The 2010 All-Time Free Agency Thread (The Undrafteds)

[VanIslander]

720 guys were drafted in the main 2010 ATD draft
384 were drafted in the 2010 MLD draft
240 drafted in the 2010 AAA draft
144 in the 2010 Double-A draft
1488 in total.

And yet there may be some great players out there.

What players and coaches were overlooked in the 2010 drafts?
Who are the deserving undrafteds?

Who could arguably have been a depth pick on a ATD or MLD team or a call-up quality guy if had been selected? (question marks at top-6 forward, bottom-6 intangibles, stay at home dmen, career backup goalies, overlooked coaches, etc)

Avoid listing scrubs and players having no business on at least a AAA team if not late round MLD selection. We are not making a list of next-best, Single-A level guys. We are looking for the hidden gems, the ones we should have drafted. Or at least the ones for whom there is SOME reason to think might be better than they appear.

There are marginal Top-1000 players out there undrafted, even if they come with pretty hefty question marks (lack of info due to era, lack of top level competition, really short career, etc). Let's profile some of them.

Do NOT profile any present-day players who have had less than 300 pro games. This is in no way a projection project. Focus on the history of the game.)

State why it'd be a good pick. Give some stats or description, something. Please don't just drop a name.

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

Those drafted are all here: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=839376 (control-f to check if possible undrafted was drafted)

The Undrafteds

Summary List

Tim Hunter
Dave Hannan
Martin Biron
Joe Benoit
coach Mike Buckna
coach Sid Abel
coach Alf Smith
Dusan Pasek
Darius Rusnak
coach Clare Drake
Nelson Emerson
Petr Briza
Jimmy Foster
Ilya Byakin
Lucien deBlois
Ville Peltonen
Michel Larocque
Alexander Semak
coach Vsevolod Bobrov
Joe Cirella
Brendan Witt

plus Single-A mock draft selections
by seventieslord (4 teams),
VanIslander (1 team)

​

 

[seventieslord]

I have three full teams of players ready to go, I just need to do mini-bios for each and then I will present.

Yes, I believe they all could have had a place in the AAA.

 

[MadArcand]

I have some names left on my list, but I'll wait to see if they make your teams (they should, but I suspect about four won't).

 

[VanIslander]

4th line role-playing right winger Tim Hunter

132 NHL playoff games, including three Stanley Cup Finals and a Cup
NHL Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (2-time nominee)
NHL King Clancy Memorial Trophy (2-time nominee)
Top-5 in PIMs each year in a 5-year stretch

While Tim lacked the skills to do the finesse game, he excelled at the physical game. He was as big and strong as they come. He did some good work along the boards and in front of the net. And of course Time was a willing and good fighter, and occasionally would use his lumber in a not so legal manner.

Tim had a small and well defined role on the ice, but it is impossible to over exaggerate the importance of his contributions off of it. He was a great team player - excellent in the dressing rooms. The Calgary Flames became a powerhouse in the 1980s, and Tim's fingerprints are all over that. His wit, humor, support and leadership helped to mold a group of individuals into a top flight team.

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2006/05/tim-hunter.html

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

You guys need to keep drafting until Aki Berg and Wade Belak become viable options.

 

[seventieslord]

You guys need to keep drafting until Aki Berg and Wade Belak become viable options.

Aki berg is about 1000 picks away, I figure. Belak is probably 1500. Due to his positional versatility, he could be a spare on a 'M' league team

 

[Hedberg]

How many picks are we away from Link Gaetz being viable?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Penalty killer extraordinaire Dave Hannan, C:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=10604

He was Wayne Presley's partner on the Buffalo PKs that led the league two years in a row:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=10775107&postcount=19

(Though I'm sure Hasek had more to do with it than either of them).

 

[tony d]

Myself and Dave discussed this guy as a possible #1 goalie until we found Leif Holmqvist:

Martin Biron

-213-178-49 Career Record
-5 20 Win Seasons
-One of the better backups in the NHL today.

More on Biron can be found here:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18254

 

[Hedberg]

Penalty killer extraordinaire Dave Hannan, C:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=10604

I had him on my mental list at the beginning of the draft and then he slipped my mind as the draft went on. He's a better pick than McCormack.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

RW Joe Benoit

-Played on the Punch Line before Maurice Richard

1940-41: 13th in goals, 19th in points.
Tied with Toe Blake for 2nd on the team with 32 points, 2 points behind John Quilty

1941-42: 7th in goals, 15th in points
2nd on the team with 36 points (Toe Blake had 45)

1942-43: 2nd in goals, 17th in assists, 11th in points.
4th in the team with 57 points, but only 2 behind 1st place Toe Blake

Then he went off to fight the war and came back a shell of himself, playing in only 45 more unspectacular games.

coach Mike Buckna

-Member of the IIHF HOF
-Member of the British Columbian Hockey HOF
-Member of the Slovakian Hockey HOF
-I'm not sure if he is in the Czech HOF or not

Mike got his start in the junior ranks, then as a rookie senior with the Trail Smoke Eaters, who became the B.C. Champions of 1932-33. In 1935, Mike went to Prague, Czechoslovakia where he took a job as player/coach with Prague's Lawn Tennis Club. While there, he met Aloisie (Lola) Frolikova. Lola was an exceptional tennis player and a natural talent and won several major European tournaments. Mike and Lola were married in Prague, on March 26, 1938.

In 1939, Mike and Lola returned to Trail where he went to work at Cominco. Of course he was also working in the family business, the Montana Hotel.

Mike was given a tryout with the Chicago Blackhawks, but when offered a contract decided against a life on the road and returned to Trail. In 1946, the family returned to Prague where Mike was given the opportunity to coach the Czechoslovakian National Hockey team and was the coordinator of the entire Czech hockey system. He taught the kind of hockey played in Trail - conditioning and passing. He pioneered hockey clinics, coached senior and junior teams and started minor hockey for several thousand youngsters throughout the country. The result: a world hockey power.

Mike coached the Czech Olympic Team in the 1948 Olympics. The team only lost one game in those Olympics and that was to Canada. Mike's team won a silver medal. He also led the Czech National Team to three European titles and one world championship, in 1947. Shortly after the Olympics, the Russians occupied Czechoslovakia and Mike and his family had to return to Trail. He regained employment with Cominco and continued to play hockey for the Trail Smoke Eaters.

After his retirement from playing, Mike coached the Rossland Warriors and the Trail Junior Smoke Eaters. Mike was actively involved with hockey, both in Trail and Czechoslovakia, for almost fifty years.

Mike and Lola later bought the Montana Hotel and continued to operate it until their retirement in 1974. Lola passed away November 29, 1976. Mike made several visits to Czechoslovakia, as a guest of the government, to attend world hockey tournaments. In 1978, as the guest of the Czechoslovakian Hockey Federation, Mike was introduced as the "Father of Czechoslovakian Hockey."

In 1989, Mike received a major honour in his life. He was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame..

http://www.trailhistory.com/monument.php?action=display&id=8

coach Sid Abel

Regular Season W-L-T: 382-427-155
Playoff W-L: 32-44
League Championship: 1964-1965
Playoff appearances: 1953, 1958, 1960-1961, 1963-1966, 1970
Stanley Cup Finals Appearances: 1961, 1963-1964, 1966

n 1957 Abel took over the coaching reins of the Red Wings; the third in a list of mild-mannered coaches (Tommy Ivan and Jimmy Skinner were the others) who played good cop to general manager Jack Adams’ bad cop. Abel (like Ivan and Skinner) supplied the healing balm whenever Jack Adams vented his spleen. Always popular, Abel provided a positive, relaxed atmosphere that allowed his players to express themselves on the ice.

http://insidehockey.com/?p=4671

coach Alf Smith?

He won several Cups as a "player/coach," but back then, was a player/coach much different from captain?

 

[seventieslord]

where are you getting this about Alf Skinner? Do you have him confused with someone else, perhaps? He won just one cup to my knowledge:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=17840109&postcount=557

edit: Oh, I get it... you mean Alf Smith. I was going to mention him.

 

[seventieslord]

I'm going to do a fun little exercise. I will simulate a 4-team, 100-pick draft, playing the part of all four GMs. It will basically be what I think the next 100 picks would be, if everyone thought like me.

Three players mentioned so far are already shortlisted for this draft.

 

[MadArcand]

Wow, no one picked Alf Smith? I was sure he was gone. The guy had easily as much success as Pete Green, who went in ATD!!

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

where are you getting this about Alf Skinner? Do you have him confused with someone else, perhaps? He won just one cup to my knowledge:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=17840109&postcount=557

edit: Oh, I get it... you mean Alf Smith. I was going to mention him.

Oops yes, I get them mixed up sometimes.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Wow, no one picked Alf Smith? I was sure he was gone. The guy had easily as much success as Pete Green, who went in ATD!!

I was well aware that he was available in the AAA draft. But I didn't pick him because I had absolutely no idea what he added to the team.

With Pete Green, you know that he was a coach behind the bench who made the team much better when they had him than when they didn't. (Also there was a good profile made of him recently that showed his versatility).

What does Alf Smith bring behind the bench? He was a player/coach in an era when players played the full 60 minutes, so he wasn't even sitting behind the bench.

I seriously don't know as much about the era as many of you. What did player/coaches do that differentiated them from modern captains?

 

[seventieslord]

Let's call this the "A" draft. It is held in Regina, in a local house league. Competing for glory are four of Regina's more prominent neighbourhoods, represented by the following squads:

The Rosemont Mintos
The Broder's Annex Marauders
The Cathedral Bohemians
The Wascana View Millionaires

The draft order has been drawn, and is as shown above. The draft order will snake. Teams will make 25 selections each, for a total of 100 picks.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #1 pick in A2010, The Rosemont Mintos select:

Brendan Morrison, C

Morrison, at the AAA level, was a bit of a "tweener". He wasn't quite good enough offensively to get a top line role, and there were better checkers out there for bottom-6 roles. At the A level, Morrison stands out as possibly the best offensive forward, and almost certainly the best overall when you consider that he brings a solid two-way game as well.

Morrison's career average of 0.82 adjusted PPG is 7th among available post-expansion players with 400+ games. Five of the six ahead of him are active and won't maintain their slightly higher averages over the 200-400 games they trail him by. Morrison has six 50-point seasons to his credit, and they came between 2001 and 2007, when scoring was a lot tougher than in the 1980s. It's too easy to dismiss his offensive achievements because he was often a complementary player to better wingers like Naslund and Bertuzzi, but he is a very good player in his own right.

Stats time: Morrison has killed 20% of his teams' penalties throughout his career. His ironman streak of 6+ full seasons is among the longest of all-time. His career adjusted +/- of +69 is among the stronger figures among available players, and dismissing that because of his strong linemates obscures the fact that he was a good player on both sides of the puck.

Morrison's hockey sense and vision are outstanding... may not be a classic #1 center but doesn't look out of place... plays a key role in the line's dominance... will try daring and creative moves... has soft hands for passing and a selection of deceptively heavy shots... can work low on the PP or at the point... doesn't panic and is poised with the puck... strong skater with balance, quickness, agility, breakaway speed... a quick and savvy penalty killer... small but wise enough to stay out of trouble... has wiry strength for playing in high-traffic areas... plays with a little edge to him that shows he will not be intimidated...

 

[seventieslord]

With the #2 pick in A2010, The Broder's Annex Marauders are pleased to select:

Rockett Power, D

Let's get one thing out of the way: Rocket Power has THE best hockey name in all of history. No one can touch it. Not Zarley Zalapski, not Kelly Buchberger, not Jeff Beukeboom, not Darren Rumble, and not Cal Clutterbuck.

Rockett was the best of the Power brothers, playing 8 seasons of top-level hockey over the course of 11 years, which was actually a ton for a guy whose career started in the 1899-1903 range. (see Russell Bowie, Frank McGee, Marty Walsh, Herb Jordan, Ernie Russell, and on and on and on)

In 42 top-level games, Power had 8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points and 82 PIM. Along the way, Power also played in the Alberta Senior League and Maritime Pro League. In the 1910 OPHL season, Power's 7 points were 2nd among defensemen and he was named a league all-star.

The difference seemed to be on defence where Billy Baird and Rocket Power of Waterloo formed an impenetrable wall to the Brantford forwards

...The Waterloo defence tandem of Baird and Power stood up the Brantford forwards for the second straight game as the Colts beat the Braves 6-3 for their third consecutive win

...The Berlin forwards, particularly Dumart and Frood had a tough time getting by the Waterloo defence pair of Billy Baird and Rocket Power

...Rocket Power and Billy Baird played another strong game for Waterloo completely shutting down Brantford‟s offence.

...coverpoint Rocket Power scored on an end to end rush.

...John Cross is a testament to the difference that strong defensive play makes to a goalkeeper‟s statistics. In the first five games of the 1910 season Cross allowed an average of 8.46 goals against per game, but after the Colts signed Rocket Power and Billy Baird his average dropped to 4.67 goals against per game, second only to Hugh Lehman; the following season without the benefit of playing behind Power and Baird his goals against average ballooned back up to 8.23 on a weak Brantford team.

...Hockey‟s original “Rocket”, Rocket Power was one of three hockey playing Power brothers along with Joe and “Chubby”. As his nickname might suggest, Power was one of the fastest skaters in the league, and he was also recognized for his clean play.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #3 pick in A2010, The Cathedral Bohemians are proud to select:

Vernon "Jake" Forbes, G

Forbes played in 13 seasons of NHL hockey, but the bulk of his career was played in 7 seasons from 1921-1928. Forbes only twice had a winning record: In 1921 and 1925. In both seasons he had the league's 2nd-best GAA.

What's best about Forbes' resume is that he was recognized as being one of the league's most valuable players: In the Hart's inagural season, he was 7th in voting, behind HHOFers plus John Ross Roach. In 1925, he was 9th, behind HHOFers plus Jimmy Herberts. Forbest is one of very, very few available players who have shown up in Hart voting, and he did it twice.

Forbes got the call from the Quakers after Cude hurt his shoulder in the January 11 overtime win versus the Montreal Maroons ... Miller finished that contest for Cude but was too weak to start in Cude's place the next two games ... Stan Baumgartner of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote Forbes was "here, there, and everywhere," performing "sensationally" in the 2-1 Quaker loss at home to the Montreal Canadiens January 13 ... Baumgartner said Forbes inspired the Quakers that night, shouting words of encouragement ... Four nights later, Forbes kept the Detroit Falcons from scoring even more in a 5-2 Quaker loss at the Arena ... Baumgartner reported Philadelphia's defense in that game was "extremely weak," but Forbes's work in goal was "splendid"

 

[seventieslord]

With the #4 pick in A2010, The Wascana View Millionaires are pleased to select:

Parker MacDonald, LW

MacDonald was a journeyman forward who was fortunate enough to play with Delvecchio and Howe for a season – 1962-63, when he finished 5th in goals and just out of the top-10 in points. Two years after that, he made his mark as a playmaker, putting up 33 assists, good for 10th in the league. He never won a cup, but he went to four finals with Detroit – 1961, 1963, 1964, and 1966. He finished with 323 points in 676 games and 28 more in 75 playoff games.

It may look like MacDonald's offensive exploits are unimpressive - and they are, compared to the guys who were already drafted. But MacDonald's three 30+ point seasons prior to expansion (actually, 46+ points each) are the 2nd-most among available players and no one else put up three 40+ point seasons prior to expansion. In fact, just five who put up two are available!

In his three best seasons, he finished 11th, 16th, and 21st in points.

MacDonald was nothing special physically or defensively, but was a good complementary offensive player for a while, at a time when there were just 18 jobs for such players.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #5 selection in A2010, the Wascana View Millionares are pleased to select:

Derek Morris, D

Morris was probably the guy that MadArcand was talking about when he referred to a guy like Gord Murphy. Watching Morris, I see a guy who's a smooth skater, great at moving the puck, and good enough in the other areas of the game to remain a useful player.

Morris has played 892 NHL games now and has been far from a nondescript player during that time. He has averaged 22.5 minutes a game and has put up 28+ points 8 times. Aside from his rookie season (5), and a three season stretch around the lockout (4, 4, 4), Morris has always been a top-3 defenseman on his team, including three seasons as Calgary's #1 in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

With 374 points after peaking in the dead puck era, Morris is a very solid offensive performer. His career -25 is a symptom of bad teams; he's an adjusted +30. Morris has been on the ice for a whopping 48% of his team's PP goals, and 35% of their PPGA.

possesses all the high-level skills, but what really sets him apart is his brain. Morris has a real grasp of the technical part of the game. he is a thinker and understands hockey thoroughly... Morris plays in all game situations, on the first PK unit and the first PP unit... posses speed that brings to mind his role model, Paul Coffey. Morris is better defensively, though... occasionally prone to breakdowns, but learns from his mistakes... not very big, but is strong... you can't run him over...

Will bring veteran leadership and two-way play to the Coyotes for several seasons

 

[seventieslord]

With the #6 pick in A2010, The Cathedral Bohemians are pleased to select:

Alexander Martyntuk, RW

Martynyuk was a very skilled offensive winger who placed in the top-4 in Russian League scoring three times at a time when making the leaderboard was not an easy task: 3rd in 1970, 4th in 1971, and 2nd in 1973. Only Maltsev, Kharlamov, Petrov, and Mikhailov topped him during these seasons. He finished with 212 goals in 410 league games. Strangely, Martynyuk only played 20 significant international games for the USSR, and I’m assuming it’s because his all-around game wasn’t great. But he had 16 goals and 24 points in the games he got into – in the 1973 WCs, only the Petrov line had more goals or points than him. He was a Soviet league 3rd team all-star in 1973. If you want an offense-only RW, at this point Martynyuk is your man.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #7 pick in A2010, The Broder's Annex Marauders are pleased to select:

Darryl Sutter, Coach

- Stanley Cup Finalist (2004)
- 3rd, 4th in Jack Adams Trophy voting
- Improved San Jose's record five seasons in a row
- Improved Calgary's record three seasons in a row
- 409 Regular season wins, 47 playoff wins

Sutter also had two very successful IHL seasons, winning the league championship and the coach of the year award in 1990.

Despite his loyalty to the Hawks over the years, Darryl left the organization in 1997 to join the San Jose Sharks as their head coach. He took the struggling expansion franchise to respectabilty as he was only the second coach in NHL history (Al Arbour of the New York Islanders was the other) to guide his team to improved point totals in five consecutive seasons. Despite a franchise record 44 win season and the franchise's first divisional title, Sutter was let go after a slow start in 2002.

Sutter was not unemployed long. Just a few weeks later he took over the Calgary Flames job, and later would add the title of General Manager. He guided the Flames to the Stanley Cup finals in 2004, and remains as one of the most successful coaches in the National Hockey League today.