ATD 2022 Assassination Thread

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[Dreakmur]

Orillia Terriers

Toe Blake

Frank Mahovlich - Bobby Clarke "C" - Gordie Drillon
Jamie Benn - Duke Keats - Patrick Kane
Woody Dumart - Norm Ullman - Claude Provost
Tony Leswick - Ryan Kesler - Wayne Cashman

Zdeno Chara "A" - Eddie Shore
Roman Josi - Shea Weber "A"
Babe Pratt - Bob Baun

Turk Broda
Hap Holmes

Spares:
Phil Watson, C/RW
Ken Randall, D/RW/C
Jack Marshall, D/C/LW

PP1: Clarke-Drillon-Keats-Kane-Shore
PP2: Ullman-Benn-Mahovlich-Josi-Weber

PK1: Kesler-Provost-Chara-Baun
PK2: Ullman-Dumart-Weber-Shore
— Bobby Clarke won’t be a regular PKer, mainly just in an attempt to keep his ice time reasonable, but he will PK at the most high leverage times.

 

[Leaf Lander]

Leafs

Coach
Mike Babcock
Captain- Messier
Assistants
Armstrong Brindamour Horton

Delvecchio -Messier - Forsberg
Kariya-Keon-Anderson
M Naslund-Brind'Amour- Armstrong
Klukay- Peca-Graham
Gillies - Roberts

Quackenbush - Horton
Brewer- Stanley
Beck-Lowe
Ramsey

Hasek
CUJO

Power Play
Unit 1
Delvecchio -Messier - Forsberg
Quackenbush - Horton

Unit 2
Kariya-Keon-Anderson
Brewer- Stanley

Penalty killing

Unit 1
Keon Peca
Quackenbush - Horton

Unit 2
Klukay Brind'Amour
Brewer- Stanley

 

[tony d]

Pittsburgh Pirates

Head Coach: Joel Quenneville

Johnny Bucyk-Stan Mikita-Maurice Richard
Michel Goulet-Eric Lindros-Rick Middleton
Sergei Kapustin-Peter Stastny-Dave Taylor
Don Marshall-John Madden-Eric Nesterenko

Scott Stevens-Harry Cameron
Brian Leetch-Jacques Laperriere
Gus Mortson-Eric Desjardins

Frank Brimsek
Tiny Thompson

PP 1: Bucyk, Mikita,Richard, Leetch, Cameron
PP 2: Goulet, Lindros, Stastny, Mortson, Desjardins

PK 1: Marshall, Madden, Stevens, Laperriere
PK 2: Mikita, Nesterenko, mortson, Desjardins

extras; Nicklas Backstrom, Wade Redden, Ken Hodge

 

[nabby12]

Winnipeg Victorias

Coach: Fred Shero

Baldy Northcott --- Sidney Crosby (C) --- Jaromir Jagr
Doug Bentley --- Evgeni Malkin --- Bill Mosienko
Alexander Yakushev --- Gilbert Perreault --- Ziggy Palffy
Wendel Clark --- Joe Primeau --- Frank Finnigan
Steve Shutt - Peter Bondra

Borje Salming - Art Coulter (A)
Scott Niedermayer (A) - Sylvio Mantha
Hap Day - Bullet Joe Simpson
Sandis Ozolinsh

Terry Sawchuk
Pekka Rinne

PP1: Simpson --- Palffy --- Malkin --- Crosby --- Jagr
PP2: Salming --- Bentley --- Mosienko --- Perreault --- Yakushev
PK1: Niedermayer --- Coulter --- Northcott --- Clark
PK2: Day --- Mantha --- Primeau --- Finnigan

 

[Claude The Fraud]

Coach: Scotty Bowman
Captain: Guy Carbonneau
Assistant: Larry Robinson
Assistant: Duncan Keith

#15 Bert Olmstead - #10 Syl Apps - #5 Bernard Geoffrion
#14 Brendan Shanahan - #12 Adam Oates - #16 Brett Hull
#26 Brian Propp - #27 Jeremy Roenick - #8 Punch Broadbent
#11 Marty Pavelich - #21 Guy Carbonneau - #18 Dany Gare
#22 Henrik Sedin - #81 Phil Kessell


#19 Larry Robinson - #56 Sergei Zubov
#2 Duncan Keith - #7 Vitali Davydov
#3 Vladimir Lutchenko - #88 Brent Burns
#5 Ott Heller

#33 Patrick Roy
#1 Jiri Holecek

Powerplay #1
#14 Brendan Shanahan - #12 Adam Oates - #16 Brett Hull
#5 Bernard Geoffrion - #56 Sergei Zubov

Powerplay #2
#15 Bert Olmstead - #10 Syl Apps - #8 Punch Broadbent
#88 Brent Burns - #2 Duncan Keith

Penalty Kill #1
#21 - Guy Carbonneau - #11 Marty Pavelich
#19 Larry Robinson - #2 Duncan Keith

Penalty Kill #2
#10 Syl Apps - #26 Brian Propp
#3 Vladimir Lutchenko - #56 Sergei Zubov

 

[ImporterExporter]

Orillia Terriers

Toe Blake

Frank Mahovlich - Bobby Clarke "C" - Gordie Drillon
Jamie Benn - Duke Keats - Patrick Kane
Woody Dumart - Norm Ullman - Claude Provost
Tony Leswick - Ryan Kesler - Wayne Cashman

Zdeno Chara "A" - Eddie Shore
Roman Josi - Shea Weber "A"
Babe Pratt - Bob Baun

Turk Broda
Hap Holmes

Spares:
Phil Watson, C/RW
Ken Randall, D/RW/C
Jack Marshall, D/C/LW

PP1: Clarke-Drillon-Keats-Kane-Shore
PP2: Ullman-Benn-Mahovlich-Josi-Weber

PK1: Kesler-Provost-Chara-Baun
PK2: Ullman-Dumart-Weber-Shore
— Bobby Clarke won’t be a regular PKer, mainly just in an attempt to keep his ice time reasonable, but he will PK at the most high leverage times.

Coach:

Blake is arguably the best coach of all time. I like him a touch more than Bowman simply because he won with 2 different styles of hockey between the mid 50's and late 60's. He was also more flexible w/his players than Bowman IMO. He's a difference maker for any team and will afford your team a decided advantage tactically speaking in a lot of match ups.

I don't see any major flaws in terms of the roster he has at his disposal. The PK F's are bottom 6 players which jives with Blake. Interested to know how much PK time Ullman got.

Forwards:

Top line should pot some goals and in an overall sense has everything you want on a scoring line. Clarke is obviously the engine, and main (probably only) checking player and defensive conscious. I generally don't like seeing the primary fore checker also be the only real defensive option on a line, but Clarke is so damn elite at each facet, he can get away with playing that role, unlike most. While there isn't anyone to protect him on the forward line per say (unless I am forgetting Drillon being a policeman), you have folks like Chara, Shore and Weber roaming behind and offer quite a bit of deterrent for the elite pest that Clarke is. This line should do a great job on the cycle, especially if you can get a bit of urgency out of Drillon.

2nd line is a nice blend of size/skill. Keats plays a very aggressive style and was decent at back-checking IIRC. Benn can bang in the corners and offers solid production. Those 2 check the boxes off that Kane doesn't (mainly the physical/defensive aspects). And speaking of Kane, he offers a very strong 2nd line RW option, capable of driving a line with his creatively and flair.

Really like the 3rd line as it can play either way at a high level and score at ES better than most lines featuring in this role. I think Ullman is probably a touch overrated in an all time sense, at least defensively, but his offensive production is well established and Dumart/Provost are as good a duo defensively/checking as you'll find here, w/ the ability to produce very strong bottom 6 offense at ES given their defensive acumen.

4th line is typical grinding/pest hockey. Cashman's offensive profile is limited (from his regularly floated ES VsX) given he's playing a checking role here but he's better served in a smaller draft being used as an energy thumper anyway.

Defensemen:

Chara-Shore is a very, very strong top pair, both literally and figuratively. No need to venture much further. They'll make life miserable on any set of F's and should rank as one of the best top pairings in the league. The only possible "knock", could be they're more likely to see time in the box than other duo's but Chara especially settled down not long after getting to Boston. It's a minor concern given their overall statuses as players.

Josi and Weber make for a nice 2nd pairing. Weber's a definite #3 in a draft this size. It's obviously not as physical on the whole as the top unit is (Josi), and not as tight defensively, but transition should be very strong here. Lack of playoff success and reputation is probably the chief concern but as far as a #3 and #4 go, both players fit the mold well.

I like the bottom pair quite a bit. Seems like above average players for that role and you have all the boxes checked as far as puck moving, physicality, defensive presence, help on special teams, etc.

Goalies:

Broda is obviously a below average starter in an a 18 league draft in an overall sense, but his playoff profile lifts him into brighter light. You know what you're getting out of him in postseason hockey and that's strong performances more often than not. I like Holmes as someone who can help take some of the load off Broda during the regular season. Overall, it's probably an average duo once you factor in Broda's increased resume in the playoffs.

Spares:

A nice mix of players who can all move around the lineup to various positions. There were better single position players available of course, but versatility is a great trait to have when evaluating bench players. As they say, more than one way to skin...or win hockey games.

Special Teams:

Nothing that blows me away personally in an overall sense but you have a couple of above average units. Shore is one of the best point men for the PP available in this thing. Drillon provides a very nice net presence (might be his best trait other than pure goal scoring). Kane and Clarke are both strong 1st unit players but not elite IMO when looking at usage/efficiency. Keats seems like the weakest of the group here but having a 2nd C available is something I value and understand him over Mahovlich for that reason. You have some really nice pieces on the 2nd unit with Weber and Mahovlich especially.

Pretty strong PK group IMO. Provost wasn't used as much on the PK as one might think (36% for his career) but his profile defensively is so good he's a #1 in my book here, especially given your set up. There isn't anyone in the top 6 who can unseat him. The only possible change would be to deploy Dumart w/Kesler as the top duo and move Provost to the 2nd unit, freeing up more ES time. Ullman, by default, probably has to play the 2nd unit as you have him, given Clarke likely wouldn't be used in that manner by Blake, though I don't have problems with Clarke being deployed in key situations as you mentioned given his prowess as a PK'er. The PK defensemen are fantastic (Chare, Shore, Baun, Weber).

Overall:

Another real solid entry Dreak. Par for the course/to be expected from someone of your caliber bud. I really, really like your top 3 on the blueline. Nobody has a more intimidating/physical trio IMO. Montreal Canadians being the only real competitor in that manner. Your F group doesn't have a world beater offensively speaking, with a slew of guys right around the 90 VsX mark. Well blended group, with a flair for both playmaking and goal scoring. Strong ES scoring throughout the lineup. Physicality and finesse w/a 3rd line that should do wonders as a 2 way unit. You supplemented getting a below average G w/ nabbing a guy very strong in playoff hockey and while you probably can't claim best PP or PK units they are both above average/good and have pieces that are elite in their respective roles.

 

[Professor What]

Gallifrey TARDIS

First Line: Valeri Kharlamov-Wayne Gretzky(C)-Boris Mikhailov
Second Line: Bill Barber-Bill Cowley-Vladimir Martinec
Third Line: Reg Noble(A)-Nels Stewart-Vaclav Nedomansky
Fourth Line: John Tonelli-Cooney Weiland-Bobby Rousseau

First Pair: Rod Langway(A)-Al MacInnis
Second Pair: Tom Johnson-Alexei Kasatonov
Third Pair: Alexander Ragulin-Joe Hall

First PP Unit
Stewart
Kharlamov-Gretzky-Martinec
MacInnis
Second PP Unit
Mikhailov
Barber-Cowley-Rousseau
Kasatanov

First PK Unit: Gretzky-Mikhailov-Langway-MacInnis
Second PK Unit: Weiland-Barber-Johnson-Hall

Goalie: Bill Durnan, George Hainsworth

Spares: Ted Green(D), Joe Nieuwendyk (C), Vic Stasiuk (W)

Coach: Glen Sather

Notes: The "second" and "third" lines should be considered on a par, as they are intended to receive very similar ice times. In late game situations where additional offense is required, the line labeled second will see an increase in ice time at the expense of the line labeled third. In cases where additional defense is required, the reverse will be true. In those situations, the right wings will be swapped. In late game cases where defense is particularly important, the fourth line will receive additional ice time, and that line will also take particularly important defensive draws throughout the game (followed by a quick line change when possible in those situations).​

 

[RustyRazor]

Portland Penguins
Coach: Tommy Ivan
Captain: Mario Lemieux
Alternates: Chris Pronger, Lionel Hitchman

John LeClair - Mario Lemieux - Jarome Iginla
Anatoli Firsov - Vladimir Petrov - Bryan Hextall
Jiri Holik - Jacques Lemaire - Didier Pitre
Vincent Damphousse - Darryl Sittler - Ace Bailey

Buck Boucher - King Clancy
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake
Lionel Hitchman - Terry Harper

Bernie Parent
Hugh Lehman

Extra Skaters: Dave Burrows, Pete Mahovlich, Jean Pronovost

PP1:
John LeClair - Mario Lemieux - Jarome Iginla
Rob Blake - Chris Pronger

PP2:
Didier Pitre - Darryl Sittler - Bryan Hextall
Anatoli Firsov - King Clancy

PK1:
Vladimir Petrov - Ace Bailey
Lionel Hitchman - Chris Pronger

PK2:
Jiri Holik - Anatoli Firsov
Rob Blake - Terry Harper​

 

[tabness]

Bloomfield Hills Dollar Bills

HANTA YO BABY

coach
Ron Wilson

forwards
Dickie Moore • Henri Richard • Pavel Bure
Dale Hawerchuk • Pat LaFontaine (A) • Alexander Mogilny
Henrik Zetterberg • Pavel Datsyuk • Jari Kurri
Frank Foyston • Jack Walker • Steve Larmer
(third and fourth lines see just as much even strength time as second line maybe third more depending on matchup)

defense
Doug Wilson • Chris Chelios (A)
Paul Coffey (C) • Brad McCrimmon
Derian Hatcher • Kevin Hatcher
Mark Tinordi

goalies
Grant Fuhr
Billy Smith

spares
Jean-Guy Talbot
Ed Carpenter

powerplay
first unit: Pavel Bure • Pat LaFontaine • Alexander Mogilny • Dale Hawerchuk • Kevin Hatcher
second unit: Henrik Zetterberg • Pavel Datsyuk • Jari Kurri • Paul Coffey • Doug Wilson
(gotta get Larmer and Moore and Chelios some looks from time to time as well)

penalty kill
first unit: Steve Larmer • Jari Kurri • Brad McCrimmon • Chris Chelios (Wilson will fill when Chelios in the box)
second unit: Henrik Zetterberg • Pavel Datsyuk • Derian Hatcher • Kevin Hatcher
(LaFontaine and Mogilny and Bure and Coffey get looks when a shorty is needed)

 

[ImporterExporter]

Leafs

Coach
Mike Babcock

Delvecchio -Messier - Forsberg
Kariya-Keon-Anderson
M Naslund-Brind'Amour- Armstrong
Klukay- Peca-Graham
Gillies - Roberts

Quackenbush - Horton
Brewer- Stanley
Beck-Lowe
Ramsey

Hasek
CUJO

Power Play
Unit 1
Delvecchio -Messier - Forsberg
Quackenbush - Horton

Unit 2
Kariya-Keon-Anderson
Brewer- Stanley

Penalty killing

Unit 1
Keon Peca
Quackenbush - Horton

Unit 2
Klukay Brind'Amour
Brewer- Stanley

Coach:

Babcock is below average here in a smaller draft but I think he'd make due with the majority of the roster. There is a lot of physicality on the blue line and truculence over the majority of spots up and down the lineup along with numerous 2 way types at F, sans a Kariya/Naslund. How does he handle Forsberg on the wing or deploy the lineup would be an interesting sight to see.

Forwards:

The real question is Forsberg on the wing. As far as style goes, I think Forsberg could play wing. He certainly has the nose/physicality and style of game that would feature there in a plus manner. Honestly, given your top 6, I think he'd fit better next to Keon on the 2nd line as Messier was more of a playmaking C and would have obvious chemistry with a real life teammate in Glenn Anderson who is more goal dominant and would play better off one another. This would allow you to move Forsberg down to the 2nd line, splitting up the talent, and creating a facilitator for Keon and Kariya who were a bit more slanted towards goal scoring. Keon can still do this thing on the forecheck which would, theoretically allow Forsberg to maybe assume a slightly more traditional C type role, even though he's lining up at RW to start. Either way, Foppa is going to lose points playing RW but at the very least I think he fits in nicely with the potential linemates you have and his style lends itself to being better than some who rarely/never played wing.

Naslund is quite a bit different in style from Brindy and Armstrong, but does bring some offensive flair to the line and the latter 2 can certainly check both ways and are by no means offensive anchors at ES, though Armstrong is still fairly weak there in a smaller draft. Brindy/Armstrong make up for the lack of postseason resume and IQ of Naslund as well.

Klukay-Peca-Graham is just a solid 4th line checking/energy unit.

Defensemen:

Quack and Horton is a nice top pairing. Not sure where it'd rank without looking at all the teams side by side (haven't gotten that far yet) but it's a pairing that should defend really well and transition at an acceptable rate, though it's probably below average offensively in a smaller draft at moving the puck forward.

Brewer-Stanley is a class LL duo! (pretty sure you've had them at least once before). Tried and true, it's not a spectacular pairing by any means in an 18 team draft but the chemistry is real and they were linchpins on a dynasty that took out Blake's Montreal teams of the 60's numerous times.

Beck and Lowe is a vanilla but effective bottom pair. Beck can help out on both special teams unit and Lowe is tried and true as a depth player, solid stay at home guy on numerous winners.

Goalies:

Hasek is an elite difference maker. He can steal a game or even series for any squad. He gives you an advantage over anyone who doesn't have Roy starting and in some matchups, will be a decided advantage. He can withstand heavy bombardment or play behind a more defensive minded group as he did with the Wings late in his career, coincidentally coached by Mike Babcock. CuJo is a nice back up, capable of taking on some of the load given Hasek wasn't a huge minute eater in the regular season.

Spares:

Cut and dried replacements for your bottom 6, bottom pair. Gillies could come in for Naslund if you wanted to go w/a heavier defensive tilt. Roberts for Graham if you want a bit more depth scoring.

Special Teams:

I'd definitely get Horton off the 1st PP unit so you can use him heavily at ES and on the kill. I'd probably load up w/4 F's on the 1st unit and let Quack run the point w/Forsberg, Messier, Kariya and Delvecchio playing the 4 spots up front. You'd then be able to use Beck and Brewer on the 2nd PP unit, along with Brindy, Naslund, and Anderson. This frees up Keon for tons of ES time and PK duties.

For the PK'ers, Peca/Keon is an elite duo, w/bonus of both being strong in the dot. Then you can roll out any of Klukay, Brindy, Armstrong, Graham on the 2nd unit. Horton is an elite PK'er, and I'd probably lean Stanley as the other guy, allowing you to move Quack down to the 2nd unit. But you also have Brewer, Lowe and Beck who can log time there as well.

Overall:

Obviously a Leaf heavy approach, who would guess!?! But all in all, for building the team the way you want, knowing you're going to take a lot of former Toronto players, it's not a bad effort LL. Forsberg at wing is obviously a risk from a traditional sense. The team/PP is lacking some real firepower certainly in an overall sense. However you do have some really nice checking/2 way players (who will get under some skin), and a blue line that while not flashy, should defend pretty well, and it's backed up w/one of the 2 best G's of all time in the Dominator.

 

[rmartin65]

Coach: Lester Patrick

Syd Howe --- Phil Esposito --- Hooley Smith (A)
Gordon Roberts --- Connor McDavid --- Nikita Kucherov
Fred Harris --- Patrice Bergeron --- Mickey MacKay
Ilya Kovalchuk --- Igor Larionov --- Eddie Oatman

Eddie Gerard (C) - Bobby Orr
Cyclone Taylor - Valeri Vasiliev (A)
Mike Grant - Cy Wentworth

Vladislav Tretiak
Andrei Vasilevskiy​

Spares: Frank Patrick, D ; Tommy Smith, LW/C ; Mark Stone, RW

PP1: McDavid --- Esposito --- Kucherov --- Taylor --- Orr
PP2: Howe --- MacKay --- Roberts --- Kovalchuk --- Orr/Taylor
PK1: Smith --- Bergeron --- Gerard --- Orr
PK2: MacKay --- Howe --- Vasiliev --- Wentworth

 

[Johnny Engine]

Kentucky Thoroughblades

Cecil Hart

Brad Marchand - Jean Beliveau (C) - Mike Bossy
Dany Heatley - Marcel Dionne - Daniel Alfredsson
Bob Gainey (A) - Neil Colville - Lanny McDonald
Kevin Stevens - Pit Lepine - Jimmy Ward

Marcel Pronovost - Pierre Pilote (A)
Victor Hedman - Bill White
Lloyd Cook - Jack Crawford

Martin Brodeur
Carey Price

Pavol Demitra, David Backes, Teppo Numminen

Power Play:
Jean Beliveau
Marcel Dionne - Mike Bossy - Dany Heatley
Pierre Pilote

Kevin Stevens
Brad Marchand - Lanny McDonald - Daniel Alfredsson
Victor Hedman

Neil Colville replaces Lanny McDonald on the second unit if a faceoff is needed.

Penalty Kill:
Bob Gainey - Pit Lepine
Marcel Pronovost - Bill White

Brad Marchand - Neil Colville
Victor Hedman - Jack Crawford

Jimmy Ward - Daniel Alfredsson

After Power Play:
Bob Gainey - Pit Lepine - Jimmy Ward
Marcel Pronovost - Bill White

After Penalty Kill:
Dany Heatley - Marcel Dionne - Lanny McDonald
Lloyd Cook - Pierre Pilote

Extra Attacker:
Jean Beliveau
Brad Marchand - Marcel Dionne - Mike Bossy
Victor Hedman - Pierre Pilote

Last Minute With Lead:
Bob Gainey - Jean Beliveau - Daniel Alfredsson
Victor Hedman - Pierre Pilote​

 

[Johnny Engine]

Babcock is below average here in a smaller draft but I think he'd make due with the majority of the roster. There is a lot of physicality on the blue line and truculence over the majority of spots up and down the lineup along with numerous 2 way types at F, sans a Kariya/Naslund. How does he handle Forsberg on the wing or deploy the lineup would be an interesting sight to see.

Not really sure where the idea that Babcock heavily values "truculence" came from, aside from looking like the Green Goblin and not being friends with the glasses guy. Constantly on the bottom of the league in fighting majors for both the Wings and the Leafs, and there was the one season where he suddenly decided he didn't like Matt Martin anymore and got him only 4 games after mid January. So you may not see a lot of Gillies on this team.
He does, however, like to pair up multiple centres on lines, and have them only take faceoffs on their strong side of the rink. Unfortunately, Peca's the only RHS centre on the roster, so that strategy isn't happening.
Kariya and Naslund would both be blowing the zone early all the time, because if there's one thing Babcock like's as much as a good two way forward, it's a 100-foot pass.
Brind'amour would get power play time for some reason, but that begs the question why the heck Naslund isn't right now.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Pittsburgh Pirates

Head Coach: Joel Quenneville

Johnny Bucyk-Stan Mikita-Maurice Richard
Michel Goulet-Eric Lindros-Rick Middleton
Sergei Kapustin-Peter Stastny-Dave Taylor
Don Marshall-John Madden-Eric Nesterenko

Scott Stevens-Harry Cameron
Brian Leetch-Jacques Laperriere
Gus Mortson-Eric Desjardins

Frank Brimsek
Tiny Thompson

PP 1: Bucyk, Mikita,Richard, Leetch, Cameron
PP 2: Goulet, Lindros, Stastny, Mortson, Desjardins

PK 1: Marshall, Madden, Stevens, Laperriere
PK 2: Mikita, Nesterenko, mortson, Desjardins

extras; Nicklas Backstrom, Wade Redden, Ken Hodge

Coach:

Q is very likely the best post lockout coach in hockey (06-present). 3 titles in 6 years, a ton of wins, many consistent years of winning, though he could never get through the Western Conference prior to Chicago (minor gripe I have on his overall resume). Was seemingly on his way to leading Florida to the place it currently sits now, but we all know about the incident in Chicago which Q subsequently resigned over last fall. Obviously that may/may not impact how people view him in an all time light/leading a club, but from a pure win/losses/peak/longevity standpoint, he's definitely a top 10 coach all time in my book. The awful and unacceptable situation in Chicago was a failure on an entire organizational level and it's hard to lay blame at one persons feet entirely.

Forwards:

One of my favorite (at a glance) top lines in the draft. Richard wasn't in need of the puck on his stick as much as Hull, thus I feel like Mikita-Rocket is going to be a lethal duo. It's ornery/super gritty, capable of playing any style of hockey, and you throw in one of the better forechecker/puck retriveal "artists" and it's just a plain tough line to match up with from a skill/physical/possession standpoint (Mikita was great in the dot as well) at ES.

2nd line is solid overall. Lindros is certainly a strong #2 overall in this setting, elite ES scoring as a #2 and brings huge physicality and intensity to the able. Odds are he'll miss some time in the regular season so getting a capable top 6 offensive type somewhere down the line would have been smart (enter Stas on the 3rd line and Backstrom off the bench) so well done. I like Goulet a lot and feel he probably gets lost among other secondary stars of the 80's. He was a solid 200 foot player, physical (not Lindros of course) and someone who will do pretty much anything you need over the course of a game. Middleton, a strong 200 foot guy, I may have tried to look for a little playmaking from one of the wing positions but Midds isn't out in left field here by any means. A bit light as a top 6 ES scorer but he brings other wanted traits for a 3rd wheel.

Classic supplemental 3rd line offensive push w/Stas leading the charge. Taylor and Kapustin bring a ton of physical/forechecking to the table and solid defensive coverage. Your ES ability down the middle in the top 9 is very, very good (Mikita/Lindros/Stas).

Solid checking 4th line. Couple of strong PK options here.

Defensemen:

Stevens-Cameron is a classic D-O combination. Huge fan of Stevens and what he brings to the table a leader/d presence/PK'er. I think Cameron is still a bit underrated in an all time sense (I'd have him inside the top 200 all time). but obviously he's going to be one of the weaker guys to appear on a top pairing, though obviously Leetch is the real #2 on your squad. Still, Cameron is a great puck mover and QB in transition and Stevens will allow him room to do his thing.

Leetch-Lappy is a really nice 2nd pairing. Jacques spent time on both sides of the ice in Montreal (as did most of the guys from the 60's/70's) so I don't have any issue w/him on the right side. Leetch is obviously a fantastic anchor for a 2nd pairing and like the top pair, will be able to be the primary puck mover and range ahead to help the attack. Both provide top shelf special teams help as well.

Mortson-Desjardins is a really nice bottom pairing. 2 way capable. Both can help out on your 2nd unit special teams as well.

Goalies:

Mr. Zero is a solid, right down the middle goalie in an 18 team league. An American hockey star long before most knew any existed. Definitely better than average postseason goalie, he was an AS/Hart caliber G on both sides of WWII. Thompson provides a nice backup capable of handling any necessary load in the regular season given his track record of playing games throughout the 30's.

Spares:

Nice group. Backstrom fills a need as an offensive minded C capable of filling in some games for Lindros. Redden was an underrated player not long ago. Hodge makes for a nice trigger man (for Stas) if you wanted to bump Taylor down to 4th line duties.

Special Teams:

High end PP1. Elite goal scorer all time. Elite playmaker, puck retrieval and you have 2 legit point men in Leetch and Cameron roaming the top. 2nd unit is made up of more ES types but based on talent it's still a nice blend of names. Obviously the blue line takes a bit of a hit but a guy like Leetch is going to get 1:30 or more of the PP time anyway.

Elite 1 team PK unit. I like my Tremblay-Savard duo quite a bit but this may take the cake if you care about having 2 bodies that are physical, one very much so. Madden and Marshall are both 1's here. I'd try and get Mikita off the 2nd unit if possible just to keep him as fresh as possible for his expected ES minutes though it's tougher to do as you went with an offensive minded 3rd line C.

Overall:

Really nice entry Tony. I don't see a real glaring weakness (above average/good coach, elite top line, solid overall F group w/strong overall ES numbers, balanced top 4, average G, 1st units on special teams are fantastic). Glad you decided to come on back bud.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Not really sure where the idea that Babcock heavily values "truculence" came from, aside from looking like the Green Goblin and not being friends with the glasses guy. Constantly on the bottom of the league in fighting majors for both the Wings and the Leafs, and there was the one season where he suddenly decided he didn't like Matt Martin anymore and got him only 4 games after mid January. So you may not see a lot of Gillies on this team.
He does, however, like to pair up multiple centres on lines, and have them only take faceoffs on their strong side of the rink. Unfortunately, Peca's the only RHS centre on the roster, so that strategy isn't happening.
Kariya and Naslund would both be blowing the zone early all the time, because if there's one thing Babcock like's as much as a good two way forward, it's a 100-foot pass.
Brind'amour would get power play time for some reason, but that begs the question why the heck Naslund isn't right now.

Sorry, I wasn't saying that Babs loved truculence, more that the roster had a decent share of it in general, plus for some reason it's a word I haven't used in a while and it sprang to mind when looking at the roster haha. I definitely felt like watching those Wings teams over a decade ago, that he liked having folks capable of playing clean/physical hockey but more importantly, as you mentioned 200 foot types, as often as possible. Kariay/Naslund being types that don't really fit the typical Babcock mold but for the most part, I do think the rest of the lineup would be mainly up his alley. Especially the blueline, as it's not a gangbuster, blow the zone, pinch like crazy, group.

 

[The Macho King]

COACH: Tommy Gorman
CAPTAIN: Milt Schmidt
ASSISTANT: Nicklas Lidstrom
ASSISTANT: Charlie Gardiner

Cy Denneny - Milt Schmidt (C) - Guy Lafleur
Tommy Phillips - Max Bentley - Yvan Cournoyer
Herbie Lewis - Frank Frederickson - Larry Aurie
Bun Cook - Ralph Backstrom - Ed Litzenberger

Nicklas Lidstrom (A) - Jack Stewart
Ken Reardon - Earl Seibert
Lester Patrick - Adam Foote

Charlie Gardiner (A)
Henrik Lundquist

ex: Tim Kerr, Ryan McDonagh, Vincent Lecavalier
​

PP1: Denneny - Schmidt - Lafleur - Bentley - Lidstrom
PP2: Phillips - Frederickson - Cournoyer - Reardon - Seibert


PK1: Frederickson - Phillips - Lidstrom - Stewart
PK2: Lewis - Aurie - Reardon - Seibert

 

[BraveCanadian]

A handful of super soft second lines posted so far..

 

[ImporterExporter]

Winnipeg Victorias

Coach: Fred Shero

Baldy Northcott --- Sidney Crosby (C) --- Jaromir Jagr
Doug Bentley --- Evgeni Malkin --- Bill Mosienko
Alexander Yakushev --- Gilbert Perreault --- Ziggy Palffy
Wendel Clark --- Joe Primeau --- Frank Finnigan
Steve Shutt - Peter Bondra

Borje Salming - Art Coulter (A)
Scott Niedermayer (A) - Sylvio Mantha
Hap Day - Bullet Joe Simpson
Sandis Ozolinsh

Terry Sawchuk
Pekka Rinne

PP1: Simpson --- Palffy --- Malkin --- Crosby --- Jagr
PP2: Salming --- Bentley --- Mosienko --- Perreault --- Yakushev
PK1: Niedermayer --- Coulter --- Northcott --- Clark
PK2: Day --- Mantha --- Primeau --- Finnigan

Coach:

The one and only coach capable of leading a Philly team to a world title in pro hockey. That should count for something! But he's a top 10 resume all time. I do think it would be interesting to see him make this roster go as it's a very far cry from the make up of the successful teams he coached in Philly. There is really not much physicality at all down the middle and less than what I'd consider up to par for a Shero coached team. But Sid plays 200 foot hockey and Jagr handled the very physical DPE well. There are at least 2 good defensive players in the top 6 with Northcott and Bentley. Overall not the most natural fit for roster to coach but Shero is still an above average coach.

Forwards:

Top line is built for the cycle, puck possession. Should be able to transition very well with Sid/Jagr and if you need to chip it in past folks, Northcott offers a tremendous retrieval presence and board player. Would certainly be interesting to see Sid/Jagr work together with their offensive dynamic and creativity. The line has 2 bonafide superstars offensively on it and a 3rd wheel to do the heavy lifting/responsible 1st man back role.

2nd line is lacking a Northcott in terms of pure physicality and heavy fore checking but Bentley is at least a solid defensive presence and the line should feature well in transition with speed and flair across the group. Bentley and Malkin do represent very good options as 2nd line players regardless. As a Pens fan, neat to see someone manage to group 3 of the 4 great F's in team history.

The bottom 6 is mainly more offensive push w/a blend of finesse and gritty presence but lacks any real defensive posture that is capable of playing a shutdown role. The overall makeup of the F's is going to be outscore the other side, predominantly down the middle, but Jagr is obviously an elite all time offensive threat on the wing.

Defense:

Overall, the fit is good, though I'd wager the defense is going to be below average when stacked against the rest of the league, which happens when you have Crosby, Jagr, Sawchuk and Malkin.

Salming-Coulter should do well defending and has enough puck movement skills to not get bogged down. It's a good fit given you went hard w/F's early on. Not sexy but quite effective. Coulter is probably stretched a bit as a top pairing guy.

The 2nd pair is much like the first, though more split in terms of puck mover/defender (Nieds/Mantha). Good fit, solid 2nd pair.

3rd pair is really strong IMO. Day and Simpson is a wonderful fit and will play more than a lot of 3rd pairs I'd wager. Both help tremendously as special teamers as well.

Goalies:

Sawchuk is a strong starter here. At his absolute best as good as anyone, an absolute warrior, like any damn goalie who played in an era before masks were common/allowed. I think given the offensive nature of the F group especially he'll see quite a bit of rubber so grabbing an upper echelon starter was a great move. Rinne is a nice regular season fill in as that's where the bulk of his resume lies. He's not horrible in the postseason by any means, but not someone I'd probably want as the guy either, so this is Sawchuk's team without a doubt once the playoff roll around.

Special teams:

Crosby, Malkin and Jagr on the PP would be a treat and a pain to defend just based on pure talent and blend of creativity and goal scoring. I like Bullet Joe quite a bit as more research has come in on him over the years. You don't need a mega star running the point and in a smaller draft he's probably not at that level but still a nice option. Palf is the "weak" link but that's more based on name than anything. He was a sneaky damn good offensive player in the DPE and used a lot on the PP and with the rest of the gang here, should do well.

I'd definitely flip Salming and Nieds though. Salming should be getting more time on the PK and Nieds can run the point on the 2nd PP team.

As I said, I think Salming and Coulter make sense as your top PK options on the back end. Then Day-Mantha on the 2nd unit. Obviously the PK forwards a weaker overall due to the direction you took but Northcott is definitely above average. Not sure how much Wendell Clark PK'd but he has 0 SH points so I'd wager not that much. One possibility would be to drop a Primeua for a more PK centric C of which there are several nice options that weren't drafted.

Spares:

Offensive bunch capable of replacing the more grinding types like Clark/Day.

Overall:

Definitely an interesting collection of players. Really strong offense down the middle, and an elite W in Jagr. Solid but unspectacular blue line, though well backed up with Sawchuk in net. I like non traditional lineups and this one fits the bill nabby!

 

[The Macho King]

Coach: Scotty Bowman
Captain: Guy Carbonneau
Assistant: Larry Robinson
Assistant: Duncan Keith

#15 Bert Olmstead - #10 Syl Apps - #5 Bernard Geoffrion
#14 Brendan Shanahan - #12 Adam Oates - #16 Brett Hull
#26 Brian Propp - #27 Jeremy Roenick - #9 Artemi Panarin
#11 Marty Pavelich - #21 Guy Carbonneau - #8 Punch Broadbent
#29 Dmitri Kristich - #31 Eliezer Sherbatov

#19 Larry Robinson - #56 Sergei Zubov
#2 Duncan Keith - #88 Brent Burns
#3 Vladimir Lutchenko - #4 Lennart Svedberg
#5 Ott Heller

#33 Patrick Roy
#1 Jiri Holecek

I'll hit this real quick before I have a doctor's appointment. Hopefully will get a few more in tomorrow and Friday.

No notes on the coach. Best that ever did it, and I think he's done it with varied enough rosters that it doesn't require a "fit". The leadership group feels rather low-tier though, even setting aside recent revelations about what happened in Chicago.

Top six - the fit is there, but the talent-level feels pretty low for this. But to an extent that makes sense when your first two picks went to the D and G. I do like having Geoffrion and Hull both providing big shots, but since you don't have your PP set up, I feel like having both on the top PP might be a bad move. Oates feels a bit overcast here as well.

Bottom six - Panarin is a LW. I don't really like Roenick in a third line role (even if you're going for a diet scoring line). Broadbent feels wasted on the fourth. Pavelich and Carbonneau are great defensive players, but as fourth liners who don't provide a ton of offense, their utility seems a little limited. I think there should be some re-shuffling here to make it stronger as a unit.

Top pair - I don't really love Zubov on the top pair, but I think he'd work okay with Robinson.

Second pair - this is where my big problem comes in. I don't think Burns is a top 4 D in this, and I don't think he meshes well with Keith. Keith's RL partners have been stay at home guys that let him move the puck on the pair. Here Keith has to be the defensive conscience and you probably limit most of his offensive utility. Also, for special teams - Zubov on the top PP and Burns on the second? IDK - the Burns pick stands out here as limiting your options.

Third pair - It's fine I guess.

But one of the things the D ends up with is... I don't really know how the PK shapes up, but with the D you have it feels like you are probably relying on Robinson, Keith, Lutchenko and Svedberg? That's not a strong group for PK in this. Luckily you don't have a team that's going to spend a ton of time on the PK since you avoided drafting any outright psychos, but I do think it's a concern.

Goaltending - What's to say? Great starter, and a backup who is low-tier starter worthy. No notes.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Gallifrey TARDIS

First Line: Valeri Kharlamov-Wayne Gretzky(C)-Boris Mikhailov
Second Line: Bill Barber-Bill Cowley-Vladimir Martinec
Third Line: Reg Noble(A)-Nels Stewart-Vaclav Nedomansky
Fourth Line: John Tonelli-Cooney Weiland-Bobby Rousseau

First Pair: Rod Langway(A)-Al MacInnis
Second Pair: Tom Johnson-Alexei Kasatonov
Third Pair: Alexander Ragulin-Joe Hall

First PP Unit
Stewart
Kharlamov-Gretzky-Martinec
MacInnis
Second PP Unit
Mikhailov
Barber-Cowley-Rousseau
Kasatanov

First PK Unit: Gretzky-Mikhailov-Langway-MacInnis
Second PK Unit: Weiland-Barber-Johnson-Hall

Goalie: Bill Durnan, George Hainsworth

Spares: Ted Green(D), Joe Nieuwendyk (C), Vic Stasiuk (W)

Coach: Glen Sather

Notes: The "second" and "third" lines should be considered on a par, as they are intended to receive very similar ice times. In late game situations where additional offense is required, the line labeled second will see an increase in ice time at the expense of the line labeled third. In cases where additional defense is required, the reverse will be true. In those situations, the right wings will be swapped. In late game cases where defense is particularly important, the fourth line will receive additional ice time, and that line will also take particularly important defensive draws throughout the game (followed by a quick line change when possible in those situations).​

Since MK went over Claude's roster, I'll hit the next person up.

Coach:

Sather is a top 10 coach for me. He started off as a GM, brought Gretzky in when numerous scouts had doubts in his ability to play in the NHL/becoming a star. He listened to his head scout when they said draft Coffey and Kurri and quickly stepped in as the bench boss and oversaw/managed/coached the building of one of the most talented laden rosters/dynasties in hockey history. 4 titles in 5 years. Doesn't enjoy the longevity a few other coaches have but the peak is elite.

The vast majority of the roster seems like it would fit an up tempo, let the offensive flow, 80's barn burner hockey Sather employed. Obviously he has Gretzky but I also love Kharlamov/Mikhailov as pre NHL Euro's who should fit 99 and Sather well. There isn't a Coffey from the back end here, that's the only thing that stands out to me as a possible "negative". Mac is very much a puck mover/goal getter but he does it quite differently than Coffey, obviously.

Forwards:

Elite 1st line. I mean 99 is going to give you a leg up against anyone 1 v 1 in terms of production, but you've also got another top 50 player all time and top 100, along for the ride, Euro's who understood the type of hockey Gretzky played and were schooled in many similar tactics. Gretzky himself had fond things to say of his Soviet peers when they went head to head in the 80's. Mikhailov definitely gives the line much needed grit/toughness/more traditional all around type play. 99 and Khar would be a hellova pair to watch skating in transition and maneuvering in the offensive zone, in combination. They'll get points.

2nd line is much like the first. 2 more pure offensive types (though Martinec was solid defensively and great on the kill) supplemented with a more traditional glue guy in Barber who can be counted on to be the first guy back and do more of the dirty work. Again, I think Cowley and Martinec would be very creative in the offensive zone and the latter + Barber offer solid goal scoring to offset the heavy playmaking slant of BC. The top 6, in a smaller draft is going to be softer than most, but given the make up of the team and direction you took, isn't much of a black mark IMO.

I need to go back and refresh myself on Nedomansky out at RW (feel like he didn't play much there but I could be mixing him up with someone else). Stewart is the polar opposite of Cowley in terms of offensive talents. Big, mean, nasty, (both were weak defensively, Cowley moreso IMO) and a high end goal scorer, and if motivated enough can push people around outside the net front area. He'd drop the gloves or flat out clobber someone in retaliation for egregious action on Wayne. Noble provides much needed back checking here and some facilitating chops. Not a premier fore-checker by any means but scrappy and he'll go in deep to get pucks.

I like that you didn't just punt the 4th line to a pure checking group given the make up of the roster. Tonelli is a very sound defensive/checker. Weiland had some offensive chops to go along with strong defense. Both very nice 2 way players for this roster. I actually probably lean towards Stasiuk as the RW on the 4th line as he fits more in line with the other 2, than Rousseau who, IIRC, was more of a big shot, speedy, but softer type for the 60's dynasty. But Rousseau played an unheralded role for Blake and was used at least somewhat on the kill so it's not a slam duck to make the change.

Defense:

As I said earlier, there is no Coffey, an elite skater who can headman the puck up the ice via skating, but Mac was a fantastic puck mover in his own right, more so from passing. The F group is very strong offensively so I don't foresee a major issue there.

Mac is a lower end #1 here but fits well. Langway a lower end #2 (more of a strong 3 IMO) and compliments Mac well. The only drawback I see here is foot speed but Mac developed into a very solid positional defender later in his career and Langway's bread and butter was staying at home in the right spots. Teams that can skate will give them a bit of trouble but a decent/average overall pair in a draft this size.

You definitely suffer on the 2nd pairing given the attention to the F group and earlier investment on the top pair. Well below average I'd wager here.

Third pair is just OK IMO. Hall is a secondary lunatic capable of getting himself tossed sticking up for 99 if need be haha.

Goalies:

Durnan is below average here but still 1 tier above the lowest starting bloc. He'll see a good bit of rubber but that's largely based on the team direction you took. Hainsworth is a decent #2. Played a good amount of hockey form the early mid 20's through the mid 30's, so he's a nice compliment to Durnan who had a quite short career.

Special Teams:

Top PP group is ridiculous. No need to really go into much more detail than that. Will be hell to defend so don't give them too many chances. Solid 2nd group as well with a couple of above average pieces.

I'd take Mac of the top PK unit. I don't he's the type of talent you can play as a #1 at ES and then expect huge minutes on the PP AND the PK. I'd swap out Johnson for him on that top group. Get Martinec on your 2nd PK group over Barber as he was very strong for the Czech's thanks to some research by folks like Batis and other Euro brethren from the HoH page.

Overall a nice "offfensive" PK group, mainly at F. Teams will at least have to be aware they don't have the traditional bottom 6 types pressing the blue line.

Spares:

Like them quite a bit, especially Nieuwendyk and Stas, who can give you a more 2 way feel if you want to go that route more in the bottom 6.

Overall:

You built a really strong offensive minded squad, coached by Sather who won (dynasty) with that style of roster. It's slightly off the beaten ATD path but overall a really nice entry for your 2nd go around. Can your team outscore everyone else? If so, they'll go far.

 

[rmartin65]

Following the trend, I'll review the next roster that hasn't received an assassination yet-

Portland Penguins
Coach: Tommy Ivan
Captain: Mario Lemieux
Alternates: Chris Pronger, Lionel Hitchman

John LeClair - Mario Lemieux - Jarome Iginla
Anatoli Firsov - Vladimir Petrov - Bryan Hextall
Jiri Holik - Jacques Lemaire - Didier Pitre
Vincent Damphousse - Darryl Sittler - Ace Bailey

Buck Boucher - King Clancy
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake
Lionel Hitchman - Terry Harper

Bernie Parent
Hugh Lehman

Extra Skaters: Dave Burrows, Pete Mahovlich, Jean Pronovost

PP1:
John LeClair - Mario Lemieux - Jarome Iginla
Rob Blake - Chris Pronger

PP2:
Didier Pitre - Darryl Sittler - Bryan Hextall
Anatoli Firsov - King Clancy

PK1:
Vladimir Petrov - Ace Bailey
Lionel Hitchman - Chris Pronger

PK2:
Jiri Holik - Anatoli Firsov
Rob Blake - Terry Harper​

And I'm really glad it is this team, as I think it is one of the best in the draft.

Coaching/Leadership
I like Ivan, and I like Mario as a player, but I don't think he's one of those true leaders- he is the captain because he is one of the greatest 4 players ever, not necessarily due to his leadership abilities (at least, as far as I am aware). And while the guys you have wearing the A are solid there, I don't think they really pick up whatever slack there may be though. All this said, I don't really think we can judge leadership that well, having never been in their locker-rooms.

Offense
Your top line is one of my favorites. It isn't particularly strong defensively, but you have given Mario two guys who can get him the puck and who can convert on the opportunities he provides. It's physical, it's talented, it's awesome. Really well done, IMO.

I think your second line is money as well. Again, it gives up a bit defensively, but I like all of the pieces offensively. Firsov on the 2nd line is a particularly nice weapon to have.

The third line is one I personally struggle with. I am not particularly high on Lemaire, and Holik is a player I don't have a great read on. However, this looks like a strong two-way line that can chip in offensively while giving some units a struggle while on the defensive side of things.

The fourth line looks like another two-way line, similar to the third. I wish one of these two lines was a little more defensively capable, as, while they are certainly not bad there, I think your team could benefit from a line that you could bury in D-zone starts.

Defense
You've got a passable top pair- Clancy is a low-end number 1, while Boucher is in the mix there as a solid number 2.

Your second pair, on the other hand, is quite strong- Pronger is a low-end number 1/high-end number 2 slumming it on the second pairing, and Blake is more than a fit here. This is a tough pairing to be up against.

Your third pairing is a safe defensive group that should be able to hold down the fort while your other pairings are taking a breather. I don't think you get much out of them offensively, but that doesn't seem like the object here.

Goalies
Parent is a good pick in a playoff-heavy format like the ATD, even if he is on the low-end for starters in the regular season. Lehman was a strong choice for a backup.

Special Teams
Lethal top power play. I'd probably even swap Blake and Firsov and just run PP1 for most of the PP. On the flip side, the PK is probably on the below-average side of things.

Closing Words
As I said at the top, I really like this team. It was on my list of potential "threats" fairly early on, and you carried that on throughout the draft.

 

[The Macho King]

Coach: Lester Patrick

Syd Howe --- Phil Esposito --- Hooley Smith (A)
Gordon Roberts --- Connor McDavid --- Nikita Kucherov
Fred Harris --- Patrice Bergeron --- Mickey MacKay
Ilya Kovalchuk --- Igor Larionov --- Eddie Oatman

Eddie Gerard (C) - Bobby Orr
Cyclone Taylor - Valeri Vasiliev (A)
Mike Grant - Cy Wentworth

Vladislav Tretiak
Andrei Vasilevskiy​

Spares: Frank Patrick, D ; Tommy Smith, LW/C ; Mark Stone, RW

PP1: McDavid --- Esposito --- Kucherov --- Taylor --- Orr
PP2: Howe --- MacKay --- Roberts --- Kovalchuk --- Orr/Taylor
PK1: Smith --- Bergeron --- Gerard --- Orr
PK2: MacKay --- Howe --- Vasiliev --- Wentworth

Alright let's go.

Coach - Great coach. Especially with a roster that seems tailor-made for him. Great pick for your squad.

First line - It's a little hard to view this in a vacuum because a big part of Espo's offensive benefit is going to come from the back end with Orr, but I think you did a good job making up for Espo's faults with his linemates. I do think - talent wise - this is a lower end first line (Howe and Smith are probably a bit overcast as first liners), but like I said - Orr is a confounding factor in this and I think those guys work really well *as a unit*.

Second Line - I mean it's a trash defensive line. Roberts is the only defensive conscience and he seems mostly "fine". But I think that's okay depending on deployment. A bit of a nit - McDavid plays fast, and Kucherov generally likes to slow it down and play from close to a standstill. Their IQs are high enough to probably make it work, but it's not a seemless stylistic blend.

Third Line - Great checking line. I don't think you're going to get a ton of offense out of it in this, but once again you're going to get so much from your backend I think that's a tradeoff you're willing to take.

Fourth Line - Kovalchuk is kind of a weird fit for a fourth liner. Not good defensively outside of like... two seasons in NJ. Not a guy I would call "tough to play against". I feel like you put the best player you available on that line, but I just don't think he's a great fit for what you want out of a fourth line (which I generally think is just play their 8-10 minutes and play them hard). Not familiar with Oatman, but Larionov seems like a better fit for that line.

Top Pair - I mean... yeah. You know what you did there and it's great.

Second Pair - If nothing else, I admire the gigantic balls. I'd prefer Taylor at C, but I think there's enough meat there that it can work. Your work is cut out for you here, but whether it pays off or not, I applaud you for going for it. Vasiliev is a solid pick here too.

Third pair - You lose a ton of points for Mike Grant being named Mike Grant. Inexcusable.

Goaltending - Tretiak is a solid starter. Vasilevskiy is the greatest goaltender in the history of the game.

Special teams - Top PP is f***ing terrifying. Kucherov doesn't get enough credit for his PP talent. My only question is doesn't McDavid prefer playing the right half-wall as well? His skillset is broad enough to be able to move around but that's my only concern.

PK is fine. Second unit seems ... meh but that's not much of a note. I do wonder if putting Orr on the second unit instead of the first (just to give him more time ES and PP) wouldn't be wise, but that's not saying he *can't* work there. I do think - largely based on how you drafted a lot of puck carrying defensemen... I think the D side of your PK is on the low end of this draft. But I don't think that's an unforgivable sin as you got your value elsewhere.

Such an interesting roster. I'm a big fan of what you two did here. There are some questions but I think this is a very solid and interesting submission.

 

[ResilientBeast]

McDavid plays fast, and Kucherov generally likes to slow it down and play from close to a standstill. Their IQs are high enough to probably make it work, but it's not a seemless stylistic blend.

Given that Draisatil plays slow like that, I feel like Kucherov and McDavid will work fine together

 

[ResilientBeast]

Fourth Line - Kovalchuk is kind of a weird fit for a fourth liner. Not good defensively outside of like... two seasons in NJ. Not a guy I would call "tough to play against". I feel like you put the best player you available on that line, but I just don't think he's a great fit for what you want out of a fourth line (which I generally think is just play their 8-10 minutes and play them hard). Not familiar with Oatman, but Larionov seems like a better fit for that line.

Given we were happy with how strong of a checking presence our 3rd line was and that we are perfectly happy to have the Espo line out there power on power

We wanted a line that could score and exploit depth mismatches with other teams

Larionov and Kovalchuk feels like a pretty good stylistic fit and Oatman is out there to hustle and do all the dirty work. We also wanted a weapon to try and strengthen our second PP unit

PK is fine. Second unit seems ... meh but that's not much of a note. I do wonder if putting Orr on the second unit instead of the first (just to give him more time ES and PP) wouldn't be wise, but that's not saying he *can't* work there. I do think - largely based on how you drafted a lot of puck carrying defensemen... I think the D side of your PK is on the low end of this draft. But I don't think that's an unforgivable sin as you got your value elsewhere.

Your comments on our 2nd unit are valid, however you might be underselling MacKay quite a bit in terms of his ability, the bigger question mark on that unit might be Howe. I somewhat disagree with your characterization of our defense for PK duty tho. Vasiliev and Wentworth seems like a perfectly fine pairing for a 2nd unit in an ATD this size