Ok, I'll do the easy stuff first.....
Coaching:
I think we cna both agree that you have an advantage in coaching. We may disagree slighty on how much of an advantage, but it's there are it will definately be to
Hamilton's advantage.
Goaltending:
I also think we can both agree that we have an advantage in net. Again, I'm sure we'll disagree somewhat on the difference between the two, but the
advantage is clearly in favour of Rogle.
Bluelines:
Doug Harvey and Nicklas Lidstrom are both among the elite of the elite. Oddly enough, both guys are perfectly suited to playing against their opponent this round. Harvey has the size, toughness, and nastiness to deal with the rather large and intimidating group of Rogle forwards. Lidstrom, on the other hand, plays the perfect passive style to match up against the smaller Hamilton forwards. With this in mind, I think they'll be equally effective in this series. Harvey will be slightly better, but Lidstrom will play slightly more minutes, so I think it makes them pretty even.
Eddie Gerard is an excellent #2. While I think some over-rate him, I think he first nicely around 35th on an all-time list of defensemen. When building a team, however, I think he's more valuable than his ranking. He's the perfect team player, and the perfect partner for anybody. Larry Murphy is just an average #2. He's not bad defensively, but he certainly isn't drafted for that part of his game. He brings very good puck-moving ability for a #2 defenseman. Gerard is definately better than Murphy overall.
Harvey Pulford will be polarizing, but I think the results of the recenlty completed top-60 defensemen study speak volumes. Pulford was ranked 60th all time, which puts him in bargain basement #2 territory. In Pulford, I have one of the most imposing and dominant physical forces in the draft - he's right up there with Chara. Ott Heller is more of a lower end #3, maybe even a closer to a #4. He had some good (not great) seasons in a relatively weak era for defensemen. He's paired with Gerard, so he's insulated, but on his own, he's pretty unspectacular. Harvey Pulford has a significant edge over Heller.
Teppu Numminen is kind of a poor-man's Lidstrom. He plays steady and reliable defensive hockey, and he also makes very smart break-out passes that start the attack. Beside Pulford, he's just there to be a steady presence. Glen Harmon was actually one of the guys we were looking at when we decided on Numminen. It basically came down to two things: weak era and lack of lngevity. Harmon probably peaked slightly higher than Numminen, but the massive longevity edge is in Teppo's favour. I think Numminen has a small, but distinct, advantage over Harmon.
Kevin Hatcher is actually better than Numminen. I'm just more comfortable with Numminen beside Pulford. Hatcher's voting record is much more impressive than I thought it would be - considering competition level, I think a fair argument could be made that he's better than Ott Heller. Whoever your #5 defenseman is doesn't even approach Hatcher.
Wade Redden will probably take Jack Portland's place for this series. His skating and more cerebral style fits your team a lot better than Portland's killing power
Either way, regardles of who dresses, I feel that we have one of the best #6s in the draft, and we're going to have an advantage over just about anyone, which includes whichever guy is your #6.
Overall,
I think the depth of the Rogle blueline will give us an edge on the blueline in this series. I think the advantages at #3, #4, and #5 outweight the disadvanatge at #2.
Forwards:
This is the tough part.
Rogle, clearly, has the edge in terms of offensive firepower. At the same time, though, Hamilton has just as much edge in terms of defesive ability. Funny that we are going to rely on Nels Stewart and Ilya Kovalchuk, who are probably 2 of the worst defensive players, and you are going to rely on Keon and Gilmour.
I'lll dig into this one tomorrow....
Powerplay:
With the significantly better offensive weapons, it's pretty obvious that
Rogle will have a huge edge in terms of PPs.
Penalty Kill:
Hamilton has some of the best PK around, so
Hamilton will have the edge here.
Team Toughness: Rogle
Team Speed: Hamilton
