The 2011 Single-A Draft (roster, picks, discussion, everything)

[VanIslander]

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS:

BiLLY_ShOE1721 - Philadelphia Arrows - three picks needed
chaosrevolver - Bursa Janissaries - seven picks needed

Everyone except Hedberg and Bring Back Scuderi needs to update their roster post, including captain and two alternates.

 

[VanIslander]

The Minutemen select Jonathan Cheechoo, the right winger who had four significant seasons of offense between 2003-04 and 2007-08, including 57 powerplay goals, 29 game winning goals and 33 playoff points over that span. He clearly has talent as a finisher. He is lacking speed and defensive ability, though he brings physicality. His offense is largely a product of great passing from one of history's best, as Thornton-to-Cheechoo was a regular occurrence over those years, especially on the powerplay. He is an extra forward, where he belongs, benched unless there is on-ice chemistry with a passer, really a powerplay specialist in all likelihood when dressed, really hit or miss. He has the peak to be drafted but not the career, and his talent is debatable, certainly limited. Consider him a good offensive role player, so to speak, useless by himself but in the right environment, and with the right motivation (before he signs a huge contract), he can be lightning in a bottle for a season, or two or three, or not. Four organizations have deemed him unworthy to play in a 30-team NHL despite efforts to rekindle the production he once had with Big Joe. 'One of the last picks of the Single-A draft' is where this Rocket Richard trophy winner belongs, if that!

The Cheechoo Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EZ7dc0mv_A

skated slower forwards than most players skated backwards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Cheechoo

 

[VanIslander]

Two GMs still need to make their final picks (they have been PM'd).

I am off on vacation. I assume seventieslord can handle any playoff requests. I suggest the challenge format we used before, allowing those teams that wanna participate to do so.

It has been a fine draft! Lots of solid picks.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

The Minutemen select Jonathan Cheechoo, the right winger who had four significant seasons of offense between 2003-04 and 2007-08, including 57 powerplay goals, 29 game winning goals and 33 playoff points over that span. He clearly has talent as a finisher. He is lacking speed and defensive ability, though he brings physicality. His offense is largely a product of great passing from one of history's best, as Thornton-to-Cheechoo was a regular occurrence over those years, especially on the powerplay. He is an extra forward, where he belongs, benched unless there is on-ice chemistry with a passer, really a powerplay specialist in all likelihood when dressed, really hit or miss. He has the peak to be drafted but not the career, and his talent is debatable, certainly limited. Consider him a good offensive role player, so to speak, useless by himself but in the right environment, and with the right motivation (before he signs a huge contract), he can be lightning in a bottle for a season, or two or three, or not. Four organizations have deemed him unworthy to play in a 30-team NHL despite efforts to rekindle the production he once had with Big Joe. 'One of the last picks of the Single-A draft' is where this Rocket Richard trophy winner belongs, if that!

The Cheechoo Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EZ7dc0mv_A

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Cheechoo

I used to think Cheechoo was literally just a one season wonder, but he did have a nice 37 goal season to follow that one up, and scored 47 points in a dead puck year. This is where he belongs IMO. My picks should be coming soon.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

I'll select my coach, Nikolay Epshtein, of the Soviet League and Soviet National team. As a far as I know, he has never been selected in any draft here.

Igor Larinov, star center on the Soviet’s famed KLM line with Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov, wrote in his autobiography: “Nikolai Semenovich Epshtein did not copy his
technique from anyone. . . . I consider him a specialist on the scale of the legendary Anatoli Tarasov, or Chernyshev.â€

http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/NikolayEpshtein.htm

If someone could give me some more information about him(I'm sure it exists, but I don't have the resources) I'd appreciate it.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

D Matt Ravlich

9th in all star voting among defensemen, 65-66

Ravlich, a close friend of Phil Esposito, was an ornery defender known to make life difficult for oncoming attackers. Though his penalty minute totals were not outrageous. He was also known to drop the gloves on more than a few occasions. Even for his era he was somewhat small at 5'10" and 180lbs, but even the big tough guys respected Ravlich and his damaging upper cut. He goes down in history as all but forgotten, but those who dropped the gloves with him always remembered.

http://blackhawkslegends.blogspot.com/2011/12/matt-ravlich.html

 

[BillyShoe1721]

With my final pick, I'll take Ray Neufeld, a 3 time 60 point scorer, and 4 time 57 point scorer.

Right-winger Ray Neufeld was a scrappy competitor who used his size and scoring ability to good effect during his 595-game NHL career. He recorded four 20-goal seasons and set up his linemates for many goals through his hard work in the corners.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13835

 

[VanIslander]

I used to think Cheechoo was literally just a one season wonder, but he did have a nice 37 goal season to follow that one up, and scored 47 points in a dead puck year. This is where he belongs IMO.

He was a one-year WONDER (wow!) but four-year worthy scoring line player. He was barely worth icing as a bottom-6 role player his first season in San Jose and a disappointment his last season as a Shark in a top-6 role. Six years with the club produced four decent regular seasons AND four decent playoffs. As a longtime Sharks fan I am less irked by his tenure in San Jose than those of Heatley, Selanne, Bell and Nabokov when it mattered most.

 

[pappyline]

D Matt Ravlich

9th in all star voting among defensemen, 65-66



http://blackhawkslegends.blogspot.com/2011/12/matt-ravlich.html

Matt Ravlich. Do you know that he was a LW in Junior & a pretty good one. Played on a line with Ed Hoekstra at C & Pie Mackenize on RW for the St Catharines Teepees. Hoekstra won the scoring title & Mckenize was runner up. Ravlich was 7th. Mikita was on the same team but the on second line & fiinshed 4th. the next season mikita was in the NHL.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

With my final pick, I'll take Ray Neufeld, a 3 time 60 point scorer, and 4 time 57 point scorer.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13835

Nice pick with Neufeld, I was thinking about picking him forever. I eventually went with Laughlin because I wanted the defensive play too, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better top 6 physical scorer at this point.

 

[seventieslord]

The Minutemen select Paul Baxter, the role-playing defenseman who taught Kevin McClelland how to fight. Baxter led three NHL franchises in penalties, not to mention being the WHA career leader in penalties taken. However, he did more than just drop the gloves: he showed he could take a regular shift. He had a 43 and a 32 point season in the NHL, and a 46 and 35 point season in the WHA. That's quite a bit for an enforcer. He five times took over 120+ shots a season (twice over 150 in the NHL) and scored 11 points in 11 games in a WHA Finals run. In 1982 he led the NHL in PIMs with a staggering 409 PIMs and still managed to score 9 goals and 34 assists from the blueline. He scored 20 powerplay goals over a five year span. In 1984 he led Calgary in playoff penalties in a Game 7 divisional finals run against Edmonton. Two years later he played 13 games of the Flames Stanley Cup Finals run. He not only fought, but he checked hard and drew penalties, is an agitator in that regard.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=11938

whoops, I thought he was taken earlier. You may have noticed me mentioning him in the "Carkner, Zombo, Cirella, Wells, Watters, Baxter, Laidlaw, Moller" pile.

Montreal select Manny Legace G

Funny, I was going to add to my ice time rant, "when we look for backups, we don't just pick the best backups, right? Because they're backups for a reason." but then you went and did it!

I felt like he at least deserved to bve picked this year with his pretty big year.He also had other decent seasons but obv is resume is very short.Still , his offensive/defensive game and the ice-time he got in his big year was enough for me to pick him ahead of ''games compilers''

by "games compilers" I hope you're referring to the likes of Bergevin, clinging to the bottom rung of the 180 full time NHL jobs that were available, like he did for the last 5 years of his career, and not guys that lasted when the number of available jobs was really small. Back then, just keeping the job was a major accomplishment!

for example: the worst NHL defenseman in 1955 was still the 30th-best defenseman in the world. What does 30th in 1955 translate to today? 60th? 90th? either way, that's a good #2-3 guy by today's standards. We need to start looking at some AHL all-stars, IMO.

To complete my team , I will honor a great fighter in Georges Laraque W

He was a great fighter, no doubt. Also a great human being and a vegan. I like him a lot. But if you wanted to honour a great fighter, there are still some who were pretty good hockey players.

A big body with some offense and two-way game to finish out my 4th line, C/RW Nik Antropov

Yep, he stayed healthy long enough and we drafted far enough, that he became a good pick. I never thought I'd see the day.

Back when everyone was hating on Antro, I was defending the guy. He's pretty good. And hey, he's led an NHL team in scoring. Most players in this draft haven't even done that.

I think he had the 2nd most career points among undrafteds when you took him.

I'll also select my backup goalie, Ed Chadwick, who for 2 seasons played all 70 games for the Maple Leafs in the O6 era, which is a significant accomplishment at this level. He also enjoyed a successful career in the AHL, being named a first team all star once, and a second team all star twice. He was also a 5th team NHL All Star in 56-57.

pretty decent short case for Chadwick. I actually thought we were done taking pre-expansion NHL goalies but he seems worthy here.

LW Ty Arbour

56 points in 209 NHL GP
83 goals 114 points in 141 WCHL GP
x1 WCHL 2nd AST ('22)
x1 Allan Cup winner

I've always looked into and considered this guy, but never went ahead with it.

just a note on that all-star team, that's being the 2nd-best LW in the 3rd-best of three top pro leagues, so... not sure what it means!

Coach Red Kelly



http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ztIbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K1EEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4586,5182784&dq=coach+red+kelly&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DcBVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g0ANAAAAIBAJ&pg=2686,3870180&dq=coach+red+kelly&hl=en


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=b8paAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AnwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5409,132409&dq=coach+red+kelly&hl=en

Interesting, I wasn't really aware he coached as long as he did.

I wonder, did he have the most NHL wins among available coaches when you took him? He might have.

D Matt Ravlich

I figure he and Mark Pavelich are going to have to duke it out.

He was a one-year WONDER (wow!) but four-year worthy scoring line player.

You are right. Don't forget that he was top-20 in goals once, without Thornton, too.

His offensive resume is pretty much Gary Leeman's without 4-5 insignificant seasons tacked onto it.

He had drifted to the top of my list for top-6 wingers, just after I finished building my own top-6.

 

[seventieslord]

8 picks left to go, and:

- 8 guys left over from the last MLD
- 6 from the AAA
- 4 from the AA
- 2 from my mock A draft

 

[seventieslord]

Well , in the ATD , MLD and AAA drafts we routinely draft forwards that are far less talented than first line players from lower draft because of the role they are playing , so why shouldn't we do the same with defensemen? De Vries is a very good 5th or 6th defenseman at this level.

one other note on all this.

your selection of Legace in the A draft aside, if this was the ATD or the MLD do you go looking for an actual backup to be your backup? I doubt it. You just want the best goalie. Similarly, we just want the best defensemen.

about TOI: one characteristic of your best players, is that they have the ability to play against the other team's best players. The other team's best players will be playing the most, so conversely, you must play your best more often to counter them. The players who, at the end of the year, have the most ice time, are typically the ones playing the tougher minutes, and are therefore the best/most valuable, for three reasons:

1. the other team's best forwards play most often, therefore so must your best defensemen
2. if the goal was not specifically matchup related, a 28-minute defensemen would have had to have seen time against the best. it would have been practically impossible for him not to
3. no coach would have the desire to play a player as often as possible while at the same time striving to do so against only weaker opposition.

one thing to remember about some of these glorified real life 3rd pairing players we're taking is, this toughness and defensive skill we see in them, we're seeing them exhibit it against 3rd and 4th line players, not the opposition's true difference makers. The players who can actually make an impact against those players are the ones the coaches are choosing to put out against them, and therefore playing for more minutes. It's far too easy to look at the gaffes of players like McCabe and declare him brutal - you have to remember, if you're playing against the best every night, they will sometimes make you look stupid. But, Greg DeVries? Oh, salt of the earth good guy. workmanlike. quietly effective. does his job, mistake free. real solid player. Yeah? play him for 26 minutes a night against top lines and then see what you think. on the other hand, you want to see a mistake-free, dominating McCabe? put him on the 3rd pairing for 19 minutes and play him against 3rd and 4th lines. But of course that will never happen because coaches want to win games and slot their players accordingly. No player will ever be too over or underqualified for their job for too long - adjustments will be made. great 3rd pairing D-men move to 2nd pairings. Poor ones move to the press box, and then the minors.

keep in mind I'm not saying there has to be hard and fast rules about higher TOI = better player. in cases where the gap is small, matchups can explain it. Such as with Niedermayer and Stevens in New Jersey. but if we're talking 2-3 minutes, that was by design, and it was because the coaches deemed one to be performing better than the other. we should not take that lightly.

 

[BenchBrawl]

one other note on all this.

your selection of Legace in the A draft aside, if this was the ATD or the MLD do you go looking for an actual backup to be your backup? I doubt it. You just want the best goalie. Similarly, we just want the best defensemen.

about TOI: one characteristic of your best players, is that they have the ability to play against the other team's best players. The other team's best players will be playing the most, so conversely, you must play your best more often to counter them. The players who, at the end of the year, have the most ice time, are typically the ones playing the tougher minutes, and are therefore the best/most valuable, for three reasons:

1. the other team's best forwards play most often, therefore so must your best defensemen
2. if the goal was not specifically matchup related, a 28-minute defensemen would have had to have seen time against the best. it would have been practically impossible for him not to
3. no coach would have the desire to play a player as often as possible while at the same time striving to do so against only weaker opposition.

one thing to remember about some of these glorified real life 3rd pairing players we're taking is, this toughness and defensive skill we see in them, we're seeing them exhibit it against 3rd and 4th line players, not the opposition's true difference makers. The players who can actually make an impact against those players are the ones the coaches are choosing to put out against them, and therefore playing for more minutes. It's far too easy to look at the gaffes of players like McCabe and declare him brutal - you have to remember, if you're playing against the best every night, they will sometimes make you look stupid. But, Greg DeVries? Oh, salt of the earth good guy. workmanlike. quietly effective. does his job, mistake free. real solid player. Yeah? play him for 26 minutes a night against top lines and then see what you think. on the other hand, you want to see a mistake-free, dominating McCabe? put him on the 3rd pairing for 19 minutes and play him against 3rd and 4th lines. But of course that will never happen because coaches want to win games and slot their players accordingly. No player will ever be too over or underqualified for their job for too long - adjustments will be made. great 3rd pairing D-men move to 2nd pairings. Poor ones move to the press box, and then the minors.

keep in mind I'm not saying there has to be hard and fast rules about higher TOI = better player. in cases where the gap is small, matchups can explain it. Such as with Niedermayer and Stevens in New Jersey. but if we're talking 2-3 minutes, that was by design, and it was because the coaches deemed one to be performing better than the other. we should not take that lightly.

I agree.

I didn't really draft Legace or De Vries because they were playing their real roles , it was frankly more a matter of being burned out after 5 consecutive drafts + the holidays.

I know I made a comment about it but I wasn't really taking position , more discussing the idea and I agree with your point of view.

 

[chaosrevolver]

Alright, time to make 7 SOBER picks..

With our first of the seven picks, the Bursa Janisarries select a center used as a two-way player in the late 90' and early 2000's for the Leafs, Sharks and Kings. He would go on to tally up 166 points in 488 games, while providing an alright contribution in the playoffs for someone with a more defensive skillset. I believe he had some selke votes at one point of another, which is pretty good since McCauley didn't light up the scoreboard either. We select Alan McCauley.

-----

With our second of the seven picks, the Bursa Janisarries will select our backup goaltender. He was a man with 169 wins split between the NHL and WHA. He was top-10 in wins on three occasions, top-3 in GAA twice, and top-10 in Save% twice..we select Pat Riggin.

-----

With our third of seven picks, the Bursa Janissaries will address the Head Coach position. How will we do this? Well, by selecting the only coach to ever lead his teams to Stanley Cup, Memorial Cup and Allan Cup victories. He did this for the Leafs, Marlies and Marlboros..and while I am having issues tracking down some of his junior coaching stats..I know there was a year when his team won 92% of the games. For the Leafs, he had a record of 97-71-42 in three seasons with two playoff appearances and of course the cup in his freshman season at the helm of the team. We select Joe Primeau.

-----

We now direct our attention to the Assistant Coach position. Once again we look to a former player, and another solid one at that. He was a legendary NCAA coach, guiding the University of Denver to five NCAA titles and eleven frozen four appearances. He finished with an overall winning percentage of .674 (460-215-31). His teams tied the Russians twice and consistently beat the US Olympic Team. He received a Lester Patrick Trophy and a Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award for his efforts. On top of all that, he also led the Regina Pats, from 1950 to 1955, to a record of 132-57-7. Simply put, he is one of the most successful NCAA coaches in the history of the game. We select Murray Armstrong.

-----

With our next pick we will take a center that will fit in as one of our spares. While his level of competition is definitely questionable, you cannot argue with the success he had. In the WHL, he led the league in scoring five times, scoring 30+ goals thirteen times. He had 145 points in 140 WHL games and won 3 Lester Patrick Cups. He even holds the league record in points with 127. We select Art Jones.

-----

Hey, I seem to love obscure picks with low level competition..so why stop now? Since, I just find him very compelling, I will take a Right Winger 500 goal scoring jew who Hitler even allowed to captain for Germany in the 1932 Olympics. He played a huge role in their bronze medal that year as well. He was voted as the best European ice hockey player in a French Sports Magazine in 1930 and was considered one of the most deadly European players during the second world war. He was said to be a great skater and stick-handler while also possessing a "deadly shot". Helping his team to great international success went a long way with this pick. We select Rudi Ball.

-----

With my final of the seven picks, the Bursa Janissaries will select a defender who did have a short career, but was a punishing hitter and a contributor offensively as well. He even played with Ray Bourque during his time in the NHL, an honor that he still talks about quite often. One thing we can learn about this guy..knee injuries suck. We select Gord Kluzak.

 

[VanIslander]

Hey, I seem to love obscure picks with low level competition..so why stop now? Since, I just find him very compelling, I will take a Right Winger 500 goal scoring jew who Hitler even allowed to captain for Germany in the 1932 Olympics. He played a huge role in their bronze medal that year as well. He was voted as the best European ice hockey player in a French Sports Magazine in 1930 and was considered one of the most deadly European players during the second world war. He was said to be a great skater and stick-handler while also possessing a "deadly shot". Helping his team to great international success went a long way with this pick. We select Rudi Ball.

Re-pick needed.

I drafted him on the last day. I would have left him for you if I thought someone else was going to give him the honours of possibily being among the top-2000 picks of all-time!

 

[chaosrevolver]

FINE! I will take another German..he played LW and D..and some consider him the greatest German hockey player ever (yes, including Kuhnhackl). He was a good skater and a very solid all-around player in his time. He and Ball ran that German team and helped them to all that **** I mentioned with Ball. Best part about it..he played ****ing tennis..yes I am a little more drunk. We select LW/D: Gustav Jaenecke.

 

[seventieslord]

With our second of the seven picks, the Bursa Janisarries will select our backup goaltender. He was a man with 169 wins split between the NHL and WHA. He was top-10 in wins on three occasions, top-3 in GAA twice, and top-10 in Save% twice..we select Pat Riggin.

He was getting pretty close to the top of my list. Amazing that no one's even taken a flyer on this 2nd team all-star before.

I learned a bit about him lately. He wasn't just a one year wonder, he was a pretty good goalie overall, who averaged 4 sv% points over the league average in his 350 games. Also, he was not a good team man and his teams were often on the lookout for someone better, as strange as that sounds.

We now direct our attention to the Assistant Coach position. Once again we look to a former player, and another solid one at that. He was a legendary NCAA coach, guiding the University of Denver to five NCAA titles and eleven frozen four appearances. He finished with an overall winning percentage of .674 (460-215-31). His teams tied the Russians twice and consistently beat the US Olympic Team. He received a Lester Patrick Trophy and a Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award for his efforts. On top of all that, he also led the Regina Pats, from 1950 to 1955, to a record of 132-57-7. Simply put, he is one of the most successful NCAA coaches in the history of the game. We select Murray Armstrong.

My Murray Armstrong??

With our next pick we will take a center that will fit in as one of our spares. While his level of competition is definitely questionable, you cannot argue with the success he had. In the WHL, he led the league in scoring five times, scoring 30+ goals thirteen times. He had 145 points in 140 WHL games and won 3 Lester Patrick Cups. He even holds the league record in points with 127. We select Art Jones.

See, this is what I mean about the AHLers. The NHL was so exclusive that there was room for just 12 scoring centers. if you weren't among those best 12 and you had no intangibles, too bad, off to the AHL for you. Imagine the NHL was even 10 teams back then, never mind 30. Art Jones would have been a 15-year NHLer, maybe potting a few 50-60 point seasons.

I think more research needs to be done into this. It's really possible that guys like Jones are much better than these "had a couple of 50 point seasons" guys we're taking now. I mean, Stan Weir? Gimme a break!

Plus, any old timer from back then will tell you the best AHLers would have made fine NHLers today. That makes sense. The league is 6-7 times bigger as far as total roster spots go, and there is clearly not 6-7 times as much talent to fill it. Maybe double, maybe 3X at most.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

I've always looked into and considered this guy, but never went ahead with it.

just a note on that all-star team, that's being the 2nd-best LW in the 3rd-best of three top pro leagues, so... not sure what it means!

I had Arbour's name down for awhile but just never found a spot for him. I figured A spare was as fair as it gets. I didn't know about his AST appearance until I picked him so I figured that was just a nice bonus, I just thought he had one really good one year in WCHL.

Interesting, I wasn't really aware he coached as long as he did.

I wonder, did he have the most NHL wins among available coaches when you took him? He might have.

Not quite, but he's up there. There's a handful more coaches with wins in the regular season and playoffs.

 

[seventieslord]

The Minutemen select Ernie Wakely, the 1959 Memorial Cup champion goaltender who couldn't lock down an Original Six Era NHL job but showed with hockey's expansion in his thirties that he could have had a more significant career in a larger NHL if there had been one in his twenties (imagine a 30-team NHL like today). His career took off when he proved himself too good for lower levels of hockey. He was an all-star in the CHL and AHL in consecutive seasons just before, as a 30 year old, he backstopped the St. Louis Blues to the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, starred in the 1971 NHL all-star game and lost only 14 games in 51 starts in 1970-71, jumping thereafter to the more financially lucrative WHA where he went on to become the WHA's career leader in shutouts and games played, and 3rd all time in wins. As a 37 year old, in the second to last year of his career, he was a 2nd team all-star in the WHA. He was inducted into the WHA Hall of Fame.

http://images.checkoutmycards.com/zoom-back/126f34b9-864e-47e6-b39b-c6c2a87b0e2b.jpg

He was the only goaltender - in fact only player - not yet drafted this year who is a member of the WHA Hall of Fame. The induction committee was comprised of players, coaches, historians and the media, and the mere fact that they chose him to be so honoured is some evidence of his worth as an all-time great. How great may be an issue, but as backup in a depth draft, he will have the chance to show his talent and impress others further. All things considered, he has demonstrated talent and success at various levels of hockey and is a question mark worth profiling in a depth draft.

I'm not going to "pan" this pick, like last year, as this is much more appropriate considering it's pick 1912 and not 1379.

Wakely enjoyed a good, long career even if I'm not sure he was ever once a top-10 goalie in the world. That's ok, though, because we've seen guys like Hackett, Lalime, Wamsley, and Legace get taken, and they may not have ever been top-10 goalies, and with the exception of Legace, I think they were all decent picks.

Wakely played 447 games at the top levels. While in the NHL he maintained a sv% that averaged exactly on the league average, and in the expansion division they played a balanced schedule those seasons so a weak schedule can't explain it.

As long as we assume Wakely could have been a passable (not even average) starter in the NHL throughout the 70s when he was in the WHA, then he's about as worthy as the above.

However, that could really go either way:

- on one hand, in his years as a 20-28-year old in the minors, maybe he already had what it take to be a good starting goalie, if only the NHL was 12-15 teams instead of six.
- on the other hand, though he was an above average WHA goalie typically (averaged 8th in minutes, 7th in sv%, typically among around 18 goalies) there's no guarantee he could have been an NHL starter during that time, though a 30-game backup at the least I'm sure. He did only have one NHL season with more than 30+ GP.

lastly, not a comment on the pick itself but on a couple of facts/stats you presented here:

1. Wakely lost 14 times in 1971, yes, but his GP stat was 51, he didn't necessarily have 51 starts, and he did not have 51 decisions; he had 45. Since he had so many ties he really didn't have very many wins, he had "only" 20, which is not really much more than that tiny 14 number you're presenting. His win% was a strong .567, much less than someone might think if they didn't investigate your claim a little.
2. It's a little misleading to say Wakely "backstopped the Blues to the finals" considering he won exactly 0 playoff games that year. He played in 4 games, all losses, while Hall and Plante shared the 8 wins between them, that it took to get there. We talked about this last year.

 

[chaosrevolver]

My Murray Armstrong??

Indeed.

 

[seventieslord]

Lou Trudel, LW

You ATD vets might remember Trudel as a guy that an ATD noob took out of nowhere in the closing rounds of ATD11, 669th overall. He was never heard from again.. until now, when he actually looks like a pretty attractive 3rd line pick.

There are some pre-expansion wingers out there with better offensive records, but his is quite decent and he is described by multiple sources as a good defensive player.

- 5'11", 165 lbs
- Stanley Cup (1934, 1938)
- Top 5 percentage scores: 48, 47, 44, 44, 40.
- Also a huge AHL scorer back when it mattered: on pace for easy 1st in 1941, 2nd in 1942, 4th in 1944, 3rd in 1945, 4th in 1946
- AHL 1st team all-star in 1945, three-time 2nd team all-star

Louis Trudel was a fine defensive left-winger who played over 300 NHL games in the 1930s and '40s. He also possessed an abundance of offensive talent that was particularly evident in the AHL.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Trudel played junior with the Edmonton Poolers. In 1932-33, he enjoyed a solid rookie pro season with the Tulsa Oilers before joining the Chicago Black Hawks. He played seven games in the 1934 playoffs while helping the club win its first Stanley Cup.

In 1934-35, Trudel scored eleven goals and formed an efficient line with Bill Kendall and Tom Cook. He was a regular with the club through the 1937-38 season when he was a member of a second Stanley Cup winner. He then played two and a half seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and participated in the Babe Siebert Memorial Game in 1939.

Trudel played several years in the minors before retiring. He led the AHL in goals twice and was selected to the league's first all-star team once and second team on three occasions. He also spent a year coaching the EHL's Cleveland Knights and retired as a player after playing eleven games for the Milwaukee Chiefs of the IHL in 1953-54.

Trudel was a solid defensive forward who added some pop-gun offense. He was described as a polite player, and his penalty minute totals reflect that.

Trudel joined the Chicago Black Hawks in 1933, just in time to help the Hawks win the Stanley Cup. He would play 5 seasons in Chicago, exiting in 1938 after winning a second Stanley Cup title in the Windy City.

He extended his NHL career by playing parts of the next three seasons in Montreal before a long tenure in the minor leagues, first as a player, then as a coach, and later as goal judge.

 

[seventieslord]

Ladislav Nagy, LW

- 5'11", 192 lbs
- Four 50-point seasons, two in the dead puck era, and two in just 51 & 55 games
- best 5 percentage scores: 60, 55, 48, 47, 46
- Very strong ES scorer: 47 adjusted ESP per season, tops among available players (though his career was just about all prime, he was done at 28)

Nagy is a very skilled player. He has great hands and a good sense for the game. His overall speed is just about average but what sets him apart is his initial burst of quickness, cheetah-like, for about the first 10 feet. He jumps into holes and sees the openings very well. He is good at taking the puck to the net with his deftness and quick touch. Nagy has a confidence to him, almost a cockiness, which good scorers have to have. He is creative and willing to try moves that other players either can't do or would hesitate to even attempt. Nagy is not afraif to shoot the puck or walk off the half-boards on a power play.

Nagy is on the small side and does not play a physical game, although he is by no means a perimeter player. You will find Nagy in traffic. Nagy has a tremendous upside.

the most talented player on the Coyotes... was 15th in league scoring when he got injured... great hands and incredible hockey sense, needs to avoid the injury bug...

 

[seventieslord]

Ludek Bukac, Coach

- Member of IIHF HOF
- Czech national team coach for most of the 1980-1996 period, almost always without a co-coach
- 52-42-13 international record
- GOLD in 1985 & 1996 worlds, SILVER in 1982 & 1983 Worlds, Bronze at 1981 worlds
- A respected teacher of the finer points of the game who has written books and produced DVDs:

http://www.bukachockey.com/References.aspx
http://www.bukachockey.com/Shop2.aspx

 

[seventieslord]

.....incredible.

Check out post 210 for an updated Brent Peterson bio. This is a guy who is massively underrated and unfairly forgotten. I've never seen such high praise for such a low-key player in these scouting report books. He might be THE player of the A draft best suited to move up two full drafts! Based on the wording used to describe him, I don't know what makes him any worse than a handful of MLD 3rd/4th line centers. If Chris Kelly wasn't such a great even strength scorer I'd be swapping them to give Peterson more icetime because this guy is awesome.

I had no idea when I took him. I just saw his PK stats and that he was known as a defensive forward. I hit the jackpot here. It was luck.