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Plymouth Whalers aim for a crown: OHL Burning Questions

With the OHL season beginning Thursday, BTN is taking an early look at each team in reverse order of last season's standings.

Plymouth Whalers

In 2011-12 — 47-18-2-1, 97 points; second, Western Conference. Lost 4-3 to Kitchener Rangers in second round.

Final Dynamic Dozen ranking — third OHL, eighth CHL.

Drafted — LW Stefan Noesen (Ottawa Senators, first round), LW J.T. Miller (New York Rangers, first, selected from the U.S. under-18 team), RW Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals, first), C Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks, first), LW Mitchell Heard (Colorado Avalanche, second; eligible for AHL), RW Garrett Meurs (Colorado, fifth), D Connor Carrick (Washington, fifth, selected from the U.S. under-18 team), LW Cody Payne (Boston Bruins, fifth), G Matt Mahalak (Carolina Hurricanes, sixth), D Gianluca Curcuruto (Columbus Blue Jackets, seventh, from the Soo Greyhounds).

Draft watch — RW Ryan Hartman, a U.S. national team development program grad who turns 18 on Thursday, is a possible top-60 pick (conservative estimate). Fellow Illinois native Danny Vanderwiel, 17, filled in well by times last season when the Whalers were short-staffed in the forward lines.

1. What was spring's first-round scare vs. Guelph and subsequent second-round exit indicative of?

It could have been, to quote Homer (Simpson, not the Iliad guy), "Just a lot of stuff that happened." Plymouth was pegged for a deep playoff run but never seemed quite as fluid as it did during its 97-point regular season. Perhaps the fog of high expectations obscured that they didn't have great competition within the West Division, where they went 20-3-1-1 as opposed to a still very good 27-15-1-0 against the rest of the league. Noesen going out with injury during the eventual seven-game loss to the Kitchener Rangers also hurt immensely.

Plymouth, whose entire top six could consist of top-60 NHL picks depending on when Hartman hears his name in June, should score somewhere in the range of its output of 275 from last season. Carolina draft Austin Levi and 'Canes free-agent signing Beau Schmitz are significant losses on the defensive end, but Carrick should prove to be a good reinforcement once he's acclimatized to the league. Four defencemen are 19 or older, so it's an experienced if not star-studded cast on the blue line.

2. How do they handle the graduation of Team Canada goalie Scott Wedgewood?

Potential very well, considering that Mahalak had better rate stats as the No. 2 goalie (2.66 average, .923 save percentage) than his netminding partner (3.02, .911) did last season. To be halfway intellectually honest, that was skewed by quality of opposition and the fact Mahalak's numbers were goosed since his starts while Wedgewood was off with Team Canada came against some teams that were weakened by also losing players to international assignments. Still, it's a luxury to have an accomplished 19-year-old netminder in place. Under coach-GM Mike Vellucci, the Whalers typically have good continuity in the cord cottage. Small wonder they never miss the playoffs.

3. May we pencil them in to play Kitchener in the playoffs for the third year in a row?

Vellucci and coaching rival Steve Spott of the championship-minded Rangers have matched lines and wits in seven-game series in successive springs. Kitchener won on Whalers ice in Game 7 of Round 2 last April, avenging their own home-ice loss in the first round last season. One might as well be out and front by expecting it to happen again, either in the second round again or in the conference final.

Noesen, after dominating the first-round series vs. Guelph with 14 points in six games, was limited to just a single goal-less appearance in the series against the Rangers due to injury.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.