The AAA 2011 Draft

[seventieslord]

If you want a spare who can step in on the blueline OR at forward, there is none better than Bert McCaffrey, D/RW

McCaffrey had a very long and very storied career. From 1916-1923, he was a Senior hockey star in Toronto, scoring 80 points in 61 games and 25 more in 23 playoff and Allan Cup games. He won two Allan Cups in 1922 and 1923, and then went to the Olympics with the Granites in 1924, of course winning gold, outscoring everyone in the tournament except Harry Watson, most notably Hooley Smith. He was a two-time 1st team all-star in the SOHA and once a 2nd team all-star defenseman, so he was even multi-positional in those days. Clearly during this time, based on comparables done in the past, McCaffrey was capable of being a very good NHL player.

He then joined the NHL in 1924 with the Leafs as a RW (at 31, already among the league's oldest players), and was actually the league's 19th-leading scorer and 13th in Hart voting. (not the greatest achievement, as this was a pre-merger league, but decently notable). In 1925, he was 13th. He switched to D after the merger and was a decent 11th and 13th in points by a blueliner. Normally I wouldn't say this was decent, but he had 53 and 65% of the leading d-man scorer those years. In 1930 he won the Stanley Cup with the Habs. He played until the end of the 1931 season, at which point he was 37 and only Art Duncan was older - but Duncan played just two games.

Even if McCaffrey had never played a single NHL game, his place in Canadian hockey history would be secure because of his amateur career.

Winger/defenseman Bert "Mac" McCaffery played his seven NHL seasons during the 1920s and 1930s for the Toronto St. Pats, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal Canadiens. Born in Chesley, Ontario, he entered the NHL in 1924-25 after four years with the Ontario Hockey Association's Toronto Granites. In his rookie campaign with the St. Pats he scored 9 goals and 7 assists. The next season was his best from an individual standpoint, 14 goals and 7 assists for 21 points in 36 games.

St. Pats management traded him to Pittsburgh during the early part of the 1927-28 season as part of a three-team deal that brought Ed Rodden to Toronto from Chicago, and sent Ty Arbour to the Windy City. McCaffery was traded again in 1929, this time to Montreal for Gord Fraser. After just over a year with the Canadiens, Mac went to the Providence Reds of the old Can-Am league, and then to the Philadelphia Arrows of the same league, where he rounded out his playing career in 1933.

Perhaps the greatest highlight of McCaffery's career came during his final year as an amateur with the OHA's Granites, when he competed in the 1924 Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. In those days, Canada would send its top amateur club to wear the national colors, and with McCaffery at right wing, the Granites ? a team founded by ex-servicemen after World War I, were dominant, winning the Allan Cup in 1922 and 1923.

McCaffery, along with teammates Harry Watson on left wing and Hooley Smith at center, formed an effective scoring trio for coach Frank Rankin. The Granites opened the seven-game tournament with a 30-0 pasting of Czechoslovakia, followed by a 22-0 crushing of Sweden and a 33-0 drubbing of Switzerland. McCaffery hat-tricks in the first two games, then exploded for an incredible eight goals, including three in a row in the contest against Switzerland.

In the finals, Canada took on the United States on the outdoor ice of Chamonix for the gold medal. Watson, who had been hired by the Toronto Telegram to write a first-person, behind-the-scenes account of the team's trip to France, boasted that Canada would beat the Americans 10 or 12 to nothing ? a prediction that did not seem all that unlikely, considering some of the scores during qualifying. His forecast earned Watson a stick in the face from an unappreciative American during the early minutes of the game. But as things settled down, Canada took control and won the gold medal by a score of 6-1. McCaffery scored once in the final, and finished the tournament with 20 goals in 5 games, second to Watson's 36 (assists were not recorded).

The hockey trade just completed where the Duquesne Gardens outfit obtained the services of Bert McCaffrey, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is a good one, from a Pittsburgh standpoint. McCaffrey is rated as one of the best skaters in the NHL and appears to be just the kind of a man the locals need.

 

[seventieslord]

I like all the recent picks, but I REALLY like Villemure and Carpenter. Both deserved better jumps than thijs following the pimping jobs VI and I did on them last time around.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Gilles Villemure, G

Villemure finished 3rd, 4th, 5th in All Star voting and played in 3 All Star games, all on merit.

He has the right mentality to be a backup, as he split starts with Ed Giacomin in his best years.

Full profile here: http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=29722589&postcount=147

Pretty impressive that Villemure only played over 40 games once but still made 3 ASGs. He doesn't have the most GP but I was sold after looking through some goalies a few days ago.

 

[Velociraptor]

Real Chevrefils, LW

Potentially the last remaining player who was on a SAST, I may be wrong.

 

[tony d]

Mike McEwen, D

He was drafted in the MLD:

77. Dreakmur - Winnipeg Falcons - Mike McEwen, D

 

[Velociraptor]

He was drafted in the MLD:

On my phone again, missed his name.

 

[jkrx]

Detroit Cougars selects: John Chabot, C and Greg Johnson, C

 

[Velociraptor]

Chevrefils is still available, right?

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Yeah he hasn't been taken yet

 

[seventieslord]

Yep, Chevrefils is the last skater to be an allstar. Plenty of goalies left, but you don't want those bums, trust me.

Crazy thing about Chevrefils is that even whenhe was a 2nd ast, he didn't have that great a season overall. His percentage score was just 56, and 54 in his other noteworthy season. He was pretty onedimensional, too. I do see him as a guy who can fill in and provide a streaky burst of offense here and there though.

 

[chaosrevolver]

Gilles Villemure, G

Villemure finished 3rd, 4th, 5th in All Star voting and played in 3 All Star games, all on merit.

He has the right mentality to be a backup, as he split starts with Ed Giacomin in his best years.

Full profile here: http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=29722589&postcount=147

This..is..how..we..do..it.

 

[DaveG]

HC Davos selects, W/D Dustin Byfuglien

 

[chaosrevolver]

HC Davos selects, W/D Dustin Byfuglien

..need to be sold on this one.

 

[VanIslander]

HC Davos selects, W/D Dustin Byfuglien

Big Buff makes his board debut as a AAA draft extra skater. Originally a defenseman, he was lightning in a bottle as a right winger in Chicago on a scoring line, a big body to go to the net, tying for the lead in goals for the Blackhawks in their Stanley Cup championship run with 11 goals, including a team-best 5 game winners on the successful run. He had three good years and a cup he helped earn in Chicago, then a career high 20-goal 53-point effort and a staggering 347 shots in a season (second only to Ovechkin) as a blueliner(!!) and alternate captain in Atlanta. In the 2010-2011 All-Star Game's Skill Competition his slap shot was clocked at 102.5 mph. He produces powerplay (24) and game winning goals (18). Four solid NHL seasons and a very significant role in a Stanley Cup championship, an NHL all-star game, some unique and valuable skills. The only thing holding him back is that he hasn't had a 5-year NHL career quite yet.

Is built like an NFL linebacker, which can be an intimidating sight for opponents. Skates well and owns terrific offensive savvy and a heavy shot. Can log big minutes on defense, or play the role of power forward up front.

http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.cgi?3454

 

[Velociraptor]

..need to be sold on this one.

He'll be a spare, and his effectiveness as a net presence is great. A guy I once thought about when I entered the lower drafts, and he slipped my mind this time around.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Dawson City selects Merlyn Phillips, a product of my home town of Richmond Hill, Ontario!

A standout center who won a Cup with the Maroons in 1926, Merlyn parlayed his junior stardom to catapult him to a 300+ game NHL career in the 1920's.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Montreal select Derek Roy C

 

[jkrx]

Montreal select Derek Roy C

I thought of him when Horcoff was drafted and to be honest I think Roy might be the better choice.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

I thought of him when Horcoff was drafted and to be honest I think Roy might be the better choice.

Roy is a better player, but Horcoff is more suited to a bottom 6 role in this context. Roy is smaller and more injury prone, but much more skilled. Roy also doesn't have the PK ability that Horcoff has.

 

[tony d]

I add grit and goal scoring to my team with the selection of Nathan Horton, Centre/Right Wing.

Some stats on Horton:

-352 points in 510 games
-6 20 Goal Seasons
-1 Top 10 finish in Even strength goals

For more on Horton click the following link:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=20891

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Muzz Patrick, D

• Received 1 vote for 1st Team All Star in 1938-39
• Stanley Cup in 1940
• Light Heavyweight Boxing champion of Canada before becoming a fulltime hockey player
• 3 excellent seasons as a tough, defensive defenseman before World War 2
• Missed 4 seasons due to the war and wasn't able to reestablish himself

As a player, the 6-2, 205-pound Patrick was a rough and tumble defenseman. He played 166 games over four seasons with New York, winning a Stanley Cup in 1940.

Nicknamed "Muzz" since childhood because of his hair cut, Patrick gained renown for a one-punch victory over Boston defenseman Eddie Shore at Madison Square Garden in 1939.

Patrick's hockey career was interrupted in 1941 when he served in the army. After the war, he returned to the Rangers for one more season, 1945-46, before turning to coaching and managing minor league teams in Seattle and Victoria.

After a two-year stint with the Philadelphia Ramblers of the AHL, Patrick finally settled in for full-time NHL action in 1938 with the Rangers. It was there that he used his large frame and boxing skills to keep opponents honest in the Rangers' zone. One night, Patrick's prowess came into full view when Hall of Famer Eddie Shore massaged the neck of the Rangers' Phil Watson while against the fence. Patrick intervened by dropping his gloves and, after a vigorous tilt, left Shore with a broken nose among other swollen souvenirs.

At the close of his second full season on Broadway in 1940, Patrick got his ultimate reward with a Stanley Cup victory, the last the Rangers would enjoy until 1994. With the outbreak of World War II, Patrick was one of the first NHLers to enlist in the U.S. Army just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

After the war, he returned to the Rangers for 24 games and found he could not regain his form

(Art)Coulter teamed with Muzz Patrick to give the Rangers a fearless, bruising defense

Pratt's defensive partner was Ott Heller, while Muzz Patrick played with team captain, Art Coulter. The foursome is probably the best quartet of Rangers defensemen ever

 

[jkrx]

Roy is a better player, but Horcoff is more suited to a bottom 6 role in this context. Roy is smaller and more injury prone, but much more skilled. Roy also doesn't have the PK ability that Horcoff has.

Well having Roy on a puck handling semi-offensive 4th line wouldnt be bad in this but I agree with you. Horcoff fits better on a bottom-6 role.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

LW Paul Ranheim

PK ace will serve as a spare along with O'Donnell

In 1988-89, Ranheim turned pro, playing most of his first season with the Salt Lake City Golden Eagles of the IHL. His second year brought a full-time promotion to the NHL with the Flames. By that time, he was definitely NHL material. Over the five seasons that followed, he played a well-rounded game balanced by impeccably sound defensive coverage in his own zone plus versatility up front as a quick-skating winger who could skate on either side of centre. He also packed a pretty decent wrist shot that made his Flames' stint the most offensively prolific of his career.

Near the end of the 1993-94 campaign, however, his role underwent a shift with his trade to the Hartford Whalers. His new assignment was more in the vein of a defensive specialist. His offensive numbers naturally declined while his team remained on the outside looking in at the playoffs each year. Ranheim made the transition from Hartford to Carolina in 1997 and remained with the club until his trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2000.

Ranheim spent parts of three seasons in Philly, before he was acquired by the Phoenix Coyotes early in the 2002-03 season. After only one season with the Coyotes, Ranheim retired from the game following the season.

Ranheim was always the faster skater on the ice. He rocketed around the rink like an Yvan Cournoyer or a Russ Courtnall. While his speed created many scoring opportunities at the University of Wisconsin and in the minor leagues, at the NHL level he just lacked creativity and hand skills to be much of an offensive force. He merited little power play time, partly because his shot was astonishingly inaccurate.

But Ranheim became a top defensive player. His speed obviously allowed him to keep up with any defensive assignment. He played a solid physical game, although he was not much of an initiator. He had good defensive reads and good anticipation, making him a fixture on the penalty kill.

 

[Rob Scuderi]

I add grit and goal scoring to my team with the selection of Nathan Horton, Centre/Right Wing.

Some stats on Horton:

-352 points in 510 games
-6 20 Goal Seasons
-1 Top 10 finish in Even strength goals

For more on Horton click the following link:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=20891

Nice pick with Horton, I wanted him in a top 6 capacity for the AA

 

[BenchBrawl]

Roy is a better player, but Horcoff is more suited to a bottom 6 role in this context. Roy is smaller and more injury prone, but much more skilled. Roy also doesn't have the PK ability that Horcoff has.

I pretty much drafted Roy as a spare in case Quinn or Drouin are injured but it's not impossible I put him in the starting line-up if I want a more offensive minded team.