AdamoR61
Registered User
- May 16, 2019
- 84
- 47
To qualify for this team, the player must be born after September 15th 1996. He must represent either Canada or the United States. Players such as William Nylander, Dylan Larkin and Brayden Point do NOT count.
These lines are not necessarily composed of the best on the top lines but rather what line chemistries would make the most sense when icing a competitive team.
Obviously there is no hockey going on right now so this is a fun little idea and we should NOT expect to see this team to ever lace them up together.
Now for the roster...
Honourable Mention Cuts: Clayton Keller, Samuel Girard, Vince Dunn, Jack Hughes
Anthony Cirelli - Connor McDavid - Jack Eichel
Brady Tkachuk - Auston Matthews - Mitchell Marner
Matthew Tkachuk - Mathew Barzal - Travis Konecny
Kyle Connor - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Brock Boeser
Alex DeBrincat - Alexis Lafreniere
Thomas Chabot - Cale Makar
Quinn Hughes - John Marino
Zach Werenski - Charlie McAvoy
Adam Fox
Carter Hart (1A)
Mackenzie Blackwood (1B)
Cayden Primeau (2)
Brief Line Explanations:
Cirelli-McDavid-Eichel - Eichel and McDavid are not really known for their effort in the defensive zone so to counter this lack of defence I put Cirelli on their wing who should in my opinion be a top 3 candidate for the Selke. Cirelli and McDavid also have a history as the Cirelli led Oshawa Generals manhandled the McDavid led Erie Otters in the 2015 OHL Finals. The game plan for the Generals was to have 2 players (Cirelli being one of them most of the time) on McDavid the entire time to shut him down. Needless to say Cirelli and the Gens game plan worked as they gentlemen swept the Otters en route to becoming OHL champions.
B.Tkachuk-Matthews-Marner - Matthews and Marner have played together on the Maple Leafs for about just over half a season and have become one of the premier deadly duos in the NHL. Brady and Auston are already good friends off the ice. Auston actually gave his spot in this year’s all star game to Tkachuk when he couldn’t participate. Brady would add that sandpaper element to this line making them a pain for other teams to matchup with.
M.Tkachuk-Barzal-Konecny - Barzal and Konency played together in 2016 on the Canadian world junior team. Although never really seeing the ice together, there is still that sense of knowing how each other plays. This line would also be a rough go for the opposing team as Konency and Tkachuk are two pests that have a ton of skill. Combine that with Barzal’s elite speed, puck handling and passing and there really is no stopping this third line.
Connor-Dubois-Boeser: This line is kind of the best of the rest. None of them have really ever played against each other. Connor would be the main focal point as he was having a sneaky ridiculous season. Boeser has been injured quite a bit this season but we all know what his goal scoring abilities are capable of. Dubois has also had a sneaky good season. He has developed into one really good playmaker for the Blue Jackets.
Chabot-Makar - For my defensemen, I personally like when they are on their strong hand sides. It makes moving the puck away from the boards much easier especially when the majority of these guys have elite puck moving ability. Makar is a lock for the top right side pair. As for Chabot his competition is much better for this spot however I think he would work extremely well beside a guy like Makar who can skate just as good, if not better then him.
Hughes-Marino - This pairing has a bit of everything. Hughes is exceptional at driving play into the offensive zone while Marino is exceptional at preventing it. Hughes' in-zone offensive passing is arguably top 5 amongst defencemen in the NHL while Marino is very sound and good at getting his stick into passing lanes. These two have somewhat contradicting play styles however I feel would work very well.
Werenski-McAvoy - It is definitely weird seeing these two as #5 and #6 defencemen. This pairing could easily be the 1st or 2nd just based on pure experience alone; well compared to the rest of the team that is. Werenski has the big shot from the point compared to McAvoy’s sneakily good passing and puck moving ability in transition. Both are pretty good skaters who are able to make up for each other's defensive deficiencies.
Goalies - Hart and Blackwood have both been terrific netminders this season for their respective teams. If I were coach I would play them in a 1A-1B type of thing until there is a clear starter moving forward into the ladder rounds of the tournament. Primeau would be the third goalie. In his very short stint with the Canadiens, Primeau looked composed in his net and saw the puck well. He is capable of facing NHL shooters but I would leave the job up to the two goalies in front of him on the depth charts.
Thoughts? Who did I miss?
These lines are not necessarily composed of the best on the top lines but rather what line chemistries would make the most sense when icing a competitive team.
Obviously there is no hockey going on right now so this is a fun little idea and we should NOT expect to see this team to ever lace them up together.
Now for the roster...
Honourable Mention Cuts: Clayton Keller, Samuel Girard, Vince Dunn, Jack Hughes
Anthony Cirelli - Connor McDavid - Jack Eichel
Brady Tkachuk - Auston Matthews - Mitchell Marner
Matthew Tkachuk - Mathew Barzal - Travis Konecny
Kyle Connor - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Brock Boeser
Alex DeBrincat - Alexis Lafreniere
Thomas Chabot - Cale Makar
Quinn Hughes - John Marino
Zach Werenski - Charlie McAvoy
Adam Fox
Carter Hart (1A)
Mackenzie Blackwood (1B)
Cayden Primeau (2)
Brief Line Explanations:
Cirelli-McDavid-Eichel - Eichel and McDavid are not really known for their effort in the defensive zone so to counter this lack of defence I put Cirelli on their wing who should in my opinion be a top 3 candidate for the Selke. Cirelli and McDavid also have a history as the Cirelli led Oshawa Generals manhandled the McDavid led Erie Otters in the 2015 OHL Finals. The game plan for the Generals was to have 2 players (Cirelli being one of them most of the time) on McDavid the entire time to shut him down. Needless to say Cirelli and the Gens game plan worked as they gentlemen swept the Otters en route to becoming OHL champions.
B.Tkachuk-Matthews-Marner - Matthews and Marner have played together on the Maple Leafs for about just over half a season and have become one of the premier deadly duos in the NHL. Brady and Auston are already good friends off the ice. Auston actually gave his spot in this year’s all star game to Tkachuk when he couldn’t participate. Brady would add that sandpaper element to this line making them a pain for other teams to matchup with.
M.Tkachuk-Barzal-Konecny - Barzal and Konency played together in 2016 on the Canadian world junior team. Although never really seeing the ice together, there is still that sense of knowing how each other plays. This line would also be a rough go for the opposing team as Konency and Tkachuk are two pests that have a ton of skill. Combine that with Barzal’s elite speed, puck handling and passing and there really is no stopping this third line.
Connor-Dubois-Boeser: This line is kind of the best of the rest. None of them have really ever played against each other. Connor would be the main focal point as he was having a sneaky ridiculous season. Boeser has been injured quite a bit this season but we all know what his goal scoring abilities are capable of. Dubois has also had a sneaky good season. He has developed into one really good playmaker for the Blue Jackets.
Chabot-Makar - For my defensemen, I personally like when they are on their strong hand sides. It makes moving the puck away from the boards much easier especially when the majority of these guys have elite puck moving ability. Makar is a lock for the top right side pair. As for Chabot his competition is much better for this spot however I think he would work extremely well beside a guy like Makar who can skate just as good, if not better then him.
Hughes-Marino - This pairing has a bit of everything. Hughes is exceptional at driving play into the offensive zone while Marino is exceptional at preventing it. Hughes' in-zone offensive passing is arguably top 5 amongst defencemen in the NHL while Marino is very sound and good at getting his stick into passing lanes. These two have somewhat contradicting play styles however I feel would work very well.
Werenski-McAvoy - It is definitely weird seeing these two as #5 and #6 defencemen. This pairing could easily be the 1st or 2nd just based on pure experience alone; well compared to the rest of the team that is. Werenski has the big shot from the point compared to McAvoy’s sneakily good passing and puck moving ability in transition. Both are pretty good skaters who are able to make up for each other's defensive deficiencies.
Goalies - Hart and Blackwood have both been terrific netminders this season for their respective teams. If I were coach I would play them in a 1A-1B type of thing until there is a clear starter moving forward into the ladder rounds of the tournament. Primeau would be the third goalie. In his very short stint with the Canadiens, Primeau looked composed in his net and saw the puck well. He is capable of facing NHL shooters but I would leave the job up to the two goalies in front of him on the depth charts.
Thoughts? Who did I miss?
