Who Will Be Back For The Sting?

The off season officially starts for the Sarnia Sting tomorrow and kicks into high gear next Saturday when the OHL has it's 2012 Priority Selection which is being held a month earlier than normal. The Sting will hold the 12th overall selection in that draft.

More importantly the off season for the Sarnia Sting won't only revolve around the rookies that are drafted, or the prospects coming up through the ranks but the main topic around the Sarnia Sting this off-season will likely be who will be returning next year? This post will mainly revolve around that topic. We will start from the net and work our way out with potential returnees and at the end we will eliminate those likely not to return to the Sarnia Sting for 2012-2013.

Goaltenders:


JP Anderson - San Jose Prospect, AHL/ECHL Eligable and potential return for an overage season
Brandon Hope- 1994 birth year leaves him with 3 more years eligible in the OHL.

Defence:


Craig Dunnick- 1993
Nathan Chairlitti- 1992, will likely be back for his final season as Sarnia Sting Captain, potential OA
Jack Kuzmyk- 1993
Mike DiPaolo- 1994 saw limited action for the Sting this year, could be candidate for next year
Julian Luciani- 1992 potential OA
Alex Basso- 1993
Connor Murphy- 1993, Phoenix Coyotes prospect, AHL eligible
Anthony DeAngelo- 1995, will be a big part of the Sting blue line

Forwards:


Dominic Alberga- 1992, potential OA
Nail Yakupov- 1993, Import, Likely 1st overall NHL draft pick
Charles Sarault- 1992, potential OA
Justice Dundas- 1994
Reid Boucher- 1993, New Jersey Devils Prospect, AHL eligible
Davis Brown- 1994, Sting prospect, Appeared in 14 games with Sting (0 pts)
Craig Hottot- 1992, potential OA
Daniel Nikandrov- 1995, Sting Prospect, Appeared in 7 games with Sting (1 goal 1 assist)
Ryan Spooner- 1992, Boston Bruins Prospect, Potential OA, AHL Eligible
Nathan Mater- 1994, Sting Prospect, Appeared in 19 games (1 assist, 6 PIM)
Nickolas Latta- 1993
Ludvig Rensfeldt- 1992, Import, Potential OA, Chicago Blackhawks Property
Alex Galchenyuk- 1994, Likely top 5 NHL draft pick


I excluded Justin Thomas from my list as he departed Sarnia 2 times in 1 year. I do not believe the Sting have any plans to keep Justin Thomas next year.

Now onto who is likely to return next year to the Sarnia Sting?

Goaltending
I believe you will see both return next year as I do not believe JP Anderson turns pro and the San Jose Sharks return him to the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. However what are the Sting's plans with Brandon Hope? I don't believe JB showed much confidence in the young net minder this year and the question is will Hope want out of the Sarnia Sting? For right now I will go with both returning. Note that takes 1 of 3 OA spots off the table if Anderson returns to net for the Sarnia Sting.
Returning: Hope, Anderson (OA)


Defence:
You don't through your Captain out the season after a 1st round play off season so I believe you will see Nathan Chairlitti take up overage spot #2. I think Julian Luciani will be an odd man out and being moved to forward late in the regular season and being scratched in the playoffs is a fine indication of that in my mind. I also believe that Connor Murphy will be returned to the Sarnia Sting for another year next year by the Coyotes as I believe there is still a lot of work to be done in his development and Phoenix will see that the OHL is the best place for that. DiPaolo will need to prove he deserves a spot on the roster next year and is a question mark for me but he has given up his NCAA eligibility and I believe you will likely see him as a member o the Sarnia Sting next season on the blue line.
Returning: Chairlitti (OA), Dunnick, Kuzmyk, DeAngelo, DiPaolo,  Basso, Murphy


Forwards:
This is where the overage dilemma comes in if you have Anderson in net and Chairlitti on the blue line. I believe that gritty Dominic Alberga will be the odd man out in the overage race at the forward position leaving Sarnia native Craig Hottot and Charles Sarault to battle for the final overage spot. Luckily you are allowed to carry 4 OA's for the first part of the season but only dress 3 so I believe that you will see Hottot and Sarault both start the season as members of the Sarnia Sting and then 1 of the 2 will be traded.

Ryan Spooner is most likely not going to return to the OHL for an overage season. As a top prospect for the Boston Bruins it is likely that Spooner will be headed to the AHL Providence Bruins next year. 5% chance Spooner returns next season and if he does the Sting will have an OA problem.

Ludvig Rensfeldt will likely not be taking up and OA spot and import spot so I believe you will likely see Sarnia take 1 possibly 2 players in the Import draft depending on if they want to keep Nail Yakupov protected or not. Rensfeldt is Chicago property so he is likely on his way to the AHL with the Chicago Wolves. 0% chance Rensfeldt returns to the Sting as I believe they release his rights to draft someone in the Import Draft.

Nail Yakupov will likely be the 1st overall draft pick in this years NHL Entry draft at least all things point in that direction. Based on the fact that he is going 1st overall alone is the only reason I do not think that Nail Yakupov will return to the OHL. However, I do believe that there is a chance that he does return as I do not believe that he is physically ready for the NHL and Brandon Saad pushing him around in the playoffs was a fine example of that. I give it a 10% chance of Yakupov returning to the Sarnia Sting though.

Alex Galchenyuk is likely going to be a top 5 or at worst a top 10 draft pick in this years NHL entry draft. In my opinion I believe he deserves to go number 1. Galchenyuk is much stronger on the puck then Yakupov and more defensively responsible. I believe that the only reason Galchenyuk returns to the OHL next year is because the team that drafts him will want to see what he can do in a full season in the OHL. That being said i give it a 40% chance that he sticks in the NHL.

Finally my last question mark. I believe although Reid Boucher is AHL eligible that he will be returned to the Sarnia Sting next year. Boucher has a lot of growing to do, needs to get stronger, needs to work on his defensive game and his offensive consistency. I believe that one more season in the OHL will benefit him in his long term development. 10% chance that Boucher does not return to Sarnia.

Returning: Sarault (OA), Hottot (OA), Galchenyuk, Boucher, Latta, Mater, Nikandrov, Brown, Dundas