Next Season

Graduated Players (Will not be back)
Elgin Pearce
Derek Ryckman
Cam Lanigan

(* on guestimated roster)


Uncertain
Curtis Valk*  (Will he be drafted? will he be signed? and if so will he be back? I think  he will be back but their is a  decent chance that he may move up if signed and/or drafted by an organization that lacks depth, and a willingness to take a shot at a small player)

Likely to be Back
Hunter Shinkaruk*   (NHL or WHL, and IMO he is not ready for the NHL yet, I'll talk about that more in another post)

Overager Battles (Can only keep 3)

Dylan Bredo*
Jacob Doty
Curtis Valk*
Zach Hodder
Boston Leier*

Bredo is a lock. Valk is a lock if he comes back. I'd give Leier the edge for the 3rd spot. But the overager  question is a question that the Tigers don't have to make untill after training camp and their is no rush untill after Valk's situation is known. I'd give doty the 4th spot as the depth on Defense makes Hodder more expendable.

 Doty should be in the league as a 20. His combo of smarts, toughness, and some skill is fairly unique, and he would do well on a young team.  With Zach Hodder I could see him generate  interest because his value would be cheap but he's not a bad player. If a team is lacking in overagers and don't want to give up much in a trade Hodder would fit in very nicely as he can also play the PP, and would be a guy that could play in the top 4 on an average depth team.

Will Be Back
Gavin Broadhead(18)
Steven Owre (17)
Miles Koules (19)
Blake Penner (17)
Logan McVeigh (19)
Chad Butcher (17)
Chad Labelle (18)
Trevor Cox (18)
Ty Stanton(18)
Tyler Lewington (19)
Matt Staples (18)
Spenser Jensen (18)
Kyle Becker (19)
Marek Langhamer (19)

Guestimated Roster (Just for depth purposes, no thought on line combos)
Shinkaruk(19) Valk(20) Koules(19)
McVeigh(19) Leier(20) Cox(18)
Sanford(17) Penner(17) Broadhead(18)
Owre(17) Butcher(17) Labelle(18)
 + Prospects

Lewington(19) Bredo(20)
Jensen(18) Stanton(18)
Staples(18) Becker(19)
Ty Schultz(16) (1st round pick)
+Prospects

Langhamer

Thoughts

It will be pretty hard for incoming prospects to crack this roster. Even with the losses of this year,  their are 3-5 open spots. 1 of those is likely to go to the Tigers 1st round pick last year in Defenseman Ty Schultz, 1 of those will be a goaltending spot. The Tigers have a lot of depth on defense, so they could re-draft for 1 euro spot and try to go for a scoring forward with size, but they could just as easily draft a Dman. Still the Tigers have a bundle of  prospects in their system that will be knocking on the door. I think the Tigers have the depth to go for broke with their euro selection because an average euro may not be good enough to stick with this roster.

It is always possible Langhamer doesn't come back, and if that were the case the Tigers would be in a bit of a tough spot,  but next year Langhamer has a legitimate shot at being the #1 goaltender, and for his development, his NHL club will probably want him here as he is not ready for the AHL.

For backup goalies Kellan Williams made a very good impression last camp, and the Tigers signed youngster Zac Robidoux who had a good camp as well. Thanks to longetimefan for pointing this out, the Tigers listed Bo Didur from the BC major Midget league who went undefeated as a 15 year old in a 15,16,17 yr old age league. Bo went to camp last year with the Saskatoon Blades, so their is some good young competition in net this year and next.

The Tigers will need to address their lack of size up front. Based on  my guestimated roster the only forward above 6 feet is Logan McVeigh at 6'1. The Defense has lots of size. I could see someone like Labelle getting pushed back on the depth charts.


Quick Summary
I think the Tigers have pieces for a very  good team, especially if Curtis Valk, and Hunter Shinkaruk are back next season. Even more exciting is that their prospect pool is overflowing with talent. It's too early to tell if they have a 2nd tier pretty good team, or a team that has potential to make a run for a title, but they have the potential for a really special year if all the peices fall into place. 
Potential: Above average to High

Brief Look at the Eastern Conference 
Scale
Elite, High, Above Average, Average, Below Average, Low

On paper its hard to see one team that is expected to blow anyone away in the eastern conference. I don't see the calibre of a team like Edmonton of this year.

Kootenay had one of the best 2nd halve's in the league not dressing a 3rd overager, and limited production from their euro's They may only loose 2 players which is unheard of. They will have a dangerous top line, scoring depth may be a question. They way they play they don't need a lot of scoring though. They will be a big pain to deal with next season.

Potential: Above Average to High.

Red Deer could be strong with alot of returning players one year older. They didn't score a lot this season and loose Mathew Dumba, and Turner Elson.  They may not posses quite the offensive punch needed, but with Sutter's connections and a good euro forward that could change. Patrik Bartosak won them alot of games. If he returns I move their potential to High.
Potential: Above Average 

Saskatoon - They loose pretty much 2/3rds of their team. Its not what you loose but what you keep, but they dont have much depth from their returning players Potential: Low

Edmonton - They'll  loose  some talented players as they have 8 guys signed to NHL contracts.   They also have a defensive stud in Griffen Reinhart where its NHL or WHL, and he is near good enough to stick in the show.  Theyll likely retain high talents in Legault, Sameulesson, Kulda Moroz, Corbet, Sautner, Jarry, possibly Reinhart. They also have some good youngsters in Lazar, Benson and Bertolucci. They won't drop off the radar and should still be really competitive.  Potential:  Above Average

Calgary - Like Edmonton they have some highly talented players coming back, but will loose some big peices as well. (Macek,Sylvester,Humphries,Rask, and 3 of their 93's) They have some overagers to sell and some young talented players that should fill the void left by the current overager group. I expect them to be competitive, finishing behind edmonton again. Potential: Average to Above Average

Lethbridge - Their defense is still pretty young and their goaltending is questionable. They gave up a lot of goals last year. They retain their top 6 scorer so they should pack some real offensive punch, they are better setup up for the year after next, but unless their D takes a big jump, or the players take to a new coach I see them as a team that is starting to make some noise, but may have defense/goaltending issues. I could see them rip out of the gate next season on a tear. They do have a very small forward core like the Tigers do. Potential: Average to above average

Swift Current - They will loose Reece Scarlett, Richard Nedomlel,  Ryon Moser, Chance Lund,Dalton Reum, probably Adam lowry, and possibly Graham Black. Euro goaltender Eetu Laurikainen is questionable but could well return as a 20 yr old euro. I think they'll have a similar team to this season. If lowry,black, and Laurikanined dont return I'd drop them a rankl. At the same time if those players all return I would increase their potential slightly.
Potential: Average

Prince Albert - Loose 5 big peices in Ruopp,Mcneil,Bardaro, Vandane, and Siemens but they retain a lot of good young players, but I dont think they have enough depth to really be a contender. Goaltending maybe an issue. Josh Morrisey will be a stud on defense.  Potential: Average to Above Average

Moose Jaw - Very young team this past season.  They should only loose their overagers and  Morgan Rielly is NHL or WHL so he could be back. They scored one of the least amount of goals, and I'm not that familiar with most of their young players, but they were the 2nd youngest team last year and I'm not really sure how to rank them, but they will probably still be fairly young. They could be a bit of a dark horse, but it seems like every year I'm thinkin that about Moose Jaw.  Potential: Average?

Regina Pats - They will have a very good top line, goaltending remains a question, their depth doesnt look that great. They could be strong sellers at the deadline. I thought this season they suffered from confidence issues and were a better team that what the standings indicated when they were on their game.
Potential: Below Average to average

Brandon -  They gave up a lot of goals last season with 2 20yr old Dmen and upcoming NHL prospects in Pulock and Roy, last season.  They loose Buonassisi, Miller, Yaworski. Euro Marek Kalus had a pretty poor year in terms of production from the previous year, he could possibly come back.

Their offensive core will still be quite young. Last season  they had a 16 and 17 year old (Hawryluck, McGauley) who lead their offense up front, and Pulock, and Roy on the back-end who provided a big peice of their offense. Their core group of guys are still pretty young and they should be better but I think they may still be behind most teams

What's interesting about Brandon is for such a low scoring team they will have 9 guys who scored over 10 goals back.  So their is potential for them to push into the low seed spots

If Brandon is not in a playoff position come christmas they could get big returns for their 2 Offensive Defenseman in Pulock and Roy, big defenseman who could quaterback a powerplay.
 Potential: Below Average to Average


Tigers Prospects
Main List taken from Alan Caldwell's Blog
Note: This list is far from Complete. The Tigers do not release their 50 PPL and I'm sure their are a handful of these players that have since been dropped, and new players added. (The players who have ** are the players who lasted a long time in main camp last season, + last years 1st round pick)

Gabe Bast -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 5'8", 145 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Cole Bjugson -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 6'0", 190 lb, 2013-14 age: 18

Matt Bradley -- Acquired: 2012 2nd round bantam pick
Center, 5'9", 147 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Todd Bredo -- Acquired: 2012 10th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'2", 168 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Mendell Dubuisson -- Acquired: 2012 6th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 6", 150 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Mitchell Dyck -- Acquired: 2012 6th round bantam pick
Defense, 6'0", 184 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Samuel Fejes -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 6'1", 190 lb, 2013-14 age: 19

Jake Fletcher -- Acquired: 2012 9th round bantam pick
Left Wing, 5'8", 155 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Bradley Forrest -- Acquired: 2012 8th round bantam pick
Defense, 5'9", 135 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Brennan Hunker** -- Acquired: 2010 2nd round bantam pick
Defense, 6'1", 200 lb, 2013-14 age: 18

Dennis Kravchenko -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'7", 155 lb, 2013-14 age: 19
Kravchenko has committed to NCAA Vermont for 2013-14

Josh McCulloch -- Acquired: 2011 8th round bantam pick
Center, 5'8", 155 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Riley Morris -- Acquired: 2012 7th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 5'10", 157 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Nathan Mortlock** -- Acquired: 2011 4th round bantam pick
Defense, 5'10", 150 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Alex Mowbray** -- Acquired: 2011 4th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 5'11", 174 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Zac Robidoux** -- Acquired: 2011 6th round bantam pick
Goaltender, 6'2", 195 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Ty Schultz** -- Acquired: 2012 1st round bantam pick
Defense, 6'0", 160 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Justin Szeto -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 5'9", 150 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Joseph Tambasco -- Acquired: listed player
Defense, 5'6", 160 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Brayden Uhrich -- Acquired: 2012 11th round bantam pick
Right Wing, 5'9", 160 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

James Wade -- Acquired: listed player
Right Wing, 5'11", 167 lb, 2013-14 age: 18

Keelan Williams** -- Acquired: listed player
Goaltender, 6'0", 150 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Ryley Wozniak -- Acquired: listed player
Center, 5'9", 165 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Jordan Xavier -- Acquired: 2012 5th round bantam pick
Center, 5'8", 134 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Justin Young -- Acquired: 2012 7th round bantam pick
Center, 5'11", 152 lb, 2013-14 age: 16

Sam Young -- Acquired: listed player
Left Wing, 5'10", 174 lb, 2013-14 age: 17

Bo Didur--Acquired: Listed player
Goaltender, 5'9'',154 lb, 2013-2014 age: 16

Connor Hobbs--Aquired: Trade with PA
Defenseman,  5'11'', 170lb, 2013-2014 age: 16  

Scott Allan--Aquired: listed player
Defense, 6'5''. 195 lb, 2013-14 age:17  

Tommy Vannelli-- Acquired: Listed Player
 Defense, 6'2'', 170 lb, 2013-14 age:
-Commitment to play for Minnesota Gophers

Daniel Hanson --Aquired: CHL Import Draft Defense  
Defense 2013-14 age: 18

Mark Rassell -- Aquired: Listed
Forward, 5'10'. 128 lb 2013-14 age: 16