NEWS

(Pictured - Netminder Austin Washkurak is one of the East Division's new faces this season, joining the Cobourg Cougars - Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig/OJHL Images)

The East Division, as it always is, should feature another great year for fans with teams jockeying for position all year long.  Every season nobody is really sure where each team will wind up.  It’s more or less like throwing a dart at a list of teams and hoping that where it lands is the correct one.  The defending East champions, the Kingston Voyageurs, come in regarded as one of the more talented teams in the division, but even they have some pretty big questions to answer. They do come in ranked 18th in the country, however, keep in mind that there isn’t a single team playing right now that will have the same roster come the final cut down day.  With that said, let’s take a look at the teams:

COBOURG COUGARS
Cobourg came to within a goal of moving on to play Kingston in the league semi-finals.  However, they fell in 7 games to the Aurora Tigers and are left with a big question mark moving forward.  A lot of times the last couple seasons, the Cougars relied upon netminder Nathan Perry to get them through tough stretches. He’s gone.  They looked to Jake Emilio on the blueline to bring some stability. He’s gone.  They have addressed the goaltending problem by acquiring Austin Washkurak from Mississauga.  Connor Armour returning up front bolsters things on the offensive side of the puck, but it still leaves a lot of questions on the defensive side.  There is lots of skill in the Cobourg line-up, but it will be a younger team and one that will be tough to compete with the deep East.  If there was a coach that could surprise, though, it would be Curtis Hodgins. 

KINGSTON VOYAGEURS
Kingston made it through to the league semi-finals last season before being swept by the Aurora Tigers 4-0.  With about half a season of Jr. A hockey under his belt, Sam Tanguay returns as the #1 goalie.  For the time being, the Vees #2 goalie will be Derek Clavet who comes in from the QCHL’s Thetford Mines Filons.  It looks like Kingston feels maybe a veteran would have helped last years run. Clavet is a 20 year old netminder and although doesn’t have great numbers, he does have experience.  Another big acquisition to the Vees comes via the Victoria Grizzlies in the addition of Rory McGuire to the blue line.  He played with Adam Moodie at St. Andrew’s College and was the captain there. The biggest departure for the Vees though isn’t necessarily a player, but in management. Relieved of his duties was GM/Assistant Coach Denis Duchesne.  How will head coach Colin Birkas handle both co-GM and coaching duties? Will they be able to get past the 3rd round?

TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS
Trenton bowed out of the 2013-14 playoffs at the hands of the Kingston Voyageurs for the 2nd time in 3 years.  It certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort though, as the Hawks kept in close in game 6, but eventually ran out of firepower dropping a wild one 9-7 to end their season.  Trenton looked to the Jr. B ranks to do some heavy recruiting, bringing in 6 new faces while shipping out some others in the form of Nick Boddy, Brett Seldon and Denny Dubblestyne.  The goaltending question, unlike the two others above, still remains to be solved for Trenton.  They have signed Justin Kapelmaster of the USA’s EHL, but his numbers aren’t spectacular.  My money would be on Trenton making another trade before they get too far into the season to shore up between the pipes.  Kevin Lavoie from Thorold will be relied upon heavily for production up front, and the same can be said about Michael Siddall.  Not only will they be looked to for scoring, but leadership as well as both wore letters in the past.  Trenton already had a good core coming back and now they’ve added some good pieces. It’ll be up to Jerome Dupont to pull it all together.

WELLINGTON DUKES
The Dukes saw another first round exit in last years playoffs, but it didn’t seem to rock the boat.  They regrouped and entered the Dudley Hewitt Cup, by virtue of being the hosts, as underdogs.  They surprised a lot of people with an impressive performance, making it all the way to the finals before losing by a goal to the Toronto-Lakeshore Patriots.  The goaltending factory that is known as the Wellington Dukes will have to continue to produce top talent in that regard. Gone is Tyson Teichmann, last year’s #1.  In as the starter, FOR NOW, is Taylor Welsh who Wellington acquired last season from Orangeville shortly before the deadline.  The Dukes also acquired some power up front getting Marco Azzano from division-mates the Whitby Fury.  Along with Azzano, other big summer grabs for the Dukes are Nick Devito and Dylan Mascarin.  A lot was lost after the run to the Dudley Hewitt finals and these pieces will be a big part of the re-build.  One other tool that Wellington will have at their disposal is an extra 98 card. This was gained in a deal with Georgetown last season, and could be a very valuable piece later in the season.  Fans in Wellington want to get back to the teams winning ways…could this be the year they get out of the first round?

WHITBY FURY

Whitby took a first round exit in 6 games courtesy of the Trenton Golden Hawks.  The Fury made headlines across the OJHL, but not necessarily for the right reasons.  They lost a great hockey man in Frank Robinson, who had his hands tied when Fury owners had kids approaching junior hockey age.  The upcoming season will give a view of what the new era of Fury hockey will look like.  Whitby has been active in the summer trading veterans Boyd DiClemente and Marco Azzano.  The means Tyler Feaver will take over the #1 spot with 18 year old Austin Cain backing him up.  Henry Thompson and Matt Fischer, along with Feaver, remain as the lone 20 year olds and could fetch a nice return if things go south this season for the Fury.  It will be a year of learning for this young squad and will give the foundation for years to come.  For now though, competing in the East takes depth and experience. It’s something Whitby doesn’t have yet.

See you all in a week, when things get going for keeps!

Allan Etmanski covers the OJHL East Division for In The O... and more articles by the author can be found at intheoradio.com. In The O...
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