Dave Cameron stays as steady hand of Ottawa 67’s

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As he deals with the uncertainty of Wednesday’s Ontario Hockey League draft lottery for the first time in his eight years as general manager of the Ottawa 67’s, James Boyd has the utmost confidence in the man who will be guiding the team from behind the bench going forward.

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For a fifth season, that will be Dave Cameron.

“Dave is the coach of our team,” Boyd said over the phone Tuesday afternoon while on a scouting mission at the OHL Cup in Toronto. “He’s still under contract, and he’s excited to come back. That should answer that question.”

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Debate as you will, but it’s the right choice.

Cameron, at a very young 66 years of age, has not suddenly lost his expertise or his ability to do the job.

Along with his seven seasons as an NHL coach, his list of credentials includes five international medals, including three from the world junior hockey championships.

As recently as 2022-23, he was named the Canadian Hockey League coach of the year after guiding the 67’s to a record 51 wins.

Beaten to death are the reasons that, under Cameron, Canada didn’t make it to the medal round of this year’s WJC. But it’s wrong and unfair to pin that on the coach – just as it is to blame him for the 67’s 24-34-10 record this season that left them four points from a playoff spot.

“It was a development year for our team,” said Boyd. “At the start of the year, we thought qualifying for the playoffs was a possibility, and that was our goal. When I look back on the season, our team was a couple of games above .500 around mid-December; we had some ups and downs, but we were trending in the right direction. And then Dave left to go to the World Juniors and had that experience, and then the trade deadline came quickly. In the second half of the season, just by the composition of our team, and having some key roles with younger players and developing players, and with some injuries to some key players … an unusual number of injuries in the second half … we didn’t come up with the right number of points to qualify for the playoffs.

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“But right up until the final game of the season, we were within striking distance,” added Boyd. “I think our team is very well prepared, and they work hard, and they play as a team, and I think that’s a reflection of the coaching staff.

“I think the coaches did a good job. Our team is headed in the right direction.”

There’s no denying the impact of the injuries. For two games down the stretch, the 67’s were forced to go with 15 skaters.

“There was a stretch in February where we lost Cooper Foster and Jack Dever, and we were also without Nick Whitehead for a stretch,” said Boyd. “That’s our top three centres at the time. I don’t know that there’s a team that can absorb that.”

The 67’s were also hit by the injury bug on the backend.

“Kohyn Eshkawkogan was our rookie of year and a huge loss for us,” continued Body. “And (trade deadline acquisition) Nolan Jackson played some real steady minutes … we really missed Nolan with a combination of a knee injury and mononucleosis. Having Nolan back in the lineup and adding Ryan White, who was a little bit later coming back than we would have expected from an injury … those are three defencemen and two or three key players on your team at key positions.

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“We struggled for sure, but I thought we remained competitive there. Game in and game out, we certainly saw the effort. Not to make an excuse for our record, but any insinuation that it’s a reflection of the coaching is just not accurate.”

By finishing 16th overall, the 67’s will have two of 20 balls in the lottery drum. The last-place Peterbourgh Petes get eight, while the Guelph Storm get six and the Sarnia Sting get four.

The 67’s will have no worse than the fourth pick in the draft, which will be held April 11-12.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Boyd said of the lottery. “Mixed emotions really. You end up being eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday and on Monday you’re thinking about a draft lottery and what the possibilities could be at the top of the draft. So it’s a different type of feeling, something we haven’t been through here in our time in Ottawa. We’re going to get a player that we’re excited about, no matter what, but it’s exciting to go through the process.”

Asked if he’s feeling lucky, Boyd replied: ” I don’t gamble, but I kind of been forced to here. And you know what? I think it’s exciting.”

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However it pans out, Boyd will take the best player available rather than focusing on a specific position.

Among the possibilities is Aleks Kulemin, the 16-year-old son of former Toronto Maple Leaf and New York Islander Nikolay Kulemin.

“I don’t know if most people would have him in the discussion for first overall, but he’s a good player,” said Boyd. “He’s really elevated his game in the playoffs playing for Don Mills, he’s been really good down the stretch. I think he played last year in Russia, and then he joined Don Mills, and he’s gotten better as the season went along. But he’s a big guy, and he’s got poise with the puck.

“I think most people would agree there’s not a Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby in this draft, but there are some really good players at the top. Whether you like a centre or a winger or defenceman,  I think there are teams at the top of the draft that are going to be really excited about their pick.”

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