ATD 2023 Assassination Thread - Foster Hewitt Division

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@Sturminator @Bogart @Dr Pepper @tony d @Johnny Engine @spitsfan24

Please post your rosters here for review.

We will keep assassinations open for 2 weeks at least, through 03/20.

Thanks!

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[Dr Pepper]

Coach: Joel Quenneville

Bo. Hull - Nighbor (C) - Provost
Phillips (A) - Lalonde (A) - Alf
Noble - Hooley - Toppazzini
Shutt - Peca - M. Tkachuk

C Primeau (L), RW Dino C. (R)

Quackenbush - Seibert
Gardiner - Zubov
Pratt - Desjardins

Mark Tinordi (L)

Broda
Worsley

Power Play

Bo. Hull - LaLonde - Alf - Quackenbush - Zubov

Phillips - Noble - Hooley - Pratt - Desjardins

Penalty Kill

Nighbor - Provost - Gardiner - Seibert

Peca - Toppazzini - Pratt - Desjardins

 

[tony d]

Brantford Alexanders

Coach: Glen Sather

Captain: Doug Gilmour
Alternates: Rod Langway, Bryan Hextall

Valeri Kharlamov-Howie Morenz-Bryan Hextall
Frank Mahovlich-Doug Gilmour-Theo Fleury
Dick Duff-Vladimir Petrov-Ziggy Palffy
Joe Klukay-Cooney Weiland-Ron Ellis

Paul Coffey-Rod Langway
Allan Stanley-Hod Stuart
Ryan Suter-Barry Beck

Grant Fuhr
Jiri Holecek

Special Teams:

PP 1: Valeri Kharlamov-Howie Morenz-Bryan Hextall-Paul Coffey-Ryan Suter
PP 2: Frank Mahovlich- Doug Gimour-Theo Fleury- Hod Stuart, Barry Beck

PK 1: Joe Klukay-Doug Gilmour, Rod Langway, Allan Stanley
PK 2: Conney Weiland-Ron Ellis-Ryan Suter, Barry Beck

Extras: Nathan MacKinnon, Rick Tocchet, Ott Heller

 

[Johnny Engine]

Windsor Spitfires

Coach: Tommy Gorman
Assistant Coach: Larry Robinson
Captain: Henri Richard
Alternate: Chris Chelios
Alternate: Scott Niedermayer

Dickie Moore - Henri Richard - Jaromir Jagr
Jamie Benn - Eric Lindros - Didier Pitre
Jack Walker - Ryan Getzlaf - Rick Middleton
Vinny Damphousse - John Madden - Rene Robert

Extra: Joe Nieuwendyk

Scott Niedermayer - Chris Chelios
Harry Howell - Erik Karlsson
Lennart Svedberg - Ted Green

Extra: Glen Harmon

Ed Belfour
Ed Giacomin

Power Play:
Eric Lindros
Didier Pitre - Dickie Moore - Jaromir Jagr
Erik Karlsson

Jamie Benn
Ryan Getzlaf - Rick Middleton - Scott Niedermayer
Chris Chelios​

Jagr plays most of the power play on the right side, but getting Niedermayer on towards the end allows us to reset with the first defense pair on the ice.

Penalty Kill:
Jack Walker - John Madden
Harry Howell - Chris Chelios

Vincent Damphousse - Rick Middleton
Scott Niedermayer - Ted Green

Last Minute With Lead:
Dickie Moore - Henri Richard - Jack Walker
Harry Howell - Chris Chelios

Goalie Pull:
Eric Lindros
Dickie Moore - Henri Richard - Jaromir Jagr
Didier Pitre - Erik Karlsson​

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

Coach: Joel Quenneville

Bo. Hull - Nighbor (C) - Provost
Phillips (A) - Lalonde (A) - Alf
Noble - Hooley - Toppazzini
Shutt - Peca - M. Tkachuk

C Primeau (L), RW Dino C. (R)

Quackenbush - Seibert
Gardiner - Zubov
Pratt - Desjardins

Mark Tinordi (L)

Broda
Worsley

Power Play

Bo. Hull - LaLonde - Alf - Quackenbush - Zubov

Phillips - Noble - Hooley - Pratt - Desjardins

Penalty Kill

Nighbor - Provost - Gardiner - Seibert

Peca - Toppazzini - Pratt - Desjardins

Prairie Scouting Service report on Trois-Rivières Lions

Like:
* B. Hull/Nighbor duet is inspired
* Lalonde is deluxe as a 2C
* Great blend of LHS/RHS personnel all throughout the lineup.

Not so sure about:
* Provost on Line #1
* Phillips with an "A"
* Zubov with even-strength minutes on a top-4 pairing

One of the things I noted about coach Quenneville is that the corner on his career turned when he started having disciplined personnel that had favorable Power Play For/Against ratios... and this squad will be suitable, except for possibly Alf Smith. I'd consider moving the 'A' from Phillips to Earl Seibert. That's an easy fix.

Speaking of easy fixes, I get that it's something of a "book play" to draft the Bobby Hull Kryptonite Claude Provost to keep him out of the hands of others... but must he be put on Line 1, where his pedestrian offense is a drag on the line? I even think it would be better to take the "secondary-position" hit on Hooley Smith to move him up top. He DID have real-life experience with Nighbor, albeit very early in his career.

Line #2 has the biggest Second-Line Beast Center in the Division, Lalonde... but then Lalonde always struck me as the sort that would be most productive with feeder Wingers. Tommy Phillips doesn't seem the sort- but then maybe Alf Smith plays that role in "digger" capacity. Barring that, perhaps Quackenbush or Zubov can jump the play- and then Phillips will (have to!) back-check like hell if caught out.

Depending upon what (ultimately) gets done with Provost, the third and 4th lines are a little bit harder to read. As I dig deeper into the particulars of small draft, the presence of a player like Reg Noble, a Forward who can be pressed into service on D, is a sneaky-valuable addition to any roster.

Pretty sure that at the end, Coach Quenneville will come up with a unified idea- and although the Coach wasn't the modern game's most indefatigable line-juggler, he did it frequently enough for the term "Q-blender" to become a phrase on the Home Board of the Hawks.

I look at the Defense- not just the Division- but your whole Conference- and there are just some killer D pairings out there. This team will lean on Seibert A LOT. Then again, the team also has several defensively-responsible Forwards, who will NEED to play a 200 foot game to mitigate the Offensive-oriented Defensemen getting significant minutes here.

You might have the best goaltending in the Division, or you might have the worst. I just don't think there a (literally!) 5 pucks worth of difference between the best starting Goaltender in-the-Division and the worst one, over the course of a season. Broda gets Playoff Cred- but that's a discussion best-reserved for The Playoffs.

It's difficult to see if there are a set of Forwards more suitable for Penalty-Kill in waves than the Forwards of The Lions. Penalty-Kill Ds might best be Seibert and whatever LD is freshest. Maybe Reg Noble could even take a turn back there(!) Power Play is not as easy to analyze- two of your better Power Play weapons are bench-riders. Maybe it then becomes a case of dressing them against the "dirtier" teams, and doing otherwise when calls figure to be more level.

I had a front-row seat to the construction of this squad, since Gimli had the adjacent draft-slot. I think the one memorable "G_ddammit!" moment was the Nighbor pick (Lidström-Nighbor would have been a Mensa-plus Hockey-IQ start)- so I saw how the team was coming together. step-by-step. I'll be interested in a follow-up-- seeing if Provost is re-assigned, and also seeing if more situationally-driven adjustments in the lineup can be considered.

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

Brantford Alexanders

Coach: Glen Sather

Captain: Doug Gilmour
Alternates: Rod Langway, Bryan Hextall

Valeri Kharlamov-Howie Morenz-Bryan Hextall
Frank Mahovlich-Doug Gilmour-Theo Fleury
Dick Duff-Vladimir Petrov-Ziggy Palffy
Joe Klukay-Cooney Weiland-Ron Ellis

Paul Coffey-Rod Langway
Allan Stanley-Hod Stuart
Ryan Suter-Barry Beck

Grant Fuhr
Jiri Holecek

Special Teams:

PP 1: Valeri Kharlamov-Howie Morenz-Bryan Hextall-Paul Coffey-Hod Stuart
PP 2: Frank Mahovlich- Doug Gimour-Theo Fleury- Ryan Suter, Allan Stanley

PK 1: Joe Klukay-Cooney Weiland, Rod Langway, Allan Stanley
PK 2: Doug Gilmour-Ron Ellis-Ryan Suter, Barry Beck

Extras: Nathan MacKinnon, Rick Tocchet, Ott Heller

Prairie Scouting Service Report on Brantford Alexanders

Like:
Scoring lines might be best in-Division
Talent down-the-lineup at Center
Defensive Depth

Not so sure about:
Defensive Zone minutes for Petrov and Weiland
Potential platoon-goaltending arrangement
Possibly playing half the game with nothing but LHSs on the ice

I think this is the first time I've ever reviewed a "tony d" production. Thanks for having your team available for review. The fact that your team is here for review puts you no worse than mid-pack, before we even start looking at the roster. Starting in the way we typically do takes us straight to the highlights-

Line #1: Kharlamov-Morenz-B. Hextall Sr. Although Kharlamov and Morenz both lean towards goal-scoring, and both like to bring the puck, they are both franchise-level fast and can finish opportunities created by the puck-carrier. I find Bryan Hextall a little over-valued in ATD... but he absolutely fits here. As far as making the operation work, I don't think you could ask for a better Coach than Sather to inaugurate the matter. I know that VMBM had recommended mating Petrov and Kharlamov- but that "re-work" would drop Gilmour to Line #3. I think the limited number of Center options for Mahovlich box you out of that proposal.
Line #2: Mahovlich-Gilmour-T. Fleury. Something a a puzzle-piece to fit a Center to Mahovlich, but Doug Gilmour fills the bill. Fleury WILL irritate, and can score, so Gilmour will have options in either direction. Gilmour, interestingly, doesn't have as many PiMs as I might have expected. Of course, Fleury will have PiMs, but that's part of the package.
Line #3: Dick Duff-Petrov-Palffy. A nice wrinkle that the "glue" Winger is on a different side than the glue Winger of Line #1. Petrov, of all the famous Soviet Centers, is the one that has the most uncertain defensive credentials. However, conventional thought on this matter is that he became more defensively cognizant over time. As much as Sather will help Line #1, I'm not sure Sather's the one to bring out the hidden checking-line mentality for a Petrov. Also (q.v.: my "not so sure" comment), it's another Line with all LHSs on it (like Line #1).
Line #4: Klukay-Weiland-R. Ellis: A line to spell the others- opinions vary on Weiland's defensive effectiveness- but needed PK credentials and Wing defense may be found here.

Defensive Pairing #1: Coffey-Langway. Did Langway ever play RD?! If not, inverting these players is the facile antidote. If one thinks that Coffey's the best Defenseman in the Division, then one would probably think this is the best pairing in the Division. At the least, Brantford doesn't have to back its way into comparison with any rival.
Defensive Pairing #2: Stanley-Hod Stuart. A pairing much like the first one, with an offensively-oriented RD mated to a stay-at-home LD. Talent and fit wise, one of the three best ones in the Conference.
Defensive Pairing #3: R. Suter-Beck. I think Ryan Suter is ATD-undervalued, and Barry Beck overvalued. Put them together, and it's a jobbing 3rd pairing.

Goaltending: Fuhr-Holecek. My mind's eye sees this as a Goalie-Tandem arrangement. It should work just fine in the Regular Season.

Leadership: strong provided that endorsed recommendations are applied.

Special Teams: Power Play #1 is quite strong at the expense of Power Play #2. I am so not feeling Stanley for Power Play time. There's gotta be a better way, right? Maybe Suter-Coffey for PP1 & Stuart-Beck for PP2. Hearkening back to what I said about LH-shots, I don't think all LHSs on PK#1 and 3/4 RHSs on PK #2 is the way to go, either. You have the personnel for the assignments- it just needs better allocation, I think. Sather's up to it. Switching Weiland & Gilmour seems the obvious start.

Depth Players: Palffy is injury-prone; so you have Tocchet in reserve to address that possibility. I envision MacKinnon as someone who can be more than the occasional fill-in for cold-and-flu season and injuries. My waggish thought is that, at this level, Ott Heller is a part- but then I reviewed the tale-of-the-tape on Dick Duff- and I'd imagine his R-on/R-offs must be frightening. I also don't know what you do if an LW gets injured, except to go to 7D.

I see this team as being a couple of talent-allocation and assignment moves away from making things really interesting for their Divisional opponents.

 

[tony d]

Many thanks @ChiTownPhilly for the review. Will take your review under advisement.

 

[Elvis P]

Many thanks @ChiTownPhilly for the review. Will take your review under advisement.

Although I'm no longer a GM, same here.