pick Jack Quinn, third-rounder Lucas Peric — who officially agreed to terms with the 67’s on Friday — and other newcomers pushing for spots, the 16 veterans will surely shrink either by trade or release.
“I wasn’t necessarily pleased with our first intra-squad (Wednesday), but 24 hours later, I was super pleased with what I saw,” Tourigny said. “A lot of players really raised the bar. That was important, especially for a coach who didn’t know them before.
“Now we will get into the tough decisions. If there was any doubt about a player, we went on the safe side. Now comes crunch time.”
The survivors skated Friday and will do so again Saturday before travelling to Kingston for a Sunday afternoon tilt with the Frontenacs.
Veterans Travis Barron, Sasha Chmelevski and Noel Hoefenmayer will sit out, as all three will be leaving early this week for NHL rookie camps — Barron to the Colorado Avalanche, Chmelevski to the San Jose Sharks and Hoefenmayer to the Arizona Coyotes.
Overager Leo Lazarev will also sit out, leaving the goaltending duties to 19-year-old veteran Olivier Lafreniere and 17-year-old Orléans native Cedrick Andree, who is a lock to make the team.
Overage centre Mathieu Foget will also take a pass on Kingston to allow some of the youngsters on the bubble additional time to show what they can or can’t do.
As for the cuts, of note were locals Bruce Coltart of the Smiths Falls Bears, Willem Larsen of the Kanata Lasers and Connor Warnholtz of the Nepean Raiders.
That leaves three goalies in camp, eight D-men and 16 forwards, with eight of them listed as centres.
“We expected fierce competition for some of the forward spots and we have it,” new 67’s GM James Boyd said. “And Clarke, Quinn and Peric have all really impressed.”
Boyd said the only remaining rookie who has yet to commit to the 67’s is left winger Seva Losev, a Rockland kid who played out of the CIH Academy. Losev wants to gauge where he might fit in before suiting up in a pre-season game and relinquishing his NCAA eligibility.
Of those who have caught the eye of the new coaching staff: Rookies Clarke and Peric, along with veterans Kody Clark, Tye Felhaber, Austen Keating and Chmelevski.
“(Clarke) can shoot the puck like I haven’t seen a lot of players do in my lifetime,” Tourigny said. “Peric can skate like the wind.
“Kody Clark has been one of the best players in camp and Felhaber is in the best shape of his life.”