First off, really glad to see someone step up and speak for my opponents as Selfish Man was building a really good team until he left.
So let’s look at the matchups:
Line 1: My first line has everything you’d want in a 1st line. You have the glue guy in Thomas, the playmaker in Taylor and the goal scorer in Sheppard. Thomas will also score some goals. I expect Taylor to have his playmaking skills on full display during this series and set up plenty of opportunites for Thomas and Sheppard.
For my opponents you have a line of Herb Cain, Viktor Shuvalov and Carson Cooper. Cain is the goal scorer here, he was an impressive one in his day, scoring 30+ goals twice in a low scoring era. Shuvalov was a good team guy, often playing a defensive game and helping out the defensemen on his team. Carson Cooper is another fine player. This line is like my 1st line and will score plenty of goals. There is a lack of a playmaker on this but other than that it’s a fine 1st line.
Line 2:
Much like my 1st line, my 2nd line offers everything you’d want in a line, you have your playmaker in Stillman, a goal scorer in Kuhnhackl and a glue guy in Koroll. Stillman was drafted because of his playmaking abilities but he reads as a determined player who will be a locker room leader for my team. Kuhnhackl’s an interesting player. Called the best German to ever play hockey, he is credited with keeping German hockey afloat during his career. He even led the 1984 Olympics in scoring with 14 points in 6 games, I expect Kuhnhackl to have a quieter role on a more talented team but he should be fine. Cliff Koroll won’t score as many points as Kuhnhackl or Stillman but I expect him to provide the glue on this line and chip in offensively from time to time.
My opponents offer up a great 2nd line as well. Slava Kozlov is one of my favourite players and I find him under-rated. That said his physical game while alright is still not above average and it could hurt him against tougher opponents. Golonka, on the other hand, is a great all around player and was a fitting choice for your captaincy. He’s like Kuhnhackl and did wonders for his country in the field of hockey. I expect those 2 to match up well against 1 another. Vincent Lukac rounds out the line. Myself and MadArcand drafted Lukac in my first MLD and I remember being impressed with Lukac back then. Like Golonka he never played in the NHL but he played quite well for teams in Europe. This line could use a true grit guy but other than it’s fairly equal to my 2nd line. Our top 6 are almost mirror images of the other.
Line 3:
In drafting my 3rd line I drafted 3 guys who where noted 2 way guys. Brunette is noted more for his playmaking abilities but he plays an adequate defensive game and should be fine here. Kelly Kisio is one of those heart and soul guys that can do it all on the ice and help the team win hockey games. Tony Granato will be the goal scorer on this line but I also expect him to play a good 2 way game. Granato was noted for his dedication and feistiness throughout his career.
My oppontents offer more of a defensive 3rd line. Radek Bonk was drafted to be a dominant scorer but didn't pan out that way but this Ottawa fan remembers how good Bonk was defensively, he's a very solid choice for a checking line. Brian Skrudland was on my short list when I picked Kisio. Skrudland's a defensive player first and foremost and may not chip in much offensively, Skrudland also had a knack for taking bad penalties so watch out for that. I question Loui Eriksson on a checking line. The guy's developing into one of the better pure goal scorers in the league but I don't know how much of a defensive game he has. Your 3rd line has 3 decent players but all 3 of them have a weakness which may hurt them and cost your team.
Line 4:
We took different approaches to our 4th lines, I went offense with goal scorers Vail and Guryshev and playmaker Havlat while the Hornets went defense with Drake, Zezel and Kallur. Both approaches work as all 3 of my guys are good enough offensively to make up for any shortcoming they have defensively and Kallur was good offensively and both Drake and Zezel should chip in with the odd goal. I actually like my opponent's 4th line better. Drake and Zezel are good 4th liners in this and Kallur is a good 2 way guy. The 4th lines should not determine who wins this series though.
I'll be back tomorrow to compare the team defenses and goaltending but I look forward to more comments from whoever's looking after my opponent's team right now or any of the other GM's.
Still at work but we’re slower than Jason Allison now so I might get time to compare the 4th lines before I get off work.
