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

[seventieslord]

Roy is definitely getting a call.

King and Ververgaert came very close to making the cut.

Suter has been good, but he's not there yet.

Frolov has simply been too inconsistent. At 28, he's about to play his way out of the NHL for good. After I've unveiled my 12 offensive LWs we can talk about whether he is more deserving than them.

Lessard? Yes he was a 2nd team all-star, but that was all because of his league-leading win total. He was 10th in sv% twice, and that was it. Career sv% was .875, below the league average during his career. And boy, was it awfully short. A record of 92-97? Hec Fowler and Hal Winkler both have records similar to that, except they played when the seasons were 24-30 games long.

Bergevin was a career #5-7 defenseman. We shouldn't be picking guys just for lasting a long time.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #17 pick in A2010, The Rosemont Mintos are pleased to select:

Richard Smehlik, D

Smehlik was not an overly physical player, but he had great size (6'4, 222) and asserted himself well on the ice. He averaged 21.73 minutes per game in his 644-game NHL career, and was definitely the 2nd-best member of Buffalo's anonymous defense that played in front of Hasek (led by Zhitnik, of course). Smehlik was Buffalo's #2 defenseman based on ice time in six seasons, five of them to Zhitnik, the other to Bodger in his sophomore season. He was also their #1 in the lockout-shortened 1995 season.

As the 2nd-best defenseman on a conference finalist and a stanley cup finalist, Smehlik has an extensive playoff resume for a guy with 644 regular season games: 88 in the playoffs. He contributed to 8 straight playoff teams in his 8 seasons in Buffalo. As you know, they missed in 1996, but Smehlik missed that whole season recovering from surgery. Coincidence?

Smehlik received little PP time but averaged a decent 0.28 adjusted ESPPG. He killed a whopping 48% of penalties for teams that were 20% better than average on the kill. Obviously a lot of this credit has to go to Hasek, but a goalie alone cannot kill penalties, and no one helped him more than Smehlik during this time. He was three times their top PK defenseman, and two other times their #2.

Smehlik's skating is his strong suit... an agile skater with good laterl movement who is very solid on his skates.... good balance, tough to knock down... If given more offensive responsibility, he responds... has good passing skill and fair hockey vision... plays well at the point and has a rocket shot, but isn't clever enough with the puck to be a really effective member of the PP... can use his body but has to be more consistent and authoritative... not a mean hitter, prefers to use his stick to break up plays, and he does that effectively... plays a lot of minutes against top lines...

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Smehlik is definitely AA worthy. He and Zhitnik were a very underrated pair in the late 90s. They really excelled at the simple game that was playing in front of Hasek - assume that Hasek will stop every first shot he can see, keep the crease clear of bodies and rebounds.

Biggest difference between them is that Smehlik had less skill with the puck than Zhitnik. But definitely worthy as a stay at home guy / crease clearer.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #18 pick in A2010, The Broder's Annex Marauders are pleased to select:

Ron Harris, D

Harris was a beast. I've been eyeing this guy up for a good long while, but couldn't pass up a player like Dale Rolfe for him, mainly because Rolfe was given more ice time when they were on the same team. But Harris is a very worthy selection, and the main reason is that he was extremely strong, and one of the league's very best bodycheckers.

He averaged just 17.7 minutes per game in his career, but as far as role-players go, he was among the best. (Darius Kasparaitis, for example, was not much more than a bodychecker either, and averaged just 18.8 minutes per game in his career, but was picked at 790 and 815 the last two drafts)

Although he was the #2 defenseman on a weak Detroit team in 1973, he was often New York's #5-6**, behind guys like Park, Marotte, Rolfe, Neilson and Seiling. With that said, he is the perfect example of an ATD "niche player", who should get selected higher than he otherwise would, because of how good he was at one role - just like Kasparaitis does (because let's face it, Kasparaitis would be getting profiled by me right about now if it wasn't for his hipchecks)

**He may have been higher in the depth chart than that. It's really tough to say because even in New York he was getting some time at forward. As a forward you get less icetime, so this would cause his overall total to look lower than it was. He could have been a #3-4 a couple years.

NHL Correspondents' Poll
Hardest Hitter:
1. Barclay Plager: 16 points
2. Ron Harris: 12 points
3. Bob Plager: 9 points

Best Fighter:
4. Bob Kelly, 10 pts
5. Steve Vickers, 6 points
6. Ron Harris, 4 points
6. Pierre Bouchard, 4 points

Hard rock defenseman who delights in body contact aspect of the position... when he got hurt last season he was one of the team's best defenders... has played up front on wing but prefers defense...

"A strong man and a super guy. He didn't back down from anybody."

Ron Harris was never a big goalscorer in the NHL, but he had three things that served him well during his 8+ years in the NHL: strength, dedication and versatility.… Harris stood only 5 foot nine 175 pounds, but was built solid as a rock. Former teammate Douglas recalled that Harris used to put weights on his wrists, ankles and shins adds to build up his strength before practice. The result was that Harris became one of the strongest man in the league. An incident was recalled where Harris picked up Bob Woytowich of the Penguins and "threw him from the red line to the blue line. He was the strongest guy in hockey." In addition to the strength, Harris had versatility. "I wanted to play a lot and gave 100%," he recalls. "I was always on the checking line or playing defense. I can play every position except goaltender."

Tracy Pratt remembers Harris as "a good teammate. He brought a lot to the table with his toughness. He was a checking player who played steady up and down the wing."

The low point for Harris had to be the bill Masterton incident that took place in Minneapolis on January 13, 1968.… Harris was one of the players who hit Masterton as he crossed the blue line into the Oakland zone. Although nobody ever said the hit was dirty or outside of the rules, you could tell the incident still bothered Harris, even more than 30 years later.

… After scoring only two goals in 1974, Harris added three clutch goals in the playoffs, including two overtime winners.

Wally Boyer did a good job of summing up what Ron Harris meant to the seals that first season in Oakland: "he was a tough little guy and a good solid player. He hit everything that moved."

Some choice passages from a 630-page book that talks about nothing but the 64-75 Rangers and Bruins:

Harris: "oh, I remember when we beat out Boston. God, I played a great series, I never got a penalty and I remember hitting so many guys in that series. At the end, after the game, I was kind of late to get on the bus… Guys were interviewing me at all that and anyways Bobby Orr was near our bus and he said Ronnie, he said, you played great, he says you're the reason were not here anymore. He says you are the guy. And then when I got on the bus, everybody gave me a standing ovation, all the players."

Q: you were unique because you never really have a lot of penalty minutes and yet you had a presence on the ice. I guess they were afraid to fight you, is what it came down to. "Yeah, a lot of guys were, you know? But I was mainly like a body checker, really. I tried hit the guy pretty cleanly with the good body check, shoulder or hip check..."

Q: you took Esposito out that year in the 73 playoffs. "Yeah, yeah, and that was a clean hit, that's right."

Q: I have in my notes that you broke your stick in front of the Philly bench and challenged them and no one came out. "Yeah, I remember that. Yeah, yeah. I can rumor what happened but anyways yeah, hit my stick near their bench on the boards there. They were all jumping on the bench, they all wanted to get me after that, you know? They were yelling at me, whatever."

Stemkowski:
Q: was that something the Rangers didn't do? They didn't protect, you think? "We had Ron Harris but I don't think we used him enough. I remember Dave Schultz, who I became friends with later on, once told me, boy, he says, if you guys would've put Ron Harris on the ice more, but one guy we feared on your team, I mean besides the guy scoring goals, was Ron Harris. Ron Harris was a boxer, tough guy, he could've taken on any one of those guys that he was a fourth line guy. And I remember him telling me that, and this was several years ago, that boy, we didn't like it whenever he came on the ice, we just minded our P's and Q's. That's how much we they were afraid of him. And we didn't use him enough. Obviously we should have.

Gene Carr: "Ronnie Harris, he was just big and strong, stocky and strong. He was 5 foot 11 or whatever. Ronnie Harris used to carry his weights in his suitcase when he was on the road. "

Mike Murphy: "Ronnie Harris played a huge part, like he was a physically intimidating guy that whole series. And if there's one thing that I remember, is how tough he was in that series and how he never backed down from a lot of the Bruins. Yeah, he was a tough guy and a real tough, hard guy and a great guy off the ice. You know, real pleasure to play with a man like him ."

Bil Fairbairn: "Ronnie Harris, he was one strong guy. He challenged the whole bench there in Philly. He went over there and bust a stick right in front of them and nobody would come off. Schultz, Saleski, nobody came off the bench. He was a scary guy when he got mad but he didn't get mad that much I think to be an enforcer, you had to just pick your fights and go out and do it. "

Dale Rolfe:
Q: some people say Walt Tkaczuk was a strong guy too. "He was never compared to Ronnie Harris. Ronnie Harris could bench press over 400 pounds. And not too many hockey players could do that. "

 

[VanIslander]

Smehlik? Don't tell that to Sabres fans.

...maddening inconsistency, devastating mental errors, key turnovers at crucial points in the game, a penchant for putting the puck in your own net, and an almost complete lack of physical play

http://www.talkbuffalosports.com/ted-darling-memorial-press-box/3110.htm

How anyone who WATCHED the Sabres back then could think he's worthy of all-time selection is beyond me. I liked him at times, but he sure was disappointing, the opposite of 'solid'.

The Sabres had a woeful blueline, and didn't belong anywhere near the Stanley Cup finals except for the five-season Hart finalist goaltending of Hasek (worth the price of admission).

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Smehlik? Don't tell that to Sabres fans.


http://www.talkbuffalosports.com/ted-darling-memorial-press-box/3110.htm

How anyone who WATCHED the Sabres back then could think he's worthy of all-time selection is beyond me. I liked him at times, but he sure was disappointing, the opposite of 'solid'.

The Sabres had a woeful blueline, and didn't belong anywhere near the Stanley Cup finals except for the five-season Hart finalist goaltending of Hasek (worth the price of admission).

The comments in that thread (by Sabres fans) appear about 50/50 for and against Smehlik.

I mean, you had the likes of Brisebois selected; was Smehlik really worse than him?

(For the record, the moment Brisebois was selected and deemed worthy of selection at that point is when I decided I was happy that I didn't join the AA draft).

Edit: I remember those Buffalo teams having a pretty average defense, but then a group of forwards that was barely NHL calibre after Peca and Satan.

 

[EagleBelfour]

The comments in that thread (by Sabres fans) appear about 50/50 for and against Smehlik.

I mean, you had the likes of Brisebois selected; was Smehlik really worse than him?

(For the record, the moment Brisebois was selected and deemed worthy of selection at that point is when I decided I was happy that I didn't join the AA draft).

I've watched Brisebois play for years, and I don't understand these comments. I don't know if he was a worthy AA selection, but Brisebois was a worthy player in his own right at the time he played. Patrice Brisebois is more worthy of a selection in the AA draft than Tomas Kaberle and Andrei Markov in the All-Time Draft, and overall I would take Brisebois before Smehlik on my team

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I've watched Brisebois play for years, and I don't understand these comments. I don't know if he was a worthy AA selection, but Brisebois was a worthy player in his own right at the time he played. Patrice Brisebois is more worthy of a selection in the AA draft than Tomas Kaberle and Andrei Markov in the All-Time Draft, and overall I would take Brisebois before Smehlik on my team

Do you mean this comment?

(For the record, the moment Brisebois was selected and deemed worthy of selection at that point is when I decided I was happy that I didn't join the AA draft).

OH, it was kind of an off the cuff comment. The reason I was happy I didn't join is that I didn't have the desire this time to argue over which mediocre defenseman (Smehlik, Brisebois) was better. Just a personal thing.

I had a feeling all the guys I would consider true difference makers were gone by the end of the AAA draft, and seeing an entirely unspectacular NHLer like Brisebois be considered a good pick (and he probably was) kind of confirmed that in my mind. Just my opinion though.

As for Kaberle and Markov, I can see them as legit bottom pairing puck movers now that we are moving to a 40 team draft.

By the way, aren't you as a Habs fan supposed to hate Brisbois? Isn't it a rule or something?

 

[seventieslord]

Smehlik? Don't tell that to Sabres fans.


http://www.talkbuffalosports.com/ted-darling-memorial-press-box/3110.htm

How anyone who WATCHED the Sabres back then could think he's worthy of all-time selection is beyond me. I liked him at times, but he sure was disappointing, the opposite of 'solid'.

The Sabres had a woeful blueline, and didn't belong anywhere near the Stanley Cup finals except for the five-season Hart finalist goaltending of Hasek (worth the price of admission).

Hmm, Lindy Ruff better drop down to the AAA draft then, because he's an awful coach for deeming Smehlik worthy of so many minutes against the opposition's best, year after year after year... you'd think the guy would learn! What a fool.

 

[hfboardsuser]

With the #12 pick in A2010, The Wascana View Millionaires are pleased to select:

Alexander Kozhevnikov, C

- Need an offensive ringer? Here's your guy. Kozhevnikov had great size, 6'3", 195 lbs, and was a big-time scorer. With the KLM line as his competition, Kozhevnikov finished 2nd in Russian league scoring in 1982 and 1983, and 5th in 1984 and 1988. He finished with 243 goals and 188 assists in 525 Russian league games. He had 18 points in 24 important international games, and was among Russia's leaders at the 1982 World Championships and the 1984 Olympics. Kozhevnikov was 5th in MVP voting in 1982, one of very few remaining players to achieve this.

Kozhevnikov places 30th on the above list of the "Bobrov Club", in the spot just ahead of Golikov.

He placed 10th in scoring at the 1984 Olympics, tied with Ed Olczyk, Pelle Eklund and Pat Lafontaine. In the 1982 Worlds, his 6 goals were exceeded by only Bill Barber and Viktor Shalimov, matched by the likes of Lala, Shepelev, Gretzky and Makarov.

During the last ATD, I ended up doing quite a bit of research on Kozhevnikov based on his international performances. Most North American newspaper accounts made significant mention of his strong backhand and the ability to mystify goalies with long, seemingly weak-looking shots. I recall a Russians source comparing him to Phil Esposito due to his ability to dominate in the slot thanks to his size, skill and strength, but I can't find it now. In any case, I figured at the time that he'd one day make a nice AA selection, especially as a PP specialist.

 

[seventieslord]

Updated the Ron Harris bio. God, what a beast. How high should this guy get selected in the next AAA draft?

 

[seventieslord]

During the last ATD, I ended up doing quite a bit of research on Kozhevnikov based on his international performances. Most North American newspaper accounts made significant mention of his strong backhand and the ability to mystify goalies with long, seemingly weak-looking shots. I recall a Russians source comparing him to Phil Esposito due to his ability to dominate in the slot thanks to his size, skill and strength, but I can't find it now. In any case, I figured at the time that he'd one day make a nice AA selection, especially as a PP specialist.

Thanks for the info, it is much appreciated. If I wasn't doing 100 bios I could spend more time and hopefully dig up stuff like that on Kozhevnikov. Being 2nd in scoring to Makarov twice makes him enticing right away. Why not an MLD PP specialist?

 

[hfboardsuser]

Why not an MLD PP specialist?

The reason I started sniffing around him as an ATD option was because I desperately needed a big pivot to slot in between Gagnon and Vikulov on a 4th scoring line/2nd PP unit I was planning to use in games against teams with a lot of firepower. I ended up getting a lot of flak for both of those picks, though, so it seemed pointless to make either regular roster players when many felt they were better-suited for the MLD.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #19 pick in A2010, The Cathedral Bohemians are pleased to select:

Rick Lapointe, D

Arguably the most handsome hockey player of all-time, Rick Lapointe was a very solid all-around defenseman for 622 games from 1975-1986. He averaged 21.64 minutes and was often one of his team's best defensemen:

As a rookie in 1976 he was 2nd in icetime to only Terry Harper. This was a poor team that allowed 74 more goals than it scored, but Lapointe was only a -3. Late the following year, Philadelphia stole him in a 4-for-2 deal, with Lapointe being the centerpiece and the only player (aside from Terry Murray's 173 games) who did anything after the deal.

He was a depth player for Philadelphia (#4-5) and helped them on a couple of playoff runs. A scouting report from 1979 describes him as "tough".

It was in the 1979 offseason that Philly pulled the trigger on a deal to get Phil Myre when it looked like they would no longer have Bernie Parent's services. In St. Louis, Lapointe shone. He was their #1 defenseman in 1980 and 1981, and #2 in 1982, with the team getting totals of 80, 107, and 72 points. That's right, Lapointe was the top defenseman on a team that had 107 points and was 2nd overall.

Said of Lapointe during these years: leaves something to be desired in the way of finesse, but he is tough without being a butcher, and that's a quantity to be admired these days.... has matured into an excellent player... not spectacular but a thorough defensive player... uses size to control corners and clear traffic... moves the puck well from his own zone but isn't regarded as a good rusher...anchor of the Blues' blueline... more efficient than spectacular... strong defensively, uses size and strength well... was important part of Blues' rebirth... "

After heading to Quebec he became more of a journeyman type (he spent some time in the minors but was getting #2 minutes when in the NHL) before spending a season and a bit in LA. Rather than go back to the minors, he retired.

Lapointe's statistical legacy: An adjusted +31, playing 21.64 minutes a game, and killed 37% of his team's penalties while playing just 14% of their powerplays.

 

[seventieslord]

The reason I started sniffing around him as an ATD option was because I desperately needed a big pivot to slot in between Gagnon and Vikulov on a 4th scoring line/2nd PP unit I was planning to use in games against teams with a lot of firepower. I ended up getting a lot of flak for both of those picks, though, so it seemed pointless to make either regular roster players when many felt they were better-suited for the MLD.

Oh, I get it, when you said AA, you meant ATD, didn't you?

 

[VanIslander]

Hmm, Lindy Ruff better drop down to the AAA draft then, because he's an awful coach for deeming Smehlik worthy of so many minutes against the opposition's best, year after year after year... you'd think the guy would learn! What a fool.

This coming from the guy who thinks crunched stats show Bowman must have been mistaken to think Gainey so great.

 

[hfboardsuser]

Oh, I get it, when you said AA, you meant ATD, didn't you?

No, I meant AA. I ultimately decided that beyond him not fitting the final roster makeup, he was so unproven as a commodity that it would take- and will take- a boatload of information we don't yet have to make him even a viable MLD pick.

That's not to say I don't think he deserves it or that someone shouldn't try it, but it'll take a team with a lot of better-known players to take a risk on a player never drafted before at any level. The same goes for many guys in this thread- the MLD is, I think, a lot harder to introduce new players in because expansion has given us so many players with long resumes, relatively strong career totals and a lot of good quotes that it's easy to make an entire team out of them without having to do that extra detective work.

Now, in the "new" MLD with 40 teams at the ATD level? He should definitely pop up.

BTW- still no Don Gallinger? I think he belongs somewhere. His career obviously ended under different circumstances, but I'm sure there are more than a few guys taken at the AA/A level at this point who only saw five or six years of NHL action and likely don't have the kind of talent he had. In the course of my research I've come across a number of quotes from people in the game that considered him among the best centers in the entire NHL during the 40s.

"Brilliant young center..."- New York Times

"According to some in the know, the best young centerman in the NHL."- Boston Globe

"Don Gallinger set the pace for the Bruins, playing a great game that kept the Canuck defencemen wondering where he would turn up next."- Canadian Press

"No wonder that Art Ross, his teammates and opponents call Gallinger one of the finest prospects ever to come into the league."- Harold Kaese, Boston Globe

"This lad Don Gallinger is a sweet hockey player. He is as fast as they make 'em. In fact he is one of the fastest-skating Eastern-developed hockey players we've ever seen"- Winnipeg Free Press

The Canadian Press described Gallinger's 1946 playoff OT winner against Montreal as "one of the greatest one-man hockey efforts" in local history.

He has a top-ten assists finish, and was 1st, 3rd, 6th and 7th in Bruins team scoring. Yes, it was partially during the War years, but guys like Dumart, Schmidt, Guidolin, Cain, Cowley, Babando and Bauer were also present at that time and Gallinger either beat or came close to them in point finishes.

In fact, his resume as it stands now is almost identical to Guidolin's, and Bep both played longer and was a fourth-liner in AAA. I don't think it would be out of place to see them together this time around in the same league. Just keep Billy Taylor away from that team and things would be fine.

 

[VMBM]

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.

And he scored 8 goals in a game versus West Germany (http://www.chidlovski.net/1954/54_game_info.asp?gm_id=gm379)

Possibly a USSR record? (I haven't studied it that thoroughly)

 

[VanIslander]

... still no Don Gallinger? I think he belongs somewhere. His career obviously ended under different circumstances, but I'm sure there are more than a few guys taken at the AA/A level at this point who only saw five or six years of NHL action and likely don't have the kind of talent he had. In the course of my research I've come across a number of quotes from people in the game that considered him among the best centers in the entire NHL during the 40s.

"Brilliant young center..."- New York Times

"According to some in the know, the best young centerman in the NHL."- Boston Globe

"Don Gallinger set the pace for the Bruins, playing a great game that kept the Canuck defencemen wondering where he would turn up next."- Canadian Press

"No wonder that Art Ross, his teammates and opponents call Gallinger one of the finest prospects ever to come into the league."- Harold Kaese, Boston Globe

"This lad Don Gallinger is a sweet hockey player. He is as fast as they make 'em. In fact he is one of the fastest-skating Eastern-developed hockey players we've ever seen"- Winnipeg Free Press

The Canadian Press described Gallinger's 1946 playoff OT winner against Montreal as "one of the greatest one-man hockey efforts" in local history.

Thanks for the quotes. Gallinger belongs where he was drafted, a Top-6 forward on my 2010 Double-A squad:

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

coaches Bob Hartley, Tom Watt

Martin Rucinsky - Viktor Yakushev - Sergei Svetlov
Aaron Broten (A) - Don Gallinger - Wayne Connelly
John Marks - Billy Breen (A) - Tom Webster
Stephane Matteau - Rudy Migay - Mark Hunter
Don Metz

Al MacNeil (C) - Dmitri Mironov
Ron Plumb - Walter Buswell
Alex Levinsky - Bingo Kampman
Toni Lydman

Ernie Wakely
Don Simmons​

The Blue Jays select pivot Don Gallinger, the 5-year NHL pro who led the Bruins in assists and points in 1945-46 and in assists again two seasons later, 7th in league assists the 1947-48 season, scoring 153 NHL points in 222 NHL games, including 3 goals in the 1943 Stanley Cup Finals run and 6 points in the 1945 Finals run. Number 11, the nephew of HHOFer Shorty Green, was the second youngest NHLer in history at age 17 and centered the Kid Line until a gambling scandal ended a decent career five seasons later at the tender age of 22.

".. good shooting, swift skating..."

http://books.google.ca/books?id=wpb...BzgU#v=onepage&q=don gallinger bruins&f=false

He became known as Boston's "lamplighter" because of he was one of the mainstays on a team on its way up the ladder in the standings. Over the course of his early years in hockey, he had been offered contracts by baseball's Philadelphia Phillies and later the Boston Red Sox. Both times he turned down the offers because they were too small. With two sports from which to choose, if necessary, he was riding high in the sports world. But suddenly the bubble burst. At the same time as Billy "The Kid" Taylor was barred from professional hockey, Gallinger was handed an indefinite suspension stemming from his association with Detroit bookmaker and racketeer, James Tamer.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12673

...his resume as it stands now is almost identical to Guidolin's, and Bep both played longer and was a fourth-liner in AAA. I don't think it would be out of place to see them together this time around in the same league. Just keep Billy Taylor away from that team and things would be fine.

Guidolin is more likely a AA-level quality pick than Gallinger is a AAA level pick, at least this year.

 

[VanIslander]

Roy is definitely getting a call.

King and Ververgaert came very close to making the cut.

Dave King, as all-time great assistant coach material, was 1 of 9 picks I thought definitely ought to have been made. He's definitely a top-100 coach and I think a worthy 50-75 ranking coach, especially in a supporting role, as assistant coach. Exactly 75 coaches were drafted this year, but there ought to have been a few more.

 

[Leaf Lander]

is there a list of all players for all these additional drafts here on hf?
are they alphabetical?

 

[VanIslander]

is there a list of all players for all these additional drafts here on hf? are they alphabetical?

You started that way back.

We'll be doing it chronological this year, at least for the first 1000 picks.

 

[seventieslord]

This coming from the guy who thinks crunched stats show Bowman must have been mistaken to think Gainey so great.

Someone already tried to use that against me, but Bowman gave Ramsay more icetime than Gainey, so....

 

[seventieslord]

And he scored 8 goals in a game versus West Germany (http://www.chidlovski.net/1954/54_game_info.asp?gm_id=gm379)

Possibly a USSR record? (I haven't studied it that thoroughly)

Yikes!

Well that makes me wonder now.

Dave King, as all-time great assistant coach material, was 1 of 9 picks I thought definitely ought to have been made. He's definitely a top-100 coach and I think a worthy 50-75 ranking coach, especially in a supporting role, as assistant coach. Exactly 75 coaches were drafted this year, but there ought to have been a few more.

I agree, coaches were the most neglected position and I actually have 8 I want to profile (Sutter was the 1st)... it might be hard to believe I ran out of room for King, but I did.

 

[Leaf Lander]

You started that way back.

We'll be doing it chronological this year, at least for the first 1000 picks.

I was single then with no kids

ahh the good old days