Fire still burns for Ottawa 67's as start of OHL season nears

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The Ottawa 67’s began to see they had something special a couple of years ago.

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Not only because of the obvious talent of some of their rookies, it was the fire that burned in the young hockey players’ bellies.

Swept in four games by the North Bay Battalion in the first round of the 2021-22 Ontario Hockey League playoffs, the 67’s carried forward the feeling of disappointment, but also a resolve to develop, take it to another level.

As it turns out, that development took a huge step forward in a short period of time.

The improvement quickly showed, with the 67’s reeling off a nine-game win streak to start last season, then going on to win a franchise-record 51 times (and 107 points).

There were a couple of huge trade-deadline acquisitions — centre Logan Morrison and defenceman Pavel Mintyukov — but many of the players who had cut their teeth in 2021-22 also played made big contributions.

The season ended in the second round of the playoffs, with the 67’s beaten in six games by a bigger Peterborough team. At the time, 67’s head coach Dave Cameron described it as an “empty” feeling.

Fast-forward to September of 2023 (the 67’s open their regular season Sept. 29 at home vs. Peterborough). With three weeks left in training camp and several of their players heading to NHL camps in the coming days, there’s plenty of optimism. It’ll be many of the third-year players who’ll be leading the way.

“The strength of this team has been how competitive they are,” Cameron said following Friday morning’s practice. “That’s been driven by the young guys. We really liked that group (the team’s foundational players who started in 2021). We played a really good North Bay team and it was really only the fourth game where they were clearly the better team. So, we knew we had a really good core of competitive young guys.

“As a coach, I can’t make you competitive. I can bench you, maybe bring it out a bit. I can get emotional with you and maybe bring it out a bit. But it’s either in your DNA or it isn’t. For these young guys, what makes them special is it’s in their DNA. That’s what drove us last year.

“We got to a good start (last season) and we kept building on it. So, what’s it going to be this year? I don’t think we’re going to take a step back. I’m not sure we’re going to win 51 games again. But I think we’re going to be competitive every night. I think we will be a tough team to play against.”

Four players from last year’s squad — Brad Gardiner (third round, Dallas), Luca Pinelli (fourth round, Columbus), Matthew Mayich (sixth round, St. Louis) and Cooper Foster (sixth round, Pittsburgh) — were taken in the NHL Draft in July. Tuomas Uronen, who was picked in the CHL Import Draft, was taken in the sixth round of the NHL Draft and will be in the Vegas camp. Jack Matier, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, will be with the Nashville Predators in camp. Tyler Boucher will be in Senators’ camp. Mintyukov, a second-round draft pick in 2022, will be in Anaheim’s camp.

Free-agent invites Collin MacKenzie (Ottawa) and Brady Stonehouse (Edmonton) will report for NHL rookie camps next week.

Among other guys expected to play big roles for the 67’s this season: Defencemen Henry Mews and Frankie Marrelli. Among the newcomers who could make an impact: Nick Whitehead, Charlie Hilton and Swiss import player Kimi Korbler.

“The guys that are returning are feeling pretty good (about this season),” said Pinelli, who had 29 goals and 34 assists last regular season before elevating his game with 18 points in 11 playoff games. “Last year, we didn’t reach our expectations. We’re coming in confident. We’re looking to set a tone with the pre-season. We’re going to come out strong.”

Speaking about his own progression as a player, he said: “I think I’ve become a player the team can rely on. I’ve taken steps to being a leader. I want to be a guy the coach and my teammates can look up to.

“(My first year), there were some nerves. I just tried to work hard. That mentality hasn’t changed. Work hard and show the young guys what expectations are for this team.”

Last week, the 67’s dealt defenceman Henry Brzustewicz — their first-round pick from earlier this year — to London in exchange for a treasure chest of draft choices, including a compensatory first-round pick next year, Niagara’s second-rounder in 2025 and 2027 second- and third-round picks from London.

The 67’s, who have opened their exhibition season with two wins — 4-1 over Kingston and 7-2 over North Bay — have a pre-season game vs. the Battalion on Saturday at home with a 3 p.m. start. It’ll be another opportunity for Cameron to test his lineup.

“So far, so good,” the coach said. “You have to come through the early days of training camp to the days of exhibition games where everything’s a bit sloppy. Everybody wants to do the right thing, but there’s still kind of that summer mode. Good habits don’t come easy.

“The guys going into pro camp are excited about going and have maybe been a bit distracted. We know when they come home, we can really start crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s and get back to the style we played last year.”

Soon enough, there’ll be plenty more on the line, with meaningful games that count in the standings.

“We think we’re going to be really competitive, but so does every other team,” said Cameron. “What we did last year, nobody saw coming. So, expect the unexpected. We’ll settle in and see where the rest of the league is in terms of competitive. Then we’ll go from there.”