MLD 2019 Draft Thread

[tony d]

Sorry for the delay, I start off my bench with toughness and select center Keith primeau.

 

[Habsfan18]

Nova Scotia selects our 7th defenseman and first spare: D, Ed Jovanovski

 

[tinyzombies]

Kent Nilsson - C

The main reason I'm taking him: 33 $PPP/82 tops the list of players available. That's 9th place all-time, ever (tied).

Also, one of the most dangly players ever.

He ran into some injury problems that limited his totals, but if you pro-rate his scoring paces to 80 games, the stat-line might have looked like this:
1979-80: 93 points (actual)
1980-81: 131 points (actual)
1981-82: 107 points
1982-83: 104 points (actual)
1983-84: 96 points
1984-85: 103 points

54.7 VsAssists


Regular Season

553GP

264G

422A

686PTS

1.24PPG

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Playoffs

59GP

11G

41A

52PTS

0.88PPG

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

notable achievements:

1975-1976	SHL Most Points
1977-1978	WHA Avco World Trophy
	WHA Rookie of the Year (Lou Kaplan Trophy)
1978-1979	WHA Avco World Trophy
	WHA Most Gentlemanly Player (Paul Daneau Trophy)
1979-1980	NHL All-Star Game
1980-1981	NHL All-Star Game
	NHL Best Swedish Player (Viking Award)
1983-1984	Canada Cup Runner-Up
1986-1987	NHL Stanley Cup Champion
1987-1988	Italy Champion
1988-1989	SHL Best Player (Guldpucken)
	SHL Champion
1989-1990	World Championship Silver Medal
2005-2006	IIHF Hall of Fame

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

All-time Calgary Flames scoring leader record holder with 131 points in a single season.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

All-time Swedish record holder for most points in a single NHL season

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

TSN listed him as a top 10 most skilled player of all-time

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Basically he wasted 3 years playing for the WHA.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

@Habsfan18 you're on the clock

@tinyzombies can make up his 2nd pick at his leisure.

The OP says 25 rounds so I guess that's what we'll do.

 

[Habsfan18]

I’ll pick a star athlete who probably deserves better than being an MLD spare, and is a good goal scorer for a top 6 role (I assume he surely would have been selected for a scoring role if we had say, 8-10 teams, instead of 6). But the fit may have just not been there for the other clubs in the draft even as a spare.

He’ll be used as a spare on Nova Scotia but I could plug him in as a replacement for Simmer or Stewart if need be, anytime, on one of the top 2 lines.

LW, Vsevolod Bobrov

Vsevolod Bobrov

Vsevolod "Seve" Bobrov was nicknamed the Russian Rocket as he was compared to the best player in the world at that time, Rocket Richard. He never displayed Richard's temper or intensity, but was every bit as explosive and hungry for goals.

In 1948 Bobrov scored 52 goals, compared to the runner-up who had 23. He also won the league scoring crown in 1951 (41 goals) and 1952 (34 goals). Bobrov (mostly a left wing) scored a total of 243 goals in 130 games. Other Russian hockey players soon started to look up to him and he became the leader and "icon" for them.

Bobrov led the Russians to world championship Gold medals in 1954 and 56. He won the Silver in 1955 and 57. He also won the Olympic Gold in 1956. All in all Bobrov played 59 international games for his country and scored 89 goals.

Even the legendary Maurice "Rocket" Richard was very impressed by Bobrov: " Bobrov is an outstanding individual and a great player. I consider him being one of the ten best players in hockey history" Richard said in an interview in the late 1950's.

Bobrov was a masterful player both technically and tactically, and one of the true pioneers of Russian hockey.

 

[Dreakmur]

The problem is Bobrov is it’s basically impossible to evaluate him against other players. The Soviet league during his career was weaker than the North American minor leagues. He dominated it, but what does that mean?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The problem is Bobrov is it’s basically impossible to evaluate him against other players. The Soviet league during his career was weaker than the North American minor leagues. He dominated it, but what does that mean?

Bobrov's longevity was actually fairly poor too.

That said, I like him as a MLD spare.

 

[Habsfan18]

The problem is Bobrov is it’s basically impossible to evaluate him against other players. The Soviet league during his career was weaker than the North American minor leagues. He dominated it, but what does that mean?

You’re not wrong, and that’s probably why he doesn’t get selected as an ATD scoring winger. Still, in the 620+ range (as an MLDer after an ATD) I figured why the heck not? He’ll be used sparingly but I think he fits a role on my team.

He dominated internationally as well, which adds to his case. But again the question becomes what was the level of competition?

 

[VanIslander]

He dominated internationally as well, which adds to his case. But again the question becomes what was the level of competition?

No different than higher drafted Sven Tumba Johansson.

No different than inexplicably constantly puzzlingly MUCH higher drafted Nikolai Sologubov.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

No different than higher drafted Sven Tumba Johansson.

No different than inexplicably constantly puzzlingly MUCH higher drafted Nikolai Sologubov.

Bobrov was older than both of them, and therefore never got to play against the strengthening competition of the early 60s.

He also picked up hockey later in life, so his longevity is worse than either.

Re: Tumba, he dominated his tryout in the North American minors, which... matters to some.

Anyway, I realize these are all small things, but they aren't nothing.

 

[VanIslander]

The problem is Bobrov is it’s basically impossible to evaluate him against other players. The Soviet league during his career was weaker than the North American minor leagues. He dominated it, but what does that mean?

Thank god you never drafted Sologubov in the top half of the ATD. Imagine the hypocrisy!

 

[seventieslord]

The question of where Bobrov and Sologubov should be drafted is a tough one to answer conclusively (I certainly lean towards closer to now than a couple hundred picks ago), but whatever you think, the idea of them being this far apart is absurd.

 

[Habsfan18]

The question of where Bobrov and Sologubov should be drafted is a tough one to answer conclusively (I certainly lean towards closer to now than a couple hundred picks ago), but whatever you think, the idea of them being this far apart is absurd.

Yeah that’s what, essentially a difference of 150 picks? I know it all comes down to fit as well, and maybe Sologubov is a much easier fit on a club in these draft formats. But still, a difference of that many picks. I just don’t get it..

Also, if we’re drafting scoring wingers for the MLD for scoring roles (even for 4th line scoring), what makes guys like Alex Tanguay, Simon Gagne, Wendel Clark, Dave Balon, Ray Getliffe, and Jack Adams (playing LW in this MLD) a better choice than Bobrov? Is it based purely on the fit? Is it the fact that people really are that skeptical of Bobrov’s historical level of competition compared to the others? If you’re basing it purely on offensive talent, wouldn’t Bobrov be at the top of this list? And that’s not to knock those players or picks at all. Just an observation, and yes I’m aware players bring different roles. It just seems strange when you look at some of the players drafted ahead of him for similar scoring roles.

Either way, I’m happy to have him even if it’s as a spare. I feel like he could certainly make an impact in this format, no? Even if it’s in spot duty.

 

[tony d]

I go with defenseman Bryan Mccabe

Mccabe had 2 40 assist seasons.

 

[Theokritos]

Of course, Bobrov only started playing Canadian hockey at the age of 26 and he quit at 35. Considering the circumstances, I wouldn't really call it a lack of longevity as much as a lack of body of work or development as a player.

The thing is, Bobrov was the epitome of a soloist who didn't do anything for the team beyond scoring goals (which, however, he did very frequently). Think for example Pavel Bure in his later years with the Canucks or with Florida. (Difference being that this version of Bure did his scoring at the NHL level.) It's a persistent criticism that followed Bobrov from as early as 1948 to Tarasov's books in the 1960s.

Sologubov wasn't much younger when he made the switch from bandy to Canadian hockey, he was 25, but he never faced the same criticism Bobrov faced. Tarasov and others gave him credit for revolutionizing the way the Soviets were able to play, he introduced two-way hockey and effective body-checking to the repertoire of the Russian defensemen. By the age of 31, several North American observers rated him as a NHL-caliber two-way defensemen.

 

[Habsfan18]

Nice post theo. It does make you wonder though, what happens if you drop Bobrov into the NHL in his prime? Does he instantly become a scoring star to rival a Maurice Richard? Or does his soloist style of play drive Canadian coaches crazy and he’s not a fit on any of the 6 clubs? Surely the talent alone would have given him at least a shot in the NHL if that had been an option. Would a career in the NHL have been sustainable playing a role similar to what he played in the Soviet league and internationally, at that time?

 

[Habsfan18]

Let me also say that I love the fact that an MLD spare is generating this kind of conversation.

I love this board and the fact that we have so many passionate and knowledgable students of game and its great history.

 

[Theokritos]

Nice post theo. It does make you wonder though, what happens if you drop Bobrov into the NHL in his prime? Does he instantly become a scoring star to rival a Maurice Richard? Or does his soloist style of play drive Canadian coaches crazy and he’s not a fit on any of the 6 clubs? Surely the talent alone would have given him at least a shot in the NHL if that had been an option. Would a career in the NHL have been sustainable playing a role similar to what he played in the Soviet league and internationally, at that time?

Hard to answer. On talent alone, I think Bobrov could have succeeded in the NHL. But under which circumstances? A prime Bobrov, a star in spite of educated criticism, set in his ways, would have had a hard time adapting.

Even if we assume a lesser, struggling and maybe desperate NHL team like Chicago or New York would have allowed him to play the game in his soloist manner, he still would have needed time to adapt to the more physical hockey and the smaller rinks in North America.

If we comes over at a younger age, still impressable and coachable and perhaps motivated to carve out a career in hockey for himself? Then I have little doubt he becomes a star caliber player in the NHL.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The question of where Bobrov and Sologubov should be drafted is a tough one to answer conclusively (I certainly lean towards closer to now than a couple hundred picks ago), but whatever you think, the idea of them being this far apart is absurd.

Eh... One is a fairly well-rounded defenseman and one is a one-dimensional winger. That alone accounts for a huge difference in draft position.

Edit: theo said it much better than I did.

 

[Habsfan18]

Eh... One is a fairly well-rounded defenseman and one is a one-dimensional winger. That alone accounts for a huge difference in draft position.

Edit: theo said it much better than I did.

Let’s not pretend that there aren’t other one dimensional scoring wingers taken much earlier in the ATD, though. A difference of 150 picks still seems a bit excessive. But I get that there are positional needs.

 

[Dreakmur]

Eh... One is a fairly well-rounded defenseman and one is a one-dimensional winger. That alone accounts for a huge difference in draft position.

Aki Berg was well-rounded too. He sucked at everything equally.

I really find it hard to believe Sologubov was a physical player in a league that didn't even allow body checking until after he retired.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Aki Berg was well-rounded too. He sucked at everything equally.

I really find it hard to believe Sologubov was a physical player in a league that didn't even allow body checking until after he retired.

Oh i meant he was good at both ends; I agree with you that the idea of him being physical is very questionable

 

[Dreakmur]

Oh i meant he was good at both ends; I agree with you that the idea of him being physical is very questionable

He was good compared to the other players in his league. That league was at best the 3rd best league in the world, and probably the 4th best.

Jump up 2 whole leagues and I'm not sure he's good anymore.

 

[Namba 17]

league that didn't even allow body checking until after he retired.

Not true.
Whatever, though.

 

[tinyzombies]

@Habsfan18 you're on the clock

@tinyzombies can make up his 2nd pick at his leisure.

The OP says 25 rounds so I guess that's what we'll do.

what pick??