How will the Ottawa hub stack up?

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by tonychizzle

by tonychizzle

Today we will preview the hub based out of the Canadian National Capital of Ottawa. This hub will host the hometown Rebels, along with the Buffalo Bandits, Montreal Voyageurs, Quebec City Titans, and the Toronto Shamrocks.

Ottawa Rebels finished 11th in the Eastern Conference.

We've all come to expect little from the Rebels for close to the last 20 years. They've made the playoffs just twice and were bounced out quickly in the first round both times. So you'd think it would be easy to expect much of the same.

But this off-season was a busy one for new GM Ken Lowe. The long time GM of the Australian League's Wollongong Bears has won 3 championships in the AFHL, and brings championship winning calibre to a franchise that desperately needs it. First order of business was hiring former Generals head coach Allen O'Brien to get a structure for discipline and play making that has been lacking for years. Then a restructuring of the blue line starting with trading Alex Larionov and Feliz Kasarian to Los Angeles in exchange for prospects and draft picks down the line. Then in a move that was as much bold as it was wise, they added the controversial Justin Kernahan to give them some much needed size and a little bit of intimidation factor. These adjustments are the start of a rebuilding that looks more thought out and intentional than in previous seasons.

For all the future potential, there is the immediate task of these first 24 games, and given the shortened timeframe to get everyone together into a cohesive unit, expectation is that they will get off to a slow start. Our prediction will be a 4-20 start.

Buffalo Bandits finished 7th in the Eastern Conference, were eliminated in the first round.

The quick turnaround from a dismal 2018-19 season to the strong playoff contender last season, caught everyone, maybe even themselves off guard. They were able to continually punch up their perceived weigh class and upset higher seed team on the regular, including one win over the juggernaut Brooklyn Lions.

This Phase 1 hub suits the Bandits just fine as they will have familiar foes. One thing that was lacking in the Bandits arsenal was a steady top line pivot to play both ends of the court. They answered that in the drafting of the very quick and defence minded Luc Paredes of St Hubert in the Quebec junior league that boosted a league leading fewest goals allowed, thanks in part to the smart play of Paredes.

Buffalo will benefit from the easier hub as opposed to one that includes Brooklyn or New York. Our prediction for the first 24 games will be a modest 10-14.

Montreal Voyageurs finished 6th in the Eastern Conference last season. Were eliminated in the second round.

The Voyageurs were dealt a huge blow in the pause of the playoffs when 3 of the 4 total cases of positive COVID 19 among NFHL players came from the team. While all were asymptomatic, it had an effect their mentality, as they were one win away from eliminating Brian Merritt and the juggernaut Lions. So coming into this season, they are going to have a massive chip on their shoulder, and a disappointing ending to their season to avenge. You could sense in team updates to the press and through individual social media accounts that this is going to be a determined and focused Voyageur squad. There is always a must-win mentality in Montreal, but this season it seems to be on overdrive as nothing short of hoisting the Queens cup will been seen as success.

The Voyageurs look scary this season, and if the hype turns out to be reality, they will be a buzz saw in this hub. Our prediction will be 20-4 for the Voyageurs.

Quebec City Titans finished 3rd last season. Were eliminated in the first round.

Last season all the spotlights were on the Brooklyn Lions. Their dominating performance overshadowed the solid season that Quebec City Titan put together. With much of the core of the team still intact, the Titans can still perform well. While the attention will no doubt be locked on the bigger markets, the lack of attention suits the Titans just fine. Coach Theo Paquette had this to say once learning about the hub: "we have always succeeded under the radar. Being an afterthought and overlooked is how we can thrive. We will continue to pour all over of energy in to developing a well rounded team that can put pressure on you from all four lines. So I'm not worried about going into this season with anything to prove. We do that night in and night out".

Quebec City only really has Montreal to worry about in this hub in our opinion so we will give them a 15-9 coming out of this phase one.

Toronto Shamrocks finished in 10th place in the Eastern Confernce.

The rebuilding in Toronto has been a long process. Longer then most fans would like. But given the work they've put into their blue line and goal tending, they have seen substantial improvements in that area. For the past two seasons that have been in the top for both fewest goals allowed, and goalie Daniel Bryson had a GAA of 1.10, second best in the east last season and he was a candidate for Goalie of the Year. So why did the Shamrocks still do so poorly last season. It was at the other end of the court where they struggled. No team was shut out more than the Shamrocks. They were shut out an astonishing 13 times last season. They say that defence wins games expect when you forget to score yourself. Have the Shamrocks solved there goal scoring woes? Adding veteran goalscorer Pascal Despatie will certainly help that.

In a hub stacked with defensive prowess, if the Shamrocks are going to see some improvement from their rebuild, they are going to have to score some goals. Our prediction for the Shamrocks is 11-13.

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