The 2011 ATD-B Beer League Draft

[seventieslord]

Thanks for the article and translation, Mr. Bugg. I actually hadn't read that.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

LW Greg Terrion

243 points in 561 career NHL games
2x Top 10 PPG Against (6, 9)
1x Top 10 SHG (7)

Greg Terrion was a talented left-winger whose quickness made him useful as a checker and offensive player. He played nearly 600 games in the 1980s and was a well-liked figure by his peers.

Born in Marmora, Ontario, Terrion played junior with the Hamilton Fincups and Brantford Alexanders. After scoring 122 points for Brantford in 1980, he was picked 33rd overall by the L.A. Kings at the Entry Draft. "Tubby" scored 37 points as a rookie playing with Jim Fox and Steve Jensen and duplicated this output as a sophomore.

The hard-working forward joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1982-83 and played six seasons with the club. He was a solid defensive player whose quickness and smarts made him useful on both specialty teams. The crafty veteran often worked effectively on the same line as Bill Harris and xxx or xxx and Bill Derlago.

Terrion's checking and upbeat personality helped Toronto come within a game of reaching the semi-finals in 1986 and 1987. He retired in 1989 after playing 60 games with the Newmarket Saints of the AHL.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14520

Greg Terrion was one of those unspectacular but consistent role players that every team needs in order to win hockey games. Unfortunately for Greg, his steady and consistent play was always with teams that were neither steady nor consistent as he was.

Drafted by Los Angeles 33rd overall in 1980, Greg played 2 years with the Kings before being traded to Toronto in 1982 for a 4th round draft choice. Greg spent the next 6 years in Toronto, playing his final NHL game in 1988.

Greg wasn't an overly talented finesse player. He was an above average skater, with really good speed. Combined with good defensive anticipation skills, Terrion's speed enabled him to carve out a nice niche for himself as a checking third line winger and regular penalty killer.

Physically Greg was only of average build. He did bump along the boards and was always getting in someone's way, but since he was not exceptionally strong, Terrion's physical game was limited by capability, not enthusiasm

http://mapleleafslegends.blogspot.com/2010/12/greg-terrion.html

 

[BillyShoe1721]

G Byron Dafoe

2x Top 15 Hart Trophy Voting (9, 12)
3x Top 10 Vezina Voting (3, 8, 10)
1x NHL 2nd-Team All Star
3x Top 10 Wins (4, 5, 8)
2x Top 10 SV% (2, 9)
2x Top 10 GAA (4, 9)
2x Top 10 Shutouts (1, 7)

Byron Dafoe was drafted 35th overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. He played Junior A hockey with Juan de Fuca of the BCJHL and joined the WHL's Portland Winter Hawks in 1988-89, winning 29 games as a rookie. In the subsequent playoffs, he appeared in 18 games, more than any other goaltender and in 1989-90, Dafoe played in 40 games and went 14-21-3 before being traded to the Prince Albert Raiders in 1990-91.

In 1991-92, Dafoe turned pro and played for the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks, New Haven Nighthawks and the ECHL's Hampton Roads Admirals. It would be three years before he would make his NHL debut, with one minute of relief goaltending on November 11, 1992 against the New York Rangers. In 1993-94, Dafoe played five games and earned his first win on March 31 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dafoe's career took a monumental turn for the better on July 8, 1995 when he was traded, along with Dmitri Khristich, to the Los Angeles Kings for a pair of draft picks. That year, Dafoe shared the goaltending duties in L.A. with Kelly Hrudey. During his time with the Kings, other NHL teams had the opportunity to see that he was in fact a legitimate starting NHL goaltender.

Once again Dafoe and his trade partner Dmitri Khristich were sent packing, this time to the Boston Bruins on August 29, 1997, for Jozef Stumpel, Sandy Moger and a fourth-round draft pick. In that first season with the Bruins, he played 65 games and posted 30 wins, six shutouts and a 2.24 GAA. He became a fan favourite in Beantown and was considered an instrumental force in leading Boston to a 30-point improvement in the standings. The 1998-99 season was even better for Dafoe, who notched an impressive 1.99 GAA while leading the league with ten shutouts with a 32-23-11 record. That performance earned him Second Team All-Star laurels.

In 1999-00, Dafoe was limited to just 41 games due to a knee injury. In the 2000-01 campaign he came back strong, going 22-14-7 with a 2.39 GAA. Following an early exit in the 2002 playoffs, Dafoe was a holdout in 2002-03 and subsequently was dealt to the Atlanta Thrahsers.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18242

 

[VanIslander]

Mikael Samuelsson

* 6'2, 218lbs.
* 50 points in 81 NHL playoff games
* averaged 3 shots a game over 588 NHL games despite 3rd line minutes
* 2nd in shots, 13 points in 2008 Stanley Cup championship win
* 9 points in 2006 World Championships gold medal win
* 4 points in 2006 Olympic gold medal win

Samuelsson's primary offensive attribute is his shot. Rather than relying on stickhandling in the offensive zone, his primary tendency is to direct the puck towards the net, hoping for a rebound. Before becoming an offensive threat later in his career, he established himself first as a defensively responsible forward in the NHL, earning time on the penalty kill and against opposing team's top players. Strong on his skates, he is also noted to play aggressively, as well. As a result, Samuelsson is known as a versatile, two-way player.

Samuelsson attracted media attention after being left off the Swedish roster for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He told reporters, "I pretty much have one comment and maybe I'll regret it. But they (Team Sweden officials) can go **** themselves," adding that he was not interested in being later added to the roster in the event of an injury. His omission was highly publicized by Swedish media as he was in the midst of a career season with the Canucks (he went on to record the second-highest goals total among Swedish NHLers that season in 2009–10 with 30)

 

[VanIslander]

Paul Baxter

* WHA career leader in penalties
* NHL's 2nd most ever PIM season (at the time)
* 35- and 46-point seasons in the WHA
* 32- and 43-point seasons in the NHL
* five times recorded over 120+ shots a season (twice in NHL over 150)
* scored 11 points in 11 games in WHA Finals run

In the midst of the 1981-82 season, the year Paul Baxter had the second most penalty minutes in league history, opponents were being suspended left and right for attempting to injure the deeply religious but far from angelic defender. Baxter, in his third year in the NHL after leading the WHA in career penalties, claimed again and again to be flummoxed by the constant parade to the penalty box, saying he was merely aggressive and that larger players didn't like being hit so hard by a smaller man.

In one stretch no less than five players were suspended for a total of 20 games in incidents related to the Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman. On November 21, 1981, Chris Nilan of Montreal threw a puck at Baxter in the penalty box after an altercation, opening up a cut that required eight stitches and netting the Canadien tough guy a three-game suspension. On December 9, Philly's Paul Holmgren was so intent on getting to Baxter that he punched referee Andy Van Hellemond. Holmgren was suspended for five games. December 14, Barry Bubba Beck and Nick Fotiu of the Rangers were convinced Baxter had been up to evil and led a charge of their New York fellows off the bench to correct matters. Beck was gone for six games, Fotiu for one. Finally, normally mild-mannered Blaine Stoughton was sent home for eight games when the league ruled his series of cross checks to Baxter's head was an intent to injure.

Baxter, who had to overcome a serious injury in 1980 when linesman Bob Hodges skated over his wrist, severing four tendons, and finished the 81-82 season with 409 penalty minutes.

 

[seventieslord]

- Ranheim is one of the best PKers left. I'd have definitely considered him over Guindon.

- McLelland is a perfect example of why there is no need to take "pure" goons to be your goon in these higher-level leagues.

- Totally overlooked Terrion, but he looks pretty good too.

- Planned on bringing Samuelsson back into the discussion when I noticed a long time ago that he was the highest playoff scorer left... but totally forgot about the guy.

- Dammit! Forgot Dafoe. Definitely better than the guy I was thinking of taking (and still might take)

- Baxter is very worthy, too. 19.47 minutes on his career, tough, and pretty good offensively, when he got PP time.

Great picks all around today, guys.

 

[seventieslord]

Here's a good question for you all - would these teams be able to take an average NHL team? Some food for thought:

- An ATD team is made of the best of the best of the best. Many legitimate NHL superstars are completely left out of the whole process. A well-built team would crush any NHL squad.

- An MLD team is basically an all-star team. It should still take an NHL team. Very few NHL teams are made up of multiple guys with a handful of top-10s in points, ex-captains, playoff point compilers, and career #1-2 defensemen.

- The AAA? Well, by this point, you're picking players who are much better than average, but no all-time greats. Against an NHL team you may suffer in top-end comparisons but your depth should crush theirs. With the right role players, you will prevail.

- A AA team is the same principle as AAA but more pronounced - you won't have the best players in the series but with Pat Boutette, Greg Malone, Billy Breen, Ron Schock, John Marks, Bob Berry, Shawn Horcoff, David Legwand and Mikko Koivu patrolling your bottom lines you are still in good shape to win because you will win a lot more shifts than you'll lose.

- Teams built of players in the A draft, like the ones I built, are more of the same. Kozhevnikov, Dumont, Skriko, Derlago, Brown, Nolet, Morrison & Poddubny better than an average NHL team's scoring forwards? Maybe not, but Sundstrom, Hartnell, Sillinger, Collins, Hecht, Lynn, Bennett and Seiling are significantly better than average NHL bottom-sixers. I still don't see these teams losing to an NHL squad.

- So, what about the B draft? These are still all "above average" types of players, but all have some question marks to them. In the same vein, I wouldn't say for sure that Cerny, Nagy & Kozlov are going to outgun an NHL team, but I can say for sure that Gilchrist, Smail & Savard will mop the floor with 3rd & 4th lines and some 2nd lines too.

I focused on forwards here, but could have made similar comparisons with D-men, coaches and goalies too.

So, are we finally at the point where an average NHL team would beat these squads? It's an interesting conundrum because we're at that point, like I always say, where your picks can be infinitely bad, but can only be so good.

 

[VanIslander]

Tomas Plekanec

* 294 points over 442 NHL games
* 8 points in 7 games in 2007 World Championships
* 3 goals in 2006 World Championship Silver
* 2 goals in the 2010 Olympics

ASSETS: Has excellent speed, hockey sense and playmaking instincts. Is polished in the defensive zone and at the face-off circle. Excels when killing penalties.

FLAWS: Lacks the physical strength and toughness to dominate on the ice. Must step up his play when the games matter most.

 

[VanIslander]

Jorma Valtonen

*played in 1 Canada Cup, 3 Olympic tournaments and 9 World Championships
* played an incredible game as Finland beat Soviet Union (4-2) for the first time in history in December 1971
* Best Goaltender of the 1972 World Championships as selected by the IIHF Directorate
* came extremely close to winning a medal as the starting goaltender in the 1971 and 1974 World Championships
* Member of the IIHF Hall of Fame (inducted in 1999)
* 3-time member of the FEL All Star Team (1971, 1972 & 1980)
* 2-time SM-liiga Goaltender of the Year (1979 & 1980)
* Finnish Player of the Year in 1972

During his long career as a goalie in Finland, he represented TPS Turku, RU-38 Pori (national champion 1967), Ässät Pori (national champion 1971), Jokerit Helsinki (national champion 1973) and FoPS. While playing abroad, Valtonen started for our local SerieA Team HC Gardena in the season1975/76 leading it to the championship victory! He also played for Alleghe (Italy) and EHC München (Germany) and was the first finnish goalie to be invited at NHL-training camps (Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins) in the early 70‘s. Over the course of suiting up for 232 national team games for Finland, „Valtsu“ participated 9 times in the IIHF World Championship tournaments between 1970 and 1979. In the 1972 tournament in Prague, he took home an individual honour, winning the IIHF Directorate Best Goalkeeper Award. He also was a three-time participant in the Olympic Winter Games (1972, 1980 and 1984) and in the 1976 Canada Cup. He was inducted in the Finnish Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1989.

 

[seventieslord]

Plekanec: I was just thinking today about how he deserves mention here. In fact, he could be an MLD player in just a couple more seasons.

Valtonen: seems worthy, but his profile really highlights how he's a couple good steps below Urpo Ylonen, who I profiled in the A draft. Does this mean you shouldn't have taken him here? No, I think it means Ylonen is a legitimate AAA goalie, at least.

 

[seventieslord]

Melville selects Murray Bannerman, G

- 3rd in all-star voting among goalies in 1983 and 8th in 1984.
- played in two all-star games
- placed 4th, 7th and 9th in sv%, including 1984, when he was 4th in minutes, and 1985, when he was 9th.
- Throughout his career he averaged 6 sv% points above the average.
- with 40 games and 20 wins, Bannerman is likely the best NHL playoff goalie available as well.

stand up style, good technically, fine catching hand

paid lengthy dues to become front line goalie... excellent technique...

 

[seventieslord]

Melville is pleased to complete their squad of regulars with a player who plays all three forward positions in this order: C, RW, LW. We have no doubt he will be a useful RW.

George Ferguson, F

some interesting points:

- Was 10th in 1982 selke voting
- Scored a very respectable 398 points in 797 games in career from 1974-1984
- Had six 43+ point seasons
- One of the all-time leading playoff forwards available, with an excellent 86 games and 37 points; only missed the playoffs in his rookie season.
- Killed 38% of his team's penalties, his teams were about 4% below average on the PK
- 0.36 adjusted ESPPG
- three players have higher adjusted ESPPG and killed a higher % of penalties, but he has at 300-400 more GP than all of them
- most importantly, he demonstrated longevity. 797 games isn't much nowadays, but it sure is for a guy whose career started in 1973. To illustrate: There are 80 available players with 700+ games post-expansion. The top-26, with 800+ games, all played past 1995. Ferguson's the first player on the list to show up who wasn't a part of that era, playing until only 1984. There are just 9 other players in that top-80 who didn't play until 1995, and none of them were as valuable offensively or defensively as Ferguson.

Why not? Good question. He wouldn't look out of place on an AAA 3rd line, not in the least.

People in Toronto will tell you one reason for Leafs; slid last season was loss of honest workers such as Ferguson, an excellent penalty killer and backchecking forward... has good speed, strength and size but lacks scoring touch... used quickness to better advantage last season... can play center or wing.

has good speed and strength but offensive output has never matched physical ability... plays both center and wing... a good defensive player and penalty killer...

tireless checker... superb defensive forward and excellent skater... not a crushing checker but gets the job done... popular with the fans.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

I'm really not sure how this pick is going to go over, but I think this may be the time to introduce this guy as an all-time great coach, the head coach of the China Sharks, coach Jack Parker.

3x Spencer Penrose Division I Coach of the Year
1x Lester Patrick Trophy Winner
3x NCAA Division I Champion
7x Hockey East Champion
21x Beanpot Champion
8x Hockey East Regular Season Champion
816 career wins
5x Hockey East Coach of the Year

A native of Somerville, Parker will be entering his 38th year as the Terriers' varsity hockey coach. During his illustrious career, he has amassed a record of 834-429-104 (.648). His win total and winning percentage rank in the top three among all active Division 1 coaches, while no coach, either active or retired, has won more games at the same institution than Parker. In 24 of his previous 37 seasons, his teams have won at least 20 games, while 23 of his teams have advanced to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAAs, Parker has posted 30 wins, the second most of any Division 1 coach. His teams have won a combined total of 49 championships, including three NCAA Division 1 titles, a record 21 Beanpots, seven Hockey East titles and four ECAC titles.

Over the years, 23 of Parker's players have played in the Olympics, including four members of the 1980 U.S. Team that won the Gold Medal in Lake Placid. In addition, over 50 of his players have played in the National Hockey League. Of that group, nine were first-round draftees including Rick DiPietro, who was the number one pick overall in the 2000 draft.

Parker also enjoyed outstanding success as a player. He was the MVP of his Catholic Memorial High School team his senior year and went on to star for the 1966-68 Terrier teams. They had a combined record of 72-22-4, won three Beanpots, and advanced to the NCAA twice. He was captain of the team his senior year and received the Bennett McInnis Award for team spirit.

Named NCAA Coach of the Year three times, Parker was inducted into the Boston University and Beanpot Halls of Fame, and was presented an honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from Boston University in 1997 for all he has accomplished at his alma mater.

http://www.goterriers.com/genrel/parker_jack00.html

 

[seventieslord]

With coaches, I look at the level of success they had, and then downgrade it appropriately based on the levels of hockey in which they earned that success. After the NHL, I think international play and top-level minors are the most relevant, followed by the next level of minors and major junior. I'd probably say US College is next. Without some direct comparisons it would be tough for me to say whether Parker is worthy here or not.

 

[Hedberg]

G Evgeny Belosheikin

The Tragic Life and Death of Evgeny Belosheikin:

Many will remember Evgeny Belosheikin's performance in the 1987 Canada Cup. It was the first time we got our first look at the goalie that Soviets were raving about. The 21 year old Evgeny Belosheikin had emerged as the heir to the great Vladislav Tretiak. The Soviets even had dubbed him "Evgeny the Great."

Belosheikin was actually tutored by Tretiak on several occasions. The youngster actually had a trait that Tretiak never had. He was a confident, almost cocky person. Tretiak always came across as nervous before games. He made his debut with the Soviet National Team in the 1986 World Championships, helping the Soviets win the gold medal.

"Playing for the National Team is a dream come true for me," said Evgeny, who allowed only 8 goals in 5 games and was viewed as brilliant.

Heading into the 1987 Canada Cup, the Soviets had expected Belosheikin to be their number one goalie. He starred in the Elite League, capturing the division championship. He also was named the outstanding goaltender in the Calgary Cup, just months before the Canada Cup.

However by the time the Canada Cup rolled around, the Soviets opted to go with Sergei Mylnikov as their starting goalie. Evgeny wasn't playing well, with an 0-2-1 record and 4.00 GAA. Mylnikov on the other hand appeared in 6 games, going 5-1-0 with a 2.96 GAA.

In one of the more curious moves in hockey history, the Russians switched goalies during the Cup finals. Mylnikov won the opening game of the best of three showdown, but then Viktor Tikhonov switched to Belosheikin in game 2. Evgeny played really well, but lost in double overtime 6-5. The loss forced a game 3.

Belosheikin, who would uniquely fall to his knees and "rest" when the puck was at the opposite end of the rink, lived a very tragic life. He had constant battles with alcohol and had many run-ins with Viktor Tikhonov. His father was killed when Evgeny was young, and he had trouble with his mother.

One of the most tragic happenings in Belosheikin's life happened just a couple months after the 1987 Canada Cup. Belosheikin and national team defenseman Alexei Gusarov had been on a heavy drinking party during a break from the Soviet league. The two met up with some attractive women and took them to Gusarov's apartment. The following day they were both found unconscious, with not a single thing of value was left in the apartment. It's assumed that the women slipped something into their drinks and then "cleaned" the apartment.

The drug left Belosheikin suffering from serious liver problems, as well as color vision problems. The incident cost Belosheikin his career, and eventually his life. Belosheikin, who had reported to the Edmonton Oilers training camp in 1991, committed suicide by hanging himself in the late 1990s.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

The China Sharks select a spare forward that can play all 3 forward positions, and on any line. A man with legendary hair, F Mike Corrigan

347 points in 594 career NHL games
698 career PIM
6x 40 Point Scorer
1x Top 10 PPG(5)
1x Top 10 SH%(9)

This is OPC card #37 from the 1974-75 season. It is of Mike Corrigan, a rough and tumble player best known with the Los Angeles Kings. Though most sources list him as a left winger, he played all three forward spots with proficiency. In fact, one newspaper report suggested Corrigan was the first player in NHL history to score 20 goals at each of the three positions.

The Toronto Marlies grad spent several seasons apprenticing in the minor leagues. Turning pro in 1966, Corrigan never stuck in the NHL until he left the Kings organization and joined the Vancouver Canucks in 1970.

Corrigan responded with a 20 goal rookie season. But part way through the following campaign the Canucks traded Corrigan back to the Kings.

That turned out to be a very astute move by the Kings. Corrigan found a home on the "Hot Line" with Bob Berry and Juha Widing. In 1972-73 he would have his best season, scoring 37 goals and 146 penalty minutes.

Corrigan's numbers never reached that level again, although his exuberance remained. He led the Kings in penalty minutes in three consecutive seasons. He played on with L.A. until joining the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1976, originally as an injury replacement for Lowell MacDonald. He played two more years with the Pens before his career all but officially ended with a badly broken leg.

In total Mike Corrigan played in 594 career NHL games, scoring 152 goals, 195 assists and 347 points. He added another 2 goals and 5 points in 17 post season contests. One of those playoff goals was particularly memorable for Kings fans. In game six of the 1976 quarterfinals vs Boston Corrigan scored a goal while lying flat on the ice. The goal forced over time in a game eventually won by the Kings.

http://lakingslegends.blogspot.com/2011/01/mike-corrigan.html

Left winger Mike Corrigan played his Junior A hockey with the Toronto Marlboros, scoring 25 goals and 61 points in 41 games in 1965-66. From there, he toiled in the minors with the Tulsa Oilers of the CPHL and the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The big break for Corrigan, and many others, came in 1967 when the NHL announced it was expanding by six teams.

In 1967-68, Corrigan joined the Los Angeles Kings for five games while playing the bulk of the season in the AHL with the Springfield Kings. He had a very productive season, scoring 24 goals and 54 points in 58 games but he failed to earn a roster spot with Los Angeles the next season. However, Corrigan was inserted into the Kings lineup for 36 games in 1969-70 where he scored ten points.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired Corrigan's services for 1970-71, and in 76 games he notched 21 goals and 49 assists. Midway through the next season, he was sent back to Los Angeles for his second go-round with the Kings where he played a regular role for the club. Corrigan's best individual season came in 1972-73 when he scored 37 goals and 67 points with 146 minutes in penalties, all of which were NHL career highs.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12333

 

[seventieslord]

Belosheikin was actually the last of the players I profilled following AA10. The rest had all been profiled by the end of the A draft this time. I don't like him any less this time around, I just kept finding players I thought were more worthy. I'd have definitely considered him but didn't want an all-russian tandem.

 

[seventieslord]

Arne Stromberg, Coach

- Member of the IIHF Hall of Fame
- 8 swedish league titles
- 57-23-6 internationally (.701)
- 11 Major Tournaments, 1 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze, 4 4ths

Arne Stromberg will always be remembered as a devoted enthusiast who made a major contribution to the growth of contemporary hockey in Sweden. He was obsessew and captivated by hockey his whole life... His many colleagues around the world admired his commitment to hockey and considered him a friend. Among them were Soviet coaches Arkady Chernyshev and Anatoli Tarasov, who were often stymied by the experienced Stromberg's tactics in the well-remembered games of the 1960s... became an internationally acclaimed hockey expert... when he was head coach of Stockholm's Djurgarden, Stromberg led the popular club to eight national championships... a man of diverse knowledge and skills, his comments were frequently quoted and many became part of hockey legend. "God save me from the big scorers", he muttered after Hans Lindberg performed less than brilliantly at the 1967 championships. The phrase was often repeated, although few remembered its ending - "when they play like this." No hockey authority has been quoted - or misquoted - as often as Stromberg... In 1959, Stromberg started working with the Swedish National team and in 1961, he was appointed head coach, a position he held for 10 years... was a major force behind Sweden becoming a superpower. During the many years he headed the national team, they failed to win a medal only three times.

 

[Derick*]

You people are freaks.

 

[seventieslord]

Chris Simon, LW

- 6'3, 233 lbs
- In a 7-way tie for 19th in the NHL with 29 goals (2000)
- 7 10-goal seasons between 1996 and 2007, excellent for an enforcer
- 305 points in 782 games
- 17 points in 75 playoff games
- 80-22-18 fight record, exclusively against top NHL heavyweights

In many ways, the prototypical NHL 4th-line winger. Has made his reputation with his toughness, but has shown an added dimension in his ability to make plays that result in points... Simon gets a lot of room, which gives a player with modern skills more time to make a play... what he doesn't get is a lot of icetime... unless he improves his skating, he'sll spend a lot of time on the bench... has decent hands for a big guy, but all of his success comes in tight. If he gets a regular shift, he will answer the questions about his consistency... Simon is as tough as they come and has a wide streak of mean. He has already established himself as a player who can throw them when the time comes, and opponents have to keep a wary eye on him, because they never know when he's going to snap...

Few players have made such a stunning transition from goon to first-line forward. Like Rick Tocchet and Bob Probert before him, Simon has developed into a rare blend of toughness and scoring touch... Simon made his reputation as a brawler, but has always had some moves where he would deke an opponent and score with an honest to goodness snap shot... Simon has had to improve his skating, and he has... now he has great confidence in his shot... Difference is now that he doesn't go looking for fights. He doesn't have to prove himself as a battler. He will pick his spots. Players never know when he is going to snap, which is pretty scary... isn't as easily goaded into going off with some fourth liner. He unleashes some clean, mean shoulder hits on the forecheck.... after Kolzig, was probably the team's MVP. Simon is truly an inspiration for players with size and raw skill who want to make themselves into something more.

THE PROVERBIAL "TOUGH GUY WHO CAN PLAY"

Simon is in a class by himself as far as AA/A/B-level enforcers go. he earned more icetime and produced significantly more offense than other recently mentioned thugs. He did not take more non-fighting penalties than the average thug, despite more icetime. He also was the best fighter:

Name | Career high goals | 10-goal seasons | avg TOI, career | Fights | win%|NFPIM/10minTOI
Simon | 29 | 7 | 12.11 | 129 | .742|1.25
Barnaby | 19 | 5 | 11.97 | 250 | .361|1.31
Nilan|21|4|10.37|310|.615|2.09
McClelland | 12 | 4 | 9.34 | 195 | .551|1.27
Buchberger | 20 | 3 | 13.17 | 255 | .366|0.65
Domi | 15 | 3 | 9.74 | 333 | .661|1.85
King | 11 | 2 | 9.7 | 229 | .506|1.07
Brashear | 11 | 1 | 10.55 | 278 | .714|1.15
T.Hunter | 11 | 1 | 8.79 | 240 | .582|2.72
Avg w/o Simon|15|3.8|10.45|263|.545|1.51

Although he had the fewest fights (this was due to his dominance as a fighter), Simon ranks 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, and 4th out of 9 in the other 5 categories of skilled goonness.

 

[seventieslord]

You people are freaks.

You know it!

Chris Simon FTW!

 

[seventieslord]

Melville selects Bob Stewart, D.

Stewart is the owner of the worst career +/- of all-time. The perception that goes along with that will always make him a question mark, but it was from playing more games with the Seals/Barons franchise than any player in history (94 more than Al MacAdam and 101 more than Bert Marshall, and also from playing high minutes on that team. Stewart placed 2nd, 5th, 1st, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd on the team in ES ice time in his 6 full seasons there. In all, he averaged 23.26 minutes in his 414 games with the franchise, and 22.80 in his career following seasons as St. Louis' #2 and Pittsburgh's #4 (the one time he made the playoffs) - Now I completely realize that those numbers would be lower on better teams and can't be taken at face value - but how much lower? Better teams valued Stewart and wanted him, but the Seals wouldn't part with him.

To put into perspective how much more Stewart played for the Seals and Barons than other defensemen - He played 8563 ES minutes for the team; the next-most ES minutes played by a Seal defenseman was Bert Marshall's 5816, followed by Carol Vadnais' 4048, less than half as many. No wonder he's a -260!

The scouting report books rave about Stewart. He was big, strong, tough, a leader (was captain for a full season and co-captain with Jim Neilson for two others), and their go-to guy defensively. Clearly a very good player stuck far too long on a bad team.

The big question mark is what would his role be on a team that averaged more than 54 points a season in its 11-year existence? It's hard to believe that a frequent top pairing guy for the Seals would suddenly be a #6 benchwarmer on a good team; after all, they didn't lose every single game with him in a prominent role, they still picked up about a third of the available points.

Stewart barely got any PP time (8%), but this doesn't explain his low offensive output. At 0.19 adjusted ESPPG, he was not an offensive threat by any stretch. He is, however, the leading PK defenseman remaining, at least in terms of usage. He was on the ice for 54% of his team's PPGA in his career. Of course, his teams weren't any good at killing penalties but I have a feeling they'd have been even worse without him.

"when you first come into the league, people on other teams want to find out if you will retaliate or not. After a while, they just tend to leave you alone."... teammates remember Stwart as a bit green when he joined the Seals. "He was a raw boned, tough kid. He hadn't developed his skills yet to a igh degree when he joined our team."That quickly changed as Stewart gained experience... "I had an opportunity to play and learn and get a lot of ice time.. It was great playing against great players. I got about 30 minutes per game, I killed penalties and I took a regular shift. I also enjoyed the dressing room and the people on the team."... Stewart wuickly fell into a bit of a policeman's role on the ice. "Bob was a steady guy although he was not very mobile," craig patrick said. "He was a good guy who took care of his teammates on and off the ice."... despite the fact that he saw a lot of combat on ice, many of his teammates felt that Stewart did not relish the role of enforcer on a Seals team that critics felt was lacking in tough, physical players. "Bob was tough when he had to be, but didn't like the tough guy role."

Despite his relative youth, Stewart quickly earned the respect of his teammates. "Bob was a real competitor, he gave 100% every night," Walt McKechnie recalled. "He was blocking shots all the time." "He was a tough one," said Fred Glover. "He played the same way all the time. He could shoot a puck, too. He was not a great finisher but he came to play."...While Stewart was considered a good defensive defenseman, he recalled one time when his opponent made him look foolish. "I prided myself on being tough to go around one on one. Once Whitey Widing of the Kings came in one on one and put the puck between my feet and beat me. I was on my knees and the puck was in the net and I was thinking to myself, God, I can't hide!"

"Bob was tough and a bit of a loose cannon on the ice", said Morris Mott. "He was a good teammate who liked to laugh and liked a party. There was nothing vicious about him off the ice. He really wanted to play well every game." Rick Kessell said, "nothing scared or bothered him." In 1974-75 Stewart was named an alternate captain. Despite the fact that he was just 24 years old, he was already one of the more senior members in terms of service to the club. Dave Gardner called Stewart "one of the elder statesmen of our team. We got beat so badly physically and he took the brunt of it. He played tough but we had nobody on the team to back him up. He was a big guy adn one of Jack Evans' favourites." Veteran Jim Neilson added, "Bob was a good player. He was nothing fancy but he was a hard working, steady stay at home defenseman."... "Bob was a good team man," Spike Huston said. "He was hard hitting and he would back anybody up. He was not a great skater, but he got by."

In 1975-76, Stewart had the honour of being named captain... "Being captain gave me a perspective that everything you do on the ice is not just for yourself, but for your team as well.. That is both on and off the ice. I trief to lead by example. I tried to get the players to work together and play together. Off the ice, we did charity work with burn victims. I tried to get the name of the team out there more." If Bob Murdoch is any indicator, Stewart did his job as captain well. "He taught me about off ice life. How to act away from the ice and on the road. He was a classy guy, the captain of our team and a great guy." Fred Ahern indicated how his teammates felt about Stewart. "He was the backbone of our team. He was a tough kid but a real gentleman. He commanded a lot of respect. " Wayne Merrick added, "Bob was a tough, intimidating type gut, a stay at home defenseman. He was as good as any defenseman in the league and a good leader."

Barry Cummins remembers his former teammate: "He was a big man and he was physically strong. Teams did not like to put the puck in his corner. He liked the physical play and got a lot of respect from the other teams." Rick Smith: "He was a rock on defense. He was a taem player and easily the captain of the team. He was a fun loving, great guy. He stood up for his teammates. When he was with cleveland, he was always in demand for trades. I know the Bruins wanted to get him although we never quite did."

one of the most popular seals among fans because of his menacing features and willingness to fight and bodycheck. Some rivals claim he plays dirty but Stewie innocently says no, adding that while he loves to fight he's never been cut...

one of NHL's top young defenseman... several teams, including Philadelphia, were interested in obtaining him, but Seals see him as the heart of their defense for years to come...

besides hoping to play for a winning team, this rugged blueliner's wish is for a healthy season... was primarily enforcer, but wants to be a more complete player.

solid, rugged defender who has been sought by many other teams...

aggressive, and at 205 pounds can back it up... many NHL teams express interest in him when trade talks happen.

 

[seventieslord]

Melville selects Tom Laidlaw, D.

Laidlaw's downfall was that he was a poor skater. Other than that, he was a very useful and efficient defenseman for the entirety of the 1980s.

Scouting reports paint him as a nondescript player who happens to be very smart and solid defensively. He was not punishing, but was very strong and physically effective.

Laidlaw is actually the last defenseman remaining from the mini-training camp I held in the mock A draft, that led to Steve Konroyd snagging that last 7th D spot in the 100th pick. In terms of how much icetime he received in his career, how long he played, and how good the teams were that gave him this icetime, Laidlaw is the best modern defenseman available. (this is emphasized even more by the fact that he got NO PP time, just 5% in his career, meaning he wasn't piling up 2-3 more minutes on the PP to pad his average icetime, it was all defensive situations for him.) - this is also before you account that 705 games is a lot for a guy who reached age 30 as the 1990s began - his generation was one of very little longevity.

He averaged 20.42 minutes per game in his 705 games, and 20.57 per playoff game using my playoff weighting formula, showing that he was not just relied on by bad teams. His longest playoff runs were with the 1981 Rangers (4th in TOI, 3rd at ES), 1982 Rangers (4th in TOI, 4th at ES), and the 1989 Kings (2nd in TOI, 2nd at ES). he also missed most of the Rangers' 1986 playoff run but contributed to them being a very strong team in the regular season with 20.65minutes a game, 4th on the team, 3rd at ES.

Laidlaw was an excellent penalty killer. I didn't plan it this way, but by selecting Laidlaw I am taking the last post-expansion 400-game defenseman who killed more than 50% of his team's penalties. Laidlaw killed 52%, and his teams were 2% better than average at it during his career.

"(Tom) Laidlaw plays defense the way it is supposed to be played," said New York Islanders legendary coach Al Arbour back in 1985.

Arbour then continued, " He almost never makes a mistake, he takes the man out in the slot, is mobile enough to get the puck out of his own end by skating it, or, more likely, hitting the open man with a precise, accurate, pass. If he gets a chance to rush he'll take it, but he understands that is not his job. And he plays it the way most defensemen did in the old six-team NHL."

Tom's playing style was a throwback to the old six-team era, an art form almost extinct in today's hockey He never tried to be fancy with the puck, he just concentrated to do his job and that was to keep his opponents and the puck away from his defensive zone.

...Tom quickly gained reputation for his toughness. Many years after he had left NMU people still talk about how he broke his stick over his head, purposefully, following his first goal at NMU...

NY Rangers selected Tom in the 1978 draft (78th overall). He immediately took a regular shift from opening night (October 9,1980 vs. Boston) and never looked back. During his first four NHL seasons Tom only missed 2 out of 320 games. Then in his 5th season he ruptured his spleen against Boston (January 5,1985) and missed 19 games.

Some people compared Tom to Ranger legend Harry Howell. It didn't take Tom many years before he was constantly paired up with rookies on defense to "break them in".

...Tom always accepted his defensive role and not being in the spotlight of things.

"You don't win the Stanley Cup without defense. All the wheeling and dealing up ice with the puck is great for the fans, but not for the coach if you get caught out of position. Defense still wins in the NHL," Tom said.

Laidlaw's philosophy was simple: Don't let 'em through. Maybe it could have been dubbed as Laidlaw's Law.

Watch him chuck fists with a young Marty McSorley:

one of the better Rangers in the playoffs... stand-up defenseman, stand-up guy...

a defensive defenseman, a team leader who rarely gives the puck away and is seldom caught out of position... Mr. dependable... did not suffer an injury in first four seasons... steady defensively, seldom involves himself offensively... cleans zone, headmans puck and lets forwards do it... bull-strong, bull-tough in the corners...

a poor skater, but knows that and doesn't try to play outside his limits... what he brings is knowledge of his position, and vision on the ice... an aggressive taker-outer, but is not a punishing hitter... uses his body well, blocking shots or clogging up the middle of the ice and will take on anyone in the slot... he'll get in front of you and force you wide, but he won't take you out and keep you out. Laidlaw is a muscular man but doesn't play a physical game that matches his size, so perhaps his size is under-utilized... while he will hit, laidlaw is not a fighter. He won't back down from a confrontation, but he is not very adept at tossing his fists... he is a sit-back type and he'll just get in the way and screw up your offensive plans... defense is all that matters to him... always a very hard worker on the ice, always trying and never gives up... the steadiest defenseman the Rangers have had in the last few years.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

D Henrik Tallinder

6'4" 210
TOI finishes: 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5
116 points in 517 career games
2010 Swedish Olympian

Henrik Tallinder was born January 10, 1979 in Stockholm, Sweden. The 2nd choice, 48th overall selection of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Tallinder spent five years in Sweden with AIK Solna before heading to Finland in 2000-01, and suiting up for the Finnish League Champion TPS Turku.

Known more as a stay at home defenseman, Tallinder had a career high 14 points in 2001-02 as a member of TPS Turku, the 2000-01 Finnish League Champions. After only one season in Finland, Tallinder joined the Sabres organization in 2001-02 and spent the majority of the season with the team's AHL affiliate in Rochester while playing in two games for the parent club. Tallinder earned a full-time stay with the Sabres in 2002-03 seeing action in 43 games with the club before becoming a member of the starting six in 2003-04.

On the international stage, Tallinder represented his homeland at the 1998 World Junior Championships.

In 2009 Tallinder was selected to represent Sweden at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

On July 1, 2010, Tallinder would leave the only NHL club he had ever known and sign a four-year contract with the New Jersey Devils as an unrestricted free agent.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14896

 

[BillyShoe1721]

LW Tom McCarthy

6'2" 200
399 points in 460 career NHL games
2x 70 Point Scorer
4x 20 Goal Scorer
1x Top 10 PPG(7)
1x NHL All Star Game Participant
2x Top 10 SH%
13th all-time SH%

Did you know that Wayne Gretzky was not the 1st player chosen in the 1977 OHA midget draft? Despite being known as a national prodigy since the age of 6, Gretzky actually was chosen third by Sault Ste. Marie.

Drafted #2 was a kid named Steve Peters, and he never amounted to much as far as the NHL was concerned, playing in just 2 games with the old Colorado Rockies. Niagara Falls selected Peters over Gretzky only because the Gretzky family had said Wayne would not play anywhere other than Peterborough. (The Petes had the 4th pick, but plans were foiled when the Soo Greyhounds took Gretzky anyways. Gretzky did eventually report.)

Going first overall to Oshawa was a big strapping winger named Tom McCarthy. McCarthy went on to a great junior career, and was considered the top underaged draft eligible player in 1979. The Minnesota North Stars selected McCarthy 10th overall.

Nicknamed "Jughead" or just "Jug" due to his resemblance to the Archie comics character, McCarthy played nine seasons, scoring 178 goals and 221 assists for 399 points in 460 games with Minny and Boston. His best years were with Minnesota. In the 1982-83 season he scored 76 points in 80 games. The following season McCarthy had 70 points in 60 regular season games playing on a line with Dino Ciccarelli and Neal Broten.

I always like McCarthy myself. For some reason I had a soft spot for left wingers when I was a kid growing up. McCarthy's size gave him presence, and it was amplified by his agility, speed and creativity as well as his willingness to go into high traffic areas (at least in the offensive zone). His goal scoring totals and creativity playing along side Ciccarelli and Broten certainly made him even more noticeable, although his coaches probably were more annoyed with his lack of a defensive game and at-times lazy work ethic.

McCarthy was a popular player in Minnesota.

http://northstarslegends.blogspot.com/2010/09/tom-mccarthy.html

As a kid growing up in Toronto, Tom McCarthy was a scoring star playing in the elite MTHL.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=13599