All-Time Draft #5

[BM67]

Thanks murray. That's great to know. I can now proudly say that everyone on my team has won a Stanley Cup. (To any of the veteran GMs: has anyone ever assembled a team in which all of their players won a Stanley Cup?)

I don't recall anybody doing it, although some came very close. Mind you a defense of Mark Howe, Bill Gadsby, Alexei Kasatonov, Bill White, Doug Mohns and Bill Quackenbush wouldn't look too bad even without a Cup ring between them.

 

[#66]

With Domi still around the Quebec Aces are proud to select a player that plays a very good all around game and complates a well rounded checking unit... Wayne Merrick

 

[Murphy]

Outsider, are you going to rate teams like you did in draft # 3?

That's usually sparks some pretty interesting conversation.

God Bless Canada, good job selecting players that have won at least one cup. If I tried that my team would have been a mess, yours ended up pretty strong.

Thanks everyone, I had a blast. I was a little surprised at the lack of trades this go around, looks like everyone liked their teams the way they were.

 

[reckoning]

Some stats about the 5 drafts that I noticed:

- The biggest drop from the last draft was Barry Beck (#182-#366)

- The biggest rise was Clint Benedict (#243-#51)

- This was the first time Pavel Bure (#102) or Darryl Sittler (#128) didn`t go in the top 100. It was also the first time Vladislav Tretiak (#56) didn`t go in the top 50.

- Players who hit the top 50 for the first time: Pierre Pilote (#41) and Max Bentley (#45). Players who hit the top 100 for the first time: Clint Benedict (#51), Bill Gadsby (#76), Cy Denneny (#87), Elmer Lach (#90), Doug Bentley (#92)

- Three players have been taken in all five drafts and were selected higher each time: Jacques Plante ( 31-27-25-24-23), Guy Carbonneau ( 164-154-127-118-106) and Butch Goring ( 232-216-191-190-170)

- Three players have been taken in all five drafts and were selected lower each time: Lanny McDonald ( 89-110-144-145-149), Toe Blake ( 103-105-140-142-159) and Peter Bondra ( 131-155-164-180-233). Spitfire getting Blake at #159 was probably the steal of the draft.

- Brian Leetch has gone #54 three straight times. Guy LaPointe has gone #78 three straight times. In each of the five drafts Viacheslav Fetisov has gone at either #35, #36 or #37.


My own team:

Strengths:

- Others have better starting goalies, but I think I`ve got arguably the best 1-2 combo with Smith & Hainsworth.

- I tried to do my top lines with the formula of digger/cornerman-playmaker-scorer, which I think works. I also tried to pair a offensive and defensive-minded defenceman in each pairing so if one joins the rush the other can hold down the fort.

- You can`t go wrong with the two best players from the first half of the century (Shore & Morenz)

Weaknesses:

- Lack of size/toughness; especially at forward. I would have liked to get a Gillies or a Tocchet to make sure nobody pushed around Oates or Ratelle.

- Lack of offense from the blueline, after Shore it`s pretty thin scoring-wise.

- 9 players on my team never won a Cup

Steals:

- Adam Oates (#95), it`s actually earlier than he usually goes, but this guy deserves to be in the 50-75 range.
- George Hainsworth (#212), one of the 10 top goalies ever IMO.

Too Early:

- Patrik Elias (#144), when I made this choice I thought New Jersey was going to win the Cup; didn`t happen. I spoken elsewhere on this board about how highly I regard Elias, but he probably would`ve still been there a couple rounds later.
- Pat Stapleton (#178), this was a panicked reaction after seeing Zubov and Tremblay go when I wanted an offensively-gifted defenseman. Stapleton was a fine player, but #178 was too early for a guy who didn`t go until the minor league draft last time.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Outsider, are you going to rate teams like you did in draft # 3?

That's usually sparks some pretty interesting conversation.

God Bless Canada, good job selecting players that have won at least one cup. If I tried that my team would have been a mess, yours ended up pretty strong.

Thanks everyone, I had a blast. I was a little surprised at the lack of trades this go around, looks like everyone liked their teams the way they were.

My goal wasn't necessarily to pick players who won a Cup. Towards the end, it became a priority, because I wanted to have over 50 Cups won. (I have 50 among the players and one from my coach). I wanted guys who consistently came up big in the playoffs. While there are players who came up big who didn't win a Cup (Neely, Propp and Linden among the moderns) it helps a players legacy to have a ring, or better yet, multiple rings. In some cases, winning a Cup was something I used as a tie-breaker. (eg, Larmer over Middleton and Stevens over Tkachuk). I also had a lot of old-time players (Flaman is my only defenceman still living), and let's be honest: it's easier to win a Cup in a six-to-10 team league, than a 30 team league.

Theo Fleury was a secondary player on Calgary's 1989 Cup team. But that's not why I chose him. I chose him because over a three-year span, he led the first round in scoring each year. And he's versatile. I can play him as a scoring forward, a checking line forward, or an energy guy.

I agree with reck that Toe Blake is the steal of the draft. You guys can thank me for that one, since I shipped the pick to Spit. I was ready to pick Blake earlier in the draft, then noticed that Busher Jackson was still available, hummed and hawwed while other guys picked (it was a night when about 10 selections were made), noticed both guys each won one Cup (I would have picked Blake if he had more rings) and finally went with Busher. I think they're both among the top 75 players ever, and to get them beyond the top 100 is terrific. A quiet steal late in the draft was BM67 nabbing Frank Nighbor.

As for some of reckonings observations, I think a lot of it has to do with people in this draft who put a greater emphasis in the past. I think murray's entire team has been retired for 20 years. There's no way a guy like Max Bentley should drop out of the top 50. Same thing with Pilote in a draft like this, where elite defencemen are at a premium. If you can get two or three of the top 25-30 defencemen of all time, you're doing great. But I wouldn't sell your blue-line offence short, reckoning. Duchesne and Hatcher were more than capable in the opposition end of the ice. Just make sure they aren't defensive partners, because neither was much of a defensive force.

jtuzzi and kreuzer, your evaluations will be sent out tonight.

 

[Murphy]

jtuzzi and kreuzer, your evaluations will be sent out tonight.

You know.....while your at it, I'd love to hear your perspective on my team. Its always better than viewing your team through rose coloured glasses like I know I'm guilty of. Thats why I like Outsiders rankings as well.

 

[Evil Sather]

Mine too; hey, I'm lazy.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Outsider, are you going to rate teams like you did in draft # 3?

That's usually sparks some pretty interesting conversation.

God Bless Canada, good job selecting players that have won at least one cup. If I tried that my team would have been a mess, yours ended up pretty strong.

Thanks everyone, I had a blast. I was a little surprised at the lack of trades this go around, looks like everyone liked their teams the way they were.

I share those sentiments... this draft was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot from it. Thanks to everyone for doing a great job picking on-time and posting fun/interesting/informative write-ups about their players.

I'd like to rate teams like I did in draft 3 (though I'll probably choose a different format than last time). It will take me several days to go through everyone's team but it should be fun.

 

[hockeyfan125]

I realize my team isn't perfect, as this was my first draft and my knowledge of history is pretty limited as I have only been watching hockey since 1993..

I really wanted Oates and should have picked him when I had the chance.. him and Hull were dynamite.

I was lucky to get a few solid LW's late in the draft (Kamensky and Holik) because I really was unhappy with my LW up until then. I was able to slide Kerr to the 4th line at his natural C position.

 

[Spitfire11]

Feel free to breakdown my team as well.

I may try evaluating a few teams myself for the first time.

And thanks to everyone for making this the best draft yet.

 

[God Bless Canada]

I realize my team isn't perfect, as this was my first draft and my knowledge of history is pretty limited as I have only been watching hockey since 1993..

I really wanted Oates and should have picked him when I had the chance.. him and Hull were dynamite.

I was lucky to get a few solid LW's late in the draft (Kamensky and Holik) because I really was unhappy with my LW up until then. I was able to slide Kerr to the 4th line at his natural C position.

Actually, jtuzzi, what I found (and this will come through in my rankings) that a lot of your modern players went a little earlier (a couple of them a lot earlier) than I slotted them. Yet some of your older guys were actually steals. As stated before, Dave Keon was one of the biggest steals of the draft. Getting a guy who should rank in the top 75-100 players of all-time, after pick 150, is a steal, at least in my books.

 

[God Bless Canada]

First team evaluations.

Before I begin, let me remind everyone of one quick thing before I get flamed: my steals and "too soons" are based on my opinions only. It's a reflection of how I rate players. I don't have Brett Hull or Brian Leetch as highly rated as jtuzzi. I think Kiprusoff should have been a No. 3 goalie for the minor league draft. Also keep in mind that we all have different priorities. jtuzzi, you wanted a run and gun team. I wanted a gritty, versatile team that has a history of winning. Let's keep discussion on these civil, because I know some GMs have been a little too sensitive in the past.

kreuzer

Strengths:
*Defensive toughness. Nobody's going to want to mess around with this defence. Quite possibly the toughest front six in the draft. They may not get you a lot offensively beyond Potvin and Seibert, but defencemen aren't paid to score.
*Chemistry on the third pairing. Plager tutored Ramage in St. Louis. They should have strong continuity and a seemless transition.
*Left wing 1-2 punch. There are few 1-2 punches better than Mahovlich and Denneny. Two of the top 10 or 12 left wingers of all-time.

Weaknesses:
*Language barrier. Kreuzer should be awarded an extra pick for a linguistics coach. This is the largest cross-section of languages since the Tower of Babel.
*Checking line. Which one is it? Bellows and Taylor are on the third and fourth lines, respectively, and neither strikes me as a guy who's going to be a strong checking presence.

Steals:
*Frank Mahovlich, 3rd round, 50th overall
*Earl Seibert, 5th round, 84th overall
*Cy Denneny, 6th round, 88th overall
*Bill Cowley, 8th round, 121st overall
*Vsevolod Borbov, 15th round, 254th overall (I said it when you picked him: It's names like that which make me glad I'm not in radio).

Too soon:
*Dominik Hasek, 1st round, 16th overall (Not saying he's a bad pick, but there are three goalies I would have taken ahead of Hasek. Besides, there were excellent goalies available in the third and fourth rounds).
*Brian Bellows, 16th round, 257th overall
*Rob Ramage, 17th round, 288th overall
*Mikka Kiprusoff, 23rd round, 390th overall

Jtuzzi

Stengths:
*Goals, goals, goals. jtuzzi wanted a dynamic offensive team, and he got it. Bossy and Brett Hull are two of the best goal scorers ever. Stastny and LaFontaine are two of the best playmaking centres from the 1980s - and there's never been a time for playmaking centres like the 1980s. Kamensky was one of the best goal scorers on the planet at his peak.
*Checking line. Keon is likely one of the steals of the draft. Howe was a fine two-way player. Ciccarrelli is an agitating scorer. Fourth line isn't anything to scoff at, either.
*Goaltending. Not only do they get Sawchuk, one of the best ever, but Giacomin's a fine No. 2. Hextall had a roller coaster career, but at his peak, he was one of the best.

Weaknesses:
*Defence. When you load up on forwards early, the defence is often ignored. Leetch and Murphy are HHOF-calibre, but many teams have at least two defencemen who are better. Both likely went earlier than they should have. Snagging Ken Reardon and Craig Ludwig were nice moves, though. But it doesn't take away from the fact that it's likely the worst in the draft.
*Toughness on the first two lines. Nobody in the top six is going to scare opponents physically. LaFontaine was fearless (a key factor in his concussion problems), but not a tough, physical presence. Will the gunners be able to survive a rough and tumble trench war

Steals:
*Dave Keon, 9th round, 151st overall
*Ken Reardon, 13th round, 219th overall
*Syd Howe, 14th round, 224th overall
*Craig Ludwig, 17th round, 287th overall
*Ed Giacomin, 21st round, 355th overall

Too soon:
*Brett Hull, 3rd round, 49th overall
*Brian Leetch, 4th round, 54th overall
*Larry Murphy, 6th round, 88th overall
*Gary Suter, 10th round, 156th overall

 

[Spitfire11]

Well here's my take on my own team:

Detroit Red Wings
Coach - Toe Blake

Toe Blake - Joe Sakic - Gordie Howe
Vladimir Krutov - Igor Larionov - Sergei Makarov
Alexander Ovechkin - Sergei Fedorov - Brad Richards
Bob Pulford - Ralph Backstrom - Jere Lehtinen
Don Marcotte

Jacques Laperriere - Butch Bouchard
Mike Ramsey - Vladimir Konstantinov
Art Coulter - Jim Schoenfeld
Ron Greschner

Ken Dryden
Gerry Cheevers
Harry Lumley​

Forwards
- I decided to load up on big game playoff performers. Howe, Sakic, Blake, Fedorov, Richards have all lead the playoffs in scoring. Pulford has a Conn Smythe worthy performance in '64 and Lehtinen had 10 goals when Dallas won the Cup. Sakic, Howe, Blake, Fedorov all average over a ppg in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
- The KLM line is one of the best in hockey history and has proven itself in many 'big games' and tournaments.
- Versatility with Lehtinen, Pulford, Fedorov, Marcotte all able to play multiple positions.
- The checking line is more of an energy line that is very capable of putting the puck in the net, Marcotte can be dressed if a particular winger needs to be shutdown. Otherwise I'd have no problem rolling any of my 4 lines.
- The most glaring weakness is size, with Howe, Ovechkin, Fedorov, Richards, and Lehtinen as the only players 6' and over.
- Up front is the strength of my team

Defense
- Obviously lacking a true star in terms of 'all-time', I built it to be like the current Sabres or Canes blueline. Three solid 'defense first' pairings with tough players willing to sacrifice for the team.
- Good shot blockers and players that will make opposing forwards pay a physical toll.
- Although none are offensive defensemen, they are very good at moving the puck and can get it to my forwards in transition.
- Size is a strength with Laperriere, Bouchard, Ramsey, Schoenfeld, and Greschner all 6'2 and above.
- I took Greschner as my 7th because this group is lacking a big shot for the PP, although Fedorov and Richards would both be able to play the point.

Goaltending
- Three HHOF goalies, no problem with depth.

Overall
- 49 Stanley Cups, 57 including the Coach.
- 6 captains, 3 of which captained their team to multiple Cup wins.

 

[kruezer]

kreuzer

Strengths:
*Defensive toughness. Nobody's going to want to mess around with this defence. Quite possibly the toughest front six in the draft. They may not get you a lot offensively beyond Potvin and Seibert, but defencemen aren't paid to score.
*Chemistry on the third pairing. Plager tutored Ramage in St. Louis. They should have strong continuity and a seemless transition.
*Left wing 1-2 punch. There are few 1-2 punches better than Mahovlich and Denneny. Two of the top 10 or 12 left wingers of all-time.

Weaknesses:
*Language barrier. Kreuzer should be awarded an extra pick for a linguistics coach. This is the largest cross-section of languages since the Tower of Babel.
*Checking line. Which one is it? Bellows and Taylor are on the third and fourth lines, respectively, and neither strikes me as a guy who's going to be a strong checking presence.

Steals:
*Frank Mahovlich, 3rd round, 50th overall
*Earl Seibert, 5th round, 84th overall
*Cy Denneny, 6th round, 88th overall
*Bill Cowley, 8th round, 121st overall
*Vsevolod Borbov, 15th round, 254th overall (I said it when you picked him: It's names like that which make me glad I'm not in radio).

Too soon:
*Dominik Hasek, 1st round, 16th overall (Not saying he's a bad pick, but there are three goalies I would have taken ahead of Hasek. Besides, there were excellent goalies available in the third and fourth rounds).
*Brian Bellows, 16th round, 257th overall
*Rob Ramage, 17th round, 288th overall
*Mikka Kiprusoff, 23rd round, 390th overall

Thanks for that, I definetaly needed an outside look at my team.

I really changed my tune from prior drafts for some reason, normally I tend to highly value defensive forwards and offensive defensemen, so I decided to switch things up this time around. Therefore I tried to get as tough a defense as possible and I think I succeded while still having some decent offensive capabilities, and with all the scoring forwards I took, I think I would certainly be using some forwards on the point of the powerplay.

I agree with you on my LW situation, after Mahovlich fell to me, I set out to pick the most talented crew of LWs possible, and I think I attained that 1 through 4 were all outstanding players at their peaks, and would all likely drive the offense on their respective lines, none of which would be solid checking lines, figuring out who to put on my PK would be very interesting, and I don't mean that in a positive way. Down the middle I went with playmakers, Forsberg, Cowley and Primeau are 3 of the top passing pivots of all time, while my RW is all decently skilled guys, I went for guys with a lot of heart down the right side, and I took Stan Jonathan to keep everybody honest.

As for the goalie situation, first off, Kipper was a blatant homer pick, the display he put on this season in Calgary was stunning and won my eternal respect and swayed me into to picking him when I really should have selected Hextall. As for Hasek, I have swayed toward his camp in the everlasting top goalie of all time debate for a while this year, when this draft began, therefore I took him, looking back I would likely take Plante now, but it changes month to month, I did miss a chance on Mikita because I took him though, which is unfortunate.

As for the language situation, Nielson would have his hands full, but he was always inventive.

Thanks again, I look forward to more rankings and debate on these teams.

 

[God Bless Canada]

More analysis.

Murphy 2

Strengths:
*Blue-line depth. Any time you can snare two of the top 10 defencemen of all time (Orr and Coffey) you're smiling. Add in Pronovost, Lowe and Ragulin, and your defence will be one of the best. Lowe and Coffey have plenty of chemistry. (BTW, I think Coffey went right about where he should go in a 17-team draft: late second round/early third round).
*Checking line. Gainey's the best defensive forward ever. Any checking line with him will be strong. Madden's been a key player for two New Jersey championships. O'Reilly was as tough as they came, and had a decent scoring touch.
*Strategy. Murphy wanted the best player ever, Bobby Orr, and he got him. And it didn't cost as much as I thought it might.

Weaknesses:
*Goaltending. Grant Fuhr's one of the best money goalies ever. In the big game, he was there. When you needed the big save late, he was there. That's what you want from your goalie. He's not the problem. But I believe Richter is an average third-stringer, and at this point in his career, Luongo's better suited to the farm draft.
*Coaching. What's Ted Nolan ever won? He won the 1997 Jack Adams, but make no mistake about it, Hasek was THE reason Buffalo succeeded that year. Sorry, Murphy, but this guy's overrated. Big time.

Steals:
*Yvon Cournoyer, Round 7, 111th overall. (One of the few times in the draft when a selection caused me to utter a rather audible profanity. Thought I'd land him as my No. 1 RW).
*Darryl Sittler, Round 8, 128th overall.
*Rick Middleton, Round 12, 196th overall
*Kevin Lowe, Round 13, 213th overall
*Punch Broadbent, Round 20, 332nd overall
*Brian Sutter, Round 21, 349th overall

Too soon:
*Terry O'Reilly, Round 11, 179th overall
*Wendel Clark, Round 14, 230th overall. (Don't flame me, Leaf Lander. Clark was a dominant player at his peak, it's just there were better power left wingers still available).
*Ilya Kovalchuk, Round 18, 298th overall
*Mike Richter, Round 19, 315th overall
*Roberto Luongo, Round 23, 383rd overall
*Ted Nolan, Round 24, 400th overall

Evil Sather

Strengths:
*1-2 centre punch. Trottier and Messier (yeah, I think Trotts was better) are two of the top 10 centres ever. How many GMs can boast that? And they're both versatile and can be used in any situation.
*Top two lines. Not only do they have perhaps the best 1-2 punch at centre, but the rest of the forwards aren't half bad, either. Messier-Propp-Neely might be the best playoff line in the draft. Trottier-Shanahan-Gilbert is an excellent mix of skill and grit.
*Goaltending. Very well built. Parent is one of the top 10 goalies ever, IMO. Belfour and Liut are ideal No. 2 and 3 goalies, respectively, in this draft.
Weaknesses:
*Defence. It's not as bad as jtuzzi's, but there are some pieces missing. There isn't that all-time, top 15 blue liner, a Pilote or a Park, let alone an Orr or a Shore. Ching Johnson and McCrimmon are solid, but it's not a defence that's going to be a difference maker.
*Checking line. Dirk Graham, Don Luce, Peter Bondra. Hmmm, one of these forwards isn't like the others. Or is the fourth line, with Dany Heatley, the checking line? Or do you not have a checking line?

Steals:
*Bryan Trottier, second round, 29th overall.
*Ching Johnson, 12th round, 199th overall
*Brad McCrimmon, 15th round, 244th overall
*Craig McTavish, 18th round, 301st overall (One of the best steals among defensive forwards).
*Dirk Graham, 20th round, 335th overall
*Mike Liut, 21st round, 346th overall

Too soon:
Mark Messier, first round, sixth overall. (Yes, I know your selected him because he's one of your all-time favourites, but I still think he's out of place in the first round, especially ahead of a Richard, Shore, Harvey or Bobby Hull).
*Borje Salming, fourth round, 64th overall.
*Chris Pronger, fifth round, 74th overall. (I know, Pronger's all the rage with his performance in the playoffs, and his status in the game's history is improving, but I still don't think he's worthy of a top 100 pick. In a couple years, though...)
*Sergei Zubov, 10th round, 165th overall.
*Peter Bondra, 14th round, 233rd overall.
*Dany Heatley, 17th round, 278th overall

Spitfire11

*Note to Spit: I would analyse your strengths and weaknesses, but I think you already did an excellent job of that. Anything I say would be redundant.

Steals:
*Butch Bouchard, 9th round, 139th overall
*Toe Blake, 10th round, 159th overall
*Gerry Cheevers, 16th round, 216th overall
*Art Coulter, 19th round, 309th overall
*Harry Lumley, 21st round, 343rd overall

Too soon:
*Sergei Fedorov, 4th round, 66th overall. (I know, he's a long-time Red Wing, and a versatile player, but I think there were several centres out there who were better, including Larionov).
*Jere Lehtinen, 11th round, 182nd overall
*Alexander Ovechkin, 12th round, 202nd overall
*Brad Richards, 18th round, 304th overall

 

[Murphy]

Ted Nolan probably wasn't the best choice but............

I do find it a bit of a mystery why he hasn't been givin at least a sniff but I do think he's a probably a bit of a prickly individual to deal with.

That said, I do think he's a great motivator, not much of a strategy guy I hear...

But he is my one and only pick that wasn't previously picked in any draft, I had to get at least one in.

 

[Leaf Lander]

ted nolan has actually turned nhl jobs down

 

[Murphy]

ted nolan has actually turned nhl jobs down

The only one I've ever heard was when Espo tried to hire him in Tampa but he wanted to much money. Have there been others?

 

[hockeyfan125]

The only one I've ever heard was when Espo tried to hire him in Tampa but he wanted to much money. Have there been others?

rumors that the Islanders offered him one a few years back.

 

[raleh]

I wouldn't mind having my team critiqued, although I realize I made a few sentimental picks that might not belong in the draft! haha.

 

[hockeyfan125]

thanks GBC for that. I can't wait for the next draft as I learned a ton doing this one.

 

[Leaf Lander]

Coach: Hap Day

# 9 Paul Kariya LW -- # 99 Wayne Gretzky,C --# 10 Pave Bure,RW
#7 Bill Barber LW --#16 Henri Richard,C --#12 Jerome Inginla,RW
#10 Gary Roberts LW--#21 Guy Carbonneau,C--#17 Mike Foligno, RW
#44 Todd Bertuzzi,LW--#5 Tumba Johansson,C -- #6 Hooley Smith, RW
#11 Charlie Simmer,LW

#2 Nikolai Sologubov, D--# 5 Nik Lidstrom, D
# 24 Chris Chelios,D --#21 Bobby Baun, D
# 4 "Hap" Day,D -- #55 Ed Jovanovski, D
#7 Frantisek Pospisil,D

# 19 Turk Broada. G
# 35 Tom Barrasso, G
# 1 Alex Connell,G​

Strengths:
*Blue-line depth. Any time you can snare two of the top 10 defencemen of all time (Chelios and Lidstrom) you're smiling. Add in russian great Nikolai Sologubov playoff herorics of Bobby Baun the leadership of Hall of famer "Hap" Day with a young mobile tough Ed Jovanovski and rounded out with the great Frantisek Pospisil and my defence will go down in history. Chelios and Lidstroms are horses they can play half a game at a high level for an entire season. Nikolai Sologubov is considered to be the best defenceman of his time. My defence is rounded out very nicely with Frantisek Pospisil who was one of the best European defensive players ever. Exceptionally strong player, great bodychecker

Great centereman- Gretzky was a hall of famer who played the center ice position better then anyone before or after him. Pocket Rocket was a great two way player who was a key player in 11 cups. Carboneau was one of the greatestdefenive centermans of his time.Tumba Johansson was considered the gordie howe of sweden. He had a very sucessful international career.

Toughness: Look at my left wingers-(Bill Barber, Gary Roberts, Todd Bertuzzi and Charlie Simmer) are you scared yet?. I know that 4 of my defenders were pretty tough (Chris Chelios Bobby Baun 'Hap" Day and Ed Jovanovski and Frantisek Pospisil)

Offense: My top line could score 200 points each. I have balanced offense on all 4 lines I have some exceptiona offensive defenceman on my team in Lidstrom Chelios Sologubov and Jovanovski

Team Speed: I got some players with a nice set of wheels. From Pavel Bure Paul Kariya and Wayne Gretzky (Yes he was pretty fast at one time) add Jerome Inginla Mike Foligno Henri Richard Tumba Johansson and my boys can skate with the best. Nikolai Sologubov, Nik Lidstrom, Ed Jovanovski are fluid skaters with great hockey sense. They can defend and attack!

Checking line. Guy Carbonneau is one of the best defensive forwards ever. Any checking line with him will be strong. Folingo is a smooth skating sparkplus that would help counterattack vs the other teams top lines in key situations. Roberts is a tough big forward who can throw a body check or go to the corners and win the battle for the puck. He was as tough as they came, and had a decent scoring touch.

Strategy I wanted the best player ever, Wayne Gretzky, and I got him. And it didn't cost as much as I thought it might. I was looking for a balanced team with a great defense goaltending and offense. I believe I accomplished that. I think I have one of the better offensive first lines ever assembled. (Kariya Gretzky Bure-who could get the puck from these three guys?) I got some studs on defence. I have more then a few great 2 way players point produce superb puck stoppers and excellant stud defenders.

Coaching-Hap Day won 6 cups 5 as coach (including 3 straight)and one as a player.The man knows how to win. From what I read he had a good repoire with his players and I feel he would be the perfect fit for this team of Superstars. He was considered a stern taskmaster and stickler for hard work and he gained promence by resting his players for the post-season.


Goaltending. *Turk Broda is one of the best money goalies ever. In the big game, he was there. When you needed the big save late, he was there. That's what you want from your goalie.He won 5 cups & misssed 2 yrs because of WWII.
*Barrasso had a bad attitude but my team has alot of great players and superb leaders that could iron out his ego and get the best from him when called upon.
* Connelll like Broda and Barrasso is a proven winner who owns a nhl record for consecutive shutouts. He could be a starting goalie if it wasnt for the fact that he played nearly a century ago.


Weakness: *kryptonite.
*Ok siriusly None of these players have ever played with one another as linemates to my knowledge. But when your dealing with greats I feel they would come together quite nicely.
*Bertuzzi could loose his temper but I hope not!

Steals:
*Bill Barber was an under apreciated superstar drafted 167-


Too soon:
*Ed Jovanovski needed another offensive but tough defenceman to build my team around.

 

[Murphy]

I wouldn't mind having my team critiqued, although I realize I made a few sentimental picks that might not belong in the draft! haha.

Raleh, I'll take a stab at your team, give God Bless Canada a break....


Springfield Indians

Coach- Fred Shero


#7 Ted Lindsay (A), #16 Elmer Lach, #9 Lanny Mcdonald
#12 Wayne Cashman, #77 Phil Esposito, #8 Ken Hodge
#15 Alexander Yakushev, #55 Buddy O'Connor, #10 George Armstrong (C)
#24 Bob Probert, #88 Doug Risebrough, #22 Tiger Williams
#20 Pete Mahovlich



#70 Tim Horton (A) #2 Red Horner
#18 Serge Savard #11 Tom Johnson
#37 Eric Desjardins #5 Bill Barilko
#28 Reed Larson


#20 Vladislav Tretiak
#1 George Vezina
#00 Hugh Lehman

This is quite possibly the toughest team ever put together in an all-time draft. At first glance I look at it and go ouch, that said it's also a pretty skilled team. I would hate to be RW lining up against this team.

Strengths:
- Great mix of toughness and skill on the first two lines. I don't see many fancy,
tic-tac-toe type goals from this group but they'd still get the job done and be productive with a fierce forecheck and by getting dirty.
- Good One-Two punch down the middle. We all know how important that is and to be able to have Lach, followed by Esposito is a definite strength, although I understand Espo liked alot of icetime and might not relish a # 2 role.
- Goaltending, I personally think Tretiak is slightly over rated but there is no denying that he's played some great games. With Vezina, one of the first ever elected into the Hall of Fame and of course a trophy named after him. He'd be a pretty stout first stringer, let alone a backup.
-Leadership, At first glance I think you have 8 captains, with guys like Armstrong, Espo, Horner and McDonald being noted as exceptional leaders.

Weakness:
- Speed, I don't see a whole lot of speed with this group. With the puck, they'd be hard to knock off, without it, they'd be doing a whole lot of chasing.
- Depth, It sounds like Mahovlich and Yakushev were pretty similiar players in their prime, Armstrong was less skilled but brought other attributes. The third line is decent but there are better out there. The fourth line would be great for brawls but I can't see them competing to well. The third defensive pairing while steady don't really bring anything special to the table.
- No offense from the blueline, It would be a tough group to break through but I wouldn't count on much scoring from the blueline when Desjardins is your biggest offensive threat.

Steals:
-Elmer Lach in round 6
-Red Horner in round 10 - I was looking to pick him next when you snagged him.
-Pete Mahovlich in round 22

Too Soon:
-Fred Shero in round 16
-Tiger Williams in round 17 - I think John Fergerson was still available if you were after an enforcer
-Bob Probert in round 18 - Good chance he'd still be available in later rounds.

 

[raleh]

Thanks Murphy! That's about what I thought too, I just thought I would love to watch this team play. I thought of the espo thing and originally had him playing with Mccdonald and Lindsay, but then after I drafted Cashman and realized I could keep Espo's line together that I should go for it.. Probert Barilko and Lehman were the sentimental picks I was talking about that probably could have waited until the minor league draft. Thanks again.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Thanks Murphy! That's about what I thought too, I just thought I would love to watch this team play. I thought of the espo thing and originally had him playing with Mccdonald and Lindsay, but then after I drafted Cashman and realized I could keep Espo's line together that I should go for it.. Probert Barilko and Lehman were the sentimental picks I was talking about that probably could have waited until the minor league draft. Thanks again.

Speaking of the all-time draft, when's it going to start? My suggestion would be Tuesday, as that will be one week since the end of the main draft. I think we need to get moving ASAP, so that we can get as much done as possible before July 1.

With the GMs involved, I think we can complete the draft in a month.