Lineup Assassination

[Rick Middleton]

Taking the 2nd component out of the drafting thread, we have the lineup assessment/assassination.

So, gentlemen, you may fire when ready

Gwinnett Gladiators

Head Coach - Scotty Bowman

Valery Kharlamov-Howie Morenz-Anders Hedberg
Steve Shutt-Bill Cowley-Peter Bondra
Bobby Carpenter-Vyacheslav Starshinov-Pat Verbeek (A)
Scott Young-Derek Sanderson-Jim Peplinski (A)

Stan Jonathan, Chris Nilan

Brian Leetch (C)-Steve Smith
Walter "Babe" Pratt-Gennady Tsygankov
Nikolai Sologubov-Ivan Tregubov
Yuri Fedorov

Georges Vezina
John Vanbiesbrouck

PP1
Kharlamov-Cowley-Bondra
Leetch-Sologubov

PP2
Shutt-Morenz-Hedberg
Pratt-Tsygankov

PK1
Sanderson-Peplinski
Smith-Tsygankov

PK2
Carpenter-Young
Sologubov-Tregubov

Click to read more...

 

[God Bless Canada]

I will be posting a frank and honest review of Halifax RCAF after we make our last pick. Just a reminder to keep it civil.

 

[Roger's Pancreas*]

I think we're going to be seeing a lot of "poor Vezina never had a chance at that one" when the Gladiators play. The offensive pressure should be ridiculous coming from your team, Rick, but if there's a team with an opportunistic defense-first scheme out there your goalie is going to be subject to a lot of odd man rushes.

 

[Rick Middleton]

I think we're going to be seeing a lot of "poor Vezina never had a chance at that one" when the Gladiators play. The offensive pressure should be ridiculous coming from your team, Rick, but if there's a team with an opportunistic defense-first scheme out there your goalie is going to be subject to a lot of odd man rushes.

I can see Vezina doing the Denis Lemieux meltdown from Slapshot.

 

[Rick Middleton]

Ricks honest assessment of the Gwinnett Gladiators

Was it my intent to create an ultra-fast, offensive-heavy team from the start? Nope. As soon as Morenz and Kharlamov fell in my lineup though, I adjusted my drafting strategy to create such a team. And in doing so there were times where I passed on a more defensively minded player for the offensive wizards. So, I will live with the consequences. Teams will score on the Gladiators, but we'll get our goals as well.

Strengths

1. Speed. I can't honestly see a lineup that matches my team's speed from lines 1-4. Morenz, Kharlamov, Hedberg, Cowley, Bondra, Bobby Carpenter, Scott Young, Derek Sanderson ... all were known in part for their good to great speed. So, we'll focus on using that speed to our advantage. We'll have our defence feed our forwards for odd man rushes, and once established in the offensive zone, cycle the puck until the opposition is dizzy. Our defence corps also has speed to burn and plenty of offense talent.
2. Special Teams. We're special. I have a group of defensemen who should be extremely effective on the PP, and forwards with skill to burn. On the PK I have some of the more preeminent PK'rs of all-time.

Weaknesses

1. Size. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but we're small. Our 3rd and 4th lines aren't bad in terms of size, but Peplinski's our only legitimate "power" forward. Verbeek and Sanderson have grit, but beyond them we're relying heavily on Steve Smith for our punch. When matched up against a physical team we'll have to bring in Jonathan, likely subbing out.
2. Defensive awareness from lines 1 and 2. Morenz is an effective two way player, as is Shutt. Beyond that though we may have to provide some of our forwards with a map so they can find their way back to our zone.

Team Modus Operandi

I see this team being operated very much so like the Detroit Red Wings of the 1990's. Plenty of skill, some extremely good defensive players on the 3rd and 4th lines, and a defence corps that is very good at moving the puck. Where we may not match up is having that 2nd center that plays great both ways. I won't knock Cowleys defensive abilities, but I doubt you could say that they'd match Fedorov's. Vezina is a heckuva upgrade from Chris Osgood, but we won't be relying on our goaltending to win games.

Team Outlook

The scoreboard will consist of plenty of stats and scant amount of penalty minutes. Outside of Verbeek, Peplinski and Smith I can't see any of my players spending a lot of time in the box. And that's a good thing. Odds are those who try to play us physical will end up in the box facing our extremely good PP. But our 5 on 5 play will be key. We'll have to match lines extremely well to ensure that Vezina isn't left out to dry. Hence the drafting of Bowman so early. He had teams like this and made them successful (1970's Habs and 1990's Wings). I'm hoping he can do the same thing.

 

[VanIslander]

...scant amount of penalty minutes. Outside of Verbeek, Peplinski and Smith I can't see any of my players spending a lot of time in the box. And that's a good thing. Odds are those who try to play us physical will end up in the box...

Odds are that wingers Kharlamov, Hedberg, Bondra, Shutt will be on the receiving end of a lot of finished checks (not to mention open-ice hits if they try to stay away from the boards), some of them with extra nastiness when refs aren't looking, certainly contact along the borders as they play the wing, susceptible to being thrown off their game by pests and cheap shots. Thankfully your team doesn't play in the same division as Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe or my Raiders (all of the Jim Robson).

Teams with few nasty PIM players REALLY need an enforcer against certain teams.

The Gladiators play in the Foster Hewitt division which is quite puffy and high flying with guys like Kariya, Gretzky, Fedorov, Lafleur playing a high-flying skating style of game.

But the top four wingers in Gwinnett are vulnerable along the boards and down their lanes against a team like divisional rival St. Louis: Lanny McDonald, Brian Sutter, Owen Nolan, and Curt Fraser's six 100+ PIM seasons match-up extremely well against the many soft wingers on the "Gladiators". Fortunately for you the Eagles defense is not particularly physical and its big guys Langway and Babych are more likely to throw an effective clean check than a crushing ill-willed hit.

A lack of PIMs IS a team weakness of the Gladiators - to keep the other team honest - but in this divison it's less of an issue than in some others. For example, against Edmonton of the Bob Cole your team would be a dead duck. The Oilers Shanahan and Ovechkin would cut through that line-up like butter except where Verbeek might at times be thrown out there to try to upset things.

..once established in the offensive zone, cycle the puck until the opposition is dizzy..

On the powerplay, yes, but on regular shifts? I don't see there being enough ice room, especially come the playoffs. The Oilers' Tinordi, Konstantinov, Hartsburg and O'Reilly would take guys out of that equation and if that provides an open pass for a quick shot then they have Plante to backstop their physical d-men.

Pray your boys don't play that team in the Jim Coleman conference finals due to their ability to exploit that particular weakness.

Don't underestimate a pest's ability to throw a Lady Byng off of his game without taking a penalty, quite the contrary, drawing them from less physical stars who lash out uncharacteristically in frustration because they have nobody in the line-up to back them up by playing dirtier than the dirt where needed.

 

[Rick Middleton]

Odds are that wingers Kharlamov, Hedberg, Bondra, Shutt will be on the receiving end of a lot of finished checks (not to mention open-ice hits if they try to stay away from the boards), some of them with extra nastiness when refs aren't looking, certainly contact along the borders as they play the wing, susceptible to being thrown off their game by pests and cheap shots. Thankfully your team doesn't play in the same division as Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe or my Raiders (all of the Jim Robson).

Teams with few nasty PIM players REALLY need an enforcer against certain teams.

Hence Jonathan and Nilan.

The Gladiators play in the Foster Hewitt division which is quite puffy and high flying with guys like Kariya, Gretzky, Fedorov, Lafleur playing a high-flying skating style of game.

But the top four wingers in Gwinnett are vulnerable along the boards and down their lanes against a team like divisional rival St. Louis: Lanny McDonald, Brian Sutter, Owen Nolan, and Curt Fraser's six 100+ PIM seasons match-up extremely well against the many soft wingers on the "Gladiators". Fortunately for you the Eagles defense is not particularly physical and its big guys Langway and Babych are more likely to throw an effective clean check than a crushing ill-willed hit.

Sutter wasn't known as a particularly nasty player, nor was McDonald. They weren't cream-puffs, but they weren't head-hunters either.

A lack of PIMs IS a team weakness of the Gladiators - to keep the other team honest - but in this divison it's less of an issue than in some others. For example, against Edmonton of the Bob Cole your team would be a dead duck. The Oilers Shanahan and Ovechkin would cut through that line-up like butter except where Verbeek might at times be thrown out there to try to upset things.


On the powerplay, yes, but on regular shifts? I don't see there being enough ice room, especially come the playoffs. The Oilers' Tinordi, Konstantinov, Hartsburg and O'Reilly would take guys out of that equation and if that provides an open pass for a quick shot then they have Plante to backstop their physical d-men.

Pray your boys don't play that team in the Jim Coleman conference finals due to their ability to exploit that particular weakness.

Don't underestimate a pest's ability to throw a Lady Byng off of his game without taking a penalty, quite the contrary, drawing them from less physical stars who lash out uncharacteristically in frustration because they have nobody in the line-up to back them up by playing dirtier than the dirt where needed.

Tinordi? Tinordi's a slow tank that benefitted from his era. He'll be spun dizzy by my forward corps.

 

[VanIslander]

Hence Jonathan and Nilan.

Dang! I didn't see the extra forwards. Perfect!~

Sutter wasn't known as a particularly nasty player, nor was McDonald. They weren't cream-puffs, but they weren't head-hunters either.

Of course, but they were physical and strong and will rule the boards against any of your top four wingers.

Tinordi? Tinordi's a slow tank that benefitted from his era. He'll be spun dizzy by my forward corps.

Uh,... if you mean your wingers will dance around him and avoid his attempts at finishing checks then perhaps at times if he's caught alone on a 2-on-1 surge... but not when the puck is being cycled down low, as you describe. At 6'4 he will get to finish checks in his own zone and certainly by his presence keep your wingers out wide if they want to avoid contact: screening Plante wouldn't be much of an option, nor burying rebounds.

 

[VanIslander]

omg I just noticed that Bowman is the coach. This is NOT a Bowman type team. Are you hoping he'll teach/tolerate your top four wingers? Is this a case of drafting a coach to try and make up for a weakness rather than reflect a style? well then, will it work? It sure would be sad if Kharlamov and Leetch listened to Bowman and started making the smart, safe play. What Bowman did to Yzerman is legendary. But it also took a long time.

 

[Rick Middleton]

omg I just noticed that Bowman is the coach. This is NOT a Bowman type team. Are you hoping he'll teach/tolerate your top four wingers? Is this a case of drafting a coach to try and make up for a weakness rather than reflect a style? well then, will it work? It sure would be sad if Kharlamov and Leetch listened to Bowman and started making the smart, safe play. What Bowman did to Yzerman is legendary. But it also took a long time.

Seeing as he coached Shutt, I'd say you can immediately scratch one from your list. Kharlamov is a disciple of the Russian style ... which the Red Wings adopted and transformed in the early 90's, so scratch Kharlamov off your list.

So, can Hedberg and Bondra play Bowman-type hockey? Why not? Bowman led the Flying Frenchmen to multiple Stanley Cups, so he was obviously able to get the most out of Lafleur and Cornouyer. Why not Hedberg and Bondra?

 

[MXD]

Seeing as he coached Shutt, I'd say you can immediately scratch one from your list. Kharlamov is a disciple of the Russian style ... which the Red Wings adopted and transformed in the early 90's, so scratch Kharlamov off your list.

So, can Hedberg and Bondra play Bowman-type hockey? Why not? Bowman led the Flying Frenchmen to multiple Stanley Cups, so he was obviously able to get the most out of Lafleur and Cornouyer. Why not Hedberg and Bondra?

You have a point there... There are definitely similarities between Bondra and Lafleur.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Just so that everyone knows, I won't be as thorough with line-up evaluations as I was in the last draft. I'll have a Halifax review up today or tomorrow, and I might do a few others, but that's it. After all, I am working on a provincial election this week.

Rick, your team is likely the fastest in the draft. But it's likely the least physical team in the draft. I'm not concerned about size, or a lack of PIM's. You can be physical without accumulating PIMs. Just ask Iginla. Or Halifax's captain, George Armstrong. But I don't see a lot of grit in your line-up, especially in the top nine forwards. Teams with a mobile, aggressive checking line (or two such lines) would do a lot of damage against your top two lines.

I think Verbeek might actually look really good on that first line. He doesn't have the speed or offensive flair of a Hedberg, but he brings a lot of grit, he'll open up room for Morenz and Kharlamov, he'll allow Morenz to concentrate on offence, and Verbeek does have very good skill. I'm a huge Howie Morenz fan, but I wouldn't want him to be the most physical player on a line in an ATD.

I like Shutt's drive to the front of the net for the second line, but I would like to see someone more robust for that second line. I'm not a Bondra fan at all. I think he always goes too early, and he will be a non-factor against a physical team. Cowley is one of the top three to five second line centres in the draft. (Along with guys like Boucher and Forsberg).

I'm not sure what you're expecting Carpenter to give you - he came into the league amid great expectations, but outside of one year, was never a big offensive producer. He did become a very nice defensive player, though. Are you expecting the third line to be a scoring line (in that case, swap Hedberg and Verbeek) or a two-way line (in that case, keep the RWs the same and hope that you don't face a physical team early).

I think Solugobov is a better fit on the top defensive pairing with Leetch. Leave Smith for a third pairing shutdown role, or as a defensive conscience for Babe Pratt. A Pratt-Leetch pairing might be fitting for your squad: an all-offence pairing for an all-offence team.

I agree (for once) with VanI: it's not a team that's well-suited to Bowman's style. The thing about the Flying Frenchmen of the late 70s is they were exceptional defensively. You had the Big 3 on defence, you had an awesome two-way forward in Lemaire, two of the best defensive forwards ever in Gainey and Jarvis, and a fourth line with Risebrough, Lambert and Tremblay. The Red Wings of the 1990s executed the left wing lock to perfection. I think your team would have been better off with a Glen Sather or a Bob Johnson for a coach - a guy with a brilliant offensive mind who knew how to handle the star players. Also, Bowman had a knack for being quite hard on his players. I have doubts on how Bondra will react to Bowman's coaching.

Your team has the potential to be the highest-scoring team in the draft. It'll do fine in the regular season. But playoffs could be another story.

 

[Rick Middleton]

Just so that everyone knows, I won't be as thorough with line-up evaluations as I was in the last draft. I'll have a Halifax review up today or tomorrow, and I might do a few others, but that's it. After all, I am working on a provincial election this week.

Rick, your team is likely the fastest in the draft. But it's likely the least physical team in the draft. I'm not concerned about size, or a lack of PIM's. You can be physical without accumulating PIMs. Just ask Iginla. Or Halifax's captain, George Armstrong. But I don't see a lot of grit in your line-up, especially in the top nine forwards. Teams with a mobile, aggressive checking line (or two such lines) would do a lot of damage against your top two lines.

I think Verbeek might actually look really good on that first line. He doesn't have the speed or offensive flair of a Hedberg, but he brings a lot of grit, he'll open up room for Morenz and Kharlamov, he'll allow Morenz to concentrate on offence, and Verbeek does have very good skill. I'm a huge Howie Morenz fan, but I wouldn't want him to be the most physical player on a line in an ATD.

I like Shutt's drive to the front of the net for the second line, but I would like to see someone more robust for that second line. I'm not a Bondra fan at all. I think he always goes too early, and he will be a non-factor against a physical team. Cowley is one of the top three to five second line centres in the draft. (Along with guys like Boucher and Forsberg).

I'm not sure what you're expecting Carpenter to give you - he came into the league amid great expectations, but outside of one year, was never a big offensive producer. He did become a very nice defensive player, though. Are you expecting the third line to be a scoring line (in that case, swap Hedberg and Verbeek) or a two-way line (in that case, keep the RWs the same and hope that you don't face a physical team early).

I think Solugobov is a better fit on the top defensive pairing with Leetch. Leave Smith for a third pairing shutdown role, or as a defensive conscience for Babe Pratt. A Pratt-Leetch pairing might be fitting for your squad: an all-offence pairing for an all-offence team.

I agree (for once) with VanI: it's not a team that's well-suited to Bowman's style. The thing about the Flying Frenchmen of the late 70s is they were exceptional defensively. You had the Big 3 on defence, you had an awesome two-way forward in Lemaire, two of the best defensive forwards ever in Gainey and Jarvis, and a fourth line with Risebrough, Lambert and Tremblay. The Red Wings of the 1990s executed the left wing lock to perfection. I think your team would have been better off with a Glen Sather or a Bob Johnson for a coach - a guy with a brilliant offensive mind who knew how to handle the star players. Also, Bowman had a knack for being quite hard on his players. I have doubts on how Bondra will react to Bowman's coaching.

Your team has the potential to be the highest-scoring team in the draft. It'll do fine in the regular season. But playoffs could be another story.

Thanks for the comments GBC. Greatly appreciated.

I may have to tinker with my lineup somewhat to address potential shortcomings. My lineup will probably be in flux and will be dependent on my opponent. I have thought of moving Verbeek up against more physical teams, insert Nilan and Jonathan in the lineup and scratch Young and Hedberg. As such the lineup would be as follows

Valery Kharlamov-Howie Morenz-Pat Verbeek (A)
Steve Shutt-Bill Cowley-Peter Bondra
Bobby Carpenter-Vyacheslav Starshinov- Jim Peplinski (A)
Stan Jonathan-Derek Sanderson-Chris Nilan

Concerning your question, I'm looking at latter-career Bobby Carpenter, a player who had adapted his play to a more defensive game. Still had great wheels, but used them to play a solid defensive game.

Not sure about what I'd do with my defense. I like the Nikolai Sologubov-Ivan Tregubov pairing because they played together in real life. I could put Smith on the 2nd pairing to ensure there is a defensive conscience on that line. Gennady Tsygankov
would be a good partner for Leetch as well. He was paired with Fetisov and was a very good defensive player, so I wouldn't lose much from that.

 

[God Bless Canada]

One thing I did notice is that your division doesn't have that mean, physical team. Nothing like say, Edmonton, the Raiders or Portage (or Halifax, for that matter). So you might be okay during the regular season and into the playoffs.

 

[LapierreSports]

Montreal Wanderers

Coach: Roger Neilson

Reg Noble - Joe Sakic (A) - Pavel Bure
Rick Martin - Gilbert Perreault - René Robert
Al Secord - Denis Savard - Steve Larmer
Yvon Lambert - Dave Poulin (A) - Tony Amonte

Tommy Dunderdale and Wayne Merrick


J.C. Tremblay - Butch Bouchard (C)
Leo Reise Jr. - Flash Hollett
Barry Beck - Red Dutton (A)

Josef Malecek

Terry Sawchuk
Pelle Lindbergh​

PP1: Martin - Sakic - Bure - Tremblay - Hollett
PP2: Secord - Savard - Larmer - Perreault- Bouchard
PK1: Poulin - Larmer - Tremblay - Bouchard
PK2: Sakic - Noble - Reise Jr. - Dutton

 

[LapierreSports]

Just so that everyone knows, I won't be as thorough with line-up evaluations as I was in the last draft. I'll have a Halifax review up today or tomorrow, and I might do a few others, but that's it. After all, I am working on a provincial election this week.


Thats too bad ! Are you in Saskatchewan ? Hopefully you are not in Lorne Calvert`s camp as it looks like he will finally lose.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Lapi's line-up should be one of the easiest to evaluate in the draft, simply because we know what he's going to get from two of his lines. No mystery with the French Connection or the Party Line. (I have such a hard time believing that a line with Steve Larmer on it could be the Party Line).

I will say that I have a certain amount of disdain for Pavel Bure, and I'm not sure if Sakic is actually the perfect linemate for him. While Sakic is that dynamic playmaker that Bure never had, Bure's also best with a centre who will get him the puck, and let him dangle. Bure does have an explosive shot, but he was a guy who preferred to score with stickhandling. One thing that Sakic will do is effectively play defensive conscience for Pavel.

Lapi should consider himself lucky that we got The Chief for our two-way line. Larms is one of my all-time favourites, and if we didn't get The Chief, we would have scooped up Larmer in a hurry.

Tony Amonte on a checking line? That's almost as scary as Geoff Courtnall on a checking line. Amonte was a talented scorer, but he's a liability on that line in an all-time format. I'm not sure who Lapi's spares are, but one of them has to be better defensively than Amonte. Outside of Amonte, no qualms with the checking line.

I don't see a true No. 1 defenceman, but I see two excellent No. 2's (Bouchard and Tremblay). We really, really wanted Bouchard to play with Bourque. I think Bouchard might actually be the perfect partner for Hollett. Bouchard didn't put up big numbers, with the exception of 1944-45, but then again, nobody did for defencemen in the late 40s and early 50s, except for Red Kelly. I think Hollett's a little overrated, but he's still a top four guy because of his offensive upside. Reise, Dutton and Beck are solid 4-6 guys.

Sawchuk is one of the best goalies in the draft, and he'll have to get 70 starts a year, because Lindburgh is one of those guys who goes too soon due to the mystery element.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Just so that everyone knows, I won't be as thorough with line-up evaluations as I was in the last draft. I'll have a Halifax review up today or tomorrow, and I might do a few others, but that's it. After all, I am working on a provincial election this week.


Thats too bad ! Are you in Saskatchewan ? Hopefully you are not in Lorne Calvert`s camp as it looks like he will finally lose.

Yours was easy to evaluate. That's why I did it.

Yes, I am living in Saskatchewan. (That shouldn't be much of a shock, considering that every time I pick a Sask. boy, or an SJHL alum, I make a point to promote that). And no, I'm not in Lorne Calvert's camp. I'm an independent. (And by that, I don't mean Western Independence Party. Even years of western alienation from Trudeau and Chretien, or Mulroney's ag policies, could force me to join the WIP jokers).

 

[shawnmullin]

omg I just noticed that Bowman is the coach. This is NOT a Bowman type team. Are you hoping he'll teach/tolerate your top four wingers? Is this a case of drafting a coach to try and make up for a weakness rather than reflect a style? well then, will it work? It sure would be sad if Kharlamov and Leetch listened to Bowman and started making the smart, safe play. What Bowman did to Yzerman is legendary. But it also took a long time.

Dude we had both Kharlamov AND Leetch on our team last time... and our coach was Bowman.

 

[VanIslander]

Dude we had both Kharlamov AND Leetch on our team last time... and our coach was Bowman.

yeah i know and we didn't rely on them to cycle the puck and score a ton of goals. Larionov was a responsible centre on that unit and our third line was Tikkanen-Goring-Recchi: a two-way terror. Not to mention that Francis and Kurri would play his style and Scotty trained Berenson and Crisp. And we had another Conn Smythe d-man in Savard and a few defensive defensemen.

The crew around Kharlamov and Leetch did the job defensively! AND offensively whereas the majority of the Gladiators line-up are just like those two yet less so and I don't see what Bowman would work with.

That said, we are talking about Bowman. And while he hated Coffey, he did tolerate him in Detroit. Take away Bowman's ability to trade and he'll certainly weave some magic. He taught so many players how to play defense that he certainly will have some effect on the line-up and it should help.

It's just not ideal.

 

[Diving Pokecheck*]

How about the T-Birds
General Managers: nik jr. and Agent Dale Cooper
Head Coach: Jack Adams
Assistant Coach: Ken "Captain Kangaroo" Hitchcock
#8 Roy Conacher- #16 Norm "Noisy" Ullman- #9 Gordie "Mr. Hockey" Howe (C)
#14 Lawrence "Baldy" Northcott- #7 Marty "Goal-A-Game" Barry- #5 Frank "Flash" Foyston
#35 Mike Mcphee- #11 Steve Kasper- #18 Ed "Shadow" Westfall (A)
#17 Tony "Mighty Mouse" Leswick- #12 Ron Sutter- #26 Patrick "Flats" Flatley
#1 Albert "Babe" Siebert (A)- #4 Rob "Buzzard" Blake
#3 William "Hod" Stuart (A)- #2 Bill White
#6 Jim Schoenfeld- #15 Jim "Chief" Nielson
X-#27 Mike Murphy, #13 Brian Engblom

#29 Ken Dryden
#34 Miika Kiprusoff

 

[EagleBelfour]

Detroit Falcons

Coach: Pat Burns

Michel Goulet - Stan Mikita (A) - Gordie Drillon
Woody Dumart - Milt Schmidt (C) - Bobby Bauer
Gilles Tremblay - Ralph Backstrom - Claude Provost
John Ferguson - Kenny Mosdell - Mario Tremblay
Lynn Patrick

Jacques Laperriere - Tom Johnson
Art Ross (A) - Jean-Guy Talbot
Ed Van Impe (A) - Glen Harmon
Larry Hillman

Frank Brimsek
Roy Worters
Glenn Resch​

Some hindsight please?

 

[pitseleh]

How about the T-Birds
General Managers: nik jr. and Agent Dale Cooper
Head Coach: Jack Adams
Assistant Coach: Ken "Captain Kangaroo" Hitchcock
#8 Roy Conacher-#16 Norm "Noisy" Ullman-#9 Gordie "Mr. Hockey" Howe (C)
#14 Lawrence "Baldy" Northcott-#7 Marty "Goal-A-Game" Barry-#5 Frank "Flash" Foyston
#35 Mike Mcphee-#11 Steve Kasper-#18 Ed "Shadow" Westfall (A)
#17 Tony "Mighty Mouse" Leswick-#12 Ron Sutter-#26 Patrick "Flats" Flatley
#1 Albert "Babe" Siebert (A)-#4 Rob "Buzzard" Blake
#3 William "Hod" Stuart (A)-#2 Bill White
#6 Jim Schoenfeld-#15 Jim "Chief" Nielson
X-#27 Mike Murphy, #13 Brian Engblom

Alright, I'll try my best.

Strengths

Top-6 Scoring: You guys have a very dynamic top six. I'm not convinced Northcott is a good top-6 LW, but he'll be a good glue guy for Barry and Foyston. Though Conacher ranks a little lower overall, I'd have him in the top-5 for LW goal scoring threats and Howe is obviously the top RW.

Good Collection of Defensive Forwards: Westfall and Leswick are two of the best in the draft at shutting down opponents and Kasper is no slouch either. McPhee, Sutter and Flatley add some sandpaper. Outside of Leswick and Westfall there isn't a lot of scoring potential, but if those guys can do their jobs shutting down opponents you should have enough scoring depth to compensate.

Depth in Defensive Defensemen: A collection of Siebert, Stuart, White, Schoenfeld and Neilson will be a tough group to score against. I'm not a fan of Blake and wouldn't want him as my number one defenseman, but depth wise you have a solid group.

Solid Team Toughness: Howe, Northcott, and pretty much your entire bottom six provide good toughness. Your back end is very similar in make up. Others, like Ullman, though maybe not as tough, are at least effective cornermen/forecheckers.

Weaknesses

Offense/Puck Moving from the Defense: My biggest concern for your team is the ability of your defense to get the puck to your forwards. I'm not a fan of Blake's ability, and I'd worry that outside of potentially Stuart you don't really have that guy.

Synergy on your Top Line: I mentioned it before, but the other concern I have for your team is the top line. Individually each player is great and I'm sure they have ability to move the puck around, but I'd just be worried that having that would take them away from their strength, which is goal scoring for all three.

Overall, this is a very good team though, especially considering this is your guys' first draft. You stole about a half a dozen players from me just before I had the chance to pick them (Conacher, Siebert, Barry, Foyston and Northcott come to mind).

 

[The_Hockey_Guy18]

Dartmouth Subways

Coach: Teddy Nolan

Patrick Roy
Dave Kerr

Paul Coffey (A)-Adam Foote
Doug Wilson (A)-Dave Burrows
Al Iafrate-Petr Svoboda

Kent Nilsson-Joe Malone-Teemu Selanne
Ace Bailey-Dale Hawerchuk (A)-Joe Mullen
Tomas Sandstrom-Neal Broten-Hakan Loob
Adam Graves (C)-Dan Bain-Rick Tocchet (A)

Brian Skrudland, Goldie Prodgers, Barry Ashbee

PP1: Malone-Hawerchuk-Selanne-Coffey-Iafrate
PP2: Bailey-Nilsson-Mullen-Svoboda-Wilson
PK1: Bain-Graves-Wilson-Burrows
PK2: Broten-Tocchet-Svoboda-Foote​

 

[VanIslander]

#7 Paul Coffey (A)-#24 Doug Wilson (A)
#43 Al Iafrate-#52 Adam Foote
#4 Dave Burrows-#23 Petr Svoboda

Wilson can score and plays Nolan style full-effort d. I'd think Teddy would give him quality minutes. That said, he and Coffey aren't ideal together, especially with the lack of puck movement from a legit #3 d-man. Iafrate simply isn't reliable enough to handle more than occasional duty and can be an impact guy if not counted on, simply shine when he shines and when he doesn't then BENCH!

Paul Coffey - Adam Foote
Doug Wilson - Dave Burrows
Al Iafrate - Petr Svoboda

And how the hell can Coffey NOT play the top powerplay unit?