GM: 87and71
Head Coach:
Scotty Bowman
Captain:
Ted Lindsay
Alternate Captain:
Daniel Alfredsson
Alternate Captain:
Scott Niedermayer
Ted Lindsay C -
Adam Oates -
Mike Bossy
Ilya Kovalchuk -
Mats Sundin -
Daniel Alfredsson A
Bob Pulford -
Pavel Datsyuk-
Dirk Graham
Bob Bourne -
Bernie Nicholls -
Terry O'Reilly
Boris Mayorov -
Craig MacTavish -
Boris Mayorov
Serge Savard -
Scott Niedermayer A
Flash Hollett -
Red Dutton
Viktor Kuzkin -
Ken Morrow
Nikolai Sologubov Willie Mitchell
Tom Barrasso
Hap Holmes
Power Play 1:
Ted Lindsay - Adam Oates - Mike Bossy
Ilya Kovalchuk - Flash Hollett
Power Play 2:
Mats Sundin - Pavel Datsyuk - Daniel Alfredsson
Scott Niedermayer - Viktor Kuzkin
Penalty Kill 1:
Bob Pulford - Dirk Graham
Serge Savard - Red Dutton
Penalty Kill 2:
Bob Bourne/Craig MacTavish - Daniel Alfredsson
Scott Niedermayer - Ken Morrow
Round 1 (26) - Mike Bossy
Round 2 (31) - Ted Lindsay
Round 3 (82) - Scott Niedermayer
Round 4 (87) - Serge Savard
Round 5 (138) - Adam Oates
Round 6 (143) - Pavel Datsyuk
Round 7 (194) - Ilya Kovalchuk
Round 8 (199) - Daniel Alfredsson
Round 9 (250) - Mats Sundin
Round 10 (255) - Bob Pulford
Round 11 (306) - Scotty Bowman
Round 12 (311) - Flash Hollett
Round 13 (362) - Dirk Graham
Round 14 ((367) - Red Dutton
Round 15 (417) - Ken Morrow
Round 16 (422) - Tom Barrasso
Round 17 (474) - Terry O'Reilly
Round 18 (479) - Bernie Nicholls
Round 19 (530) - Nikolai Sologubov
Round 20 (535) - Hap Holmes
Round 21 (586) - Bob Bourne
Round 22 (591) - Viktor Kuzkin
Round 23 (642) - Craig MacTavish
Round 24 (647) - Boris Mayorov
Overview:
A lot of time is spent formulating a plan for drafts like these and for the most part i'm happy with how the picks unfolded in terms of what my pre draft thinking was in terms of style/strategy.
I value leadership, two way play, and clutch play very highly in my hockey players. There needs to be balance and role players in any lineup but those are two qualities i hold in high regard. With the roster i have assembled i think, for the most part i covered those 2 wants in spades. Ted Lindsay was a fantastic, hall of fame player, and quite possibly, pound for pound, the toughest SOB to ever lace up skates. He exudes what i want in my Captain. Hard nosed, premier skill and the ability to leave it all the ice and inspire not only by strong words but strong play. He was a character no doubt, and to balance his style i went with 2 other great leaders in the all time scope with Daniel Alfredsson and Scott Niedermayer. Their styles are the perfect contrast to Lindsay's. Much quieter, men of few words but actions on the ice allowed them to be viewed as great all time captains of their respective team(s).
I could have easily tapped a long serving captain like Mats Sundin, or Dirk Graham, Bob Pulford, Terry O'Reilly, Serge Savard, Viktor Kuzkin, Red Dutton etc to wear an A. I certainly didn't make it easy choosing the letter wearers.
If you're looking for clutch play, most of the team has a long resume of it. 4 Conn Smythe winners (Bossy, Pulford(retro), Savard and Niedermayer). Ted Lindsay was very good in the postseason, leading the playoffs in goals, assists and scoring all at least once and has 4 rings. Oates, although he never won a ring was tremendously consistent in the postseason on some lower seeded teams. He had 156 points in 163 games. 114 helpers ranks 15th all time........****add more*****
I wanted to make sure i balanced every line with at least one known and accomplished two way player. In some cases I was able to land multiple players per line to fill that type of role.
Adam Oates was a strong faceoff player and one of only a handful of players to finish a season top 10 in both scoring and Selke voting. He can be counted on to back check and be responsible in his own zone. Ted Lindsay will undoubtedly play all out in all 3 zones. Obviously the top line is built to score with an elite all time goal scorer (Bossy), play maker (Oates) and glue guy, who just happens to be supremely skilled offensively (Lindsay). It's a line that, together, will devastate opposing teams but also not be a liability one way or the other.
The 2nd line is much like the first, although stronger defensively, while still being very good offensively in comparison to most other 2nd lines they'll face. Datsyuk is one of the all time great 2 way C's and has the Selke record to prove it, not to mention scoring numbers (be it VsX or straight averages). Daniel Alfredsson was a very strong 2 way player, a do it all type. Ilya Kovalchuk was picked in large part because the line needed a strong goal scorer, which he fills, and also there is strong chemistry between him and Datsyuk from their time playing with the Russian national team in multiple world events. Kovalchuk is not a soft player and will throw his weight around from time to time but he certainly needs players like Datsyuk and Alfredsson, not only for line defensive responsibility but leadership. Kovy had some attitude issues and i know the only way you can minimize those concerns is to make sure he's with familiar faces and players who will push him to be strong in his efforts. I believe i was able to accomplish that.
The 3rd line, like most is more or less a checking, defensive stalwart line, with a slight twist. Most 3rd line will be assembled with 3 more or less similar type players. When Mats Sundin was on the board at 250, i couldn't pass up the value and although i already had Oates and Datsyuk, came up with, what i feel is a pretty good plan. Obviously Sundin is much more a #2 than #3, however having him AND Datsyuk gives me some flexibility. Against a team with a Gretzky or smaller sized high end #1 C's you'll likely see me employ Datsyuk on the 3rd unit as his defense is elite. However, moving him permanently to the 3rd line doesn't really work for me for 2 reasons. One, it leaves me defensively weaker on my 2nd line (with Sundin there) and two, it leaves me slightly weaker offensively on the 3rd. Sundin might not be a typical #3 but his size will allow him to play there vs bigger bodied #1's and lower end guys as well. Obviously Pulford and Graham bring tremendous checking, defensive and penalty kill ability but more or less are short on offensive skill. Sundin can help with that and given his size he's not entirely incapable of moving people in the offensive zone when he's on the puck specifically. The ability of Pulford and Graham as elite #3's allows a bit more flexibility here IMO, than simply running 3 low end offense, defensive minded players as you typically see. And when needed based on matchup, Datsyuk is perfect to drop down a line.
The 4th line is a nice combination of grit/toughness, scoring, defense and all around hustle. Terry O'Reilly was one of the guys i absolutely wanted on my roster before the draft began and was more than happy to get him when i did. He personifies a 4th liner in a draft like this. Plays all out, every shift, was God like in the corners and could hang and bang with anyone, even the most feared fighters. As a bonus he was a pretty good offensive player (0.68 ppg mainly in the 70's) as well, likely because he won so many battles down low and had decent enough hands to make plays passing the puck. He received Selke votes as well 3 different times so he wasn't just a forechecking demon. He can play rough and tough in all 3 zones. Bernie Nicholls was another value pick. If you read the tremendous bio tony d did, you'll see while not a big checker or rough person, he never shied away from the front of the net or corners and scouting reports showed he played better in rough situations. His offensive ability will be tough to match for other teams 4th liner C's. He's the type of guy who will benefit a lot from having an elite corner man in O'Reilly. Nicholls had a wicked shot and it will make for great scoring depth. You will be hard pressed to find an all time scorer like him (over PPG) on a 4th line. As a bonus, while never winning a Cup he was tremendous in the postseason with 114 points in 118 games. Bob Bourne was another guy i discovered fairly early on and after in depth scouting, fit what i wanted to a T. On the bio i did, you'll see that he was very likely the most important piece to the Islander dynasty after the trio of Trottier, Bossy and Potvin (and Billy Smith in net). He averaged better than a PPG from 80-83 in the postseason, was one of the fastest skaters in hockey, good fore/back checker, and a tremendous penalty killer. He's the epitome of the kind of guy you want to win as a 4th liner.
Obviously going W-W with my first 2 picks and picking late in the 1st round, i knew that i'd be getting a lower end #1 defender (Savard), although the pairing has a higher end #2 in Niedermayer.
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http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1299145) Although the list has some flaws, it should be noted that Scotty Bowman (my coach) was a HUGE fan of not only Savard but Niedermayer as well. Scotty Bowman ranked Savard (20th) just ahead of names like Denis Potvin and Larry Robinson on his top 100 Canadian hockey players of all time list. Serge was a player that Bowman put a lot of trust in defensively for his dynasty years coaching the Montreal Canadians in the 70's. Savard had a ton of offensive potential but 2 serious knee injuries earlier in his career forced him to adopt a more defensive minded game which he excelled at tremendously. He's an elite penalty killer and even strength defensive wizard and has a direct link to Bowman which bodes well. He may not be in the top tier of #1's but his style of play and link to Scotty ups his value. Given how Bowman rates Savard, i have no doubt he'd be more than OK putting Savard out there as his #1. A Conn Smthe winner.
Niedermayer is a guy who gets under appreciated by so many. Bowman ranked Nieds 34th on his all time list and for reference he had Scott Stevens at 49 and Chris Pronger 64th. He played huge minutes all the way until the end of his career. He played a shade under 28 minutes per at age 36 for Anaheim and during the playoffs when he won a SC and Conn Smythe, he played 30:51 per, at age 33. His endurance was legendary. He was an elite skater and very good puck mover. Given those traits and his offensive production he's a great partner for Savard. Ranking 33rd in the HOH all time defensive ranking, he makes for a very solid #2 IMO. His leadership qualities are well documented and carried himself extremely well as a captain in the last third of his career. Niedermayer is the only player in hockey history to win every major North American and world title a Canadian can win: the Memorial Cup, World Junior championship, Stanley Cup, World Championship, World Cup and Olympic gold medal as well. He's a winner, plain and simple.
Flash Hollett retired in the late 40's as the all time leading scorer among defenceman. He's a bit of a liability in his own end admittedly, although my research and deep bio suggest he wasn't as bad as previously thought and most definitely was a pretty tough/rough player given some of the collisions and fights i uncovered. He's going to provide ample secondary offense from the blue line and can run the point on the power play, with either unit.
Red Dutton was an absolute beast and rock through the 20's and 30's. PLEASE read the bio on him. It was one of my favorites to dig up. He made the hall of fame despite not being a great offensive threat (he was solid) and never winning a SC. What i uncovered is he seemed to be near unbeatable in his own end and extremely physical as a body checker and i think that helped his HOF legacy. With Hollett's offensive abilities, Dutton can focus on that own end play and making life difficult for opposing players. He'll pair very nicely with Savard to form a big and extremely effective penalty killing pair. He was also noted as a very smart player and great leader.
Kuzkin and Morrow is the 3rd pairing. It will be a defensive focused pairing more than anything. I want a strong defensive presence from both guys and don't need extravagent puck moving. Kuzkin can do that when needed and Barrasso was an excellent handler and puck mover behind and around the net. Both are strong in their own end and can be staples on the 2nd PK unit.
Barrasso is a lower end starter in the draft but he's got a good Vezina record and multiple rings for being the last starter selected and the biggest advantage is his direct connection to the Hornets coach Scotty Bowman. Bowman drafted TB right out of high school and coached him in Buffalo and then again in Pittsburgh winning 2 SC's (one in the front office and one behind the bench) so there is trust and familiarity. I think that is something to value when looking at how teams are built. Hap Holmes is one of the top 3 or 4 backup netminders IMO. I knew getting a higer end backup was important given the fact that i have a lower end #1. He was an early star and has a very good SC record as well as retro PCHA Vezina's and even a retro PCHA Hart award. I think given his calm nature and playoff success he'll be a nice security blanket if i need him to steal a series in lieu of Barrasso.
Scotty Bowman is the Hornets coach. No matter how you slice it, he's the greatest hockey coach and mind the game has ever seen. His legendary career spanned 4 decades, winning 9 SC's a coach and another 4 in front office roles. Strangely his bio was not in the master archive so i put together a pretty in depth one, although i could add scores more to it, but it gets redundant. He won with defensive minded teams, explosive offensive teams, 2 way teams, etc. He adapted to multiple shifts in style the NHL saw and never lost a step along the way. He adapted to players who were paid next to nothing to multi millionaires. I didn't go into the draft expecting to draft Bowman but once he slipped outside 300 the value was just to good. At that point 3rd liners and low end #4's were going off the board. It's hard to distinguish between players and coaches in some ways, but i think i'll take Bowman and the legendary resume over those types and not look back.
TBC...
