ATD10 Regular Season Results

[raleh]

Huh,

well, should be fun! I admit I expected to be first or second in our division. I wonder how much of it is for the Ovechkin pick. And then if that's answered the way I think it will be, I wonder if GBC is going to fire me as co-gm!

I'm VERY excited for Kenora vs Dallas. I actually don't think I picked a single correct division champ either.

 

[Leaf Lander]

loved how he called that soviet player a scrub haha

 

[MXD]

Whaa... Solid matchup, Metropolitans in 6th place is definitely a surprise. For whatever reason, I expected us to finish 2nd in our div.

Lemieux/Gretzky showdown

 

[MXD]

First thought: Winnipeg is an incredibly dangerous #5 seed going into the playoffs.

Second : The Maple Leafs are an extremely dangerous 6th seed.

 

[AlanHoff]

Knew I wasn't a first but with some thought was the best 1st line and even more thought the best 3rd line I'm kinda suprised w/ the last place finish...oh well bring on the playoffs

 

[Murphy]

I think 4th is the highest I've ever finished.....

MXD, are you setting up all the matchup threads?

 

[MXD]

I think 4th is the highest I've ever finished.....

MXD, are you setting up all the matchup threads?

Hummm... I thought it was GM's responsability, but yeah, I could set them up.

 

[Spitfire11]

Who the **** voted me 1st?!

...You are a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Who the **** voted me 1st?!

...You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Somewhat ironically, me. Thought that, top-to-bottom, you were better than the other 5. Our match-up is also quite shocking to me, as it's the only one I didn't see coming and hence didn't prepare somewhat for. I figured I would be matched up against Buffalo, the Falcons or Toronto, with Lada or Pittsburgh being outside shots. I thought for sure you would finish top 2 and I was confident/hopeful I wouldn't finish 7th. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

 

[Sturminator]

My thoughts on the regular season:

Robson: I was scared of my own division before the first pick was made because of the quality of the opposing GMs and the distribution of picks (3 of the top 4 and 4 of the top 10), which ended up stacking 1st lines out west with the likes of Gretzky, Howe, Lemieux and Richard. Interesting that the teams without high picks ended up finishing 1st, 2nd and 4th in the division, as I have always considered a top-10 (and especially top-4) pick a real advantage. Perhaps not as big as I thought. I don't have the old drafts in front of me and my memory is not perfect, but I can't recall a stronger division in the three drafts that I've been a part of.

Hewitt: The hardest division for me to rank, as I like all of the teams for different reasons and I think the Hewitt has the most parity from 1-7. A division largely defined by its #1 defensemen. I will pay very close attention to the playoff threads in this division because small movements in player value (ie. new information) or just particular matchups could go a long way to determining the winners. I'm still very interested in seeing more in-depth (as in: season-by-season) analysis of the careers of Lalonde and Taylor.

Cole: Another very difficult division for me to rate. A lot of teams in the Cole I consider somewhat unbalanced: a great strength here, a weakness there. It will make for some very interesting matchups, and depending on how the matchups break down, perhaps some unexpected results. This division features the strongest teams thematically: Eagle's reunited lines, Spit's flying Wings, pappy's Maple Leafs (sorry...couldn't resist). The Cole is in some ways the most interesting division to me because it is such a conflict of contrasting philosophies. May the best mad scientist win.

Lecavalier: A very tough, physical division full of blood, guts and backchecking. The center of the ice will look like a cage fight in this division. Trottier vs. Stewart? Yes, please. Starshinov vs. Kennedy? Uh-huh. Sanderson vs. Sullivan? Certainly. Carbonneau vs. anybody? Why not? Much as it is with chess, he who controls the center of the board will likely prevail in this division. I normally prefer the first row of the second deck for my live hockey, but in this division, I would want to be right against the glass. Terrific 3rd lines in the Lecavalier, as well. Just old-time hockey all around.

 

[seventieslord]

Somewhat ironically, me. Thought that, top-to-bottom, you were better than the other 5. Our match-up is also quite shocking to me, as it's the only one I didn't see coming and hence didn't prepare somewhat for. I figured I would be matched up against Buffalo, the Falcons or Toronto, with Lada or Pittsburgh being outside shots. I thought for sure you would finish top 2 and I was confident/hopeful I wouldn't finish 7th. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

This is your 2nd draft, right? In my 2nd draft, I saw the rankings, saw myself in 5th, and my first reaction was "Yes!!! Not Last!"

 

[seventieslord]

One other note: Yes, I know I got an honorable mention, but I'm still surprised I didn't have the #1 PK in my division considering I reunited 3 players who formed the PK unit that had possibly the most success and most sustained success, of any PK unit in history.

 

[MXD]

Who the **** voted me 1st?!

...You are a gentleman and a scholar.

I did. But I also considered Marty Barry a Top-100 player of all-time.

 

[Jungosi]

I'm fine with the third place. I guess my teams are taking small steps forwards the top (#4,#3..... you know). The only thing that confuses me are the Foster Hewitt rankings.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

This is your 2nd draft, right? In my 2nd draft, I saw the rankings, saw myself in 5th, and my first reaction was "Yes!!! Not Last!"

Technically it's like my fourth, but yeah, those other two don't really count. While I am quite happy not to be last considering that 5 of the other 6 GMs in my division have a lot more experience in this format than I do(as well as 3 teams finishing as #1 seeds last year and another one being the only #5 seed to ever make it to a division final), I felt very good about this team and had/have high hopes.

 

[Spitfire11]

I did. But I also considered Marty Barry a Top-100 player of all-time.

I almost returned the favour, had the Secrets 2nd. I thought the Golden Seals were a good choice for 1st but that whole division is stacked.

Leopold, thanks for the vote. Don't worry, I suck at these. I've won one round in 4 drafts with playoffs and it was a 1st vs 8th match, lol.

 

[AlanHoff]

I'm also curious as to who voted me 1st in my division...I agree with you

 

[Murphy]

How is everyone finding out the various rankings?

 

[God Bless Canada]

I'll post thoughts on the match-ups over the next few days, while putting the Subbans in their place...

 

[seventieslord]

How is everyone finding out the various rankings?

They're not - VI just mentioned that every single team received at least one first place vote.

 

[MXD]

How is everyone finding out the various rankings?

Nothing special with the Robson. I expected us 2nd, we finished third... Five teams could have won, and of the them, well, won.

Hewitt... I'm perplex. Expected Pats or Thirstles (had a hard time choosing which of them would finish first).

The Cole is okay... I expected LL to have home ice though. This one was Detroit all-the-way for me, but I went for the team with my prefered historical line as opposed to the team with two historical lines. Hats off Spit, the GM feat of the draft. You also finished at the same ranking than we did with the Wanderers last draft (4th)

The Lecavalier, I dunno... I liked the Subbans and the Rocket, and they face each other in the first round.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

How is everyone finding out the various rankings?

I was going to ask the same thing, but I guess it's just the "everyone received a first place vote" statement that's the cause of many of these comments.

 

[shawnmullin]

Guys let me just say that no one should be upset or disappointed with their rankings. It is what it is. The ATD has entered new territory this time around. Usually in previous drafts there was a distinct top, middle and bottom. This time around the draft was so well done and the GMs were so knowledgeable and well prepared that good teams will end up lower than they would have in previous drafts.

Am I thrilled with 4th? Of course not, I like my team and feel like it could win. However, you can make an argument than any of the teams above and under me could be me and vice versa. This is the toughest draft to judge yet... and by a very large margin.

My advice (and I plan to take it myself) is to not get too wrapped up in rankings or in whether you win or lose your series. Are you happy with your team? If you are, **** the results and just enjoy the discussion. Winning is always better, but there are no losers in this year's draft. Every team has their unique charm and every team has their flaws.

Losing in the first round this year is less of an insult than it has ever been. I hope we all realize that.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Guys let me just say that no one should be upset or disappointed with their rankings. It is what it is. The ATD has entered new territory this time around. Usually in previous drafts there was a distinct top, middle and bottom. This time around the draft was so well done and the GMs were so knowledgeable and well prepared that good teams will end up lower than they would have in previous drafts.

Am I thrilled with 4th? Of course not, I like my team and feel like it could win. However, you can make an argument than any of the teams above and under me could be me and vice versa. This is the toughest draft to judge yet... and by a very large margin.

My advice (and I plan to take it myself) is to not get too wrapped up in rankings or in whether you win or lose your series. Are you happy with your team? If you are, **** the results and just enjoy the discussion. Winning is always better, but there are no losers in this year's draft. Every team has their unique charm and every team has their flaws.

Losing in the first round this year is less of an insult than it has ever been. I hope we all realize that.

For the first time ever, a scribe will agree with everything that a broadcaster has said.

Anyways...

I do want to make it clear that I'm not disappointed with my result. I expected to finish first in my division. For the first time since ATD 6, I thought I had a team capable of finishing first in the regular season. But we deal with it and move on.

I knew that at some point we would have to play the Montreal Canadiens, and either the Devils or the Maroons, in the playoffs. If my team wins in Round 1 (and I think we should, but I always think I should win), we'll have to play New Jersey, the Maroons or the Nighthawks. And if we win that one, we'll probably have to play the Canadiens. Home ice isn't much of a factor in this thing, especially with three teams from the same city in one division. So I don't care if we play Game 7 in Montreal or New Jersey.

At the end of the day, it's just for fun. And all that really matters is that you get the guys you want.

 

[seventieslord]

You're right, shawn, but there's nothing wrong with demanding excellence of yourself... even in a situation like this, even if the opinions of other people are the road to excellence.