If you were the GM of the Saginaw Spirit for a day, what changes would you make? I for one believe that that the team needs 3 overage players from outside the organization. My organization firmly believes that an overage player must be one of the following:
1)a starting goalie
2)a top 4 defenceman
3)a forward that can play on your top 2 lines and be one of the top 4 scorers on the team.

That sound slike a solid interpretation of the ideal OA. Just finding OA's that fill that criteria is tough (Saginaw's OA's from this year were nothing to brag about) This year will also be tough for the team's GM to pull up his socks and find quality OA's. Just a little food for thought...Dix and MacDonell do not look like promising OA's so here's what we do. Use those guys for rade bait...whatever we can get we'll take it...work on potentially 2 defence OA's to give help to our abck end now...so that in a couple years they will have been led in the right direction. Now we need someone like a Chapman, but actually produces in his OA year instaed of jumping in a hole after the year previous. And last of all the team needs solid Euro's. I have no information about Yachmenev whether he is coming back but if he is..good. but we need to bring in a Euro that will play hard, produce, and only be here for 1 year. and last but not least we cant afford to give brown a descent backup...sorry to say he's going to have to stand on his head all by himself this year.

(1) Mike Brown is our starting goalie. It would be pointless to use an OA position on a backup goalie who cannot contribute every night. Our backup will hopefully be a 19 year old who has not been drafted by the OHL.

We will get that backup goalie or an OA who can provide some offense either in the Kellerman deal or we can offer Luckovitch, Edgar, or perhaps even Gibson in a deal to get him.

(2) His name is Alex MacDonell

Bissonette-MacDonell
Kozak-Sturgeon
Gibson-McNeill
Pain

(3) I agree, we need an overage forward who can play on a line with younger guys like Asselin and/or Crowder, as I stated before on one of my earlier posts (the one about goal projections for next season). Here are my forward combos:

Yachmenev-Platt-Crowder
Raszka-Pyatt-J.M.Rizk
Jenish-Borges-Dix
Asselin-3rd OA-Goodnough
M.A.Rizk-McKenzie

plus some other depth guys like perhaps Milo or another of our 2002 drafts...

we also have a high import pick that we can use on a forward or a defenseman.

I say we will keep Dix, because we need someone who can fight battles, and because teamed with Borges and Jenish they have shown to be a very effective checking line that can provide defense against the other team's top line and a spark when needed.

We will keep MacDonell because he has earned it. No one else can clear the crease like he can, although I do think he is our 3rd best defenseman (behind Bissonette and Sturgeon). We would have drafted 2 defensemen with our first four picks if we thought we needed more on defense, instead we went with offense which we desperately needed even more than defense last season.



KING OF THE DANCING FREAKS

I must admit, Ohlfan3, you bring out the best in me. You can also bring out the worst in me. I guess that is what makes this fun. Based on what I have read, we all need a little lesson in the basics of the OHL. The OHL is a developmental league for promising teenagers. There are no limitations on the number of 17, 18 and 19 years olds any team can carry while filling out the team roster. There are limitations on 16 year olds and there are limitations on 20 year olds (overagers). The term "quality overagers" is a bit of an oxy-moron. Let's face it folks, overagers are players who were not good enought to move on to the next level. The quality players leave this league after their 19th year (can you say Chris Thorburn?) and therefor don't play in this league when they are 20. We like to use code words to make players sound good like "Free Agent". When you see the words "Free Agent" attached to an OHL kid it really means "Un-drafted" by any NHL club. As GM for a day, I am not going to waste a ton of time looking for that "Quality Overager" this year as if somehow they will be our salvation. You don't win in this league based on how good your overagers are. You win in this league based on how good your 18 & 19 year olds are. Saginaw is building a team for the future and there is no real point in looking back. Our overagers this year will need to contribute, no question, by why go looking. We have two guys already that were good enought to be drafted by the UHL. (MacDonell & Dix) You can say what you want about the UHL, but I think those guys want to improve thier teams when they draft and these two guys looked good to them. They look good to me also. I absolutely disagree with wasting an over age position on a starting goalie. Why on earth would you sit your NHL drafted goalie in favor of and Un-drafted overager? The ideal back up goalie would be an un-drafted 19 year old who can contribute in a back up role. We drafted goalies for the future, but they will need at least one more year in a starting role in Tier II before they are ready to play in this league. Mike Brown has earned his spot between the pipes. Nuff Said! So to recap, as GM for the day here is what I do: Trade Tyson Kellerman for a back up goalie and future draft pick(s). Trade for an over-age forward with some leadership skills who can score. Make sure we sign our first four draft picks and get them all in uniform for this season. And finally, fire my head scout, he has been giving us some bad information. Let him work for some other team!

I agree with most of your comments BPFOX. However, I believe that if you get the right overage players, it can have a huge impact on your team's fortunes. Case in point, Scott Dickie of the kitchener Rangers played extremely well in helping Kitchener win the Memorial Cup. Plymouth had Chad Larose and Nate Kiser, two excellent overagers. Chad Larose was one of the top scorers in the league.Saying all of this, if you have a young team that is looking towards the future sometimes having 3 overage players can hurt the development of your young players because overage players usually take up the bulk of the icetime.

There is no question an over age player can, and should have an impact on any team. I just think going after three new overagers would be counter productive to what Saginaw is trying to do. The focus here is youth. This year's primary goal is making it to the dance (playoffs). I can see us taking a good look at what the available players look like. Try to determine which ones can help us and fit in. My prediction, and it is only a prediction, is we keep Dix and MacDonell and look for some additional offensive help via the over ager route. Much will depend on the Tyson Kellerman situation. I believe he will be traded. That does, however, leave a void that needs to be addressed. I do not think any of the goaltenders who were drafted this year will play this year. I don't think they are ready and I can't see us using up our "wildcard" on a goaltender. That said, we will have to find a reliable back up for Brown. I think Brown will get the majority of starts. I can't see an overage goalie being too happy in a back up role. The ideal situation is to trade Kellerman for a backup goaltender and at least one draft pick, or if we can swing it two. Kellerman has starting potential and there has to be a team out there who needs help right away. That would leave us free to persue and overage forward who can show these young guys how to score. Put some points on the board and mentor the youth. Now the trick is to find that guy. I know I have taken a ton of heat on this MacDonell kid, but I like him. I think he is a late bloomer and will impove his game even more this season. He has been drafted by the UHL Flint Generals and with a solid overage year he could just grab the attention of and ECHL team. His speed is deceiving because of his long stride. He doesn't look like he is skating very fast, but makes up ground in a hurry and you just can't ignore his size. Dix is a fan favorite and plays with a lot of spirit. You need some of those guys on your team. Not the kind of guy who is going to impress too many scouts but the kind of guy who comes to play. These young guys can learn a lot from a guy like Dix. So that's how I see it. Keep Dix and MacDonell. Bring in a solid overage forward who can put the puck in the net. Trade Kellerman for a reliable back up goalie and some future consideration, and let these young guys have some fun. Can't wait for September.