The 50th anniversary, 2015-2016 Western Hockey League regular season schedule commences in eight short days, and I thought it would be appropriate to enlist my selections for some WHL awards and I will also provide distinction for some fictional awards on some areas I want to highlight. Enjoy!
Most Valuable Player:Kailer Yamamoto(Spokane Chiefs)
We'll start with the hard and heavy early by awarding this hometown Chief the Most Valuable honour. Conventional wisdom and popular belief would suggest Brayden Point of the Moose Jaw Warriors could be the early season favourite for such a prestigious award but when it comes down to it, as I hopefully clearly illustrated when doing my WHL preview earlier in the summer, I'm anticipating for the Warriors to struggle massively which impacts Point's point surplus.The Red Deer Rebels have been awarded hosting duties for this years MasterCard Memorial Cup and their's a good chance(we'll leave it at that) that Points ends up in Rebels colors so the sooner he gets there the quicker he re-engages in M.V.P conversation. Yamamoto is a dynamic seventeen year old who will be the catalyst of the Chiefs offence.Although somewhat similar to Moose Jaw but not quite to the same extreme Yamamoto may be a one trick pony at times as theirs' not a lot of secondary offence to be sustained. Fifty seven points as a young sixteen year old serves well going into this sophomore campaign.
Honourable mention to Brayden Point if that wasn't obvious enough already.
Top Defenceman:Nolan Reid(Saskatoon Blades)
Working under the tutelage of Bob Woods and his wealth of National Hockey League experience has done wonders for Reid's development. Reid was the one Blade, who I saw play a handful games last season that consistently stood out for positive reasons. Listed at 5'10, he's an excellent skater and although most covering the league aren't singing the Blades praises I for one see them finishing as high as second place in the Eastern division with the tumultuous Regina Pats injury situation ongoing. and a big reason for that will be Nolan Reid. Every year entering season, their's always that one prospect, sometimes two that jumps out and elevates his draft positioning and this year that individual's name is Nolan Reid. Nolan is a puck moving defenceman that will benefit from a more polished Blades offence this season,
Honourable mention to Aaron Irving of the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Top Goaltender:Jordan Papirny(Brandon Wheat Kings)
A couple of years ago when I was first privy to seeing Papirny live in action and my first take wasn't all that endearing. I saw a goaltender who clearly, it wasn't that hard to ascertain, was backstopping a near powerhouse but was way too fidgety in net and had to slow down and refine his game. The bad goal, and I harken back specifically to the 2014 Eastern Conference quarterfinal against those Regina Pats and that was that he was prone to allowing the untimely goal. Fast forward a year to the 2014-2015 season, and consistency was the name of Papirny's game. He no longer had more moving pieces then Jim Furyk's golf swing and the increased stability had ensued. As we enter the 2015-2016 year, I expect more of the same with experiencing a taste of National Hockey League rookie camp(Edmonton Oilers) will only make him more confident on a team that enters the season as the Canadian Hockey League favourite.
Honourable Mention to Carter Hart of the Everett Silvertips.
Coach of the year: Bob Woods(Saskatoon Blades)
During the time where I published my league preview, I was high on the Blades then but as the summer progressed my optimism has grown. It took no hockey expert to realize that Woods inherited a mess coming into last season and the quick turnaround pays testament to Woods as a hockey administrator. Development is the most prevalent key when analyzing Woods' abilities as a coach. I just finished speaking highly on Nolan Reid but the laundry basket is full of players that owe a great deal of their expected success to this former member of the Anaheim Ducks organization. Cam Hebig is right up their near the top of the laundry as does Graham. The Blades project to be a better, more exciting group to observe this season and due to this Woods is in line to collect some post-season hardware.
Honourable mention to Steve Konowalchuk of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Most Improved player:Dmitriy Osipov(Vancouver Giants)
Based on firing away countless credentials Nolan Reid's way, one would surmise that Reid should fall under this category as well but to avoid duplicate praise, I will profile my next best choice. Osipov who came to the Giants as a very high import selection back in 2013 hasn't yet lived up to the expectations that General Manager Bonnner probably would've hoped for. Lorne Molleken is now the Head Coach in Vancouver and I personally will suggest that this hiring is tremendous for his development. Molleken got an abysmal rap in Saskatoon but I think most of that was in part due to his questionable acquisitions as a a General Manager. We have to differentiate Molleken the coach and Molleken the General Manager. Molleken the coach has oodles of experience and background to pull from because I'm here to tell you, and I can already imagine the expletives that some Giant fans are internally muttering because they may view Osipov as a lost cause and although I will admit he may never amount into an offensive dynamo, that combination of shot and size will make him a valuable commodity for the G-men this season.
Top Rookie:Jantzen Leslie(Everett Silvertips)
To identify the rookie of the year award in the pre-season is about as hard as it is for Tiger Woods to find the fairway these days, So much subjectivity comes into the woodwork...Will player X be seeing top line minutes.......Power-play time? .....Club goals coming into the season? Leslie seems to be the best bet this season for a team that probably dreamed they were going to land higher profile rookies like Auston Matthews and Tyson Jost but settling for Leslie is no consolation prize for the Tips. At 6'1, 170, this sixteen year old possesses more of a shut down frame but fans in the state of Washington will be pleasantly surprised for what offence Jantzen will bring to the table. I don't necessarily expect great things for the Silvertips as a whole and for that very reason their's no excuse for why he can't flourish.
Honourable mention to Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The Knuckle Ball:Volume Five
In the fifth edition in the critically acclaimed "Knuckle Ball" segment, I will analyze three items in the world of baseball that I decipher need discussing. At one point this summer I made the ascertation that I would eat crow if the Minnesota Twins stay in the playoff race or do the unthinkable and actually make the post-season dance. This playoff push has been a unexpected one for the fine folks of St.Paul, but the point of interest that deserves to be explored is whether fan favourite Joe Mauer is actually bringing the team down in the midst of this run. Second, I give my opinion on who deserves to start the opening game for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League divisional series, Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke. To finish off the slate, although some may vehemently disagree with this I will look to theorize why I'm of the belief that Houston Astros manager A.J Hinch has gone from quite possibly being considered the favourite to win the American League Manager of the year to being on the hot seat a little less than a month later.
Joe Mauer was to Minnesota baseball as to what fictional Gordon Bombay was to Minnesota hockey. Without living in the market and using the power of social media to come to this conclusion, Mauer's fandom has surpassed that of the early 90's superstar, the late great Twin Kirby Puckett. For years, it was the Mauer and Morneau show in Minny, I believe affectionately known as the M & M. Chronic injuries to the Canadian Morneau led to his sudden dismissal from Vikings county(cmon,got to throw some NFL into the mix). Since then, Mauer has taken complete control of the leadership dynamic, off the field anyways as on the field his production has tapered off. I think the issue I have with Mauer is the mis-management for how he is used. Courtesy of baseball-reference.com, I was able to bring up the statistics for this Minnesota native and it's clear, him hitting in the third hole is counterintuitive. Throughout his eleven year career he has totaled one hundred and seventeen homeruns and twenty eight of those came in the same year. Mauer is the prototypical on base guy, but event that has decreased over the last two seasons. As reported in the opening, Minnesota has defied even my greater expectations and full credit goes out to former Toronto Blue Jay and current Twin manager Paul Molitor. He's restructured the mindset of this franchise and for that they're in the thick of the wildcard race. I can continue to throw compliments Molitor, but getting back to the subject at hand, I would like to see Molitor alter Mauer's role in the lineup. The Toronto Blue Jays for a long time were using newly acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the lead-off and Tulowitzki doesn't possess top of the lineup speed and nor does Mauer. Mauer can get on base and allow the likes of Aaron Hicks and Brian Dozier to set the table immaculately for slugger Miguel Sano. This philosophy has begun to gravitate towards the popularity spectrum as more and more teams are focusing on instilling a lead-off hitter who excels with getting on base, not necessarily stealing bases. Get with the times Twins!
Kershaw or Greinke? Greinke or Kershaw? The rotation order will be long debated in Southern California.Truth be told, there isn't a wrong answer, but I'm going to down a certain angle that will lead to only one answer. The fact of the matter is in sports, what would you rather have, a scape goat who's contractually tied to your team long term who a bad loss could potentially rupture the player-fan relationship for years(Kershaw) or somebody you could throw to the wolves if things go awry who's out of a contract after this 2015 campaign(Greinke)? The only answer is starting Greinke in a game one/deciding game scenario because their's too much on the line that could so, so wrong if Kershaw were to start and fail. I'm certain this theory will aggravate most of everybody, particularly die-hard Dodgers fans but I'm okay with this because I'm not one to back down from a strong(crazy) opinion. Dodgers have already talked about making a change managerially if things finish on a negative note thus losing the N.L.D.S(hello Ozzie Guillen???) and what the team needs more than anything is a confident, committed Kershaw going forward. It seems ridiculous to worry about next year in a midst of being in World Series contention but such is the life of Major League Baseball executive.
Remember Robbie Ftorek? You probably don't, but to refresh the memories of the general observers Robbie Ftorek was the New Jersey Devils head coach heading into the 1999-2000 season but then was abruptly fired on March 23,2000. I know all about termination but I'm sure in Ftorek's case he wasn't terminated in large part for using "too complex of vocabulary" when sending out e-mails to government corporations(apparently the word aforementioned was too intimidating for my ex-manager). Some company I worked for! Anyways, getting back to Ftorek, after he was let go on that unfortunate March 23rd day, assistant coach Larry Robinson was promoted for the playoff bound team and they went on to win the Stanley Cup. This kind of story is a rare commodity so I wouldn't expect it to be effective but for Houston Astros Manager A.J Hinch, one may proclaim a drastic change is in order? The Houston Astros as of this writing(September 15th,2015) have lost their stake of the American League West lead after carrying it since July 26th. This is a tricky one to decipher because the Astros had zero expectations coming in but now they're here, do they just let status quo overtake everything they've built up or do they try to take advantage of an unprecedented season and make a bold managerial move. I'd be kidding myself if I thought a move such as that was actually going to happen but for fans in Houston, it's time to man up or shut up as the season is falling apart quicker then Tiger Woods' golf game so we shall see if Astros organization has the same level of guts as the New Jersey Devils did.
Joe Mauer was to Minnesota baseball as to what fictional Gordon Bombay was to Minnesota hockey. Without living in the market and using the power of social media to come to this conclusion, Mauer's fandom has surpassed that of the early 90's superstar, the late great Twin Kirby Puckett. For years, it was the Mauer and Morneau show in Minny, I believe affectionately known as the M & M. Chronic injuries to the Canadian Morneau led to his sudden dismissal from Vikings county(cmon,got to throw some NFL into the mix). Since then, Mauer has taken complete control of the leadership dynamic, off the field anyways as on the field his production has tapered off. I think the issue I have with Mauer is the mis-management for how he is used. Courtesy of baseball-reference.com, I was able to bring up the statistics for this Minnesota native and it's clear, him hitting in the third hole is counterintuitive. Throughout his eleven year career he has totaled one hundred and seventeen homeruns and twenty eight of those came in the same year. Mauer is the prototypical on base guy, but event that has decreased over the last two seasons. As reported in the opening, Minnesota has defied even my greater expectations and full credit goes out to former Toronto Blue Jay and current Twin manager Paul Molitor. He's restructured the mindset of this franchise and for that they're in the thick of the wildcard race. I can continue to throw compliments Molitor, but getting back to the subject at hand, I would like to see Molitor alter Mauer's role in the lineup. The Toronto Blue Jays for a long time were using newly acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the lead-off and Tulowitzki doesn't possess top of the lineup speed and nor does Mauer. Mauer can get on base and allow the likes of Aaron Hicks and Brian Dozier to set the table immaculately for slugger Miguel Sano. This philosophy has begun to gravitate towards the popularity spectrum as more and more teams are focusing on instilling a lead-off hitter who excels with getting on base, not necessarily stealing bases. Get with the times Twins!
b
Kershaw or Greinke? Greinke or Kershaw? The rotation order will be long debated in Southern California.Truth be told, there isn't a wrong answer, but I'm going to down a certain angle that will lead to only one answer. The fact of the matter is in sports, what would you rather have, a scape goat who's contractually tied to your team long term who a bad loss could potentially rupture the player-fan relationship for years(Kershaw) or somebody you could throw to the wolves if things go awry who's out of a contract after this 2015 campaign(Greinke)? The only answer is starting Greinke in a game one/deciding game scenario because their's too much on the line that could so, so wrong if Kershaw were to start and fail. I'm certain this theory will aggravate most of everybody, particularly die-hard Dodgers fans but I'm okay with this because I'm not one to back down from a strong(crazy) opinion. Dodgers have already talked about making a change managerially if things finish on a negative note thus losing the N.L.D.S(hello Ozzie Guillen???) and what the team needs more than anything is a confident, committed Kershaw going forward. It seems ridiculous to worry about next year in a midst of being in World Series contention but such is the life of Major League Baseball executive.
Remember Robbie Ftorek? You probably don't, but to refresh the memories of the general observers Robbie Ftorek was the New Jersey Devils head coach heading into the 1999-2000 season but then was abruptly fired on March 23,2000. I know all about termination but I'm sure in Ftorek's case he wasn't terminated in large part for using "too complex of vocabulary" when sending out e-mails to government corporations(apparently the word aforementioned was too intimidating for my ex-manager). Some company I worked for! Anyways, getting back to Ftorek, after he was let go on that unfortunate March 23rd day, assistant coach Larry Robinson was promoted for the playoff bound team and they went on to win the Stanley Cup. This kind of story is a rare commodity so I wouldn't expect it to be effective but for Houston Astros Manager A.J Hinch, one may proclaim a drastic change is in order? The Houston Astros as of this writing(September 15th,2015) have lost their stake of the American League West lead after carrying it since July 26th. This is a tricky one to decipher because the Astros had zero expectations coming in but now they're here, do they just let status quo overtake everything they've built up or do they try to take advantage of an unprecedented season and make a bold managerial move. I'd be kidding myself if I thought a move such as that was actually going to happen but for fans in Houston, it's time to man up or shut up as the season is falling apart quicker then Tiger Woods' golf game so we shall see if Astros organization has the same level of guts as the New Jersey Devils did.
How NOT to win your Fantasy Hockey League!
I completely kid of course as my information that I disperse out is completely trustworthy and is a reputable resource when differentiating the players you should target in your upcoming Fantasy Hockey draft. What I'm going to do is basically list five players that would be considered "sleepers" by the majority of hockey pendants and five players I would stay away from as a decrease in productivity is likely
"Sleepers"
1.T.J Brodie, Defenceman-Calgary Flames- A little earlier this summer, I advocated the Calgary Flames as one of the top teams coming into this season in my National League Preview. Brodie himself saw a +27 point production increase from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014 and a +10 increase into the 2014-2015 season. The reason the selection of Brodie entices me is because with an expected Marc Giordano and a newly acquired Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins, the widely believed speculation is that Brodie won' t be scouted as heavily from the opposition and can't because of the individual threats that exist in the aforementioned Giordano and Hamilton. Sometimes, the common opinion is that just because you don't see ice time on the first power play unit correlates that you won't get primo scoring opportunities but the reality(at least the blurred reality in my head) is that hiding behind PP1 onto PP2 will allow the avoidance of the oppositions top penalty killers. Brodie is a good play for all drafts, try to shoot for him in the middle rounds.
2.Jack Eichel, Forward-Buffalo Sabres- As has been mentioned thousands of times and something Jack has grown tire of is the comparison that will fall on Eichel's shoulders his entire career and that's with the 2015 NHL draft rival Connor McDavid. McDavid landed in a great situation with the Oilers as he will patrol the first line but what people fail to realize is that Eichel landed in arguably a better situation in Buffalo. Tim Murray did a masterful job last season tearing down the dead weight in an effort of landing McDavid or Eichel and it worked as he landed the top American on the board. Eichel, similarly to McDavid will likely see time on the top line and could be paired with running mate and former Medicine Hat Tiger Tyler Ennis. I could've and strongly considered including Ennis on the sleeper list but when it comes to the Sabres this team will ride or die on the back of Jack. Ninety point season I can see in the cards. He's first round material in all drafts.
3.Mike Green,Defenceman-Detroit Red Wings- I struggled with the question, " Can Mike Green really be considered a sleeper?". Mike Green was a fantasy phenomenon four to five years ago suiting up for the Washington Capitals but some on ice struggles led to the apparent inevitability that a change of scenery was necessary. The issue that begun to arise in Washington was that upfront we saw too many players that played a selfish style which didn't correlate with moving around the puck efficiently which stung Green's statistics as on the surface he carried a pass first mindset. We're not quite sure the style new coach in Detroit Jeff Blaishill will enforce but what we do know is that he'll get more tangible power play time playing alongside team first players in Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Nabbing Green in the fourth to fifth round would be advised.
4.Nikolay Kulemin,Forward-New York Islanders- Kulemin was someone that if I were writing this same fantasy preview a year ago I would've targeted as a sleeper back then but fast forward a year and I just suffice that he has so much more in the tank to deliver. Only accumulating thirty-one points last season I unequivocally believe he has the potential to surpass sixty this season. In the playoff series against the Washington Capitals, he started the series on the fourth line but by the end of it coach Jack Capuano instilled more confidence in the Russian and he started to flourish. By including him on this list the expectation is that he'll carry forward that confidence throughout the regular season.
5.Nathan MacKinnon,Forward-Colorado Avalanche- That overused classification of the "Sophomore Slump" can fittingly describe MacKinnon's campaign a year ago. What I saw in this individual a year ago, and it didn't take a genius to notice this but I am one so no harm, no foul and that is that he was pressing waaaayyyy too hard. MacKinnon dominated the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and what we saw their was a player that had through the roof confidence and internally felt that he could do no wrong. His speed will naturally create chances on it's own and their's NO way he resorts to another below fifty point season. I feel so strongly about MacKinnon rebounding that I would look for him late in the first round.
" Stay away from"
1.Tyler Johnson,Forward-Tampa Bay Lightning- This is a classic case of Brady Anderson syndrome. If you're not familiar with the story of Brady Anderson, Anderson was a member of the Baltimore Orioles and up until 1996, his yearly home run average hovered in the high teens only to explode for 50 in 1996 only to subsequently fall back to normalcy in 1997. Everything Johnson touched last season turned into magic and even the biggest Johnson/Lightning fan can't expect replication. He does seem to relate to the type of player that succeeds now a days having a Martin St.Louis-esque build but with Steven Stamkos in a contract year, and this is important that the Lightning will do everything to accommodate the former Sarnia Sting's well being even if that means cutting into the playing time of Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov. The pressure will be on you to select this Spokane, Washington native high but I'm here to tell you to resist the urge.
2.Phil Kessel,Forward-Pittsburgh Penguins- The indefinite reason for classifying Kessel as "do not touch" harkens to an entitlement issue. Kessel has always been the guy for every professional team he has suited up for and making the shift to the Pittsburgh Penguins will require him to transition into a secondary scorer, something I'm not sure Phil can resign himself to. He had a disappointing campaign a year ago only tallying only sixty one points but in fairness to Phil he was along side a bunch of ECHL wannabes otherwise known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. To summarize, I just don't think "Phil the Thrill" will adapt as easy as some closer to the precedings then I am think he will. The Pittsburgh Penguins are perennial Stanley Cup contenders, but don't think the contributors will be as cut and dry as you may believe.
3.Jason Spezza,Forward-Dallas Stars- Don't mistaken this for how I view the Dallas Stars as a whole because how I feel about Spezza's outlook and how I feel about the Dallas Stars organization are two different entities. This is no indictment on the former Ottawa Senators captain as I just don't buy that a Lindy Ruff coached team is adherable to prolonged fantasy success. The game has changed and so have Ruff's tactics but Lindy's penchant in years past has been to focus on the defensive angle first which does no favours for Jason. Secondarily to this concern, a lot of times last year Spezza didn't see the ice with premier players Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn so playing on a team that is very top heavy upfront will unfairly penalize Spezza's fantasy projections.
4.Derek Stepan,Forward-New York Rangers- I will never forget the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships in which Stepan led the way for the Americans if for no other reason than it was held in my home province. It was the Derek Stepan v Jordan Eberle show the entire way and in typical Pierre McGuire fashion, the over fascination pertaining to Stepan's game was received with the realization that it was "Pierre being Pierre". The backstory behind Derek Stepan is that he's always been a great leader off the ice, heralded as a future New York Ranger captain which I can cosign, but the leadership quality off the ice can often overvalue a players contributions on the ice,think Jonathan Toews. With the likes of Rick Nash right in the prime stage of his career and youngsters like J.T Miller and one of my favourites Chris Kreider already surpassing his offensive contributions, the intangibles may remain but his offensive prowess will begin to decline.
5.Michael Stone,Defenceman-Arizona Coyotes- Having went down to Glendale last Christmas I was extremely impressed with the reliable play of Michael Stone. Even going back to his days with the Calgary Hitmen, he's always been lauded for his renowned shot but what impressed me even more was the fortitude killing penalties as staunch skating abilities and the surname Stone never went hand in hand. What worries me now about Stone is two fold, for starters Arizona projects to be an atrocious team and if your league utilizes the plus/minus category, it's a death trap. Second, with the acquisition that brought in Stefan Elliot and the late season emergence of Connor Murphy may squeeze out playing time from Stone. I'm confident that Stone has the capabilities of being a NHL top four defenceman but with where the depth currently lies, that may have to be explored in a different market. Too much uncertainty doesn't make Stone a worthwhile fantasy selection.
"Sleepers"
1.T.J Brodie, Defenceman-Calgary Flames- A little earlier this summer, I advocated the Calgary Flames as one of the top teams coming into this season in my National League Preview. Brodie himself saw a +27 point production increase from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014 and a +10 increase into the 2014-2015 season. The reason the selection of Brodie entices me is because with an expected Marc Giordano and a newly acquired Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins, the widely believed speculation is that Brodie won' t be scouted as heavily from the opposition and can't because of the individual threats that exist in the aforementioned Giordano and Hamilton. Sometimes, the common opinion is that just because you don't see ice time on the first power play unit correlates that you won't get primo scoring opportunities but the reality(at least the blurred reality in my head) is that hiding behind PP1 onto PP2 will allow the avoidance of the oppositions top penalty killers. Brodie is a good play for all drafts, try to shoot for him in the middle rounds.
2.Jack Eichel, Forward-Buffalo Sabres- As has been mentioned thousands of times and something Jack has grown tire of is the comparison that will fall on Eichel's shoulders his entire career and that's with the 2015 NHL draft rival Connor McDavid. McDavid landed in a great situation with the Oilers as he will patrol the first line but what people fail to realize is that Eichel landed in arguably a better situation in Buffalo. Tim Murray did a masterful job last season tearing down the dead weight in an effort of landing McDavid or Eichel and it worked as he landed the top American on the board. Eichel, similarly to McDavid will likely see time on the top line and could be paired with running mate and former Medicine Hat Tiger Tyler Ennis. I could've and strongly considered including Ennis on the sleeper list but when it comes to the Sabres this team will ride or die on the back of Jack. Ninety point season I can see in the cards. He's first round material in all drafts.
3.Mike Green,Defenceman-Detroit Red Wings- I struggled with the question, " Can Mike Green really be considered a sleeper?". Mike Green was a fantasy phenomenon four to five years ago suiting up for the Washington Capitals but some on ice struggles led to the apparent inevitability that a change of scenery was necessary. The issue that begun to arise in Washington was that upfront we saw too many players that played a selfish style which didn't correlate with moving around the puck efficiently which stung Green's statistics as on the surface he carried a pass first mindset. We're not quite sure the style new coach in Detroit Jeff Blaishill will enforce but what we do know is that he'll get more tangible power play time playing alongside team first players in Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Nabbing Green in the fourth to fifth round would be advised.
4.Nikolay Kulemin,Forward-New York Islanders- Kulemin was someone that if I were writing this same fantasy preview a year ago I would've targeted as a sleeper back then but fast forward a year and I just suffice that he has so much more in the tank to deliver. Only accumulating thirty-one points last season I unequivocally believe he has the potential to surpass sixty this season. In the playoff series against the Washington Capitals, he started the series on the fourth line but by the end of it coach Jack Capuano instilled more confidence in the Russian and he started to flourish. By including him on this list the expectation is that he'll carry forward that confidence throughout the regular season.
5.Nathan MacKinnon,Forward-Colorado Avalanche- That overused classification of the "Sophomore Slump" can fittingly describe MacKinnon's campaign a year ago. What I saw in this individual a year ago, and it didn't take a genius to notice this but I am one so no harm, no foul and that is that he was pressing waaaayyyy too hard. MacKinnon dominated the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and what we saw their was a player that had through the roof confidence and internally felt that he could do no wrong. His speed will naturally create chances on it's own and their's NO way he resorts to another below fifty point season. I feel so strongly about MacKinnon rebounding that I would look for him late in the first round.
" Stay away from"
1.Tyler Johnson,Forward-Tampa Bay Lightning- This is a classic case of Brady Anderson syndrome. If you're not familiar with the story of Brady Anderson, Anderson was a member of the Baltimore Orioles and up until 1996, his yearly home run average hovered in the high teens only to explode for 50 in 1996 only to subsequently fall back to normalcy in 1997. Everything Johnson touched last season turned into magic and even the biggest Johnson/Lightning fan can't expect replication. He does seem to relate to the type of player that succeeds now a days having a Martin St.Louis-esque build but with Steven Stamkos in a contract year, and this is important that the Lightning will do everything to accommodate the former Sarnia Sting's well being even if that means cutting into the playing time of Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov. The pressure will be on you to select this Spokane, Washington native high but I'm here to tell you to resist the urge.
2.Phil Kessel,Forward-Pittsburgh Penguins- The indefinite reason for classifying Kessel as "do not touch" harkens to an entitlement issue. Kessel has always been the guy for every professional team he has suited up for and making the shift to the Pittsburgh Penguins will require him to transition into a secondary scorer, something I'm not sure Phil can resign himself to. He had a disappointing campaign a year ago only tallying only sixty one points but in fairness to Phil he was along side a bunch of ECHL wannabes otherwise known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. To summarize, I just don't think "Phil the Thrill" will adapt as easy as some closer to the precedings then I am think he will. The Pittsburgh Penguins are perennial Stanley Cup contenders, but don't think the contributors will be as cut and dry as you may believe.
3.Jason Spezza,Forward-Dallas Stars- Don't mistaken this for how I view the Dallas Stars as a whole because how I feel about Spezza's outlook and how I feel about the Dallas Stars organization are two different entities. This is no indictment on the former Ottawa Senators captain as I just don't buy that a Lindy Ruff coached team is adherable to prolonged fantasy success. The game has changed and so have Ruff's tactics but Lindy's penchant in years past has been to focus on the defensive angle first which does no favours for Jason. Secondarily to this concern, a lot of times last year Spezza didn't see the ice with premier players Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn so playing on a team that is very top heavy upfront will unfairly penalize Spezza's fantasy projections.
4.Derek Stepan,Forward-New York Rangers- I will never forget the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships in which Stepan led the way for the Americans if for no other reason than it was held in my home province. It was the Derek Stepan v Jordan Eberle show the entire way and in typical Pierre McGuire fashion, the over fascination pertaining to Stepan's game was received with the realization that it was "Pierre being Pierre". The backstory behind Derek Stepan is that he's always been a great leader off the ice, heralded as a future New York Ranger captain which I can cosign, but the leadership quality off the ice can often overvalue a players contributions on the ice,think Jonathan Toews. With the likes of Rick Nash right in the prime stage of his career and youngsters like J.T Miller and one of my favourites Chris Kreider already surpassing his offensive contributions, the intangibles may remain but his offensive prowess will begin to decline.
5.Michael Stone,Defenceman-Arizona Coyotes- Having went down to Glendale last Christmas I was extremely impressed with the reliable play of Michael Stone. Even going back to his days with the Calgary Hitmen, he's always been lauded for his renowned shot but what impressed me even more was the fortitude killing penalties as staunch skating abilities and the surname Stone never went hand in hand. What worries me now about Stone is two fold, for starters Arizona projects to be an atrocious team and if your league utilizes the plus/minus category, it's a death trap. Second, with the acquisition that brought in Stefan Elliot and the late season emergence of Connor Murphy may squeeze out playing time from Stone. I'm confident that Stone has the capabilities of being a NHL top four defenceman but with where the depth currently lies, that may have to be explored in a different market. Too much uncertainty doesn't make Stone a worthwhile fantasy selection.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Birden Bomb: Week one
Welcome to this weekly National Football League column named the "Birden Bomb" in reference to my infatuation with the play in the video game Madden '96 which was known as the, as you can probably guess, the "Birden Bomb". I will provide a few thoughts on the week that was. Enjoy!
-Carolina beat Jacksonville handedly on Sunday so by no means can I fault the game plan of Head Coach Ron Rivera. However, color me confused asto why big 6'4 target Devin Funchess wasn't a more prevalent force. His two target, nine yard game was disastrous to my fantasy football team but more importantly for the Panthers they're not properly utilizing an asset for Cam Newton. Sure, all they have to do is show up on the field to beat the lowly Jaguars who I peg as perhaps the second worst team in the league only ahead of Cleveland but when they line up against a capable opponent like they will in week two against Houston they'll need that size to counter the Texans stingy defence.
-Speaking of those lowly Jaguars, this seems to be a yearly tradition in conversation but when will General Manager David Caldwell be held accountable for poorly this constructing this organization? I've seen better roster construction with the post 2011 Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Bombers are putrid even for CFL standards. Investing the fate of the franchise in Blake Bortles' arm isn't necessarily the worst concept out there but what reeked in week one was that Bortles has no deep threat. Anyone internalizing that Allen Robinson can be that required deep threat is off their rocking chair. Bad luck in the receiving corps has marred the Jags as Justin Blackmon was supposed to the wide-out savior a couple years back but he showed a greater desire for the banned substances then he did for staying on the gridiron.
-Marc Trestman is sure an offensive guru! After two years in conjunction with Jay Cutler ruining the Bears, he's up to his old tricks blanketing the Baltimore Ravens offence. The Ravens offence over the last while was serviceable as Joe Flacco put up decent numbers but if we can take anything positive from the week one loss to Denver, which we can't is that the defence is still the same old defence. Trestman completely stunted the creativity out of Flacco and didn't allow him to stretch out Steve "old man" Smith. Marc, this isn't the CFL and you don't have access to the leagues most accomplished quarterback in Anthony Calvillo which I'm now starting to wonder if that's the only reason he had success up north.
-J E T S are back! Now, Cleveland is beyond abysmal further hampered by losing Josh McCown but the New York Jets were impressive on both sides of the ball. Newly appointed head coach Todd Bowles who transported from leading the defence down in the desert has revitalized this once sorry franchise and are quite possibly bound as full fledged contenders in the AFC East.
-Here's a not so bold prediction and that it by seasons end Darren McFadden will be in full control of the team's running back responsibilities. Darren the dud in Oakland carried the ground game on his back as expected starter Joseph Randle was rendered ineffective early and as we all know, team owner Jerry Jones is a patient man and will have no issue endorsing the former Arkansas Razorback as his starting running back if Randle continues to fade out. McFadden just may be in line to have a few scores in big D, that's if of course he doesn't get a the signal from the coach not to score.
-In what will go down as this past week's "worst quarterback of the week" in an award that I will not present weekly as I just thought it was a catchy way to begin describing Houston Texans Brian Hoyer who had to be later spelled by Ryan "I deserve to start" Mallett. When analyzing the Houston Texans and this Chiefs-Texans game in particular two thoughts come to mind. A) I may have overvalued the signing of Hoyer and B) I wasn't sold on the Chiefs coming into the year but based off of this weekly performance they will most certainly stay in the American football conference west division. Hoyer had a miserable outing and that penchant he developed while a member of the Cleveland Browns of being a patient, drop back passer must of stayed behind in Ohio because what I saw was a quarterback who rushed his throw which led to Michael Bishop-esque(a Canadian reference) decisions.
-If I were a fantasy owner of Peyton Manning, which I'm not I would have justifiable reason to be concerned. Peyton Manning as was beautifully illustrated in the Sunday Night Football on NBC half-time show is one dimensional right now checking down the short ball and until he shows a willingness and an ableness to fire away the long ball, defences will jump all routes full well knowing they won't get beat deep. Take nothing away from the Baltimore Ravens defence as once again they possess a stellar unit although the indefinite loss of Terrell Suggs won't help any. Defensive compliments and all, Peyton needs to show a form of aggression otherwise the predictability will be far too great.
-As you'll be able to ascertain in an earlier entry, I have the Minnesota Vikings pegged for the playoffs. Tackle Anthony Barr will lead this terrific defensive unit for the Vikes. This UCLA Bruin alum has J.J Watt esque speed and has along with a few others transformed the team into having one of the league's most feared shut down group. Offensively the thing that stood out tonight in their matchup against the San Francisco 49'ers was the lack of commitment to the run game. "Rust" which I perceive always as an excuse some will say the reasoning for Adrian Petersons slow start seeing as how he missed practically the entire 2014 campaign but my rebuttal to that is that Peterson had the entire pre-season a pre-season that is far too long but that can be story for another day Teddy Bridgewater needs a productive Peterson because working off the play-action is where Teddy will excel.
-Carolina beat Jacksonville handedly on Sunday so by no means can I fault the game plan of Head Coach Ron Rivera. However, color me confused asto why big 6'4 target Devin Funchess wasn't a more prevalent force. His two target, nine yard game was disastrous to my fantasy football team but more importantly for the Panthers they're not properly utilizing an asset for Cam Newton. Sure, all they have to do is show up on the field to beat the lowly Jaguars who I peg as perhaps the second worst team in the league only ahead of Cleveland but when they line up against a capable opponent like they will in week two against Houston they'll need that size to counter the Texans stingy defence.
-Speaking of those lowly Jaguars, this seems to be a yearly tradition in conversation but when will General Manager David Caldwell be held accountable for poorly this constructing this organization? I've seen better roster construction with the post 2011 Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Bombers are putrid even for CFL standards. Investing the fate of the franchise in Blake Bortles' arm isn't necessarily the worst concept out there but what reeked in week one was that Bortles has no deep threat. Anyone internalizing that Allen Robinson can be that required deep threat is off their rocking chair. Bad luck in the receiving corps has marred the Jags as Justin Blackmon was supposed to the wide-out savior a couple years back but he showed a greater desire for the banned substances then he did for staying on the gridiron.
-Marc Trestman is sure an offensive guru! After two years in conjunction with Jay Cutler ruining the Bears, he's up to his old tricks blanketing the Baltimore Ravens offence. The Ravens offence over the last while was serviceable as Joe Flacco put up decent numbers but if we can take anything positive from the week one loss to Denver, which we can't is that the defence is still the same old defence. Trestman completely stunted the creativity out of Flacco and didn't allow him to stretch out Steve "old man" Smith. Marc, this isn't the CFL and you don't have access to the leagues most accomplished quarterback in Anthony Calvillo which I'm now starting to wonder if that's the only reason he had success up north.
-J E T S are back! Now, Cleveland is beyond abysmal further hampered by losing Josh McCown but the New York Jets were impressive on both sides of the ball. Newly appointed head coach Todd Bowles who transported from leading the defence down in the desert has revitalized this once sorry franchise and are quite possibly bound as full fledged contenders in the AFC East.
-Here's a not so bold prediction and that it by seasons end Darren McFadden will be in full control of the team's running back responsibilities. Darren the dud in Oakland carried the ground game on his back as expected starter Joseph Randle was rendered ineffective early and as we all know, team owner Jerry Jones is a patient man and will have no issue endorsing the former Arkansas Razorback as his starting running back if Randle continues to fade out. McFadden just may be in line to have a few scores in big D, that's if of course he doesn't get a the signal from the coach not to score.
-In what will go down as this past week's "worst quarterback of the week" in an award that I will not present weekly as I just thought it was a catchy way to begin describing Houston Texans Brian Hoyer who had to be later spelled by Ryan "I deserve to start" Mallett. When analyzing the Houston Texans and this Chiefs-Texans game in particular two thoughts come to mind. A) I may have overvalued the signing of Hoyer and B) I wasn't sold on the Chiefs coming into the year but based off of this weekly performance they will most certainly stay in the American football conference west division. Hoyer had a miserable outing and that penchant he developed while a member of the Cleveland Browns of being a patient, drop back passer must of stayed behind in Ohio because what I saw was a quarterback who rushed his throw which led to Michael Bishop-esque(a Canadian reference) decisions.
-If I were a fantasy owner of Peyton Manning, which I'm not I would have justifiable reason to be concerned. Peyton Manning as was beautifully illustrated in the Sunday Night Football on NBC half-time show is one dimensional right now checking down the short ball and until he shows a willingness and an ableness to fire away the long ball, defences will jump all routes full well knowing they won't get beat deep. Take nothing away from the Baltimore Ravens defence as once again they possess a stellar unit although the indefinite loss of Terrell Suggs won't help any. Defensive compliments and all, Peyton needs to show a form of aggression otherwise the predictability will be far too great.
-As you'll be able to ascertain in an earlier entry, I have the Minnesota Vikings pegged for the playoffs. Tackle Anthony Barr will lead this terrific defensive unit for the Vikes. This UCLA Bruin alum has J.J Watt esque speed and has along with a few others transformed the team into having one of the league's most feared shut down group. Offensively the thing that stood out tonight in their matchup against the San Francisco 49'ers was the lack of commitment to the run game. "Rust" which I perceive always as an excuse some will say the reasoning for Adrian Petersons slow start seeing as how he missed practically the entire 2014 campaign but my rebuttal to that is that Peterson had the entire pre-season a pre-season that is far too long but that can be story for another day Teddy Bridgewater needs a productive Peterson because working off the play-action is where Teddy will excel.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Should we be curling or golfing?
Curling in September is one thing, curling in early September...unfathomable right? Well, with the way the plight of the Grand Slam of Curling series is headed, that inevitable day of having meaningful events in August may not be too far away. The first event on the now obligatory September curling schedule was the "Tour Challenge". This event was unique in the sense that, other than the fact that we had a early September grand slam event, this is the guinea pig era of the tour that is now including a tier two event. This idea of adding "tier two" curlers is an intriguing one to me because it naturally will grow the interest of the sport, something I've endorsed the desperate need of for quite some time. The game is need of a face lift, not for which the play the game is played, although the World Curling tour has introduced the five rock rule at select events, but a face lift for how the game is marketed to the public. I could spend the entire piece chiding how the game needs to be more visible to the youth locally but I will instead direct my thoughts on the outlook of the tour.
So the first event took place in the Maritime confines of Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador. A round robin format was used with eight qualifiers advancing to the playoff round as is the customary norm for the tour. Going into play, normally you would classify the likes of Mike McEwen, Brad Jacobs and Kevin Koe as favourites on the mens side with reigning Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Jones, Eve Muirhead and Rachel Homan as the ladies to beat but my thought was because for a lot of these players, their arrival in Paradise was the first time they stepped onto the ice. In line with what I just mentioned, the fact that players may of been a tad "rusty", it may have provided an opportunity for teams with a lesser resume to shine but that was NOT the case. The usual suspects played their way into contention with Homan losing in the final and Kevin Koe upsetting the pro Newfie crowd by upending Brad Gushue. The men's final, and I can't comment too much on the women's final as I was sleeping/immersing in last minute fantasy football preparation(facepalm moment for benching Travis Kelce) was an entertaining one with Koe making a ridiculous runback double to essentially force an extra end. Homan, who even played an event before this one if you can believe it, won that one, and nearly won her second consecutive but a last end blunder caused a steal of two allowing the Swiss team Tirizoni the victory.
So what I wanted to discuss now, and I referenced this in my opening paragraph is the inclusion of their tier two event . The inaugural tier two events were won by Kerri Einarson and Jim Cotter, although I'm baffled on how Cotter didn't have the requisite number of points to qualify for a tier one as the the variance of this rink has been a force for years. Aside from that, the long term implications will beneficial as it provides more incentive for the lesser folk to keep trucking away. A "source" explained me to this afternoon after inquiring as to why there were so many Newfoundland teams filling out the men's half of the draw deciphered that the tour has a regional obligation to include X amount of local rinks. If this is incorrect, my "source" who happens to be a pretty good curler in his own right credibility goes out the window immediately. If anybody has further clarification on this, a response to my twitter handle @bretzky26 would be appreciated. If indeed my source had this correct, I have an issue because why are caving to the need of scouring in more local teams when the goal if I'm not mistaken is allowing more teams who have legitimate chances of being a respected competitor on the tour. The over the top local representation acts as a counterintuitive measure. Is it to increase attendance? I would hope and imagine that the presence of the Koe, Jones and Homan's of the world would be enough to create sustainable revenue. After spurting this all out I'm fully aware that my whole rant may all be for not if the local representation is a misnomer, but such is the life of a know-it-all sports blogger.
The last point I wanted to touch on was the quality of the television coverage. The Sportsnet team, who if you weren't already aware owns the rights to the Grand Slam series consists of host Rob Faulds with the analysts being Mike Harris, Kevin Martin and Regina's own Joan McCusker.
I don't usually find myself wanting to rag on local Reginans, but I'm not the first one who shares this opinion and won't be the last and that's Joan McCusker brings the broadcast down a notch. Her strategical input is always the top and never on point with how the game is strategized today. Her critiques may have held merit back in 1998 when she along with the great Sandra Schmirler became Canadian heroes winning the gold medal in the '98 Nagano Winter Olympics but the game has changed and her tactics are nowhere close to being valid. This is a game hovered around being aggressive early and bailing out quicker then you can the word, but the bailing out concept seems to be lost on her. As far as Rob Faulds is concerned, I quite enjoyed his work when he used to head the Toronto Blue Jay broadcasts but his lack of curling knowledge is quite comical at times. TSN uses a similar formula with Vic Rauter but as the staunch curling fan would know, Rauter's lack of knowledge is done on purpose to allow Russ Howard and Cheryl Bernard the opportunity to go in depth. Faulds on the other hand, may try to replicate Vic but it doesn't come across as genuine. Harris and Martin are extremely knowledgeable and unlike McCusker I do find them informative, but the lack of personality on air is off putting.
So the first event took place in the Maritime confines of Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador. A round robin format was used with eight qualifiers advancing to the playoff round as is the customary norm for the tour. Going into play, normally you would classify the likes of Mike McEwen, Brad Jacobs and Kevin Koe as favourites on the mens side with reigning Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Jones, Eve Muirhead and Rachel Homan as the ladies to beat but my thought was because for a lot of these players, their arrival in Paradise was the first time they stepped onto the ice. In line with what I just mentioned, the fact that players may of been a tad "rusty", it may have provided an opportunity for teams with a lesser resume to shine but that was NOT the case. The usual suspects played their way into contention with Homan losing in the final and Kevin Koe upsetting the pro Newfie crowd by upending Brad Gushue. The men's final, and I can't comment too much on the women's final as I was sleeping/immersing in last minute fantasy football preparation(facepalm moment for benching Travis Kelce) was an entertaining one with Koe making a ridiculous runback double to essentially force an extra end. Homan, who even played an event before this one if you can believe it, won that one, and nearly won her second consecutive but a last end blunder caused a steal of two allowing the Swiss team Tirizoni the victory.
So what I wanted to discuss now, and I referenced this in my opening paragraph is the inclusion of their tier two event . The inaugural tier two events were won by Kerri Einarson and Jim Cotter, although I'm baffled on how Cotter didn't have the requisite number of points to qualify for a tier one as the the variance of this rink has been a force for years. Aside from that, the long term implications will beneficial as it provides more incentive for the lesser folk to keep trucking away. A "source" explained me to this afternoon after inquiring as to why there were so many Newfoundland teams filling out the men's half of the draw deciphered that the tour has a regional obligation to include X amount of local rinks. If this is incorrect, my "source" who happens to be a pretty good curler in his own right credibility goes out the window immediately. If anybody has further clarification on this, a response to my twitter handle @bretzky26 would be appreciated. If indeed my source had this correct, I have an issue because why are caving to the need of scouring in more local teams when the goal if I'm not mistaken is allowing more teams who have legitimate chances of being a respected competitor on the tour. The over the top local representation acts as a counterintuitive measure. Is it to increase attendance? I would hope and imagine that the presence of the Koe, Jones and Homan's of the world would be enough to create sustainable revenue. After spurting this all out I'm fully aware that my whole rant may all be for not if the local representation is a misnomer, but such is the life of a know-it-all sports blogger.
The last point I wanted to touch on was the quality of the television coverage. The Sportsnet team, who if you weren't already aware owns the rights to the Grand Slam series consists of host Rob Faulds with the analysts being Mike Harris, Kevin Martin and Regina's own Joan McCusker.
I don't usually find myself wanting to rag on local Reginans, but I'm not the first one who shares this opinion and won't be the last and that's Joan McCusker brings the broadcast down a notch. Her strategical input is always the top and never on point with how the game is strategized today. Her critiques may have held merit back in 1998 when she along with the great Sandra Schmirler became Canadian heroes winning the gold medal in the '98 Nagano Winter Olympics but the game has changed and her tactics are nowhere close to being valid. This is a game hovered around being aggressive early and bailing out quicker then you can the word, but the bailing out concept seems to be lost on her. As far as Rob Faulds is concerned, I quite enjoyed his work when he used to head the Toronto Blue Jay broadcasts but his lack of curling knowledge is quite comical at times. TSN uses a similar formula with Vic Rauter but as the staunch curling fan would know, Rauter's lack of knowledge is done on purpose to allow Russ Howard and Cheryl Bernard the opportunity to go in depth. Faulds on the other hand, may try to replicate Vic but it doesn't come across as genuine. Harris and Martin are extremely knowledgeable and unlike McCusker I do find them informative, but the lack of personality on air is off putting.
National Football League picks: Week One
****winners in bold***
Cleveland @ New York(J)
New York(G) @ Dallas
Carolina @ Jacksonville
Baltimore @ Denver
Kansas City @ Houston
New Orleans @ Arizona
Tennessee @ Tampa Bay
Detroit @ San Diego
Minnesota @ San Francisco
Green Bay @ Chicago
Philadelphia @ Atlanta
Miami @ Washington
Indianapolis @ Buffalo
Cincinnati @ Oakland
Seattle @ St.Louis
Cleveland @ New York(J)
New York(G) @ Dallas
Carolina @ Jacksonville
Baltimore @ Denver
Kansas City @ Houston
New Orleans @ Arizona
Tennessee @ Tampa Bay
Detroit @ San Diego
Minnesota @ San Francisco
Green Bay @ Chicago
Philadelphia @ Atlanta
Miami @ Washington
Indianapolis @ Buffalo
Cincinnati @ Oakland
Seattle @ St.Louis
Saturday, September 12, 2015
A Patties pre-season to forget
Jobs are on the line, young kids hockey futures are put to the test, aaaah the tribulations of Junior hockey are once again upon us. The Regina Pats have had a disappointing pre-season, although I should forewarn that I'm under the philosophy that the results that transpire in the pre-season present very little impact towards the forecast of the regular season. I'm here this evening to parlay my thoughts on how the Regina Pats roster could shape up come opening night and what tinkering I would do if I were in charge of day to day operations(scary thought right?).
Forwards:
Upfront, the perceived locks to crack the squad are in no particular order, Adam Brooks, Austin Wagner, Adam Berg, Jake Leschyshyn, Luke Smith, stud Sam Steel, Colton Kroeker and Rykr Cole,. Taylor Cooper would have a spot under normal circumstances but an injury keeping him out until atleast Christmas complicates that guarantee. Without Cooper, that's eight spots accounted for, so the rest of the bunch will be competing for the remaining five. A spot I see all but assured would be Erik Gardiner. Gardiner, who played on the same midget AAA team as Leschyshyn has that unspoken pre-existing chemistry which will garner favour amongst Paddock and staff. I expect a fourth line role with occasional time on the second power play unit forthcoming. Lane Zablocki has reportedly had a mediocre camp but this sixteen soon to be seventeen year old is likely to be granted a spot as he was the main piece that came back in the trade that sent Jesse Gabrielle to Prince George. I have previously discussed my distain towards this awful trade and how silly would Paddock look if he were to send Zablocki home before the regular season commences? Riley Woods, who was a renowned scorer in Midget AAA with the Regina Pat Canadians will be looked uponsimilarly to Gardiner to provide some secondary offence and the premise of him making this squad is solely based off of re-kindling his touch from a year ago. In what will likely go down as one of the greatest names in Junior Hockey, Trygve Many Guns will provide a level of physicality that not a lot of the other fringe prospects can contribute. This is why I believe a role will be created to fulfill his services. The only guarantee I can truly make when it comes to Trygve is with the iconic name, he'll produce the highest revenue with jersey sales. The fifth spot I'm not going to allocate towards a Pat currently in camp. This is disappointing news to Jared McAmmond who frankly hasn't made enough of an impact to retain his position from 2014/2015 and ditto for former Kamloops Blazer Eric Kreinke is who is in a number crunch and fell on the wrong side of the sword. I believe, in large part because coach and general manager John Paddock was on the record saying this that the desire is to acquire a nineteen year old forward. I first thought that Victoria Royals nineteen year old forward Brandon Fushimi would've made loads of sense but news broke a couple weeks ago that Fushimi has elected to "retire" from the game of hockey. The next name after scouring team lists that came to mind was from the Kelowna Rockets, Camrose, Alberta native Justin Kirkland. Now, I realize it's not conventional for a team that is touted as a contender such as the Rockets are to trade away a nineteen year old who accumulated fifty-one points a year ago but for the Rockets, the reason behind this trade is provide Kirkland with more playing time to aid his professional aspirations. The Rockets are a model franchise and accommodating organization so I can see a trade of this magnitude consummating. Here's what my projected forward lineup would look like:
L C R
Kirkland Steel Berg
Wagner Brooks Leschshyn
Zablocki Smith Cole
Gardiner Kroeker Many Guns
Woods
Defence:
The season ending injury to Colby Williams is a gargantuan blow to the Regina Pats. It would be to no one's surprise that Williams was expected to be named captain and not only that, he was going to be this team's number one defenceman so to lose him means others will have to elevate their game. From my potentially tainted count, their appears to be five spots sewn up. These would include, and once again in no particular order Chase Harrison, Nikolai Knyzhov, Sergei Zborovskiy, Connor Hobbs and James Hilsendager. What this amounts to is that their two spots up for grabs and at least from my viewpoint, these aren't as grey as the forwards. Spot number six must belong to Brady Poteau. This seventeen year old Oak Bluff, Manitoba product won't be bluffing anybody this year with his strong play as his limited play in last year's playoff action made a believer out of me. For the seventh and final spot, it's between Jared Freadrich who looks to be bring back the great Freadrich surname back to the Pats organization and Ryan Krushen. With sincere apologies to all of you Kyle Freadrich fans out there, I think based on play alone, because ultimately that will always be the decider, Krushen wins out. Krushen reminds me a young Brent Seabrook because when you watch him play you don't notice a bunch of natural offence but both possess a booming shot. My projected defensive pairs are as follows:
D D
Hilsendager Zborovskiy
Hobbs Knyzhov
Poteau Harrison
Krushen
Goaltenders:
As is usually the case, this is the position of interest in my opinion. There a few different permutations and combinations you can slice out with this competition. First, we must ask ourselves, what are the true intentions going into this season? If the purported assertion from John Paddock is correct that the Pats are targeting the 2016/2017 to contend, is it then necessary to include twenty year old Daniel Wapple on the roster? He won't be around in two years time, and there will be organizations who will covet his services(cough, Red Deer, cough) Also, another point worth exploring is the idea if Tyler Brown or the incoming Jordan Hollett have what it takes to carry the load on a nightly basis. If they do, this increases Wapple's expendability. My gut says their will be too much outside pressure to hold on to Wapple and a trade of Tyler Brown is likely although I've been hearing the plan is to hold on to three goaltenders for the first segment of the regular season.
1.Wapple
2.Hollett
3.Brown
I hope you found this informative! Thanks for reading.
Forwards:
Upfront, the perceived locks to crack the squad are in no particular order, Adam Brooks, Austin Wagner, Adam Berg, Jake Leschyshyn, Luke Smith, stud Sam Steel, Colton Kroeker and Rykr Cole,. Taylor Cooper would have a spot under normal circumstances but an injury keeping him out until atleast Christmas complicates that guarantee. Without Cooper, that's eight spots accounted for, so the rest of the bunch will be competing for the remaining five. A spot I see all but assured would be Erik Gardiner. Gardiner, who played on the same midget AAA team as Leschyshyn has that unspoken pre-existing chemistry which will garner favour amongst Paddock and staff. I expect a fourth line role with occasional time on the second power play unit forthcoming. Lane Zablocki has reportedly had a mediocre camp but this sixteen soon to be seventeen year old is likely to be granted a spot as he was the main piece that came back in the trade that sent Jesse Gabrielle to Prince George. I have previously discussed my distain towards this awful trade and how silly would Paddock look if he were to send Zablocki home before the regular season commences? Riley Woods, who was a renowned scorer in Midget AAA with the Regina Pat Canadians will be looked uponsimilarly to Gardiner to provide some secondary offence and the premise of him making this squad is solely based off of re-kindling his touch from a year ago. In what will likely go down as one of the greatest names in Junior Hockey, Trygve Many Guns will provide a level of physicality that not a lot of the other fringe prospects can contribute. This is why I believe a role will be created to fulfill his services. The only guarantee I can truly make when it comes to Trygve is with the iconic name, he'll produce the highest revenue with jersey sales. The fifth spot I'm not going to allocate towards a Pat currently in camp. This is disappointing news to Jared McAmmond who frankly hasn't made enough of an impact to retain his position from 2014/2015 and ditto for former Kamloops Blazer Eric Kreinke is who is in a number crunch and fell on the wrong side of the sword. I believe, in large part because coach and general manager John Paddock was on the record saying this that the desire is to acquire a nineteen year old forward. I first thought that Victoria Royals nineteen year old forward Brandon Fushimi would've made loads of sense but news broke a couple weeks ago that Fushimi has elected to "retire" from the game of hockey. The next name after scouring team lists that came to mind was from the Kelowna Rockets, Camrose, Alberta native Justin Kirkland. Now, I realize it's not conventional for a team that is touted as a contender such as the Rockets are to trade away a nineteen year old who accumulated fifty-one points a year ago but for the Rockets, the reason behind this trade is provide Kirkland with more playing time to aid his professional aspirations. The Rockets are a model franchise and accommodating organization so I can see a trade of this magnitude consummating. Here's what my projected forward lineup would look like:
L C R
Kirkland Steel Berg
Wagner Brooks Leschshyn
Zablocki Smith Cole
Gardiner Kroeker Many Guns
Woods
Defence:
The season ending injury to Colby Williams is a gargantuan blow to the Regina Pats. It would be to no one's surprise that Williams was expected to be named captain and not only that, he was going to be this team's number one defenceman so to lose him means others will have to elevate their game. From my potentially tainted count, their appears to be five spots sewn up. These would include, and once again in no particular order Chase Harrison, Nikolai Knyzhov, Sergei Zborovskiy, Connor Hobbs and James Hilsendager. What this amounts to is that their two spots up for grabs and at least from my viewpoint, these aren't as grey as the forwards. Spot number six must belong to Brady Poteau. This seventeen year old Oak Bluff, Manitoba product won't be bluffing anybody this year with his strong play as his limited play in last year's playoff action made a believer out of me. For the seventh and final spot, it's between Jared Freadrich who looks to be bring back the great Freadrich surname back to the Pats organization and Ryan Krushen. With sincere apologies to all of you Kyle Freadrich fans out there, I think based on play alone, because ultimately that will always be the decider, Krushen wins out. Krushen reminds me a young Brent Seabrook because when you watch him play you don't notice a bunch of natural offence but both possess a booming shot. My projected defensive pairs are as follows:
D D
Hilsendager Zborovskiy
Hobbs Knyzhov
Poteau Harrison
Krushen
Goaltenders:
As is usually the case, this is the position of interest in my opinion. There a few different permutations and combinations you can slice out with this competition. First, we must ask ourselves, what are the true intentions going into this season? If the purported assertion from John Paddock is correct that the Pats are targeting the 2016/2017 to contend, is it then necessary to include twenty year old Daniel Wapple on the roster? He won't be around in two years time, and there will be organizations who will covet his services(cough, Red Deer, cough) Also, another point worth exploring is the idea if Tyler Brown or the incoming Jordan Hollett have what it takes to carry the load on a nightly basis. If they do, this increases Wapple's expendability. My gut says their will be too much outside pressure to hold on to Wapple and a trade of Tyler Brown is likely although I've been hearing the plan is to hold on to three goaltenders for the first segment of the regular season.
1.Wapple
2.Hollett
3.Brown
I hope you found this informative! Thanks for reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)