1st Mock Draft - 11/14/09

Hey everyone. So as the league is nearing the quarter mark, I figured it would be an alright time to lay out the 1st mock draft. Only the top 10 so far though.


1.  Carolina Hurricanes - Taylor Hall - LW - OHL
Considered by most to be the number 1 prospect, he's got the speed of Marian Gaborik and the shot of Patrick Kane. While the Canes could use help on the defensive side of things as well, come draft time, it'll be hard to pass on Hall.


2. Boston Bruins (From Toronto) - Cam Fowler - D - OHL
Fowler is maybe the surest thing in the draft. Think a bigger Drew Doughty. The Bruins are stacked with good young forwards, defense is there biggest need. Fowler would step right into the top 4 defenders on the team.


3. Florida Panthers - Tyler Seguin - C - OHL
A solid defensive-forward, but he doesn't lack offensive potential. Seguin has shot up the draft boards recently, and the Panthers will love to have him play for them in 10'-11'.


4. Anaheim Ducks - Kirill Kabanov - LW - Russia
Kabanov rounds out the group of prospects that all could potentially go no. 1 overall. The big Russian is already being compared to Ovechkin and Malkin, but most people don't expect Kirill to put up the numbers that those 2 do. But he's well worth the risk at this spot for the Ducks (although I don't think there's any way they end the year in this spot)

5.Minnesota Wild - Brett Connolly - LW - WHL
Connolly put up 60 points in his rookie year in the WHL, and another strong season this year could cement his spot in the top 5. He's a sniper, and is very creative with the puck. This is exactly the type of guy that the Wild need.

6. Nashville Predators - Teemu Pulkkinen - RW - Finland
A smaller prospect, Teemu is a great overall player with no glaring weakness in his game. It would take him a year or two to get into the NHL, but he could easily be the second coming of Saku Koivu.

7. Atlanta Thrashers - Mikael Granlund - RW - Finland
Another guy who's very smart and clever with the puck, Granlund is still only 17, so he's a bit of a wild card pick. But he doesn't make mistakes, and has a nice shot.

8. Edmonton Oilers - Erik Gudbranson - D - OHL
A big defensemen with plenty of offensive upside, Gudbranson needs to get some consistency in his game is he wants to keep his spot in the top 10. But imagining him playing along side Sheldon Souray is a nice vision for the Oilers crew.

9. Montreal Canadiens - John McFarland - LW - OHL
Allan Muir over at SI compares him to Benoit Pouliot. A guy who has tons of skills, but never seems to use them. He's also not the best on the defensive side of things, but he has a ton of potential, so at this point he's maybe worth the risk for Montreal.

10. New York Islanders - Brandon Gormley - D - QMJHL
A very well rounded defender, Gormley is exactly what the Islanders need. He's yet to fill out his frame, but when he does he will be a big guy on the blue line with a big shot.

Fantasy Hockey Rankings

Here's a look at the top Fantasy players at each position a little less than a quarter of the way through the year.  (Taking into account G, A, +/-, PIM and Shots for Skaters, and W, L, GAA, S% and SO for Goalies)


CENTER                    G    A  +/- PIM S
1. Anze Kopitar -       13, 14, +8, 4, 52
2. Patrick Marleau -   11, 11, +5, 2, 53
3. Nicklas Backstrom- 4,  17, +7, 6, 43
4. Joe Thornton -        4,  18, +1, 2, 38
5. Steven Stamkos -   12,  5, +4, 8, 53

LEFT WING                G   A  +/-  PIM  S
1. Alex Ovechkin -     14, 9, +10,  12, 86
2. Ryan Smyth -         8, 12, +7,   8,  51
3. Dany Heatley -      11, 8,   +1,  18, 51
4. James Neal -          9,  8,   +7,  6,  45
5. Zach Parise -         7,  10,  +5,  4,  67

RIGHT WING -           G  A   +/-   PIM  S
1. Marian Gaborik -   12, 10, +6,    4,  59
2. Corey Perry -        11, 8,   +4,   20, 49
3. Rick Nash -           11, 11, -5,    8,  63
4. Dustin Penner -      9, 10, +10,  4,  49
5. Patrick Kane -        4,  11,  +3,  10, 46

DEFENSE                  G  A  +/-   PIM   S
1. Dan Boyle -          3, 13, +4,  12,  43
2. Tomas Kaberle -    2, 16, -2,    4,   26
3. Chris Pronger -     3,  11,+11, 22,  29
4. Drew Doughty -    3,  11, +5, 14,  29
5. Alex Gologoski -   6,   7,  +14, 6,  26

GOALTENDERS          W  L   GAA   S%   SO
1. Ryan Miller            9,  2,  1.89, .937,  2
2. Ilya Brygalov         9,  5,  1.98, .925,  3
3. Craig Anderson     11, 3,  2.15, .934,  2
4. Evgeni Nabokov    11, 3,  2.14, .925,  2
5. Marc Andre Fleury 10, 4,  2.52, .904,  0

Wild vs. Penguins

Well I gotta say, I have no idea what to make of the Wild this year.  After a 2-1 win vs Sid and the Penguins, and a 3-2 win over the Gaborik-less Blue Shirts, we look pretty good, better than our record indicates at least.


After the first few weeks, I was kind of looking forward to the Wild having a chance to draft either Cam Fowler, Taylor Hall, or Kirill Kabonov.  But now it's looking more and more like we'll be picking in the 10-15 range yet again.  Let's hope Mr. Fletcher's mid range picks turn out better than Dougie R's have.


But I really want to look at this team's troubling plus/minus.


Burnsie ... -13
Schultz... -10
Koivu... -10
Havlat... -9
Zanon... -8
Johnnson... -7
Bruno... -7
Miettinen... -6
Shep... -5
Nolan... -4

Let's just hope this is the players adjusting to the new system....

NHL in the Olympics: Pro's and Con's

I want to ask everyone a question.  Do you think NHL players should be allowed to play in the Winter Olympics? To me, it's an obvious yes.  It's just more exciting. 

Let's take a look at the Pro's and Con's. 

PRO'S

• NHL ability level > Amateur ability level - There is no way of arguing this. NHL players are simply more skilled and seasoned.
• Getting the big name players noticed on a World level - The NHL could grow in popularity. It could grow big time. Showing the world Crosby and Ovechkin and Malkin and Kane is always a nice boost. 
• Simply put, the best players should be in the Olympics - Quick, name a sport in the Winter Olympics where the best players in that sport aren't allowed to play. I can't name any. 
  

CON'S

• NHL schedule break-up - It puts a giant kink in the schedule's chain, about 3 weeks to be exact.  
• No All-Star game - I think instead of removing the game completely, they should make All-Star weekend 'Futures' weekend. Have the game and skills competition be solely centered on the young stars.  Something I think they should pursue is maybe a Draft class vs Draft class. I'd pay to see the 08' class take on the 09' class in an exhibition match.
• Risk of Injury - Here's where I can see why the NHL is against it. Can you imagine if Alex Ovechkin get's cross-checked from behind by some random player for Slovenia and being injured for the year? Washington faithful would not be happy.

Ok so I'm sure I'm forgetting some big points, but as I see it, NHLers NEED to be in the Olympics. And I'm glad to see someone as big as Ovechkin stepping up and saying he is playing in the 2014 games no matter what. Let me know your thoughts.  Have a good one

To the Minors, or not to the Minors?

(Photo property of daylife.com)

Hey everybody. So the team I mainly follow is the Minnesota Wild. I follow the whole league really, but I'll always be a die-hard Wild fan.

As the roster cuts are coming to an end, one in particular caught my attention. The Wild's Colton Gillies was sent down to the AHL Houston Aeros. He was Minny's 1st round pick back in 2007. Still only 20, he's quite a young guy.

Last year under the coaching of Jacques Lemaire, Gillies was up with Minnesota for all 82 games, but only played in 45 of them, while watching the rest from the press box.

People all over Minnesota felt that while Gillies will someday be a very very good player, (comparable to Ryan Getzlaf, but without being able to put 40 in the net) he wasn't ready for the NHL just yet. With the recent demotion of Mr. Gillies down to the AHL, apparently new coach Todd Richards thinks he still isn't ready.

Apparently if you bring in a player who's not ready for the NHL, it 'stalls' his career.  I realize that they don't get 20 minutes of ice time a game, and probably don't get power play/penalty kill time, but I have one problem when someone says it 'stalls' their development.  Aren't coaches supposed to coach?

Who, in theory, should Gillies have been able to learn more from last year? NHL coach Lemaire, or his Juniors coach? (He didn't have the option of AHL last year. He had a ten game Wild tryout, if they decided then he wasnt ready, he would have gone back to juniors.)  Also, he played with guys like Owen Nolan and Andrew Brunette, so he could learn a lot from them as well.

Gillies was dominating his Juniors league (WHL I believe) when he was there. Once you dominate a league, shouldn't you try the next step? Even if it's a pretty big jump?

Maybe I'm completely wrong on this. Odds are, I am. What do you all think though? Do you keep someone up in the NHL, or do you send him down? I see benefits of both. 

Have a good one everybody

60 Things that will happen in the NHL this year

So this year I decided to make up a list of 60 things that I am sure will happen this year, 2 per team.  They won't be like Ovechkin will score more than 20 goals.  Obviously that's going to happen, barring injury.  They're things that I'll more often than not go out on a limb out on.


After the season is over, I'll go back and list the things I got right, and the things I got wrong. Let's begin.

ANAHEIM
1. Ryan Getzlaf will finish in the top 5 players in scoring with at least 95 points
2. Jonas Hiller will win the outright starting job by the end of 30 games.  This will lead to Giguere being traded before the deadline. (My guess is to Philly)

ATLANTA
3. Ilya Kovalchuk will get 50 goals this year, pushing him over the 100 point mark.
4. Evander Kane will play more than 75 games with the Thrashers, winning the Rookie of the Year award with 70 points.

BOSTON
5. Tim Thomas will win the Vezina trophy again this year.
6. David Krejci will break the 90 point barrier

BUFFALO
7. Ryan Miller will be in the top 3 for the Vezina, and will play all games for the US Olympic squad.
8. Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, and Thomas Vanek will all finish with more than 80 points

CAROLINA
9. Eric Staal will finish with less than 30 goals, less than 35 assists, and also will finish with a negative +/- rating.
10. Joni Pitkanen will finish with more than 40 points

CALGARY
11. Jay Bouwmeester and Dion Phaneuf will both finish with more than 50 points
12. Olli Jokinen will score more than 35 goals

CHICAGO
13. Marian Hossa will finish with less than 55 points
14. Jonathan Toews will finish with more than 90 points, Patrick Kane will not.

COLUMBUS
15. Rick Nash will score 50 once again. But it won't be enough to get the Blue Jackets into the playoffs again.
16. Steve Mason will play good, but not as amazing as last year. 2.60 GAA, .910 S% at best.

COLORADO
17. Paul Stastny will make a big comeback from his injury and get 90 points, with a +20 rating.
18. Goaltending will be the Av's problem. Both Budaj and Anderson will have worse than a 2.8 GAA.

DALLAS
19. Team will finish last in the league in points.
20. Fabian Brunnstrom however, will live up to the hype and score 30 goals alongside 40 assists.

DETROIT
21. Vallterri Flipulla will get more than 65 points, with a +30 rating.
22. Brian Rafalski will be a disappointment this year, getting less than 35 points.

EDMONTON
23. Khabibulin will flop, Jeff Drouin Deslauriers will be this years Steve Mason, without the ROY award.
24. Sam Gagner will get atleast 80 points, 55 of those beings assists.

FLORIDA
25. Tomas Voukon will put together a solid season, with a 2.35 GAA and a .929 S%, with 33 wins on top of that.
26. Michael Frolik will lead the team in points.

LOS ANGELES
27. Anze Kopitar will get 40 goals and atleast 85 points
28. Dustin Brown however, will get less points than last season, getting less than 50 total

MINNESOTA
29. Martin Havlat will score 40 goals
30. Brent Burns will get atleast 20 goals, along side 30 assists.

MONTREAL
31. Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez will both break 85 points.
32. Carey Price will finally live up to the potential and post numbers better than 2.3, and .925. He'll also get 40 wins.

NASHVILLE
33. Ryan Jones will have more than 55 points.
34. Defenseman Shea Weber will score 30 goals.

NEW JERSEY
35. Under new coach Jacques Lemaire, Martin Brodeur stats will improve from last year, 2.20 GAA, .930 S%, 10 SO.
36. Zach Parise won't break the 90 pt barrier like he last year.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS
37. John Tavares - 25 G, 30 A, 80 PIM, -15.
38. Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo will both get more than 50 pts.

NEW YORK RANGERS
39. Marian Gaborik will not score more than 35 goals, and he will stay healthy for 75 games.
40. Chris Drury will get less than 50 points

OTTAWA
41. Jason Spezza will top 85 points, with 65 being assists.
42. Ray Emery will lose the starting goalie job to Brian Elliot.

PHILADELPHIA
43. Chris Pronger will get more than 60 points, and more than 100 PIM
44. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards will both score more than 90 points, and each be a +30.

PHOENIX
45. Ilya Bryzgalov will get 35 wins, 8 SO, and have better than a 2.4 and a 9.18
46. Mikkel Boedker will get atleast 65 points, 30 being goals.

PITTSBURGH
47. Sidney Crosby will lead the league in points with 115 or more.
48. Marc Andre Fleury will finish in the top 3 for the Vezina.

SAN JOSE
49. Joe Thornton will finish with less than 70 points.
50. Dan Boyle however will get at least 25 goals, and 35 assists.

ST LOUIS
51. Chris Mason won't finish the season with the team. He'll be either traded or cut.
52. Patrik Berglund will get at least 80 points.  As will Brad Boyes.

TAMPA BAY
53. Steven Stamkos will score 30 goals, along with 35 assists.
54. Mike Smith will start 60+ games.

TORONTO
55. Jonas Gustavvson will do alright. 25 wins. 2.45 GAA. .912 S%.
56. Mikhail Grabovski will score more than 30 goals.

VANCOUVER
57. Roberto Luongo will win 40 games, but his stats will be subpar by his standards. 2.5 GAA, .910 S%.
58. The Sedin Twins will finish with the exact same point total, somewhere in between 80-85 pts.

WASHINGTON
59. Alexander Ovechkin will score 59, 1 short of the 60 mark.
60. Mike Green will finish with more than 80 pts.

2009-2010 NHL Western Conference Standings Predictions

Hey again.  So like I said, here is the Western Standings.  Next post will be awards predictions and me going out on a limb with a few other predictions.
1. Detroit Red Wings

 --Not a fan of the Wings, but they do know how to play hockey.  With Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, how can you not win 50 games? Oh yeah they also have someone named Nicklas Lidstrom on the team. He's kinda good. Goaltending will be the big Q here though. Ozzie won't play 70. Howard has been average. Who will they make a trade for?

2. San Jose Sharks

--Hi Octane team that maned by Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, and Devin Setoguchi. Evgeni will be Evgeni and be a Vezina contender, and the Shark will contend for the best record in the league once again. No doubt.

3. Calgary Flames

--Another team that should dominate. Bringing Bouwmeester to an already stellar club which includes Iginla and Phaneuf and the Kipper should guarantee them a 4 spot at the worst. I'll be amazed if they don't win the division.

4. Vancouver Canucks

 --Another team I hate, but respect. Luongo is maybe the premier goalie in the league, now locked in with a lifetime contract.  They bring the Sedins back, along with a pretty good young team.  I think they get the job done.


5. Chicago Blackhawks

--They're set on talent with Kane, Toews, Barker, Versteeg, and Campbell. They shouldn't have many problems scoring coals.  What worries me is Huet in net.  He's always been very up and down.  When its all said and done though, I think he holds strong.

6. Anaheim Ducks

--As much as I hate the Ducks, they have a good team.  Getzlaf is unbelievable at times. Losing Pronger hurts, but they get the young Luca Sbisa in return. Either Hiller or Giguere will be gone by years end, but they're set with whoever they chose.



7. Minnesota Wild

--Marty Havlat replaces Marian Gaborik as the goal scorer on the team.  Mikko Koivu is in the top 3 in two-way forwards.  On top of those two, they have one of the top defensive groups, anchored by Brent Burns and Nick Schultz.  Then it's Niklas Backstrom.  Consistently in the top 5 of every category.  New coach Richards makes it in in his first year as a head coach.

8. St Louis Blues

--Solid team. First off, I'm not too sure about Chris Mason in goal. Personally I'd have gone another way in net. Boyes is a stud, McDonalds always solid, and then Oshie, Berglund, Backes, and Johnson make for a formidable squad. Coach Murray has some nice pieces to work with.



9. Columbus Blue Jackets

--The Blue Jackets have struck gold with the reigning ROY in net in Steve Mason. He's gunna be the next stud goalie. Now with a better supporting class around him, Rick Nash could hit 50+ again in goals. The one thing I am worried about though is the defense.
 Commodore is ok, but the rest? Eh.

10. Phoenix Coyotes
--Here's my big sleeper pick.  The Yotes have a very good young team. Turris. Boedker. Mueller. Thikinov. Prucha. Hanzal. Defense is a concern, but I think Bryzgalov will stand on his head this year, bringing Phoenix near the playoffs. But realistically, this is the highest they will get.


11. Nashville Predators

--Ah the Preds. I think this may be the year that Barry Trotz gets put on the hot seat.  They have a few solid D-men in Suter, Weber, and Hamhuis, and Rinne should be stellar again in goal, but who's going to put the puck in the net? Martin Erat? David Legwand? Jason Arnott? There will be a lot of low scoring games in Nashville this year.  Who knows.  Maybe they'll surprise me. I hope they do




12. Los Angeles Kings

Another team with a solid young core of players.  Do you realize Kopitar is only 21? Seems like he's been in the league 5 years. But they also have Stoll, Brown, Frolov, Doughty, Johnson, and Quick as well.  But in the tight West, they don't have enough to get it done.



13. Edmonton Oilers

--Don't get me wrong. The Oilers should be alright, but the Western Conference is packed with good teams.  They have a big group of good young player headlines by Gagner and Cogliano, a solid defensive group with Souray and Vishnovsky, but how will Khabby hold up in goal? I think he could be the weak link that keeps them from jumping into the playoffs.



14. Colorado Avalanche

--Getting Stastny back will help immensely, and Matt Duchene can't hurt either, but is Craig Anderson or Peter Budaj really the answer in goal? One thing I do like about the Av's though is the acquisition of Kyle Quincy and Tom Preissing, who are both solid Defenders. I do expect this team to score a lot of goals though.



15. Dallas Stars

 --A team that I am not very enthused about, the Stars have a goalie in Turco that is getting worse and worse as the seasons go on, an offense that doesn't have much to build around (Brunnstrom is going to be good, just not awesome yet) and a defense that is looking for stability. Richards and Ribiero could be said to be good guys for some offense, but I don't see it happening this year.  They have no supporting cast.