Now that teams are making their last picks, I think it's time to get this started.
Post your rosters in the thread and do a couple reviews on other teams.
Assassinations Received:
3 x Dreakmur – McGuire’s Monsters
3 x Velociraptor – Cleveland Barons
2.5 x EagleBelfour – Detroit Falcons
4.5 x Mr Bugg – Kimberly Dynamiters
2 x BraveCanadien – Guelph Platers
3 x ReenMachine – Montreal Canadiens
2 x Nalyd Psycho – Minnesota Fighting Saints
4.5 x Monster_Bertuzzi – Vancouver Millionaires
2 x Billy_Shoe – Philadelphia Firebirds
1.5 x Nik Jr – Helsinki Jokerit
2.5 x Dwight – Battle Creek Battalion
3 x Cognition – San Jose Sharks
2.5 x MadArcand – Hartford Whalers
Hedberg – Tidewater Sharks
3.5 x LeafsFoever – Toronto St. Pats
3 x Modo – Dawson City Nuggets
2 x DaveG – Garnish Phantoms
2 x Jkrx – Winnipeg Falcons
2 x Boy Wonder – North Pole Penguinators
1.5 x Vecens – Inglewood Jacks
2 x MXD - Montreal AAA Hockey Club
DoMakc – Detroit Red Wings
Markrander - Cincinnati Fireworks
2 x Stoneberg – Halifax Mooseheads
3 x TheDevilMadeMe – New Jersey Swamp Devils
2 x Overpass – Ottawa Senators
2 x Raleh – Springfield Indians
JustOneOfTheGuys – Vancouver Velocity
3 x Papershoes – Kenora Thistles
Zamboni Mania – New Haven Nighthawks
BM67 – Peterborough Petes
JRFA – Pittsburgh Bankers
The Sabre – Portland Pirates
2 x HHH – Vancouver Maroons
2 xSturminator - Gwinnet Gladiators
1.5 x Seventieslord - Regina Pats
HomeNugget - Detroit Riots
2 x Reds4Life - Chicago Steelers
LeafLander - Toronto Maple Leafs
Assassinations Given:
14 x LeafsForever
2 x MXD
14 x TheDevilMadeMe
2 x Dreakmur
Sturminator
2 x Mr Bugg
1 x DoMakc
2 x Dwight
8 x Velociraptor
ReenMachine
7 x Billy_Shoe
DaveG
6 x Nik Jr
2 x Monster_Bertuzzi
JustOneOfTheGuys
2 x Overpass
EagleBelfour
2 x TonyD
7 x Vecens
2 x BraveCanadien
1.5 x vancityluongo
JohnnyD
Hedberg
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville Assistant Coach: Marc Crawford
Roy Conacher-Syl Apps Sr.-Gordie Drillon Keith Tkachuk-Dale Hawerchuk-Billy Boucher Frank "Pud" Glass-Ernie Russell-Bruce Stuart Wayne Merrick-Ryan Kesler-Ron Stewart
GM: Dwight
Coach: Boris Kulagin
Captain: Mario Lemieux
Alternate Captains: Boris Mikhailov, Jim Schoenfeld
Paul Kariya - Mario Lemieux - Boris Mikhailov
Vsevolod Bobrov - Bernie Federko - Harry Oliver
Gilles Tremblay - Bob Bourne - Gary Dornhoefer
Bob Davidson - Ray Getliffe - Marcel Bonin
Don Grosso - Bronco Horvath
Lionel Conacher - Jan Suchy
Jim Schoenfeld - Andrei Markov
Petr Svoboda - Stefan Persson
Doug Jarrett - Bruce Driver
Hap Holmes
Tomas Vokoun
PP1
Paul Kariya - Mario Lemieux - Boris Mikhailov
Jan Suchy - Stefan Persson
PP2
Vsevolod Bobrov - Bernie Federko - Harry Oliver
Lionel Conacher - Andrei Markov
PK1
Bob Davidson - Bob Bourne
Lionel Conacher - Jim Schoenfeld
PK2
Gilles Tremblay - Ray Getliffe
Jan Suchy - Petr Svoboda
PK3
Mario Lemieux - Boris Mikhailov
Lionel Conacher - Jan Suchy
Hero Line
Vsevolod Bobrov - Mario Lemieux - Boris Mikhailov
Lionel Conacher - Jan Suchy
Steve Shutt-Howie Morenz-Daniel Briere
John Leclair-Eric Lindros-Kenny Wharram
John Tonelli-Walt Tkazkuc-Bobby Schmautz
Tomas Holmstrom-Kris Draper-Adam Deadmarsh
Flash Hollett-Tim Horton
Ebbie Goodfellow-Keith Magnusson
Roman Hamrlik-Robert Svehla
Head Coach: Harry Sinden
Defense Coach: Jacque Laperrière
Captain: Wayne Gretzky
Assistant: Nicklas Lidstrom
Assistant: Lanny McDonald
ROSTER
#16 Patrik Elias - #99 Wayne Gretzky - #9 Lanny McDonald
#17 Wendel Clark - #18 Denis Savard - #19 Jean Pronovost
#2 Louis Berlinquette - #11 Steve Kasper - #17 Mike Foligno
#14 Geoff Courtnall - #15 Billy Reay - #27 Alex Kovalev
Spares: #10 Barry Pederson , #30 Chris Nilan
#5 Nicklas Lidstrom - #16 Vladimir Konstantinov
#20 Gary Suter - #20 Dallas Smith
#26 Dave Langevin - #34 Al Iafrate
Spares: #26 Mike Milbury
#1 Alec Connell
#35 Jean-Sébastien Giguère
PP1: Wayne Gretzky , Lanny McDonald , Alex Kovalev , Nicklas Lidstrom , Gary Suter
PP2: Denis Savard , Jean Pronovost , Patrick Elias , Al Iafrate , Vlad Konstantinov
PK1: Steve Kasper , Louis Berlinquette , Nicklas Lidstrom , Dallas Smith
PK2: Billy Reay , Mike Foligno , Vladimir Konstantinov , Dave Langevin
other F's who could get SHTOI: Muller, Stanley, Lemaire, Fairbairn
* takes faceoffs. Muller was a very good faceoff man, while Forsberg was not. i put Hull and Stasiuk in the middle on PP b/c they will be playing there: Stasiuk at the net, Hull in the slot.
Coach: Peter Laviolette
Assistant coach: Alf Smith
PP1: Busher Jackson - Joe Nieuwendyk - Bobby Clarke - Paul Reinhart - Börje Salming
PP2: Punch Broadbent - Erich Kühnhackl - Bill Mosienko - Herb Gardiner - Ott Heller
PK1: Bobby Clarke - Punch Broadbent - Herb Gardiner - Börje Salming
PK2: Dave Trottier - Joel Otto - Glen Wesley - Ott Heller
1. LOOK TO REVIEW, NOT GET REVIEWED: We all like receiving reviews of our team, but too often people skim off on actually doing some reviewing, which is unfortunate. Everyone should be able to review some teams. They don't have to be big ones like some of us do, but we need to get more love spread around with reviews with a bigger draft.
You don't have toe review too many; I think everyone can review at least one full division.
2. USE YOUR BIOS: I think most people who use bios do this already, but make sure you link the bios in someway when you make a roster post here. It is doubtful everyone will have an idea of all the players on your team, and having an easy-link to info on an unfamiliar player is very helpful for reviewers.
3. SPECIAL TEAMS: Most people also do this, but just make sure to post some form of special teams as well. I get annoyed when I review a team without them They're an impoirtant part of the game that should have attention put to them.
4. HAVE A THICK SKIN: No one is going to like every aspect of your team; don't be overly upset hwen people point out weaknesses. You can defend your team, but don't do so in an inappropiate manner.
5. SPARES ARE IMPORTANT TOO: This is more on reviewers, but spares shouldn't just be ignored because they WILL get a fair amount of ice-time. Having good call-ups is crucial to a good team. For a more modern example, where would Toronto be this season without their call-up goalie?
Power Play #1
Alf Smith - Norm Ullman - Andy Bathgate
Ray Bourque - Pat Egan
Power Play #2
Fred Stanfield - Tommy Dunderdale - Peter McNab
Hod Stuart - Jack Marshall
Penalty Kill #1
Pete Mahovlich - Andy Hebenton
Ray Bourque - Ted Green
Penalty Kill #2
Edgar Laprade - Fred Stanfield
Hod Stuart - Ken Randall
Panalty Kill Extras
Norm Ullman - Jack Marshall - Paul Haynes - Alf Smith
Let's start the fun!
Forwards
Top Line: Fairly upper-tier top line. Bathgate is elite, Ullman is pretty darn solid, and Alf Smith is a rather good glue guy. All the intangibles bases are pretty well covered; nicely done in insulating Bathgate who worked best with glue guys. I'll say the line seems a bit too bias towards playmaking for my tastes (Ullman pretty balanced, Bathgate and Smith towards playmaking), but it's still a pretty good line.
Second Line: Pretty decent. I like Dunderdale and Stanfield; they look like they'll work well together, and both seem pretty good for their roles. Marshall's a distinct third wheel, but he ups the intangibles nicely.
Third Line: Really like your third line. It's got some very sweet two-way punch, though again, too bias towards playmaking for my tastes. Still, that line's got all the intangibles covered and should do pretty well defensively.
Fourth Line: Definitely got more of an offensive fourth line; probably behind the curve on intangibles (Hamill is good with his toughness, but not so much Haynes and McNab due to support), though a ahead of the curve on offense with three guys who can contribute well. It's solid enough, though I'm no a fan of it and strikes me as a below-average overall. (Though Ill have to look around more; my head isn't use to the 40-teams factor in evaluation yet)
Overall impression: A pretty good group of forwards, though it's has its problems and some balance (in goalscoring-playmaking) issues. Offense, defense, and toughness all covered rather well.
Defense
Top Pairing: Who doesn't love Ray Bourque? Excellent #1. I love Ted Green, who is a great #3 in my mind (though playing on your top pair). A pretty solid pairing that provides plenty of everything.
Second Pairing: It's hard to look at Stuart's dominance and not consider him at least a good number two. He's very good in his role. I'm not sure on such an offensive guy like Egan paired up with him, but Egan is a pretty good #4 in a 40-team draft.
Third Pairing: You've got a very good top-4, so I suppose you'd be alright making the bottom pairing you did, but I'll still say it strikes me as on the poorer side. Both Buller and Randall are fine all-around D-men, but both strike me as in the lower tier for their roles as defensemen.
Overall: An excellent top-4 with some pretty good chemistry. Bad third-pair, but still a darn good defense overall.
Coaching, Goaltending, and Spares
-Goaltending: Tretiak is, of course, a pretty good goalie and can be argued as the best after the "big-7" (8 if you count Benedict). Richter is a very nice backup for him. Good goaltending all-in-all.
-Coaching: I like that you went with an assistant coach for Chernyshev since he's on the below-average side of coaching, though with Pilous it's hard to tell how well he really compliments him. A sound though still likely below-average coaching duo.
-Spares: All tree seem to be pretty good players, though kind of lack versatility outside of Shuvalov, which is a certain minus.
Special Teams
-You've got a pretty damn good powerplay1 between the likes of Bathgate, Bourque, Egan, and Ullman. All four are good to excellent in their roles, and Smith provides some good net-corner work.
-Your second PP unit it rather less unspectacular; Stuart's a great quartback here, and Dunderale a great goalscorer,but Mcnab and Marshall seem kind of lacking for their positions.
-I don't like your top unit PK forwards, but Bourque-Green helps bring them up by being excellent as a top PK duo.
-A bit of a reversal on your second unit' I rather like the two-way (though too playmaking bias again) of Laprade-Standfield on the second unit. Stuart is pretty solid as a second PKer, but Randall doesn;t impress me too much in that role.
-Outside of Ullman, can't say I like your PK spares much. Haynes has one good quote; Marshall is unspectacular; and Smith, though he's got the reputation as one, lacks good info on his defensive abilities.
Overall Special Teams: Great top PP, solid second PP, and then a rather medocre PK overall. Good, but far from great, in the special teams area.
----
Overall Team: An Excellent top-4 and top line, as well as good goaltending are likely the staples of this team. Fairly balanced, or as balanced as you can get in this draft, and a pretty good job of avoiding weaknesses, though there is some in the bottom line, pairing, and special teams. A very good entry all in all.
GMs: Hedberg and vancityluongo
Coach: Tommy Gorman
Sweeney Schriner - Max Bentley - Larry Aurie (A)
Bill Barber - Pat Lafontaine (A) - Alexander Mogilny
Craig Ramsay - Troy Murray - Jimmy Peters
Fred Scanlan - Keith Primeau - Corey Perry
Harry Trihey - Art Farrell
Chris Chelios (C) - Marcel Pronovost
Craig Hartsburg - Ted Harris
Steve Duchesne - Howard McNamara
Mattias Norstrom - Harold Halderson
Roy Worters
Paddy Moran
PP1:
Bill Barber - Pat Lafontaine - Alexander Mogilny
Max Bentley - Chris Chelios
PP2:
Sweeney Schriner - Keith Primeau - Larry Aurie
Marcel Pronovost - Steve Duchesne
I'll be doing a few tonight... or that's the plan anyway!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafs Forever
Forwards
Top Line: Fairly upper-tier top line. Bathgate is elite, Ullman is pretty darn solid, and Alf Smith is a rather good glue guy. All the intangibles bases are pretty well covered; nicely done in insulating Bathgate who worked best with glue guys. I'll say the line seems a bit too bias towards playmaking for my tastes (Ullman pretty balanced, Bathgate and Smith towards playmaking), but it's still a pretty good line.
While Bathgate was a better playmaker than he was a goal scorer, he was still on heck of a goal scorer. I'm not sure why he gets labelled as a playmaker only.
Over his 5 year peak, he was 2nd in goals and 5th in goals per game. That put him behind only Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull, and Frank Mahovlich.
Over his 10 year peak, he was 3rd in goals and 8th in goals pe game. That put him behind the above 4 as well as Bernie Geoffrion, Maurice Richard, and Camile Henry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafs Forever
Second Line: Pretty decent. I like Dunderdale and Stanfield; they look like they'll work well together, and both seem pretty good for their roles. Marshall's a distinct third wheel, but he ups the intangibles nicely.
Have I ever built a team with a good second line?
Not sure why Marhsall is a third wheel. I think he's a better player than Stanfield.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafs Forever
Third Line: Really like your third line. It's got some very sweet two-way punch, though again, too bias towards playmaking for my tastes. Still, that line's got all the intangibles covered and should do pretty well defensively.
Do you have "1 playmaker per line" rule or something?
Mahovlich can pass and score.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafs Forever
Defense
Top Pairing: Who doesn't love Ray Bourque? Excellent #1. I love Ted Green, who is a great #3 in my mind (though playing on your top pair). A pretty solid pairing that provides plenty of everything.
I'm glad Ted Green is a good #3, because Stuart is my #2.
Obviously Bourque will be playing a lot more minutes than Green. I just have them paired here because that's how the roster us supposed to be posted
Keep in mind that there are going to be 80 top pairing defensemen in this draft. You don't think Ted Green is a top-80 defenseman?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafs Forever
Second Pairing: It's hard to look at Stuart's dominance and not consider him at least a good number two. He's very good in his role. I'm not sure on such an offensive guy like Egan paired up with him, but Egan is a pretty good #4 in a 40-team draft.
Stuart, like Bourque, provided offense without saacrificing defensively. They shouldn't have any problem playing with any kind of partner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafs Forever
Overall Team: An Excellent top-4 and top line, as well as good goaltending are likely the staples of this team. Fairly balanced, or as balanced as you can get in this draft, and a pretty good job of avoiding weaknesses, though there is some in the bottom line, pairing, and special teams. A very good entry all in all.
That's exactly how I tried to build my team.
There's no way to avoid weaknesses in a draft this big, but I think I limited my weaknesses to less important areas.
I think Ullman/Bathgate is a fantastic pair with great chemistry. Both men can score or pass, with Bathgate more of a passer for a wing and Ullman more of a goal scorer for a center. Alf Smith is a physical beast who can work the corners. I don't think he has first line talent really, but he'll definitely open up room for his more talented linemates. I realize Smith looks good if you take those reconstructed assists seriously, but given anecdotes about his style of play, how many of them were just him digging the puck out of the corner, passing to Frank McGee or Marty Walsh, and letting them do all the work to score?
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Not sure why Marhsall is a third wheel. I think he's a better player than Stanfield.
Perhaps, but Dunderdale is definitely the centerpiece of the line, and Stanfield really suits his style of play. Any line with Dunderdale (and his very high goals/assists ratio even for the era) really should be a "get he puck to Dunderdale and let him do the rest) and I'm not sure how good Marshall is at doing that.
Quote:
Do you have "1 playmaker per line" rule or something?
Heh.
Quote:
Obviously Bourque will be playing a lot more minutes than Green. I just have them paired here because that's how the roster us supposed to be posted
Keep in mind that there are going to be 80 top pairing defensemen in this draft. You don't think Ted Green is a top-80 defenseman?
Ted Green was the #4 on my championship team last year. I don't think he's a Top 80 defenseman, or even particular close. The 50th best defenseman of all time is Chara/Flaman territory, and Green is quite a bit worse than them.
Quote:
Stuart, like Bourque, provided offense without saacrificing defensively. They shouldn't have any problem playing with any kind of partner.
Perhaps. Egan is likely quite poor defensively for a top 4 guy though.
Quote:
There's no way to avoid weaknesses in a draft this big, but I think I limited my weaknesses to less important areas.
Agree 100% with the bolded. My reviews are going to be a lot harsher than last time, because every team has more holes with talent stretched this thin.
I think Ullman/Bathgate is a fantastic pair with great chemistry. Both men can score or pass, with Bathgate more of a passer for a wing and Ullman more of a goal scorer for a center. Alf Smith is a physical beast who can work the corners. I don't think he has first line talent really, but he'll definitely open up room for his more talented linemates. I realize Smith looks good if you take those reconstructed assists seriously, but given anecdotes about his style of play, how many of them were just him digging the puck out of the corner, passing to Frank McGee or Marty Walsh, and letting them do all the work to score?
Even if that's the case, it would make him similar to Bert Olmstead. I'll take that.
Also, that's what he'll be doing here anyway
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDevilMadeMe
Perhaps, but Dunderdale is definitely the centerpiece of the line, and Stanfield really suits his style of play. Any line with Dunderdale (and his very high goals/assists ratio even for the era) really should be a "get he puck to Dunderdale and let him do the rest) and I'm not sure how good Marshall is at doing that.
Dunderdale is definately the line's primary weapon, but it's not like he's Pavel Bure or anything.
Marshall is pretty good at everything, and that includes passing, so he can help get Dunderdale the puck, if you think that's what the line needs to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDevilMadeMe
Ted Green was the #4 on my championship team last year. I don't think he's a Top 80 defenseman, or even particular close. The 50th best defenseman of all time is Chara/Flaman territory, and Green is quite a bit worse than them.
Perhaps - I haven't really counted them all out.
I just look at Green 5 consecutive years as a top-10 defenseman before he broke his head and think that's pretty good...
As I said before, Hod Stuart is my #2 anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDevilMadeMe
Perhaps. Egan is likely quite poor defensively for a top 4 guy though.
I still haven't seen anything to actually substantiate the assumption that Egan was bad defensively... and I looked for it myself.
When I picked him, I actually tried to find out why his all-stars don't match his scoring stats. I only found one newspeper article that mentioned one bad defensive play. I also tried to see how much he played forward, and it was basically none.
I think Egan, and Green too for that matter, lost a lot of all-star recognition just because of his reputations as fighters/intimidators.
I'll back to edit Dahlstrom and Keenan's bios, as well as my last spare.
- The first line is... well, sometimes, it just won't work. Names-wise, it's okay (the sum of your guys is 1st line caliber), but you won't have many ways to score goals, and while the Godfather will have two good "Dons" to dig out pucks, chances are, the Dons would be more likely to shoot than anything else. I just can't see this line succeed in any other way than "shoot the puck and jump on rebounds". It might also be one of the slowest first lines.
- The second line is shooter-heavy as well, with the bigger "playmaker" (as in, pass bias) is probably Loob. Not that Maltsev and Robitaille can't pass : it's just that it wasn't exactly their first reflex. Robitaille could be inserted on the 1st line, but you'd lose the two Don aspects... and lose toughness that you already have (but get a much better goalscorer, which you don'T really need... on both lines). All in all, I advise against swapping Hadfield and Robitaille.
- I'd advise swapping Morrow and Hadfield : in the grand scheme of things, Morrow is a better offensive player than Hadfield. But not convinced of Hadfield's relevance as a 3rd liner, so it's pretty much a moot point. Somebody might have a better idea than me. Anyways -- what I said about the first two lines remain : you're 3rd line is shooter heavy. All of your guys can play in the tight, which is a good thing (Pulford is certainly adequate as a playmaker, though I can't tell how adequate he is as a playmaking center -- drafted the guy for LW purposes. Somebody can answer this question better than I).
- Walter, Maruk and Sutter makes for an awesome 4th line. Don't give them too much icetime against top lines : I don't trust Maruk against top lines with wingers who aren't that skilled at puck control (not that they were particularily bad at this, but none of Sutter and Walter were bona-fide 1st line material as far as skill is concerned), which mean they COULD get burned if they end up matched against a really skilled line, but as far as offensively potent bottom lines are concerned, they're good to go.
- Cully Dalhstrom is a terrific checker that should have been a regular. Doesn't bring much aside from checking. For a pure checking line (if you want it), Pulford - Dalhstrom - Sutter or Goldie could certainly manage it (if needed). It's sad that Patrick Kane doesn't have two more seasons under its belt : would have made an awesome job at feeding pucks on the Top-6. He needs to be a sub due to an incomplete resume, but if you ever end up with a defense built a bit like yours (double tough), Kane could be very useful.
All in all, an offense that's somewhat unidimensional that could really get into problems against some teams and that will rely on shooting, grinding and shooting.
- Rags and Cleghorne is a pairing with a bona-fide #1 and a bona-fide #2... in a 28 team draft. Will be hard to play against, and you'll like Cleghorn rushes, especially the way your offense is configured.
- Plager and Beck is tough. Tough. Real tough (not that Plager is ultra-tough, but he won't let up). I need to have a better look at all the teams to know how they measure, but getting in your d-zone won't be easy. Puck controlling (more like rushing) is a possible issue.
- Ashbee is reliable and Turnbull will bring offense AND rushing that you really need. Nice 3rd pairing who's better than the sum of its parts.
- Kronwall is a good sub, perfectly appropriate to take the spot of every guy that could go down (except Cleghorn...) for a short period, and he really isn't far below Ashbee : one might even wonder if he passed Ashbee at this point.
All in all, one of the toughest defensive group, molded after its ace.
- Tiny Thompson is a middle of the pack starter in this draft (... and upper of the pack in the season). Peeters is one of those guys who cannot be described as consistent, but whose career, as a whole, makes him a good backup.
- PP is basically like your offense, but you might get better results at the shoot-grind-shoot thing, due to the puck being mostly in your offensive zone. Less reliance on Cleghorn (not that Cleghorn isn't reliable, but there's only so many minutes he can play) will help you as well. That powerplay will work.
- Cam Neely on the 1st PK wave? There's only so much minutes he can play, and you're having him on 1st-everything. I'd consider giving a shot to Sutter. Not that Sutter is an elite 1st pair PK'er ATD-wise, but I consider him better than Neely in that regards (unless somebody proves me otherwise).
- You might consider give some time to Barry Ashbee on the PK : Cleghorn is good, but I see him as so crucial to your offensive game (especially at 5-on-5) that I wouldn't give him some 70% of PK time.
- As a complete sidenote : if my memory doesn't fail as much as hockey-reference do at this point, Hakan Loob is 4th of all-time for SHG in playoffs (and is 1st all-time amongst non-Edmonton Oilers), and while I haven't calculated this, he's probably 1st of all time in SHG/G as well amongst players with a sizeable amount of games played (the other possible candidate is Derek Sanderson). Granted, that's only 8 goals in 73 games, but it took 200 games for Jari Kurri to reach 10 goals, and the all-time leader in playoffs SHG is Mark Messier, with 14 in 238 games. (the all-time 2nd is #99 with 11 in 208 games). That's pretty useful info that you can certainly use
- All in all, your PK will be elite from 20 feet of Tiny or Pete. Pulford is terrific as well. The reminder is not bad, but in the close, you'll be tough.
- I hate Mike Keenan so I'll restrain from any commentary (at least, I'm honest about it).
- OVERALL : Special teams are crucial, not as much as Mr. Cleghorn. Not a nice team to face, even if they might fall flat on their face here and there or get burned by quicker teams. Even when losing, playing your team won't be fun.
Even if that's the case, it would make him similar to Bert Olmstead. I'll take that.
Also, that's what he'll be doing here anyway
I think a "lesser version" of Bert Olmstead is a good description of Alf Smith. How much lesser is the big question, of course.
Quote:
I still haven't seen anything to actually substantiate the assumption that Egan was bad defensively... and I looked for it myself.
When I picked him, I actually tried to find out why his all-stars don't match his scoring stats. I only found one newspeper article that mentioned one bad defensive play. I also tried to see how much he played forward, and it was basically none.
When I first started this, I thought no evidence either way meant a player was average. Now that I see how easy it is to find evidence (especially in google archives), the only rational conclusion is the if there is no evidence of a player being good defensively/tough/whatever, then he must not be very good at that aspect of the game.
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I think Egan, and Green too for that matter, lost a lot of all-star recognition just because of his reputations as fighters/intimidators.
It's quite possible. The same would apply to Babe Pratt, as well. But there is a lot of information about how good Pratt was in his own zone that I haven't seen for Egan. Also, Egan is not in the Hall of Fame (not that that's the be-all end-all, but it's something).
(I still think Pratt was probably prone to wandering too much in the neutral zone going for the big hit or to create offense, like Rob Blake. But he was apparently a monster in his own zone much like Blake. Lesser Rob Blake is what Babe Pratt is, okay done talking about my own team when I should be talking about yours).
On my goalscoring vs playmaking, I basically like to see a more or less good balance between goalscoring finishes and playmaking finishes across the line in most cases. From that sense, Bathgate is certainly bias towards playmaking, even if he is also a great goalscorer, and from that sense, I saw some imbalance in your 1st and 3rd lines.
On Stuart-Egan: (And I did know Stuart was your #2) Yes, Stuart's got the well rounded game, just think it might be better to have a less-offensively inclinced guy as Stuart should carry most of the load offensively on a second pairing. As for Egan's defense, I do think we have to count AST voting against his defense.
Actually, picturing Sutter playing the PK is quite easy. Neely... not so much (not to mention the fact he's overplayed).
I always thought of Duane as more of an elite grinder than a defensive guy. I don't have any of those ice time tables since my hard drive crashed, but hockey reference has Duane Sutter with zero career shorthanded goals.
I think a "lesser version" of Bert Olmstead is a good description of Alf Smith. How much lesser is the big question, of course.
I would think it's not much. Smith actually scored goals at a decent rate as well.
Also, don't forget Smith didn't play hockey from ages 24 to 32.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDevilMadeMe
When I first started this, I thought no evidence either way meant a player was average. Now that I see how easy it is to find evidence (especially in google archives), the only rational conclusion is the if there is no evidence of a player being good defensively/tough/whatever, then he must not be very good at that aspect of the game.
I disagree.... but I provided some evidence that he was good defensively in his bio.
"With his hard-hitting, rambunctious style, he became an all around solid presence. He was unforgiving with his physical play in his own zone."
"Egan’s defensive play was as impressive as his sniping."
"Egan long has been noted principally as a hard hitter and solid blocker..."
They're an impoirtant part of the game that should have attention put to them.
