ATD2011 Sam Pollock Prelims: (4) Vancouver Maroons vs. (5) Niagara City Blues

[seventieslord]

Vancouver Maroons
2010 Red Fisher Conference Champions


Coach: Billy Reay
Assistant: Roger Neilson

Pavol Demitra - Joe Sakic [C] - Bill Cook
Patrick Marleau - Brad Richards - Frank Finnigan
Bruce MacGregor - Doug Risebrough - Tony Leswick
Alex Tanguay - Tumba Johansson - Chico Maki

J.C. Tremblay [A] - Bob Goldham
Jimmy Thomson [A] - Gus Mortson
('the Gold Dust Twins)
Teppo Numminen - Brad Maxwell

Frank Brimsek
Normie Smith

Lee Fogolin Sr. (D), Alex Shibicky (W), Rudy Migay (C)
​

Powerplay

Forward Unit A: Richards - Sakic - Cook
Forward Unit B: Marleau - Johansson - Demitra

Pointmen:
Numminen (RH) – Tremblay (LH)
Maxwell (RH) – Tremblay
Thomson (RH) – Mortson (LH)

Tremblay – 75% - 5:00 minutes
Numminen – 40% - 3:00
Maxwell – 35% - 2:30
Thomson – 25% - 1:45
Morston – 25% - 1:45

*Tremblay will be at the helm for most of the PP, with Numminen and Maxwell taking turns next to him.
*The Gold Dust Twins come on near the end to play the ES shift after.
*The first unit plays more of a perimeter game, with Richards, Sakic, Numminen, and Tremblay moving the puck around the outside and Cook in the slot.
*The second unit will throw the puck on net more, with Johansson and Marleau in the slot.

Penalty Kill

Risebrough - Finnigan
Thomson – Mortson

MacGregor – Leswick
Tremblay – Goldham

Sakic - Marleau
Thomson - Mortson

VS

NIAGRA CITY BLUES
GM: matsblue13
Coach: Glen Sather
Captain: Al MacInnis
Alternate Captains: Guy Carbonneau, Mats Sundin

Forwards
Pavel Bure - Mats Sundin - Peter Bondra
Dennis Hull - Buddy O’Connor - Joe Mullen
Anton Stastny - Guy Carbonneau - Milan Hejduk
Al Secord - Dale Hunter - Ray Sheppard
Ed Olyczk
Miroslav Satan

Defensemen
Doug Mohns - Al MacInnis
Jimmy Watson- Tommy Anderson
Tomas Kaberle- Dave Babych
Darryl Sydor

Goaltenders
Billy Smith
Chris Osgood

PP1
Anton Stastny-Mats Sundin-Pavel Bure
Al MacInnis- Milan Hejduk
PP2
Dennis Hull-Buddy O’Connor-Mullen
Jimmy Watson- Peter Bondra

PK1
Guy Carbonneau – Dale Hunter
Al MacInnis- Dave Babych

PK2
Dale Hunter- Dennis Hull
Doug Mohns- Jimmy Watson

Click to read more...

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

The Maroons look better than a #4 seed but I think this was a tough division at the top. Bure and Bondra on the same line isnt the brightest idea - see Bure and Mogilny when they were in Vancouver.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The Maroons look better than a #4 seed but I think this was a tough division at the top. Bure and Bondra on the same line isnt the brightest idea - see Bure and Mogilny when they were in Vancouver.

And Mogilny was actually competent at passing the puck.

 

[hungryhungryhippy]

Meh, not happy... but what can I say, I haven't really put the necessary effort into selling my team that I should have. There were some important points I wanted to address during assassinations that I never got around to.

I think I'll use this series as a forum to, hopefully, address some of the points about my team. I think it's a very good team that can fare better in a playoff match-up than it might have looked on paper at first glance. Hopefully it's not too late though... I'd feel good about my chances going up against the Steelers or Monsters, but Strum is pretty much the scariest GM in the league to go up against, and I have a feeling Gwinnett drew first seed.

 

[Leafs Forever]

Don't feel too bad; as monster_bertuzzi mentioned, you were in a rather good division; the Gladiators, Steelers, and Monsters are all pretty great teams.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

I definitely think Vancouver was a better team than this ranking indicates.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Mats its not too late to make a little tweak in your lines, Id suggest splitting up Bure and Bondra and getting Bure to RW on the top line, where he will be most effective.

Hull-Sundin-Bure
Bondra-O'Connor-Mullen

 

[matsblue13]

Mats its not too late to make a little tweak in your lines, Id suggest splitting up Bure and Bondra and getting Bure to RW on the top line, where he will be most effective.

Hull-Sundin-Bure
Bondra-O'Connor-Mullen

thanks for the heads up bud

 

[matsblue13]

NIAGRA CITY BLUES
GM: matsblue13
Coach: Glen Sather
Captain: Al MacInnis
Alternate Captains: Guy Carbonneau, Mats Sundin

Forwards
Pavel Bure - Mats Sundin - Joe Mullen
Dennis Hull - Buddy O’Connor - Petr Bondra
Al Secord - Guy Carbonneau - Milan Hejduk
Anton Stastny - Dale Hunter - Ed Olyczk
Ray Sheppard
Miroslav Satan
Petr Nedved
Defensemen
Doug Mohns - Al MacInnis
Jimmy Watson- Tommy Anderson
Tomas Kaberle- Dave Babych
Darryl Sydor

Goaltenders
Billy Smith
Chris Osgood

PP1
Al Secord -Mats Sundin-Pavel Bure
Al MacInnis- Milan Hejduk
PP2
Dennis Hull-Buddy O’Connor-Mullen
Jimmy Watson- Peter Bondra

PK1
Guy Carbonneau – Dale Hunter
Al MacInnis- Dave Babych

PK2
Dale Hunter- Dennis Hull
Doug Mohns- Jimmy Watson

 

[Dreakmur]

This series pretty much revolves around Sakic and Cook. If Niagara can slow them down, their depth with outscore Vanouver's. If they can't slow them down, the Vancouver "big 2" will run wild and blow the series open.


Niagara needs to load up a line to match up. Carbonneay in Sakic's face. Move Dale Hunter to LW, and he can go head to head with Cook. Is that enough?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Speaking of Hunter, he probably shouldn't be playing the full 2 minutes of penalty time

 

[hungryhungryhippy]

This series pretty much revolves around Sakic and Cook. If Niagara can slow them down, their depth with outscore Vanouver's. If they can't slow them down, the Vancouver "big 2" will run wild and blow the series open.


Niagara needs to load up a line to match up. Carbonneay in Sakic's face. Move Dale Hunter to LW, and he can go head to head with Cook. Is that enough?

lol... save the politics for our own series in the next round, you don't need to try and get a head start with subliminal smears.

This series doesn't revolve around Sakic and Cook, one team outclasses the other in every way possible, all through out the lineup.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

If Sakic and Cook are shut down, Niagara City does have a chance at an upset. But they are the best two players in this series, so that's a tall order.

Carbonneau is arguably the best defensive center ever (Bobby Clarke and Frank Nighbor are the other candidates IMO), but he can't do it alone.

 

[hungryhungryhippy]

There's no need to speak in a hypothetical though, we can all see that Niagra has absolutely no chance at shutting them down.

Even if they did, Milan Hejduk and Peter Bondra probably still wouldn't be enough for Niagra to "outscore" it's way to next round when Vancouver outclasses them in net, on the blueline, and has team defense and depth shut-down players like Finnigan, Leswick, Risebrough, and MacGregor.

 

[Dreakmur]

lol... save the politics for our own series in the next round, you don't need to try and get a head start with subliminal smears.

This series doesn't revolve around Sakic and Cook, one team outclasses the other in every way possible, all through out the lineup.

I think your heve the better team too, but not good enough to coast through the series. Not sure why you think you're the automatic winner here....

Niagara does have a better 2nd line, a better 1st defense pair, and a batter coach, so I wouldn't say you outclass them in every way.

As I said before, being cocky only hurts your chances.

 

[BraveCanadian]

I think your heve the better team too, but not good enough to coast through the series. Not sure why you think you're the automatic winner here....

Niagara does have a better 2nd line, a better 1st defense pair, and a batter coach, so I wouldn't say you outclass them in every way.

As I said before, being cocky only hurts your chances.

Agreed. It is exactly that sort of attitude that lets an underdog team surprise the favourite.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Thats better Mats, I would sill do everything to put Bure at RW though.

 

[Leafs Forever]

Thats better Mats, I would sill do everything to put Bure at RW though.

Indeed. Bure>>>Mullen. The worse player should be forced to play on his off-wing.

 

[seventieslord]

Miro Satan is a better all-time player than Ray Sheppard and brings just as much away from the puck. I`d give him a shot over Sheppard. The benefit to this is also that he can play LW.

That means you can play your 4 great RWs all on the right side where they belong. Is it smart though - I am torn. One of Hejduk, Bure, Mullen and Bondra would have to be on a 4th line. Is that too much of a waste, is it more of a waste than having Bure on the left. Feedback from other GMs would be appreciated.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Hejduk on the Carbonneau line is pretty pointless he should be on the 4th and get 2nd unit PP duty.

 

[seventieslord]

Hejduk on the Carbonneau line is pretty pointless he should be on the 4th and get 2nd unit PP duty.

but then, who do you put with Carbo? The only guy who is anything close to suited is Mullen.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

but then, who do you put with Carbo? The only guy who is anything close to suited is Mullen.

Yeah. Mats kind of drafted himself into a corner by not selecting enough defensively capable forwards (and not picking them up in the add/drop phase while he still could). I think Mullen pretty much has to go there. Arrbez suggested moving Tommy Anderson to LW in the assassination thread, which is an idea I thought had some merit.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

What about:

Dale Hunter - Mats Sundin - Pavel Bure
Al Secord - Buddy O’Connor - Petr Bondra
Dennis Hull - Joe Mullen- Milan Hejduk
Anton Statny - Guy Carbonneau - Ed Olyczk

It gives the top 6 badly needed physicality and puck winning ability, and you're forming what I attempted to make of a checking line with the 4th line. Stastny was described as a smart hockey player that used it offensively and defensively, giving him a little bit of ability to check. Olczyk has some remotely high penalty minute totals(a stretch, I know), forming somewhat of a checking/physical line. Hunter is the only one moving out of position, as I believe Mullen played some center. The other 3 lines are basically one dimensional scoring lines.

 

[matsblue13]

NIAGRA CITY BLUES
GM: matsblue13
Coach: Glen Sather
Captain: Al MacInnis
Alternate Captains: Guy Carbonneau, Mats Sundin

Al Secord - Mats Sundin - Pavel Bure
Dennis Hull - Buddy O’Connor - Petr Bondra
Tommy Anderson - Guy Carbonneau - Joe Mullen
Miroslav Satan - Dale Hunter - Milan Hejduk

Ray Sheppard
Anton Stastny
Petr Nedved

Defensemen
Doug Mohns - Al MacInnis
Jimmy Watson- Dave Babych
Tomas Kaberle- Darryl Sydor


Goaltenders
Billy Smith
Chris Osgood

PP1
Al Secord -Mats Sundin-Pavel Bure
Al MacInnis- Milan Hejduk
PP2
Dennis Hull-Buddy O’Connor-Mullen
Jimmy Watson- Peter Bondra

PK1
Guy Carbonneau – Dale Hunter
Al MacInnis- Dave Babych

PK2
Mats Sundin- Dennis Hull
Doug Mohns- Jimmy Watson

 

[matsblue13]

ahahah I'm trying to fit in everyone's recommendations. I forgot who told me this, but two big bodies like Secord and Sundin with a speedy winger like Bure sounds pretty good