Pre-WWII Lineup Assassination Thread

[BenchBrawl]

Post your roster and assassinations.

Click to read more...

 

[tinyzombies]

Montreal Wanderers

Pete Muldoon, Head Coach

Toe Blake - Howie Morenz (C) - Hooley Smith
Frank Foyston - Joe Primeau - Jimmy Ward
Dave Trottier - Cooney Weiland - Scotty Davidson (A)
Blair Russel - Ernie Russell (R) - Odie Cleghorn
Johnny Gagnon, Art Chapman

Herb Gardiner - Eddie Gerard (A)
Lionel Conacher - Mike Grant
Hamby Shore - Fred Lake
Taffy Abel

Percy LeSueur
Normie Smith

PP1:
Blake
Hooley - Morenz - Primeau
Gerard

PP2:
Russell
Weiland - Davidson - Foyston
Grant

PK1: Foyston - B. Russel - Gardiner - Gerard
PK2: Weiland - H.Smith - Conacher - Grant

I was aiming for balance and two-way play. I also wanted an elite top 4 on defense.

"Muldoon's teams were unlike those of Frank and Lester Patrick. Frank Patrick won primarily with offense; Lester, with defense and goal-tending. Muldoon's teams were the most consistently well-balanced in the PCHA."

I think I achieved it, but not sure Ward belongs on line 2. I thought Davidson would be a bit cheeky there, so I dropped him to line 3 where he should dominate.

At first I wondered about size in my middle six, but I think the presence of Ward and Davidson on those lines adds heft. And my top 4 on D has a big man on each pairing.

Energy line should bring the nasty with size and scoring with Russel being the defensive conscience.

I kept the real-life combo of Shore-Lake together.

Morenz at the top, blazing speed with a bullet shot and the most dominant force in transition play since Cyclone and until... Orr? That he has two elite, gritty glue wingers who will go get the puck and play defense at an elite level and can also score and get in the paint only elevates him. All three are excellent defenders as well. And with Gerard added to the mix- it makes for a ferocious top unit.

I figure I'd play all-out with this team- puck pressure all over the ice. Dmen activated (Gerard, Grant - and either guy on the third pairing).

Lots of speed throughout the lineup.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Coach: Cecil Hart

Baldy Northcott - Cyclone Taylor - Bryan Hextall, Sr
Paul Thompson - Frank McGee (A) - Billy Gilmour
Johnny Gottselig (A) - Dick Irvin - Mush March
Louis Berlinguette - Pud Glass - Barney Stanley
Harry Oliver, Jimmy Gardner

Lionel Hitchman - Earl Seibert
Weldy Young - Sylvio Mantha (C)
Howard McNamara - Albert Leduc
Harry Mummery

Roy Worters
Lorne Chabot

PP1:
Thompson
Taylor - McGee - Gilmour
Seibert

PP2:
Hextall, Sr
Northcott - Irvin - Gottselig
Young

PK1:
Glass - Gottselig
Hitchman - Mantha

PK2:
Northcott - March
McNamara - Seibert

---

Fairly simple stuff - I've got three scoring lines and one pure shutdown line. Built with skill and speed down the middle, with wingers designed to complement the centre. I tried to avoid anybody that was overly one-dimensional, as well as slugs that can't keep up the pace. Lots of speed up and down the lineup which pairs well with our coach.

On defense, there are two well-balanced pairings which are about as good as any pairing in the draft, and they will be handling most of the minutes. Seibert gets to play his normal game with one of the best pure stay-at-homers by his side. Captain Mantha anchors the second pair with one of the greatest cover points next to him in Young (I hope to do a bio on Weldy this week, but my schedule may get in the way of it). The third pairing will be used situationally when we need more size (McNamara) or toughness (both). Mummery will be used as well when even more size is needed, particularly on the penalty kill.

For the powerplay, Paul Thompson led the league in powerplay goals a few times, and he will be dropped in front of the net to clean up rebounds. Taylor and McGee will carry the puck into the zone and double up as quarterbacks on the half-wall. Seibert with the cannon from the point. Dick Irvin will quarterback the second unit, with Bryan Hextall being a luxury as a goal scorer here.

Gottselig was renowned as one of the finest penalty killers of the day thanks to his puck ragging. Pud Glass is more of a traditional checker, so they get paired together. Northcott was considered by Tommy Gorman in 1936 to be the finest backchecker in the game, so I have no problem putting him on the PK alongside March, a fine defensive player in his own right, who also brings a ton of speed and pugnacity. McNamara may be used more on the PK in certain matchups when other teams can ice a big centre in front of the net - think Nels Stewart.

Goal is self explanatory. Roy Worters was a fine netminder, and there's plenty of size on the blueline to protect him and account for his smaller stature. Chabot is a much bigger man, so if somehow we are having problems with Worters's size in any given matchup, he can go in instead.

 

[seventieslord]

Coach: Art Ross
Assistant: Frank Patrick

Sweeney Schriner - Newsy Lalonde - Eddie Oatman (C)
Jack Walker (A) - Nels Stewart - Ace Bailey
Tommy Anderson - Tommy Dunderdale - Atty Howard
Goldie Prodger(s) - Jack Adams - Billy Boucher

Babe Siebert - Hod Stuart (A)
Jack Campbell - Ott Heller
Lloyd Cook - Bert Corbeau

Georges Vezina
Billy Nicholson

Spares: Tom Hooper - Herb Cain

PP1: Schriner-Stewart-Lalonde-Campbell-Cook
PP2: Adams-Dunderdale-Howard-Siebert-Stuart
PK1: Walker-Bailey-Siebert-Heller
PK2: Oatman-Prodger(s)-Stuart-Corbeau

It's much easier to talk about one's own lineup, but that's the way it is. You know your own lineup better than anyone else's, especially in a draft like this.

It helps that this team came together over the course of what, 12 days? So I can easily remember my thought process that justified each pick vs. who was available, what my needs were, and so on.

As a coach I grabbed Ross just at the end of the run of coaches. Ross is overall a run-of-the-mill coach in this draft, so to enhance that, I also picked up Patrick, who's probably only about 8th-9th most qualified as a head coach here, but as an assistant is a really good yin to Ross' yang. It was worth being short a spare skater for Patrick. Ross had some fairly conservative rules (though, if you ever read them you will understand that expecting him to follow them literally in a fantasy league held in 2023 is also unrealistic), so I wanted a more wide-open, free-thinking type of coach to make sure my offensive players had someone in their corner who'd let them go out and do their thing. Along with Lester, Ross was one of the game's most innovative minds, so I expect that to manifest itself in the occasional wild unexpected gambit when necessary.

The forward lines all have a very similar theme: feed and serve the center. The wingers all are specially selected to have puck winning/puck ragging/defensive/possession/playmaking ability that allows them to serve the needs of the center. The centers are proven goal machines that need the puck to find them. Much like Phil Esposito who absolutely could do a lot himself, it's unfair to pigeonhole these four centers as being one-dimensional players who just stand in the slot and wait. But, if they have wingers (like Esposito often did) that make it possible to do just that, then great things can happen.

Lalonde was one of the most talented and prolific players ever. I'm confident saying that he's a clear 3rd among forwards in this draft, unless you really love Russell Bowie. Lalonde can carry the puck, and he can stickhandle and pass, but how great is it that he can specialize in just brutalizing the opposing center and defenseman, and rifle pucks in the net from anywhere? Sweeney Schriner (3X top-3 in NHL assists) is one of the best playmaking wingers in this draft (maybe the best?) and is a speedy, dazzling player with an array of moves. Soft, sure, but that's just more reason to believe that they're the perfect complementary pair. Oatman on the other side is not an ideal first liner, but don't kid yourself, he's got the numbers to stick with these players. He's also a very assist-heavy player who can dig pucks out of the corners and play physical. These two combine to give Lalonde exactly what will make him the most successful.

Nels Stewart, on the other hand, is one of history's most one-dimensional players. He's been reduced to pretty much a caricature at this point: an oversized bully who spends most of the game standing in the blue paint (when he finally gets there), spitting in the goalie's eyes, hacking the knees off of defenders and then easily shoveling in shots, Espo-style. Of course, that's a caricature. Stewart had to have velvet-soft mitts to put in as many goals as he did, but the numbers don't lie: he liked to shoot much more than he liked to pass. That's why Ace Bailey on the right side is so important for him. We simply cannot expect Nels Stewart to be the guy carrying the puck up ice. First of all, he's a slow skater. Secondly, if he gets there successfully, what does he do then? Pass? No, of course not. So that's far too ineffective and predictable. Bailey, on the other hand, was one of the best puck-ragging players in the league when he played, and could really distribute the puck (3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th in assists), so in a 2nd line situation we believe he's a guy who can get the puck across two lines and then find something productive to do with it. Secondly, Stewart is poor defensively, mainly because his skating is bad, but probably also because he's lazy. On the rushes coming back the other way, we need something extra. Enter Jack Walker. Aside from Nighbor, he's one guy you can really say is like two players defensively: and he has to be. And I think if you look around the league, his offensive numbers show that he can hang as a 2nd line glue guy in this thing.

There's no dedicated defensive line on this team. If there was, I'd be putting it on the 3rd line. I had no real plans to take Tommy Dunderdale in this thing, but I really didn't expect to see him available well after all the 2nd line centers were taken. He's a scrappy goal scoring center (notice a theme) who was nothing special in his own end. So why not give him a LW with multiple top-10s in assists, who was a puck winner and won the hart as a defenseman, along with a somewhat assist-heavy RW on his other side? Another line with a little of everything.

Lastly, I thought I'd change things up on the 4th line, so I drafted Jack Adams to play center (lol). Adams was another "value pick" for me - not the guy I thought I'd go with, but too good value to pass up. Of course, he's the focal point of the line, like the other centers, so I wanted players who'd "serve" him - the big, strong, fast Prodger(s) on one side, and tough little Boucher on the other. Boucher was surprisingly balanced for goals and assists (I was surprised, anyway), so these two provide the toughness, responsibility and skill that allow Adams to head for the net whenever we get the zone.

Building the defense was all about value picks and getting the right guys at the right time. Hod Stuart was a no-brainer as he was the BDA at the time. Getting guys like him and Campbell and Dunderdale where I did, made up for going for the first goalie. Stuart didn't really specialize in offense or defense so I didn't feel the need to get a counterbalance, instead settling on the best two-way guy available at the time, Hart winner Babe Siebert.

I feel I got a bit of a steal with Campbell, who might be the 2nd-3rd best offensive defenseman in this draft. That's a bold statement, but look at the numbers posted by @rmartin65 in the chat thread. Did Campbell score more points from point/CP between 1886-1897 than all other defensive players combined? If not, it's pretty close:

Name	Seasons	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Dolly Swift	12	60	56	8	64
Archie Hodgson	7	46	31.5	16.5	47
Dave Brown	10	50	30	8.5	38.5
Herbert Russell	8	45	27.16	10.17	37.33
A.D. Scott	9	48	27.16	7.5	34.66
Archie McNaughton	5	24	23.5	3	26.5
George Lowe	8	38	22	4	26
Jack Campbell	6	33	19.5	2	21.5
S. McQuisten	9	39	13	3	16
Jack Findlay	7	43	14.5	1	15.5
R.J. Davidson	9	28	11.5	4	15.5
A.E. Scott	7	21	9.66	5.5	15.16
Halder Kirby	8	26	13	2	15
D.A. Elliott	7	37	13.5	1	14.5
Jack Kerr	7	24	11.25	2	13.25
Sam Lee	7	30	10.5	2	12.5
Billy Hodgson	4	21	12.5	0	12.5
Jack Arnton	8	37	9	2	11
A. Ritchie	5	22	8.5	2	10.5
E.W. Barlow	8	45	8.5	1.5	10
Allan Cameron	11	67	2	7	9
J. Craven	5	22	7	0	7
Andy Shearer	6	35	6.5	0	6.5
W. Drysdale	6	20	5	0	5
J. Muir	5	20	5	0	5
Jas. McDonald	9	45	3	0	3
R. Laing	6	23	2	1	3
James Stewart	11	63	0	2	2
W. Norris	5	26	0	1	1
Tom Paton	9	47	0	1	0
Robert Jones	7	37	0	0	0

I get the sense his defensive game wasn't polished, or at least he was all over the ice so much that it was impossible to effectively defend at all times. I believe that in this case a pure defensive, steady eddie type was needed, so the right shooting Ott Heller was drafted to play with him.

It was also a blessing to be able to get to start a 3rd pairing with Lloyd Cook (ranked 20th among defense players in our pre-merger project, though of course behind about a dozen other post-merger guys in this draft), and given his offensive bent, gave him a big, strong, defense-oriented partner. Pretty elementary.

Vezina was a luxury I just had to have in round 2. A couple seemed surprised I took him when I did, but he's the best goalie in this draft and I was confident in my ability to mine value later on. Nicholson is just a run of the mill backup - all I needed. But he really does have a surprisingly strong resume full of recognition and accomplishments everywhere he went.

Cain was drafted solely because I needed a spare LW (to be honest, I forgot Seibert was also a spare LW, which may have changed the direction I went). Hooper is a legitimate spare at C, RW and D which makes him very useful in injury situations.

I feel that my 1st PP unit has no equal in this draft. Being able to have a net front presence like Stewart, with Schriner sending pass after pass and Lalonde sending shot after shot in his direction, is a huge luxury. This unit also makes use of the explosive puck skills of Jack Campbell, who is like a 4th forward, and Lloyd Cook, whose offensive skills need no introduction. This PP doesn't really lack any of the necessary elements. The 2nd unit is closer to average, though if you look around I'm sure that Adams and Dunderdale are more potent than you will typically see.

The PK on this team is ok, but not a specialty. Jack Walker is a bit of a trump card. It's hard to call any PK unit with him on it bad, and he gets possession master Bailey to work with, along with two defensive stalwarts on D who are nearly beyond reproach.

I had just barely enough guys to fill a 2nd unit, though. I'm confident in Oatman, Prodgers and Corbeau holding the fort, but Stuart may be the best all-around defenseman you'll see on any 2nd pairing.

I made Oatman the captain because I believe his work ethic is contagious, and apparently a lot of coaches felt the same way, as he was a captain everywhere he went. picking assistants was tougher (because guys like Lalonde were in the running), but Stuart and Walker seemed as good as any, just to spread the letters out.

Overall, I expect this team to do well and go far, but probably ultimately lose to a team that picked a handful of value pre-1900 picks that they can justify as better than their regina counterparts.

 

[rmartin65]

I feel I got a bit of a steal with Campbell, who might be the 2nd-3rd best offensive defenseman in this draft. That's a bold statement, but look at the numbers posted by @rmartin65 in the chat thread. Did Campbell score more points from point/CP between 1886-1897 than all other defensive players combined? If not, it's pretty close:

For what it is worth, I agree with you about Campbell being the 2nd or 3rd best offensive defenseman. His level of dominance is absurd.

As for the bold- as it is written, no. Weldy Young, for instance, scored 18.5 points from CP between 1886 and 1897, so that plus Cameron's numbers would get us above Campbell's 21.5. But if you meant what I think you meant- that Campbell scored more as a defender than any other P/CP who debuted in the 1880s, then maybe, especially if we limit ourselves to just looking at the "historically relevant" players (which is remarkable, right? That it is even a possibility that a single player totaled more points than every other player of his position did over a span of a couple years is crazy). It gets tricky with all the position swapping, but looking through my spreadsheets quickly I think we are looking at:

Cameron has 9. I think Billy Hodgson scored 3 from point during an 1887 game. Jack Arnton scored at least 3 from point (though these were prior to 1886, so we can discount him for this grouping). Bert Russell had 2 from point in 1893. James Stewart had 2 over his extensive carrer. I think Shearer had 1 in 1886. McDonald had 1 from point in 1888. That only gets me to 17 (20 if we say Arnton counts- but that is still less than Campbell).

I have to get going, so I'll wrap this up here, but Campbell was a force.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Gordon Roberts - Russell Bowie - Alf Smith
Dubbie Kerr - Frank Fredrickson - Babe Dye
Percy Galbraith - Dolly Swift - Haviland Routh
Buzz Boll- Rat Westwick - Alf Skinner

Sprague Cleghorn - Ebbie Goodfellow
Art Ross - Jack Marshall
Jack Laviolette - Bobby Rowe

Harry Holmes
Bouse Hutton

Spares:
F: Jack Findlay
F: Art Gagne
D: Alex Smith

PP1
Gordon Roberts - Russell Bowie - Babe Dye
Sprague Cleghorn - Ebbie Goodfellow

PP2
Dolly Swift - Frank Fredrickson - Alf Smith
Jack Marshall - Haviland Routh

PK1
Percy Galbraith - Rat Westwick
Sprague Cleghorn - Ebbie Goodfellow

PK2
Frank Fredrickson - Buzz Boll
Art Ross - Jack Marshall



I took a bit of a line by line approach, but with the intention of having the centre being the best player on every line and having the puck flow through them.

Russell Bowie is in a tier of his own offensively (maybe 4th or 5th best across the whole project), so pairing him with a defensively sound and incredibly tough player like Smith who also brings best-of-his-era playmaking was a smooth fit. Roberts brings a legendary shot and high end offence as one of the best PCHA offensive stars. A playmaker, a big scorer, and the best offensive star of his generation.

Fredrickson was a master of everything. Defensively sound, particularly in a role of shutting down opposing stars. Very high level offense with strong skating and stickhandling. Babe Dye has probably the best shot in the entire project, and his defensive and playmaking shortcomings can be overcome with an all-around player like Fredrickson. Kerr also brings goal-scoring excellence, and brings some toughness to the line.

Dolly Swift is the strongest offensive star of the 1890s (or at least early 1890s), and in combination with Haviland Routh they bring a fantastic one-two punch for offensive depth. That's why I'm bringing a very defensively elite Percy Galbraith to play with them. He came up big in playoffs for scoring, but really excelled in a shut down role.

I'm going all defense on the 4th line. Westwick, Boll, and Skinner is a fierce defensive wall to bump up against. I love the idea of a mean and nasty 4th line considering the era we're playing in.

On that topic of nastiness, Cleghorn and Goodfellow are a wall of violence. Goodfellow can bring some strong offense from the blue line, but the primary target is defensive pairing that cannot be beat.

Ross and Marshall are a strong pair, but Marshall being a jack-of-all-trades type star. Ross' offensive peak is one of the best amongst all defenders, with the ability to rush a valuable tool.

Rowe was very strong defensively and brought a big body check, in addition to some strong offense. Laviollete is another jack-of-all-trades with the ability to play both a shutdown role and bring offense.

For the spares, I'll only highlight Findlay, who was probably the best defensive forwarded pre-1895. @rmartin65's research has shown he brought notable offense too.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Montreal Wanderers

Pete Muldoon, Head Coach

Toe Blake - Howie Morenz (C) - Hooley Smith
Frank Foyston - Cooney Weiland - Jimmy Ward
Blair Russel - Joe Primeau - Scotty Davidson (A)
Dave Trottier - Ernie Russell (R) - Odie Cleghorn
Johnny Gagnon, Art Chapman

Lionel Conacher - Eddie Gerard (A)
Herb Gardiner - Mike Grant
Hamby Shore - Fred Lake
Taffy Abel

Percy LeSueur
Normie Smith

PP1:
Blake
Hooley - Morenz - Primeau
Gerard

PP2:
Russell/Cleghorn
Weiland - Davidson - Foyston
Grant

PK1: Foyston - Ward - Conacher - Gerard
PK2: Russell(?) - Russel - Gardiner - Grant

I'll get things started by giving this a shot.

First line - Not much to say here, this is just really strong, and especially balanced. Well done.

Second line - Weiland is pretty weak for a 2C here, as is Jimmy Ward at 2RW, so I'm not sure. It feels to me like Weiland is best served as a 3C, and Foyston would be better in the middle, but then there's a hole at left wing... actually, isn't Primeau the better option at centre here? I think Foyston and Ward would be really nice complementary wingers for him, as they both skew more towards goal scoring than playmaking, and Ward brings some physicality.

Third line - As this line stands, I think it's one of the best third lines in the draft. All three were solid to strong defensive players, and both Primeau and Davidson are probably luxuries as far as offensive bottom-6ers go. I didn't like Scotty much in the HOH project because his peak was like one season (and, obviously, his career was only slightly longer) but in an ATD context he brings a lot to the table, and adds much-needed truculence for his softer linemates. To nitpick, could Russell and Primeau on the same line be somewhat redundant? I feel like they're similar types of players.

Fourth line - Ernie Russell was dinged for his two-way play in the HOH project, but I can see you're going for a scoring line here, so in that sense he's fine here. Cleghorn works in that sense too, but I worry that there may not be enough playmaking between those two. I really liked Trottier and was going to pick him for my 4LW spot because of his size and physicality until you took him. It's a curious mix to my eyes, but again, if it's a scoring line I can see it.

Top pairing - I love Gerard, and he's fine as a #1. I've always had a hard time getting a read on Lionel Conacher. I gather that he was a skilled offensive player, an effective and supremely tough defender, but a pretty poor skater. How much of his star power is thanks to his exploits in other sports? Never been clear on him. But, as a partner for the strong-skating Eddie Gerard, it seems like a solid fit.

Second pairing - As you said, Grant will not be afraid to rush, and Gardiner is more than fine staying at home. Smart and sensible pairing, not much to add.

Third pairing - I like this a lot, I considered targeting both of these players before deciding on size over speed. I'm not totally confident on how much defense these two played on the same pairing, as they both switched from forward to defense at different points... I want to say they were both on the blueline by 1910? It's enough of a sample size for me. I'm a fan of this defensive group in general.

Goaltenders - I'm not big on LeSueur, I think he's clearly the weakest starter in the draft, which I'm sure you're aware of as he was the last starter taken. I'm even more solidified on Moran > LeSueur, which is how I felt about them in the later stages of the HOH project. Honestly, though, I'm sort of a skeptic of the goaltending position during the early stages of hockey anyway, and I totally understand why you'd prioritize everything else first, as I did the same. I think it's the right strategy unless you get one of the primo goaltending options at the very top, which is a group of IMO 2, maybe 3 at most.

Special teams - Powerplay looks solid. I'd definitely go Russell over Cleghorn for the second PP unit. For the PK, shouldn't Hooley and Weiland both slot in somewhere? Especially over Ernie Russell, and possibly over Jimmy Ward as well, no? Maybe that'd be straining them too much, playing top-six minutes alongside both special teams units.

Overall, this is indeed a pretty well-balanced team. I'd say the strength is on the blueline for sure, and in the two-way ability of the forward group as a whole, though I wonder if a few lineup tweaks up front might serve you well.

 

[Habsfan18]

Coach: Tommy Gorman

Cy Denneny - Frank Nighbor (A) - Didier Pitre
Smokey Harris - Dan Bain - Bernie Morris
Murray Murdoch - Billy Burch - Larry Aurie
Rusty Crawford - Harry Trihey - Art Farrell
Butch Keeling, Cecil Blachford

Moose Johnson - Dit Clapper (C)
Hap Day - Lester Patrick (A)
Clem Loughlin - Red Dutton
Bucko McDonald

Tiny Thompson
Tom Paton

PP1:

Denneny - Bain - Pitre - Johnson - Clapper

PP2:

Burch - Trihey - Morris - Loughlin - Patrick

PK1:

Nighbor - Murdoch - Johnson - Clapper

PK2:

Crawford - Aurie - Day - Dutton

————————————————-

I suppose you could say I have a “type.” As is the case with the majority of teams I’ve built, I aimed for a roster of players that is tough to play against, and solid overall on both sides of the puck. Strong two-way players paired with offensive weapons. Quite a few speedy players as well. We’ll play a high tempo brand of hockey. And I think it’s always important to build a team around your coach. I think this is a team that suits Tommy Gorman and we’ll play the style of hockey he wants to see from his players.

I feel like my first line can go toe to toe with any trio in this thing. In Frank Nighbor, we have perhaps the greatest defensive player in history. On top of his defensive brilliance, his playmaking abilities were top notch. Standing to benefit from his presence are a pair of tough, offensive weapons with deadly shots in Cy Denneny and Didier Pitre. Nighbor and Denneny have proven chemistry, Denneny also playing the role as Frank’s bodyguard. Adding Pitre to that duo makes it an absolute all-star trio, IMO. Just a dangerous line to play against, one that Tommy Gorman will be glad to match up against any top line in this thing.

I aimed to build strong 2nd line to compliment that top trio, and I’m pretty satisfied with the result. Dan Bain, one of hockey’s earliest superstars, provides Portage Lakes with another strong playmaker down the middle. Physically strong, he played a tough brand of hockey with a heavy shot and was known as hockey’s original overtime hero. Given the fact that contemporary reports described his strong playmaking, I wanted to make sure he had a scoring winger and I think Bernie Morris is that guy. One of his era’s scoring stars, I think he’ll love playing with Bain. I wanted a tough glue-guy type of winger with solid defensive abilities to compliment that duo and I think I found a great fit in Smokey Harris. Three players who have been described as playing an aggressive brand of hockey, I think that’s a pretty tough line to match up against.

Our third line can be looked at as a classic checking line, but I think it’s more than that. Another tough line to play against. While Tommy can certainly confidently send out this trio to check the opposition and limit their offensive chances, I think it’s a line who can chip in offensively from time to time. Larry Aurie is one of the best two-way players of his era, described as a bit of a little ball of hate physically as well. On the other wing is Murray Murdoch, a superb defensive player himself. Billy Burch, while not necessarily physical, is a big strong center with playmaking abilities, a heavy shot and a strong defensive conscious. I think he and Aurie can provide some occasional offense as well.

Completing our offensive lineup is another duo with real-life proven chemistry in Harry Trihey and Art Farrell. Two of hockey’s earliest superstars, they mastered the art of passing, and I think they will produce some of the best 4th line offense in this league. Rusty Crawford provides exactly what is needed as the third wheel on this line. Another superb defensive player, he was speedy, and a tough customer with strong playmaking abilities. He - and Smokey Harris as LW2 - provides Portage Lakes with two highly sought after glue-guy that perfectly completes a line, IMO.

Earlier this year, TC and I built our ATD Voyageurs around an elite “top 3” on defense and it was my aim to have a really strong trio playing for Portage Lakes as well. I think Dit Clapper, Moose Johnson, and Lester Patrick is a fairly strong one.

Dit Clapper and Moose Johnson will provide quite a bit of offense from the back end, but can defend with the best of them as well. I think Tommy Gorman would have the utmost confidence in this pairing. Lester Patrick and Hap Day is a pretty solid 2nd pairing, I think. Lester loved to rush the puck up the ice and I wanted to pair him with a solid defensive partner with a physical edge. I think Hap Day compliments him quite nicely. Red Dutton and Clem Loughlin is a just solid 3rd pairing who Tommy can trust to play decent minutes. Overall, I think it’s a group of six that Gorman will love. Bucko McDonald is probably the best 7th D in this, and he’ll see some action.

I knew I wouldn’t have one of the stronger starting goalies, but I’m still satisfied with Tiny Thompson. A 4x Vezina winner, Tiny has proven he can be a very effective goaltender who can win behind a solid team. And I think he has a very solid team in front of him here. I don’t think Portage Lakes needs one of the strongest starting goalies. I did want to make sure we had a solid backup, however. And I think Tom Paton is that guy. One of the better backups here, IMO.

Special teams I think we’re solid. Offensive weapons on the PP and some very strong defensive players on the PK. I think Nighbor/Murdoch/Crawford/Aurie is the strongest group of PK forwards here.

I’m biased of course, and I’m sure we all feel this way about our teams, but I genuinely think this should be one of the upper-tier clubs. I think it’s a very strong lineup overall, filled with many of the biggest stars of their eras. There’s a lot of star power here, and I think it’ll show on the scoreboard. A lot of strong competition, though!

 

[rmartin65]

Montreal Victorias

Coach: Dick Irvin
Syd Howe-Mickey MacKay-Charlie Conacher
Herbie Lewis-Duke Keats-Gordie Drillon
Harry Smith-Marty Walsh- Archie Hodgson
Graham Drinkwater-Bruce Stuart (A)-Charlie Liffiton
Herb Russel(l)-Herb Jordan

Harvey Pulford (C)-Eddie Shore
Frank Patrick-Rod Flett
Walter Smaill-Art Duncan
Joe Power

Charlie Gardiner (A)
Frank Stocking

PP1: Mickey MacKay-Marty Walsh-Charlie Conacher
Frank Patrick-Eddie Shore

PP2: Harry Smith-Duke Keats-Gordie Drillon
Walter Smail-Art Duncan

PK1: Herbie Lewis-Mickey MacKay
Harvey Pulford-Rod Flett

PK2: Syd Howe-Archie Hodgson
Graham Drinkwater-Eddie Shore
​

 

[Claude The Fraud]

Coach: Eddie Gerard

Aurele Joliat - Joe Malone - Harry «Punch» Broadbent
Lynn Patrick - Reg Noble - Jack Darragh
Hec Kilrea - Corb Denneny - Eddie Wiseman
Bob Davidson - Fred Whitcroft - Cully Wilson

Spares: Charley «Rabbit» McVeigh, Paul Haynes

George «Buck» Boucher - Reginald «Red» Horner
Ivan «Ching» Johnson - «Hobey» Baker
William «Flash» Hollett - Marvin «Cy» Wentworth

Spare: George Owen

George Hainsworth
Alec Connell

PP1
Aurele Joliat - Joe Malone - Harry «Punch» Broadbent
«Buck» Boucher - «Flash» Hollett

PP2
Lynn Patrick - Corb Denneny - Jack Darragh
«Hobey» Baker - Reg Noble

PK1
Bob Davidson - Reg Noble
Ivan «Ching» Johnson - Reginald «Red» Horner

PK2
Hec Kilrea - Eddie Wiseman
George «Buck» Boucher - Marvin «Cy» Wentworth​

 

[tinyzombies]

I'll get things started by giving this a shot.

First line - Not much to say here, this is just really strong, and especially balanced. Well done.

Second line - Weiland is pretty weak for a 2C here, as is Jimmy Ward at 2RW, so I'm not sure. It feels to me like Weiland is best served as a 3C, and Foyston would be better in the middle, but then there's a hole at left wing... actually, isn't Primeau the better option at centre here? I think Foyston and Ward would be really nice complementary wingers for him, as they both skew more towards goal scoring than playmaking, and Ward brings some physicality.

Third line - As this line stands, I think it's one of the best third lines in the draft. All three were solid to strong defensive players, and both Primeau and Davidson are probably luxuries as far as offensive bottom-6ers go. I didn't like Scotty much in the HOH project because his peak was like one season (and, obviously, his career was only slightly longer) but in an ATD context he brings a lot to the table, and adds much-needed truculence for his softer linemates. To nitpick, could Russell and Primeau on the same line be somewhat redundant? I feel like they're similar types of players.

Fourth line - Ernie Russell was dinged for his two-way play in the HOH project, but I can see you're going for a scoring line here, so in that sense he's fine here. Cleghorn works in that sense too, but I worry that there may not be enough playmaking between those two. I really liked Trottier and was going to pick him for my 4LW spot because of his size and physicality until you took him. It's a curious mix to my eyes, but again, if it's a scoring line I can see it.

Top pairing - I love Gerard, and he's fine as a #1. I've always had a hard time getting a read on Lionel Conacher. I gather that he was a skilled offensive player, an effective and supremely tough defender, but a pretty poor skater. How much of his star power is thanks to his exploits in other sports? Never been clear on him. But, as a partner for the strong-skating Eddie Gerard, it seems like a solid fit.

Second pairing - As you said, Grant will not be afraid to rush, and Gardiner is more than fine staying at home. Smart and sensible pairing, not much to add.

Third pairing - I like this a lot, I considered targeting both of these players before deciding on size over speed. I'm not totally confident on how much defense these two played on the same pairing, as they both switched from forward to defense at different points... I want to say they were both on the blueline by 1910? It's enough of a sample size for me. I'm a fan of this defensive group in general.

Goaltenders - I'm not big on LeSueur, I think he's clearly the weakest starter in the draft, which I'm sure you're aware of as he was the last starter taken. I'm even more solidified on Moran > LeSueur, which is how I felt about them in the later stages of the HOH project. Honestly, though, I'm sort of a skeptic of the goaltending position during the early stages of hockey anyway, and I totally understand why you'd prioritize everything else first, as I did the same. I think it's the right strategy unless you get one of the primo goaltending options at the very top, which is a group of IMO 2, maybe 3 at most.

Special teams - Powerplay looks solid. I'd definitely go Russell over Cleghorn for the second PP unit. For the PK, shouldn't Hooley and Weiland both slot in somewhere? Especially over Ernie Russell, and possibly over Jimmy Ward as well, no? Maybe that'd be straining them too much, playing top-six minutes alongside both special teams units.

Overall, this is indeed a pretty well-balanced team. I'd say the strength is on the blueline for sure, and in the two-way ability of the forward group as a whole, though I wonder if a few lineup tweaks up front might serve you well.

I'll make these changes. Maybe swap Gardiner and Conacher?

Montreal Wanderers

Pete Muldoon, Head Coach

Toe Blake - Howie Morenz (C) - Hooley Smith
Frank Foyston - Joe Primeau - Jimmy Ward
Dave Trottier - Cooney Weiland - Scotty Davidson (A)
Blair Russel - Ernie Russell (R) - Odie Cleghorn
Johnny Gagnon, Art Chapman

Herb Gardiner - Eddie Gerard (A)
Lionel Conacher - Mike Grant
Hamby Shore - Fred Lake
Taffy Abel

Percy LeSueur
Normie Smith

PP1:
Blake
Hooley - Morenz - Primeau
Gerard

PP2:
Russell
Weiland - Davidson - Foyston
Grant

PK1: Foyston - B. Russel - Gardiner - Gerard
PK2: Weiland - H.Smith - Conacher - Grant