Atd-ML#10 THE MINOR LEAGUE DRAFT

[MXD]

Doug Weight is a guy I had hoped might be around in round 2 or 3, though once MXD joined in I gave up any hope of that.

He would have been the second guy to be picked three times by one of my teams (the first was a guy I picked in the ATD, but I was nearly tempted NOT to pick him for MLD purposes, especially since he - Murray Murdoch - was our 14th forward).

I guess we got to know a bit too much of our opponents...

 

[seventieslord]

hey hedberg... do you know why Joe Thornton is so much more valued in the ATDs than Doug Weight?

Neither one can score but each are wizards in the passing department.

I guess Joe's peak of one MVP season is the difference. And his size, though he's no prototypical power forward in my book, regardless of what some say.

*shrug*

oh wait... YOU drafted Joe in ATD10

I don't know, it might have something to do with Thornton leading the NHL in assists three times, while Weight has never been higher than 4th.

Weight is a good pick and one that we definitely considered starting our teams with. I think there are some guys from the O6-days who were better, relative to their eras.

Redmond is a guy we were definitely targeting for a top-6 RW role. We are stunned to see him go 1st overall. However, he was top-3 in goals twice and that is elite talent for the MLD. VI is right, though - RW is really, really deep.

So for Regina's pick, some of you may not like him, but...

Try to understand,
Try to understand,
Try, try, try, to understand....

He's a magic man.

(oooooh, he's got the magic hands)

C Kent Nilsson

 

[seventieslord]

C Kent Nilsson

Nilsson is one of the most technically superb players that Sweden has ever produced. He could awe crowds with his stickhandling and playmaking abilities and skated effortlessly. The slippery winger was as skilled a player as their ever was.

...His debut in the Jets uniform was over all expectations. He led the league in points ahead of Bobby Hull after the first few games. Kent finished his rookie season with an excellent 107 points.

The following season Kent would duplicate the 107 points, this time in 2 less games. In two seasons in the WHA, Kent, ever the gentleman, earned just 16 minutes in penalties.

With Kent in the lineup, the Winnipeg Jets went on to win two AVCO Cups. The AVCO Cup is given to the WHA Champion at season's end.

When the WHA folded he went on to play for the Atlanta Flames where he would be teamed with Yugoslavian born Ivan Boldirev and big Ken Houston. He had a good first season in the NHL collecting a very respectable 93 points.

After that 1979-80 season the Flames organization moved from Atlanta to Calgary, where Kent thrived under the new surroundings. In his first season in Calgary Kent became the first European player in the NHL to reach the 100-point plateau. He finished the season with 131 points!!


...Kent has been a champion in the WHA, NHL, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, a pretty unique feat. Kent is one of only ten players to have won both the WHA and NHL Cups.

- Stanley Cup (1987)
- WHA Avco Cup (1978, 1979)
- Canada Cup Finalist (1984)

- SEL Scoring Leader (1976)
- Italian League Scoring Champion (1988)
- 3rd in scoring, Canada Cup (1984)
- Top-8 in WHA scoring twice (4th, 8th)
- Top-12 in NHL scoring three times (3rd, 9th, 12th)

- 686 Points in 583 NHL games
- 52 Points in 59 NHL playoff games
- 248 Points in 177 WHA games
- 89 Points in 73 games in int'l competition
- Over a PPG in every NHL season except 1986 (61 GP, 60 Pts)
- 9th Highest PPG average in NHL history (1.24)

- Hart voting record: 8th, 13th
- AST voting record: 4th, 6th
- Killed penalties regularly for three seasons in Calgary, scoring 16 SHG

 

[chaosrevolver]

Nilsson is one of the top offensive players in this draft for sure. Question is, will he pick it up in the playoffs? According to reports i've read, Nilsson was dissapointing when it comes to playoff time. In fact, some believe that although his name works for his incredible skill level, the nickname "Magic Man" could work for his dissapearing acts in the playoffs as well.

 

[seventieslord]

Fair points. Although Kent didn't score a lot of playoff goals, he put up a lot of assists.

And like Dionne, although his playoff PPG sees a drop, what it has dropped to (0.88) is still a very respectable number, one that not many first line centers in this draft will be able to boast.

Nilsson is a supreme talent - the type of player who will propel our team into one of the first couple of seeds. For at least one round, if not two, his supposed disappearance should not be a factor if we play a team that is significantly weaker to begin with.

With that all said, Regina always has its eyes on the playoffs and likes to offset players with questionable playoff records, with others who have a better history of producing.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Nilsson's the premier offensive talent in the draft. He's a game-breaker. And at this level, without the elite shutdown forwards and defencemen involved, he'll be a dominant force. My biggest concern with Nilsson isn't his playoff struggles, but his attitude. 52 points in 59 playoffs games isn't good, but as I said before, he's not facing the elite talent in this draft, or elite shutdown defencemen, or elite shutdown forwards. But Nilsson was never going to win the good guy award.

Surround him with the right players, and Regina has the best first line in the draft.

 

[seventieslord]

Bruin72's time is up. I will PM The Evillest of Speakers now.

 

[VanIslander]

Thornton leading the NHL in assists three times, while Weight has never been higher than 4th.

Weight's 79 assist, 104 point season out west was overshadowed by three Penguins who topped him in assists: Lemieux, Jagr and Francis ... even Joe would have lost in that comparison! Though of course Thornton has a 3-year peak better than Dougie, but they are similar in regular and playoff performance if you discount the last three years for old Weight, Joe not yet that far in his career.

Weight is a good pick and one that we definitely considered starting our teams with. I think there are some guys from the O6-days who were better, relative to their eras.

shhhh

Redmond... We are stunned to see him go 1st overall.... VI is right ... RW is really, really deep.

we must have similar lists

 

[seventieslord]

we must have similar lists

Tell me about it dude... I want more right wingers than I can even have.

as of 44 minutes past the hour, Bruin72 has been skipped and Evil Speaker is ON THE CLOCK

No, I had it right. My pick was in my first post at 19 after.

Since last MLD I have been in the habit of making my pick and PMing the next guy so that the draft keeps moving, and then posting my bio when I have time, whether it is 20 minutes later, or two days later.

 

[VanIslander]

No, I had it right. My pick was in my first post at 19 after.

But you edited that post over 30 minutes after that, so there's no evidence of when it was done.

Since last MLD I have been in the habit of making my pick and PMing the next guy so that the draft keeps moving, and then posting my bio when I have time, whether it is 20 minutes later, or two days later.

helpful suggestion: when you post your bio you can use an entirely new post, to lock in your pick selection time

great habits btw

i am in constant fear that people are not PMing the next guy if they don't actually mention it - in past MLDs I've doublechecked by PMing everyone when they're up myself as insurance... trying to wean myself off that this time, trusting you guys to getting it done after you pick (though i may sometimes be overcome with the urge)

 

[seventieslord]

But you edited that post over 30 minutes after that, so there's no evidence of when it was done. /QUOTE]

Fair enough. I actually just edited that post to make the "Magic Man" quotes came from Heart - I thought it would be funnier that way.

In the future, you can trust that my pick was made when my post was made, and at the same time I will try not to edit said posts unless absolutely necessary.

Obviously I'd have nothing to gain by claiming to pick a half hour earlier than I actually did.

 

[seventieslord]

Oh, BTW VI - One player that you think you have locked up in the late rounds.... you don't. You better take him earlier

Now if only you knew which one I was talking about....

 

[Know Your Enemy]

The Mincer Rays select LW Camille Henry who placed 2nd,3rd,4th,6th,7th in goals during the 50's and 60's.

 

[pitseleh]

The Micner Rays select LW Camille Henry who placed 2nd,3rd,4th,6th,7th in goals during the 50's and 60's.

Damn, there goes the guy I wanted with my first pick.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Damn, there goes the guy I wanted with my first pick.

Was near the top of my list as well.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Oh, BTW VI - One player that you think you have locked up in the late rounds.... you don't. You better take him earlier

Now if only you knew which one I was talking about....

I can assure you, nothing is being taken for granted. The only problem is that there are so many options, deciding who we have to let go is painful.

 

[Know Your Enemy]

Damn, there goes the guy I wanted with my first pick.

I'm still not sure if he's better than the other slam-dunk LW.

 

[papershoes]

the sault ste. marie greyhounds are pleased to begin their roster between the pipes by adding, from the philadelphia flyers,

ron hextall (g)

Hextall in a way revolutionized a game. He certainly wasn't the first goalie to handle the puck, but he was so good at handling and shooting the puck. Teams couldn't dump and chase against the Flyers because Hexy would roam behind the net to stop the puck and then lift it over everybody into the neutral zone.

The Flyers selected Ron in the sixth round (119th overall) of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, but it wasn't until 1986-87 when he made his NHL debut, playing in 66 games and posting a league-leading 37 wins, a career-high. He played in the 1987 All Star game, a rarity for a rookie. He was named to the NHL First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team and won the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender. In the playoffs Ron's fiery play backstopped the Flyers to the '87 Cup Finals where he was named as the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs despite the fact that the Flyers lost to the Edmonton Oilers in a memorable 7 game series.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

The Oxford Dark Blues select:

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Who?

 

[VanIslander]

The Oxford Dark Blues select a netminder who excelled everywhere he went

John Ross Roach
“Little Napoleon”

Stanley Cup Champion (1922)
NHL First Team All-Star (1933)​

He was remarkable in all three cities over his 14-year NHL career, winning a Stanley Cup early on backstopping Toronto and later on a First team All-star in Detroit but in between he also had four remarkable seasons in New York – justifying the $10,000 in 1928 paid in the trade for him - leading the team twice to the Finals and stands to this date as the franchise all-time record holder for goals against and shutouts in a season.

… one of the smallest and most exciting goaltenders ever to backstop in the NHL…. When he entered the playoffs, however, he just kept getting stronger and more exciting between the pipes as he led his club past the Vancouver Millionaires in a close battle to claim the Stanley Cup. His rookie season marked the beginning of a 14-year run in the NHL, a lengthy career by the standards of his day. And during many of those seasons, he was a league leader in games played by a goaltender.
In all, Roach played his feisty brand of acrobatics for the St. Pats and later, the Maple Leafs for seven seasons. In 1928-29, he was traded to the New York Rangers where he led the league in games played for each of his four years on Broadway.
In the Motor City, he played solidly and by season's end missed winning the Vezina Trophy by only a fraction of a percentage point. To ease his sorrow, however, he was selected to the All-Star team.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18678

Forget his cup in Toronto and all-star selection in Detroit, during his New York Ranger days alone:

NHL LEADER
Most games played by a goaltender — 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32
Most minutes played by a goaltender — 1930-31 (2,760)
Most shutouts — 1932
Most playoff games played by a goaltender — 1929, 1932
Most playoff minutes played by a goaltender — 1929, 1932
Lowet playoff goals-against average — 1931
Most playoff shutouts — 1929, 1932
one of the most successful goalies in team history, setting records that still stand for the lowest goals-against average in a season and most shutouts in one season.

Roach was instrumental in taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1929 and 1932.

http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app?page=HistoricalPlayerDetail&pkey=8450103&service=page

John Ross Roach was living proof of the theory, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." As a Detroit opponent with Toronto and the New York Rangers, Roach posted eight shutouts and a 1.70 goals-against average in 34 games. He once blocked 60 shots to preserve a 1-0 Rangers win over Detroit.

Those sort of performances led many hockey people to suggest Roach was the NHL's best goalie and few in Detroit would form an argument. The $5,000 used to purchase his contract from the Rangers was well spent. Roach posted 10 shutouts and his 25 wins were a club record, earning him selection to the NHL's First All-Star team. He was the first Detroit player to be placed on a post-season all-star unit.

He garnered the first playoff series win and first playoff shutout in team history, blanking the Maroons 2-0 at Montreal on March 25. Roach broke in with Toronto in 1921-22 and backstopped the St. Patricks to a Stanley Cup title as a rookie, defeating Jack Adams and the Vancouver Millionaires in the final. Though he stood 5-foot-5 and weighed just 130 pounds - earning him the nickname "Little Napoleon" - Roach was remarkably durable, missing only four games during his first 12 NHL campaigns. Once, in need of knee surgery, but with no other goalie available, Roach donned the pads for the Wings, basically playing on one leg, grabbing his crossbar with his glove hand at opportune moments to maintain his balance.

Known as a nervous goaltender, Roach was constantly in motion in front of his net and could often be seen clearing the snow from his crease and straightening his sweater whilst play was at the other end.

Roach spent three years with the Red Wings and successfully groomed Normie Smith as his replacement during the 1934-35 season. His 58 career shutouts rank Roach 12th on the NHL's all-time list.

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...ges?q=john+ross+roach&ndsp=18&um=1&hl=en&sa=N

 

[pitseleh]

I go eat dinner and miss all the action.

The Americans select G Viktor Konovalenko. PM sent.

Konovalenko was a seven time all-star goaltender in the Soviet league between 1963-1970. We have Soviet league MVP voting results for the '68-'70 seasons, and Konovalenko was league MVP in 1970 and was third in MVP voting in 1968.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Very pleased to have John Ross Roach. Drafted him as my starter in MLD6 and am excited to have him in the pipes again.

I can't fathom why he isn't one of the more sought after back-ups in the main draft. When you look at his accomplishments it puts him ahead of acclaimed players like Curtis Joseph, John Vanbiesbrouck, Andy Moog and many others. He matches the achievements of players like Bill Ranford, Charlie Hodge and Normie Smithy but has significantly better longevity. He's comparable to Tom Barrasso, but Roach does not have the negative attitude. He is at least the equal to about most back-ups in the main draft, and superior to many.

But, who am I to complain. Having a guy who should be an acclaimed ATD back-up as an MLD starter is not a problem for the Oxford Dark Blues, no, it is a blessing. A blessing we are ecstatic to have.

 

[Spitfire11]

lol, I had my first 2 picks figured out but after checking out MLD8 and seeing how the team that had both of them did I'm not too sure.

Whatever happened to Sakicfan? His MLD8 team looks pretty darn good to me, should have done better.

 

[VanIslander]

Konovalenko was a seven time all-star goaltender in the Soviet league between 1963-1970. We have Soviet league MVP voting results for the '68-'70 seasons, and Konovalenko was league MVP in 1970 and was third in MVP voting in 1968.

There are Russians who watched 60's-80's soviet hockey who claim he was better than Tretiak. He CERTAINLY is main ATD worthy, and in fact was backup in the championship series in both ATD8 and ATD9.

Solid first round MLD pick. Expected no less from you pits.