AAA2012 Prelims: Fort Sask Traders vs. Belleville Bulls

[seventieslord]

Herbert Russell - Dutch Reibel - Sergei Svetlov
James Neal - Vladimír Růžička - Bud Poile
Armand Mondou - Billy Harris - Leroy Goldsworthy
Adam Brown - Jim McFadden - Ran McDonald
Vyacheslav Anisin - Oliver Seibert

Rod Flett - Fred Higginbotham
Murray Henderson - Mike McEwen
John Mayasich - Yevgeni Paladiev
Larry Cahan - Ron Plumb

Niklas Bäckström
Joe Daley

Coach Ivan Hlinka

VS

Belleville Bulls[/b]

Head Coach: Brian Kilrea
Assistant Coach: Todd McLellan

Shirley Davidson - Doru Tureanu - Haviland Routh
Steamer Maxwell - Billy Barlow (C) - Murray Balfour
Chris Kunitz - Guyle Fielder - Martin Lapointe
Dave Schultz - Manny Malholtra - Chris Nilan
Martin Erat - Jonathan Cheechoo

Lee Fogolin Sr. (A) - Lyle Odelein (A)
Sami Salo - Anton Volchenkov
Marc Edouard Vlasic - Josh Gorges
Dan Girardi

Tommy Salo
Kari Lehtonen​

Click to read more...

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Reibel and Svetlov are two fantastic offensive players, but they read like guys who need protection. I don't know anything about Herbert Russell, is he tough enough to protect them?

Belleville has a very physical defense, but other than the injury-prone Salo (who is great when healthy), who can move the puck out of the zone or man the point on the PP effectively?

Doru Tureanu and Steamer Maxwell are both desperately in need of good profiles.

Fun fact: I had Steamer Maxwell before and finding info on him is tough, because apparently there was an actual Steamer (as in the riverboat) named Maxwell.

 

[Hedberg]

I don't know anything about Herbert Russell, is he tough enough to protect them?

I meant to do a bio of him before I ended up getting swamped with final papers and exams this term (I'm finally finished now).

Iain Fyffe's blog definitely makes Russell sound like he could be tough (although like many other power forwards, somewhat inconsistent in the toughness department):

Paul Kitchen, in his book Win, Tie or Wrangle, describes him thusly:

Described by a Quebec supporter as “a big rough brute,” the Geological Survey draughtsman was more like a charging bull than a water bug when he got hold of the puck ... His best effort came in January 1894, when the scored all Ottawa's goals in a 5-1 win over the Montreal Victorias at the Rideau Rink. His ten goals that season tied him for the scoring title with Quebec's Dolly Swift, one of the most prolific players of the time. Though Russell could mete out thundering bodychecks when he felt so inclined, he was sometimes reluctant to use his size and strength to full advantage. Surprisingly fast, he rushed the puck well and shot accurately. He was also unselfish, preferring to pass to an open teammate rather than trying to score himself. And he followed back diligently.

http://hockeyhistorysis.blogspot.ca/2012/01/herbert-bert-russell-big-rough-brute.html

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Sami Salo should be a second-pair right side dman in the MLD, for shame.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Sami Salo should be a second-pair right side dman in the MLD, for shame.

I get that we in the ATD often gloss over things like what side a defenseman plays on, but why does Salo, (5 year period of playing big NHL minutes, middling offensive numbers, never playing close to a full schedule ever) belong with guys like Bryan Campbell and his ilk who have received Norris attention, if briefly?

 

[jkrx]

Reibel and Svetlov are two fantastic offensive players, but they read like guys who need protection. I don't know anything about Herbert Russell, is he tough enough to protect them?

Belleville has a very physical defense, but other than the injury-prone Salo (who is great when healthy), who can move the puck out of the zone or man the point on the PP effectively?

Doru Tureanu and Steamer Maxwell are both desperately in need of good profiles.

Fun fact: I had Steamer Maxwell before and finding info on him is tough, because apparently there was an actual Steamer (as in the riverboat) named Maxwell.

I dont remember Reibel ever being bullied of his game. He could hold his own but he wasnt a tough guy by any means.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

I get that we in the ATD often gloss over things like what side a defenseman plays on, but why does Salo, (5 year period of playing big NHL minutes, middling offensive numbers, never playing close to a full schedule ever) belong with guys like Bryan Campbell and his ilk who have received Norris attention, if briefly?

Longevity, minutes, offensive skills, size, rock solid defending. One of the best GM's in the ATD Nalyd had him on his ATD roster 2 drafts ago.

 

[seventieslord]

Longevity, minutes, offensive skills, size, rock solid defending. One of the best GM's in the ATD Nalyd had him on his ATD roster 2 drafts ago.

That was a 40-team draft, mind you...

anyway, yeah, Salo's icetime profile is pretty impressive for the AAA (average TOI, career GP, strength of team), and I'm sure I could knock off at least a couple dozen from the MLD to make room for him.

 

[seventieslord]

- Belleville's a team with an outstanding bottom six player in Martin Lapointe, but that is countered by the overkill on the 4th line with Schultz and Nilan, players who got no recognition as good role players in the voting and actually got votes saying they had no business being picked.

- Adam Brown's GMs need to sell this guy more in the future! He was a very good player. He has stellar offensive credentials for a AAA bottom 6 players while also being very physical.

- Herbert Russell needs a full bio/sell job done for him. I don't know what to make of him, even after he was taken by Iain Fyffe and now Hedberg.

- With Reibel and Ruzicka being all-star centers here, and Tureanu getting almost no recognition, there's an uphill battle for Belleville to prove their top center is not a black hole.

- I'm sure glad it's not me that has to compare my defense corps to Hedberg's... not that I think it's stellar, but that it's a whole lot of unknowns and "difficult to compare to"s.

- Lyle Odelein as a 1st pairing guy stands out. We saw him as a slightly better Harold Snepsts and targeted Harold once Odelein was gone, but that's not to say we think he belongs two pairings higher up in a lineup.

- I think Belleville's got the goaltending edge here. Salo, we are all pretty sure has been individually very good. backstrom? Not so sure. Playing in Minny helps his sv% a lot and I'm quite skeptical of him.

 

[Hedberg]

- Belleville's a team with an outstanding bottom six player in Martin Lapointe, but that is countered by the overkill on the 4th line with Schultz and Nilan, players who got no recognition as good role players in the voting and actually got votes saying they had no business being picked.

USA hockey has come a long way from having a guy like Nilan on the national team. I do like him as a role player (and I guess Schultz is fine if you want a fighter. I always quite like Malhotra. However, I can't see much offense coming from that line while I think Brown-McFadden-McDonald is perhaps one of the best offensive forth lines. While not at Nilan and Schultz's level, I think Brown and McDonald will be able to handle toughness for the team.

- Herbert Russell needs a full bio/sell job done for him. I don't know what to make of him, even after he was taken by Iain Fyffe and now Hedberg.

I don't know much either . His presence on the internet history sources is very minimal. I think what we do have indicates he's on par with guys like Shirley Davidson

- With Reibel and Ruzicka being all-star centers here, and Tureanu getting almost no recognition, there's an uphill battle for Belleville to prove their top center is not a black hole.

I think there are equal questions about Fiedler and Barlow. I feel like somewhat like criticizing someone for going with unknowns, but to go with all three offensive centres as unknowns is quite a risk.

- I'm sure glad it's not me that has to compare my defense corps to Hedberg's... not that I think it's stellar, but that it's a whole lot of unknowns and "difficult to compare to"s.

And this is why I felt about the centre criticism. In defense of my defense, I think there is at least something about them, one aspect of their game that makes them interesting AAA candidates. I can't say the same about Vlasic and Gorges.

- I think Belleville's got the goaltending edge here. Salo, we are all pretty sure has been individually very good. backstrom? Not so sure. Playing in Minny helps his sv% a lot and I'm quite skeptical of him.

Fair enough. The reason I don't worry about him is I love his style - I think along with J.S. Giguere, his positioning is the best of the butterfly era goaltenders.

 

[seventieslord]

In 5 games, your winner is Fort Saskatchewan.

3 stars:

Dutch Reibel
Sergei Svetlov
Leroy Goldsworthy