Our preview of the 2022-23 season continues with the second half of the Plante Conference.

Parry Sound Orrsmen

Last season: 29-42-11 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: F Matt Boldy (6), D Sean Durzi (28), D Nils Lundkvist (59), G Nico Daws (71)
Notable additions: F Matt Boldy, F Gabriel Vilardi, F Vinnie Hinostroza, D Sean Durzi, D Jan Rutta, G Nico Daws, G Stuart Skinner
Notable subtractions: F Patric Hornqvist, F Alexander Radulov, D Brian Dumoulin, D Ilya Lyubushkin, D Haydn Fleury, D Nick Holden, G Martin Jones
Analysis: The slow-moving roller coaster continues for the Orrsmen, who seemed so close to contending before crashing back to earth in recent seasons. But the team’s fortunes may be improving once more, helped along by a strong 2022 rookie crop as both Matt Boldy and Sean Durzi figure to step right into the lineup. The Orrsmen’s strengths remain haven’t changed much over the years, especially down the middle where McDavid and Matthews are joined by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tim Stutzle, and a good group of wingers led by David Pastrnak. The defense is a little better now, too, especially if one of Justin Faulk or Nate Schmidt can step up with good powerplay numbers. Goaltending is once again going to be this team’s Achilles’ heel, though, as it seems they’ll be entering the season with the sketchy platoon of Thomas Greiss, Dan Vladar, and Nico Daws, along with a few games from newly acquired Stuart Skinner. They can outscore some of their problems, no doubt, but without better netminding, this team isn’t likely playoff-bound. It’s probably not far from it, though.
Outlook: Bubble

Pittsburgh Hornets

Last season: 38-35-9 (lost in first round)
Draft picks: F Marco Rossi (13), G Lukas Dostal (35), D Jordan Spence (54), F Pavel Dorofeyev (59), D Reilly Walsh (78)
Notable additions: F Charlie Coyle, F Matt Nieto, D Nicolas Beaudin
Notable subtractions: F Reilly Smith, F Ryan Dzingel, F Sam Gagner, F Alex Galchenyuk, F Daniel Sprong, G Anton Khudobin, G Petr Mrazek
Analysis: The Hornets’ fortunes have risen and fallen quite a bit in recent seasons, partly due to shaky goaltending, but the Khudobin/Mrazek era is officially over and Pittsburgh finally has a promising if inexperienced duo in Jeremy Swayman and Ville Husso to feel good about. Some of its younger wingers — first the more established Timo Meier, and now Jason Robertson and Troy Terry — are also showing signs of becoming true impact players, and suddenly the future is looking brighter than ever. Sure, Swayman has zero GWMHL experience and they’ll have to play Victor Hedman on his weak side to ice a full defense corps. (But what a corps!) And yeah, the age-old problem of what to do when Evgeni Malkin inevitably misses a bunch of games to injury is still a major concern, with the team only having acquired Charlie Coyle to help out Strome. But despite that, this is a team with a ton of potential on the cusp of being realized, and is poised to not only make the postseason but potentially win a round or two.
Outlook: Playoffs

Salem Sabercats

Last season: 40-31-11 (lost in second round)
Draft picks: F Jack Quinn (15), D Justin Barron (37), G Pyotr Kochetkov (58), F Jacob Peterson (80)
Notable additions: F Jacob Peterson
Notable subtractions: F Paul Byron, F Adam Gaudette, F Kristian Vesalainen, F Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Analysis: The Sabercats are coming off a pretty good season, even if they aren’t an unbeatable dynasty anymore, as they finished third in the conference and won a playoff round before being eliminated by Charleston in its surge to the Atkinson Cup final. Salem’s most important skaters — Patrick Kane, Anze Kopitar, and Alex Pietrangelo — can still perform at a high level, and their secondary depth, led by Logan Couture and Bo Horvat, is excellent. Gustav Nyquist’s return from a long-term injury won’t hurt, either, although they do lack a true sniper up front and Nyquist isn’t it. The Sabercats’ goaltending duo of Frederik Andersen and Marc-Andre Fleury has long been one of the league’s best, with one guy ready to step in with top-flight play if the other falters, and that should be no different this year. Despite age turning Duncan Keith and Anton Stralman into roleplayers and the fact that Salem hasn’t made an impact addition in a while, there’s no real reason to expect this team to regress much. It will be in the mix.
Outlook: Playoffs

South Side Renegades

Last season: 23-52-7 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: F Mason McTavish (4), F Noah Cates (24), F Fabian Zetterlund (46), F Jack McBain (68), F Brandon Duhaime (70)
Notable additions: F Brandon Duhaime, F Luke Kunin, D Marc Staal, D Brett Kulak
Notable subtractions: F Noel Acciari, F Zemgus Girgensons, F Tyler Pitlick, F Michael Raffl, F Austin Watson, D Dylan DeMelo, D Ville Heinola, D Victor Soderstrom
Analysis: The league’s second worst team last season might finally be ready to turn a corner. Its young forward core of Dylan Larkin, Trevor Zegras, Brady Tkachuk, and Nico Hischier has been developing nicely, and they’re complemented by Anthony Cirelli, Joel Farabee, a healthy Teuvo Teravainen, and an Andrew Copp who may yet have an unexplored offensive dimension to his game. Even with 4th overall pick Mason McTavish a year away, that’s a solid group with potential to turn some heads. The duo of Connor Hellebuyck and Scott Wedgewood is probably good enough in goal to win some games, and the team has some strong defensive d-men to help them out. The Renegades lack offensive pop on the blueline after Seth Jones, however, and much will be asked of Vladislav Gavrikov as the team’s top left-handed defenseman. Despite that, it seems impossible that this is still a bottom-three team. Playoffs? Not so likely, but stranger things have happened.

Outlook: Bubble

Winnipeg Falcons

Last season: 30-47-5 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: D Owen Power (2), D Dylan Samberg (27), F Jack Drury (50), F Brett Leason (88)
Notable additions: F Brett Leason, F Marcus Johansson, F Pat Maroon, D Chris Wideman
Notable subtractions: F Sammy Blais, F Morgan Geekie, F Zack Kassian, F Martin Frk, D Will Butcher, D Victor Mete, D Tucker Poolman
Analysis: The Falcons were the big draft lottery winners, climbing to second overall where they were able to select defenseman Owen Power. He’s a year away, but it answered a major organizational need that’s dogged this team for years — Ryan Suter’s star is fading fast and Jamie Drysdale isn’t quite there yet, although he may see top-pairing ice time this year out of necessity. Until Power can join the team, it will likely be a rocky go of it for Winnipeg fans, however. The Falcons have had terrible injury luck in recent years, and this time it’s top winger Max Pacioretty who’s looking to miss a good chunk of the season. After him, Elias Pettersson is a fine centerpiece, although Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Mike Hoffman are all in various stages of decline. The Falcons are looking strongest in goal, where the trio of Darcy Kuemper, Elvis Merzlikins, and Jake Allen should be just fine. But a lack of (healthy) scoring depth both up front and on the blueline will likely sink the team’s playoff chances this year.
Outlook: Rebuilding

As 22 teams get ready to begin the 2022-23 GWMHL season, here’s part one of our look at what’s changed — and what hasn’t — around the league, starting with the first half of the Plante Conference.

Baltimore Crab

Last season: 42-35-5 (lost in third round)
Draft picks: F Vasily Podkolzin (14), D Lassi Thomson (36), G Karel Vejmelka (57), D Egor Zamula (79)
Notable additions: F Vasily Podkolzin, G Karel Vejmelka
Notable subtractions: F Rocco Grimaldi, D Sami Vatanen, D Lawrence Pilut
Analysis: There have been bumps in the road for the Crab since they were crowned league champs in 2016, but they remain a team that can do some damage. That was especially apparent in this spring’s playoffs, in which Pavel Buchnevich and Sidney Crosby led all playoff scorers with 35 and 33 points respectively, despite the team being eliminated in the conference final. They also got an elite performance from Cale Makar, who may already be the team’s best player and is joined by two more lethal right defensemen in Brent Burns and Tony DeAngelo. Looking ahead, the biggest question marks surround Philipp Grubauer and his ability to repeat last year’s solid numbers. Baltimore drafted goalie Karel Vejmelka and also have Mikko Koskinen ready to go, but that trio doesn’t inspire all that much confidence. The team is committed to last year’s roster and will be in the playoff mix.
Outlook: Playoffs

Charleston Chiefs

Last season: 43-30-9 (lost in Atkinson Cup final)
Draft picks: F Cole Sillinger (16), F Nathan Smith (38), F Sampo Ranta (61), G Ivan Prosvetov (81)
Notable additions: F Brock Boeser, F Cole Sillinger, F Jansen Harkins, D Josh Brown
Notable subtractions: F Tomas Nosek, F Arttu Ruotsalainen, D Morgan Rielly, D Alec Regula, G Jonathan Quick
Analysis: The 2021-22 season was a miracle for the Charleston Chiefs, who — against all the odds — finished second in the conference, then stormed through Salem and Baltimore en route to the Atkinson Cup final, where they pushed the eventual champ Adirondack to seven games. That’s going to be a tough act to follow. Many of the things that made the Chiefs successful are still in place — Adam Fox finished tied for 3rd in the league with 76 assists, and William Nylander and Brayden Point are a good foundation up front, but there are two wild cards. One, winger Dominik Kubalik turned in a 91-point season and any regression will hurt Charleston up front. Maybe newly acquired winger Brock Boeser can fill that gap, but to what degree? Two, after the Chiefs shipped longtime starter Jonathan Quick off to El Dorado, it left their goal in the hands of Kevin Lankinen, Alexandar Georgiev, and Anthony Stolarz. Lankinen had 25 wins and 4 shutouts last season, but actually didn’t play all that well, finishing with a .900 save percentage. The Chiefs were able to outscore their problems, but that will be hard to do for a second year running. When the Chiefs dealt Morgan Rielly away for futures, it signalled that management probably thinks the same way.
Outlook: Bubble

Denver Spurs

Last season: 24-50-8 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: none
Notable additions: F Vladimir Tarasenko, F Evander Kane, F Tanner Pearson, D Alec Martinez, D Nikko Mikkola, D Erik Johnson, D Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D Simon Benoit, G Erik Kallgren
Notable subtractions: F Cal Clutterbuck, F Matt Calvert, F Nathan Bastian, F Dominik Kahun, F Joakim Nordstrom, D Andrej Sekera, D Michael Del Zotto
Analysis: The team with the league’s third worst record went into the rookie draft with zero picks — a risky proposition, but also familiar territory for the Spurs, who have taken similar big swings in the past to land star players. This time the additions were wingers Vladimir Tarasenko, Evander Kane and change. There’s zero question that the roster looks miles better than it has in several seasons, but will it be enough to lift Denver out of the basement? With Kane expected to miss a good chunk of the season, the team is thin on the left wing, and at centre their top guy might be JG Pageau. On defense, despite the free agent additions of vets Erik Johnson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, there’s a lack of minute-eating left-handed blueliners.  Even with the solid tandem of Jack Campbell and Binnington in goal, this may prove to be another season in limbo for the Spurs, but they’ll likely improve on last year.
Outlook: Bubble

El Dorado Lynx

Last season: 44-29-9 (lost in second round)
Draft picks: F Kent Johnson (9), D Dysin Mayo (39), F Jacob Perreault (45), G Hugo Alnefelt (82)
Notable additions: F Derek Stepan, D Dysin Mayo, D Luke Schenn, D Dylan DeMelo, G Jonathan Quick, G Sergei Bobrovsky
Notable subtractions: F Denis Gurianov, F Johan Larsson, F Riley Sheahan, D Marc Staal, D Olli Juolevi, D Jacob Larsson, G Carey Price, G Tuukka Rask, G Dustin Tokarski
Analysis: The 2021 champs finished atop the Plante once again but failed to win another title as they were bounced by Baltimore in the conference semifinals. It maked the end of an era, as the Lynx moved on from one of the league’s all-time greatest goaltending tandems in Carey Price and Tuukka Rask and acquired Sergei Bobrovsky and Jonathan Quick in separate deals. They also snagged a bluechip prospect in Kent Johnson thanks to a 2021 draft day trade with Delta that left them with the 9th overall pick. Johnson isn’t going to make an impact this season, but it doesn’t matter — the Lynx have excellent depth up front, led by shooters Alex Ovechkin and Kyle Connor, and a strong supporting cast. Mason Marchment looks poised to break out, which will give them even more options. The Bobrovsky/Quick tandem is intriguing and should be able to hold it down, and while it seems inevitable that Jeff Petry won’t repeat his miraculous 95-point season, which would leave the Lynx without a big-scoring defender, their blueline corps is pretty solid top to bottom now. This team will once again compete for the Plante title.
Outlook: Contender

Great Lakes Pilots

Last season: 27-46-9 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: F Lucas Raymond (5), F Thomas Bordeleau (26), F Matias Maccelli (48)
Notable additions: F Lucas Raymond, F Zach Parise
Notable subtractions: F Nolan Patrick, F Milan Lucic, F Alex Chiasson, D Troy Stecher
Analysis: After watching top picks like Jesse Puljujarvi and now-released Nolan Patrick falter and enduring the rather slow development of Barrett Hayton and Quinton Byfield, the Pilots selected a sure thing in Lucas Raymond with their 5th overall pick, and the winger will likely step right onto the first line with Tomas Hertl and…someone…else? What the Pilots have going for them — maybe to their detriment if it means dropping draft position — is goaltending, with Andrei Vasilevskiy and Thatcher Demko forming an elite duo. And as Evan Bouchard develops, it should mean a pretty strong blueline alongside Rasmus Dahlin and Jacob Trouba. If only a few forward prospects would take big leaps forward, things would be looking rosier. In the meantime, this is a team that will win a few on goaltending alone and otherwise likely won’t sniff the postseason.
Outlook: Rebuilding

Hershey Bears

Last season: 36-37-9 (lost in first round)
Draft picks: F Anton Lundell (12), D Nick Blankenburg (42), F Taylor Raddysh (56), G Arvid Soderblom (77)
Notable additions: F Anton Lundell, F Taylor Raddysh, F Liam Foudy, D Ilya Lyubushkin, D Will Borgen, D Colin Miller, D Jalen Chatfield
Notable subtractions: F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, F Eric Robinson, F Dustin Brown, F Jesper Boqvist, D Mark Giordano, D Danny DeKeyser, D Patrik Nemeth
Analysis: The expansion Bears made the postseason in their inaugural season. Sure, the expanded playoff format helped, but so did the fact that Hershey finished tied for the lowest goals against in the league. Chris Driedger was excellent all year, finishing with 4 shutouts and a .923 save percentage. Whether the Bears can make another run at the playoffs hinges on goaltending — can deadline acquisition Cal Petersen take the reins if Driedger falters or is injured? What about Antti Raanta? It’s a trio with a lot of question marks. Beyond that, Hershey still has the elements that made it a success last year, with bargain basement finds like Chandler Stephenson, Carter Verhaeghe, Adam Henrique, and Valeri Nichushkin joined by first round draft pick Anton Lundell in a balanced if unspectacular forward group, and Brady Skjei, Dmitry Orlov, and Kevin Shattenkirk able to run things from the blueline. A bubble team that may find itself competing for a second postseason berth or throwing in the towel and trading for futures.
Outlook: Bubble

The Denver Spurs have made another splash, acquiring winger Evander Kane from the rebuilding Delta Sturgeon. In return, the Sturgeon receive a pair of 2nd round rookie picks — Clarington’s (23rd overall) and Denver’s (25th).

Delta drafted Kane 7th overall in 2010 and he’s since played in 783 games over 12 seasons. In fact, last season was his most productive as he lead the team in goals with 31 and finished second in points with 75 in 82 games.

In separate deals, the Delta Sturgeon have shipped out too more veterans. First, the Sturgeon sent winger Taylor Hall, who had 61 points in 78 games in his fifth season with the franchise, to conference rival Hamilton in exchange for the Ti-Cats’ second round pick, 32nd overall. The second move saw them trade centre Erik Haula to the Boston Banshees for young defenseman Logan Stanley and a 3rd rounder.

Hall and Haula join Jonathan Toews, Zach Hyman and Ryan Pulock as casualties of the Sturgeon’s offseason housecleaning following a disappointing season and in the face of an injury-riddled 2022-23.

The Denver Spurs shocked the GWMHL this week when they traded the 3rd overall pick in the upcoming rookie draft to the Clarington Coyotes in a win-now move that netted wingers Vladimir Tarasenko and Tanner Pearson plus Clarington’s 2nd round pick, 23rd overall.

An injury-hampered Tarasenko had 20 points in 31 games last year, while Pearson scored 15 goals in 75 games. For Clarington, the benefits are obvious. On paper, the team has the veteran depth to win more games this year, but with the 1st overall pick already, the Coyotes have an opportunity to add two elite talents in September. For Denver, who add Tarasenko to a packed right wing corps that already features Matt Duchene, Tom Wilson, and Cam Atkinson, it seems to signal a desire to shoot for the playoffs while Jordan Binnington and Erik Karlsson have gas in the tank. Unless they make more deals, for the fourth time in six years, the Spurs will go without a first round pick.

The Boston Banshees have swung yet another trade, sending centre Sean Couturier, defenseman Ryan Ellis, and a fourth round pick to the West Virginia River Rats for forward Alexandre Texier, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the Rats’ first round pick (21st overall), and a third rounder.

Both Couturier and Ellis are expected to miss most or all of the season with injuries, so the deep River Rats — who already acquired Jonathan Toews this offseason — seem to be loading up with an eye on 2023-24. Despite his injury woes, Couturier is coming off a 40-goal season and could still be an impact player down the line. For the Banshees, who now only have 12 forwards in their entire system, it clears the way for a significant retool this offseason.

The Boston Banshees have made three more trades to help kick off a busy offseason.

In the first move, they traded veteran forward Charlie Coyle, young defenseman Nicolas Beaudin, and a third round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for winger Reilly Smith. In the second, they flipped goaltending prospect Cayden Primeau to West Virginia for forward Gabriel Vilardi. In the third, they opened some roster spots by sending forward Julien Gauthier, defenseman Niko Mikkola and a fourth round pick to Denver for a third rounder.

The Smith acquisition may be a significant one, as he goes a long way to shoring up the Banshees’ top six. Smith has topped 20 goals in 7 of his last 8 GWMHL seasons, including 25 in 2021-22, and is just one year removed from a 41-goal campaign.

The Delta Sturgeon retool continues, as the once-contender sent veteran winger Zach Hyman and defenseman Ryan Pulock to the Boston Banshees in exchange for young blueliner Dante Fabbro and a pair of second round rookie picks.

Hyman had 24 goals in 60 games in 2020-21 but scored just 15 times last season as the entire Sturgeon roster seemed to struggle. Pulock’s 33 points, meanwhile, was good enough to lead an injury-depleted Delta blueline. Fabbro tallied 14 points in 41 games in his sophomore season for the Banshees.