Draft Dispersal Game - Roster Thread

[mikey287]

The next 11 posts should feature the roster/lines/etc. More guidelines will follow, let's keep draft discussion in the draft discussion thread. This thread will hold its own purpose later in the game. Again, please, have a representative claim one of the next 11 posts. Thank you.

Montreal Canadiens
Coach: Dave Tippett
Assistant Coach: Larry Robinson

Jamie Benn (A) - Ryan Getzlaf (C) - Joe Pavelski
Chris Kunitz - Kyle Turris - Alexander Semin
Carl Soderberg - Tomas Plekanec - Brent Burns
Jonathan Drouin - Evgeni Kuznetsov - Ales Hemsky

x - Ryan Strome
x - Brandon Sutter

Victor Hedman - Jay Bouwmeester
Mark Giordano (A) - Jacob Trouba
Tobias Enstrom - Tyson Barrie

x - T.J. Brodie

Anton Khudobin
Sergei Bobrovsky

PP1: Hedman / Pavelski-Getzlaf-Semin \ Benn
PP2: Barrie / Trouba-Kuznetsov-Drouin \ Burns

PK1: Hedman-Giordano / Getzlaf-Benn
PK2: Bouwmeester-Trouba / Plekanec-Turris

Line 1: The heavies. The prototype line. Two-way players with elite scoring talent. Benn is one of the league's premier power forward types at LW and he is a natural goal scorer. Getzlaf, is one of the most dominating centers in the game, and one its finest playmakers. Joe Pavelski is a versatile forward who can play all three forward positions and handle many roles on the rink. He's a terrific two-way player.

Line 2: Underrated two-way center Kyle Turris has a surprising amount of skill and has become surprisingly good defensively. Chris Kunitz is the better version of Clarke MacArthur, a forechecking, two-way player with a nose for the net but also decent vision. Turris and MacArthur had unreal chemistry last season in Ottawa and Kunitz being in the exact same mold should work very well with Turris. On the right is the league's most technically skilled with the best wrist shot in the NHL, Alexander Semin. Semin is also a very competent and calculated two-way player. He's not a puck hound like Marian Hossa, but he has great anticipation and a great stick.

Line 3: Fast and smart, Carl Soderberg and Tomas Plekanec can do a lot of damage with their underrated skill sets and savvy defensive play. Plekanec is near-elite defensively among two-way centers in the NHL and handle heavy minutes with relative ease while still producing offense. The versatile Brent Burns is a big, former defenseman who can score with the best of them. His size, strength and determination make him a fit for any line at any level.

Line 4: With a slew of defensive stalwarts on the top three lines, the fourth line will provide energy, speed and skill. At this level of play, the huge matchup advantage of an overly-skilled fourth line (against the traditional fourth line, which is neanderthalic at times) should yield numerous "bonus" offensive opportunities. Drouin is the world's #1 prospect. Evgeni Kuznetsov was considered the best young player outside of the NHL before last season and Ales Hemsky is a highly-skilled playmaking winger that can feed these two pucks to work their magic with. When Hemsky returned to a skilled team, he immediately regained his form. Without having to face elite defensive competition every night, Hemsky won't wind up covered snow every third shift...

Extras: Ryan Strome, a skilled, playmaking center with hands for days can provide an offensive spark when needed. Thoughtful, defensive center Brandon Sutter adds another RHS center in case one of the other two-way centermen should become injured.

Defensively: The club features four legit #1 d-man talents. The redoubtable Victor Hedman, who has certainly snuck up into top-10 d-man in the league conversation. Jay Bouwmeester is one of the finest skaters the league has seen in recent memory and no one has spent more time on the rink in the last decade than Bouwmeester. Both of these d-men are big, mobile and can play either side of the puck at an elite level.

Mark Giordano is a tough defensive player who is coming off of a brilliant season in which he got significant Norris love. He'll rotate between the second and third pairing to provide stability to protect leads. As his partner, Jacob Trouba has proven to be already capable of handling all NHL duties at a high level despite his age and experience level. Trouba compares well to a young Chris Chelios. He can skate, he has a big shot, he is a stalwart defensively and he's very physical. Trouba is a stud through and through and will soon enter Norris discussions.

The third pairing of the criminally underrated Tobias Enstrom. Small, but extremely smart and mobile...poor Enstrom has had to drag around portly anchor Dustin Byfuglien, babysitting for the giant manchild for the last several years. While Enstrom lacks size, he makes up for it in elusiveness and extremely high hockey sense. Burgeoning young puck-carrying defenseman Tyson Barrie burst onto the scene in Colorado last season, as finally one of these young puck-movers is panning out for them on a team that so sorely needs one with their style. Barrie will definitely be a help on a third pairing/PP situation at this level. When necessary, the slightly more polished (but just as good in terms of mobility and puck carrying) T.J. Brodie can fill in his place.

In net, Sergei Bobrovsky has the only Vezina winning season in GM-voting era in which the team did not qualify for the playoffs. He followed it up with a playoff berth for the young Blue Jackets. Bobrovsky's biggest weakness has been corrected and he has risen to among the game's top-tier netminders. Behind him is a young goaltender that came through the Minnesota system, emerged in Boston and now is the starter for Carolina, the highly athletic Anton Khudobin.

People love save pct. for whatever reason, so here's this: min. 50 games played, Anton Khudobin is the all-time NHL leader in save percentage. And likely near the top of the list in the forward pass era overall.

The power play will be in the form of a 1-3-1, modified umbrella, which is why the players are designated as they are. It's a great fit for the shots on the outside.

We'll have one aggressive unit and one more passive PK unit (unit 1 will be more passive and positional) so we can adapt to multiple power plays against.

Coach Dave Tippett is renowned for his defensive expertise and has willed underfed teams deep into the playoffs. Larry Robinson has proven to be the league's best defensemen-oriented assistants in the league. He works wonders with positional defense and keeps d-men upright and ready to make a play.

[count2infinity]

The California Golden Seals

Coach: Darryl Sutter
AC: Dan Bylsma
AC: Gary Roberts


Ilya Kovalchuk (A) - Pavel Datsyuk (C) - Marian Hossa
Taylor Hall - Jason Spezza - Jordan Eberle
Brad Marchand - Mike Richards - Nick Foligno
Clarke MacArthur - Adam Henrique - Michael Bodker

Reserves: Mikael Granlund

Dennis Siedenberg - P.K. Subban
Kevin Shattenkirk - Brian Campbell (A)
Andrej Sekera - Dougie Hamilton

Reserves: Barret Jackman

Ben Bishop
John Gibson


PP1: Hall, Datsyuk, Hossa, Kovalchuck, Subban

PP2: Richards, Spezza, Eberle, Shattenkirk, Campbell

PK1: MacArthur, Henrique, Siedenberg, Shattenkirk

PK2: Richards, Datsyuk, Sekera, Hamilton

[Letang Is The Truth]

TBD

Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault

N. MacKinnon - C. Giroux - D. Brown
L. Couture - D. Krejci - L. Eriksson
C. Krieder - M. Hanzal - J. Pominville
P. Dupuis - S. Ott - B. Gallagher

K. Letang - A. Edler
M. Niskanen - R. Murray
J. Wisniewski - D. Dekeyser

H. Lundqvist
A. Niemi

PP1

PP2

PK1

PK2

Bench:
A. Stralman
M. Streit
J. Franzen
L. Eller

[Beveridge]

Coach: Joel Quenneville
AC: Peter Laviolette

Zach Parise(C) - Tyler Seguin - Alex Ovechkin
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin(A) - Jakub Voracek
Carl Hagelin - Sean Couturier - Andrew Cogliano
Dwight King - Jarret Stoll - Scottie Upshall
Reserves: Michael Grabner and Daniel Briere

Ryan McDonagh - Andy Greene(A)
Paul Martin - Mike Green
Francois Beauchemin - Tyler Myers
Reserves: Josh Gorges

Ryan Miller
Cory Schneider

PP1
Parise Stoll(Voracek) Seguin Ovechkin Green

PP2
Sedin Sedin Voracek(Cogliano) Ovechkin( Green

PK1
King Stoll McDonagh Greene

PK2
Couturier Hagelin Beauchemin Martin


TEAM NOTES

In building the forward lines for the Totems, it was important to have 2 lines that could light the lamp in a regular fashion and have 2 lines that could prevent the other lamp from being lit. A fair way to look at the lines is to label them 1A/1B and 3A/3B. During the course of games, watch for Ovechkin to get ice time with his unit and with the Sedins and possibly both if double shifting is asked by Coach Q. Briere and Grabner will be inserted into the lineup at various times (most likely for Upshall) to create different dynamics on the RW for the King/Stoll line. Minute splits between the top 2 lines (sans ovechkin) will be similar and the same will be said for the bottom 2 lines. The hiring of Coach Q gives us comfort in knowing that line matching within our own team and vs the other team will be a strength.

The defense will rely on sound positioning, good stick work, and keeping the puck on the perimeters. The defense isn't going to dish out big hits, it's not a physical defensive lineup. McDonagh, Greene, and Martin will be the work horses logging 27+ minutes a game. McDonagh and Greene will be the top shutdown unit and will perform a substantial amount of the work on the PK. Martin will see a role in all 3 areas of the game and our hope is he can be a calming force to allow Mike Green to return to the Norris nominated player he was in 2009 and 2010. Green will see most of his ice time come from the power play as he will man the point for both units. Beauchemin and Myers, I believe, can flourish as a 3rd pairing. Both can compliment Martin on the 2nd PK unit and if Green needs PP rest, Beauchemin would have no issues filling in for the 2nd unit.

Parise Seguin Ovechkin: Parise can be to Seguin what Benn was to Seguin last year in Dallas. Those 2 could cause major issues for any shutdown line/defenders to handle let alone having to worry about Ovechkin on the other side. They all handle the puck at a high level, they aren't afraid to use the body (even Parise), and they all can score at an alarming rate. Thunder and Lightning to join the Seattle rain.

Sedin Sedin Voracek: The chemistry is already there with the twins. Not much to say. Voracek (who is underrated in my book) will compliment them quite well. Look for Ovechkin to see time with the Sedins as well.

Hagelin Couturier Cogliano: Speed, Annoyance, and Skill. A nice combination to have on any 3rd line. Hagelin and Courturier will see a lot of time together as they will be paired as forwards on the PK. Cogliano gives the 3rd line a scoring threat when Ovechkin is being double shifted, Voracek will add to this line everything Cogliano can and probably more. The job of this line will be simple: control the puck and cause havoc for the other team's scoring line paired up against. Hagelin's speed will cause issues and Courturier is a very effective shutdown center.

King Stoll Upshall/Grabner/Briere: The almost LA connection (thanks again, Kovy) will be this team's "second, 3rd line". Just like the other 3rd line, this one will feature a pair that will see time together on the PK in King and Stoll who already have built in chemistry being teammates and linemates in LA in the same role. The first 3/4 of the regular season will be an audition on who compliments the 2 LA boys the best between Upshall, Grabner and Briere. Barring injury, the rotation of extra forwards will be between the 3.

McDonagh Greene: Work horses, minute eaters, shutdown pair. Both players have high hockey IQ, always have the stick in the right place, clog up lanes, make the right decision. They will be called upon to stop the opponent's top scoring line and will see plenty of time paired together on the PK.

Martin Green: Can the Wizard help get Green back to form. If Paul Martin is able to get Mike Green's game back on track, this will be a formidable 2nd pairing unit. Martin will see time in all 3 areas while Green will be point on the power play. Green is a wild card on this team, but if the wizard does his magic, our top 4 could be tops in the league.

Beauchemin Myers (Gorges): Beauchemin is a quiet, top pairing defender in Anaheim. He has a solid game and in a 3rd line role, he could be our version of 2013-2014 Matt Niskanen. Myers is another guy who is a former top pairing dman and could flourish in the bottom paring. This combination is not one we are afraid to have out on the ice in a road game where they get matched up vs a top scoring line in a defensive zone face off. Josh Gorges will be mainly an injury plug.

Miller and Schneider: The starting gig will be Miller's to lose and will see roughly 50-55 starts during the regular season. Schneider gives us no fears if something were to happen with Miller.

Special Teams
The totems will deploy a 1-3-1 formation for the power play units. Stoll will be our PP version of PK Crosby in offensive zone draws. He'll be used for faceoffs with the first unit and will sub out for Voracek at first chance. It's kind of hard to explain the exact lineup because ideally Ovechkin is able to be out there close to 2 minutes and possibly Mike Green as well.

First unit will see Green up top, Ovechkin in his office on the left side, Stoll or Seguin in the middle, Seguin or Voracek on the right side, and Parise at the net.
Second unit will be probably be more umbrella like than a 1-3-1 with Green (or Martin) at the point and Ovechkin in his office. The Sedins will operate below the circle Henrik on left and Daniel on right. Voracek or Cogliano will be opposite Ovechkin on the right side.


The defenders on the PK will be (98% of the time) McDonagh/Greene and Beauchemin/Martin. The PK forwards will be King/Stoll and Hagelin/Couturier. King/Stoll will probably get the "1st line" designation for the PK. Zach Parise will also see PK time during the game, especially when trailing.


Coaching Unit
Coach Q will oversee the tactical aspects of line matching, line combinations, defense and final say as head coach.
Laviolette will oversee the offense/power play and will be in charge of the team's timeout.

[Kovy27]

Coach: Barry Trotz
Ass Coach: Randy Carlyle

Pacioretty - Kopitar - P. Kane
JVR - Filppula - Gaborik
Lupul - Jenner - Tarasenko
Silfverberg - Boyle - Bourque

Extras: Killorn, Tiffoli, Selanne (Part Time Coach)

Phaneuf - Josi
Ehrhoff - Muzzin
Franson - Krug

Rinne
Howard

PP1

Pacioretty - Kopitar - Kane - Phaneuf - JVR

PP2

Jenner - Filppula - Gaborik - Ehrhoff - Lupul/Krug

PK1

Kopitar - Kane - Josi - Muzzin

PK2

Filppula - Jenner - Ehrhoff - Franson

Description...coming soon.

[Staggy]

Toronto Maple Leafs

Coach: Paul MacLean
Assistants: Todd McLellan, Mike Johnston

Valeri Nichushkin - Evgeni Malkin - Rick Nash
David Perron - Henrik Zetterberg (C) - Bryan Little
Patrik Elias (A) - Mikko Koivu - Ryan Callahan (A)
Thomas Hertl - Ryan Johansen - Andrew Shaw
Tomas Tatar

Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Erik Karlsson
Cam Fowler - Justin Faulk
Niklas Hjalmarsson - Seth Jones
Braydon Coburn

Jonathan Bernier
Braden Holtby

PP1

David Perron - Henrik Zetterberg- Rick Nash
Erik Karlsson - Evgeni Malkin

PP2

Bryan Little - Ryan Johansen - Patrick Elias
Seth Jones - Justin Faulk

PK1

Henrik Zetterberg-Bryan Little
Marc-Edouard Vlasic-Cam Fowler

PK2

Mikko Koivu-Ryan Callahan
Niklas Hjalmarsson-Justin Faulk


Some info from my response to questions in this thread:

Thanks for the feedback, really good comments on every team. I don't think the style will be run and gun but it will definitely be offense focused. In an ideal situation I'm a believer in the saying the best defense is a good offense and I think I put together a team that can pull that off. I think a good comp to the style of my team would be the 2013 Blackhawks, a team that excels defensively mostly because they always had the puck. Both my team and that Hawks team are built from the back end with world class skating dmen who have a nice mix of defensive and offensive skillsets. The bonus is I'm much stronger down the middle than that Hawks team could ever dream of being (obviously in a 12 team league, but even relative to the competition). With Malkin, Zetterberg, Koivu, and Johansen centering lines, it's going to be a nightmare for the opposition to contain them offensively as each line is capable of fireworks and has dominant puck possession players. They are also being backed by at least one offensive defensemen at all times, and usually it will be the best one in the world. And when opponents do get the puck, each line has defensively responsible forwards with the second and third units being bonafide shutdown lines. Bernier is inexperienced , yes, but he put up very good numbers last year behind a defense that wouldn't have looked out of place in the 2012 Pens-Flyers series so I'm not too concerned about him.

So back to the original question: run and gun? Hopefully not. Hopefully all my lines will be capitalizing off lightning quick counter attacks but the plan isn't to get in track meets. Sure, Karlsson will get caught out of position every once in a while and leave Vlasic hanging out to dry but EK has the speed to recover plus responsible forwards to help out. Same with Jones but his minutes will be limited and he'll likely be tasked with playing a simple game.

[Avyran]

(Note: The # beside them is the place they were chosen in the draft.)

Forwards
O. Palat (103) - J. Toews (7 - C) - D. Backes (31 - A) = Toews & Backes sharing faceoffs.
P. Marleau (66) - D. Stepan (151) - R. Kesler (79) = Marleau & Kesler sharing faceoffs (Stepan is weak there.)
J. Staal (127) - P. Bergeron (18) - M. Read (138) = Staal & Bergeron sharing faceoffs. Main shutdown line, wil be used much more often than a standard "3rd line."
F. Nielsen (223) - V. Sobotka (199) - D. Smith-Pelly (234) = Sobotka taking all faceoffs; he's a beast.
(B. Schenn, 258; C. Hodgson, 295)

Defense
Z. Chara (42 - A) - E. Johnson (55)
T. Daley (247) - M. Staal (114)
H. Lindholm (162) - J. Braun (175)
(J. Johnson, 90)

Goalies
K. Lehtonen (186)
M. Smith (271)

Coach: Claude Julien (210)
Assistant: Todd Richards (282)

Strengths: Versatility, possession, defensively responsible forwards, size, puck-moving goaltenders, quality extra players (Schenn/Hodgson, Daley)
Weaknesses: Lack of puck-moving defensemen, no offensive focal point, versatility means no expertise

The even-strength style will be pretty standard for a Julien-led team - lots of line-matching as well as physical and possession play. With no flashy players (the closest being Marleau and Stepan) or any offense-heavy lines, the goal-scoring will be dirty goals from top to bottom. Lots of muckin' & grindin', wearing down the defense all game. Will be rolling all 4 lines. Lehtonen/Smith will act as a third defenseman, providing puck-handling support for the tall & strong defensemen that may not move the puck very well. The defensemen will especially ensure that Lehtonen has space & vision to see & stop pucks by clearing the zone around him.

Possession will be a strength for this team. The faceoff capability of the team is immense: Sobotka (62%), Bergeron (59%), Toews (57%), even J. Staal (54.5%). Each line also has a secondary person capable of taking faceoffs well: Backes, Marleau/Kesler, Stepan, Nielsen. Furthermore, every line has a player capable of handling faceoffs with a different dominant hand, making any situation more advantageous for them (Toews a lefty, Backes a righty, etc). Very, very defensively sound forwards, with many Selke winners / nominees, to protect the slightly slower back line. It will be physical as well, with many players having over 100 hits last year (with Backes nearing the most in the league with 273). This team will punish smaller teams and any team in the playoffs.

Two main weaknesses: one is no real focal point in the offense. There is no amazing offensive player on the team except for Marleau, meaning that the team will have to put in the effort every night to win. Thankfully, the team is full of people who are known for their energy, and with so much leadership on the team, this should not be a problem either... with 11 players being captain or assistants (Toews, Chara, Backes being captain; Marleau, Bergeron, Kesler, J. Staal, Nielsen, E. Johnson, M. Staal, J. Johnson all assistants). Second is the slow defense, with only one puck-mover (Lindholm). That's why I drafted Lehtonen/Smith, as previously noted. Will also be protected by very responsible forward group. Also switched in Daley for J. Johnson & shifted Lindholm down to provide a defender capable of moving pucks on all 3 lines (E. Johnson, Daley, Lindholm).

Finally, it is an experienced team, despite being fairly young. Lots of Stanley Cup winners (Toews, Bergeron, J. Staal, Z. Chara; C. Julien as well), and many trips through the playoffs for the rest (everyone has played in the playoffs). Lots of international experience as well.

Schenn & Hodgson can come in at any time and fill in almost anywhere, since both have experience as both a winger & center. Schenn is lefty, Hodgson righty. Hodgson is a good playmaker, Schenn a good grinder / scorer (at the moment). Schenn has experience on the power play with Philly, Hodgson with Buffalo. Unlike some 19th & 20th forwards, they will be used pretty often to provide breaks for players to keep them fresh all year. J. Johnson is a very versatile defender (if a little unaware) that can fill in any position - even strength top line, PK, power play - and will do so during the year to help keep Chara and the others fresh.

Power Play
Toews - Backes - Stepan
Marleau - Chara

Nielsen - Bergeron - Kesler
Lindholm - E. Johnson

Style: Nashville & Boston style, lots of shots from the point. Backes & Kesler manning the screen for the goalie, the other players shifting accordingly. Faceoffs not according to who is "center" but who is best suited to win each faceoff individually. Stepan & Nielsen acting as the main playmakers for the powerplay. Second line is more possession style.

Penalty Killing
Sobotka - Read
Chara - M. Staal

Bergeron - Palat
Daley - Braun

Style: Important to note that there will be multiple lines for PK. These are the top two, with Sobotka & Read being the PK specialists on the team. However, nearly everyone on the team can take PKs well, and will be able to fill in easily in case of penalty: Backes, Kesler, Nielsen, Toews, etc. With a ton of blocked shots last year for the entire team as well, the PK will be a major point of strength for this team.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

ÍSLAND



subject to change

Sharp - Tavares (A) - Hornqvist
Steen - Thornton (C) - Iginla
Hartnell - Nugent-Hopkins - Nyquist
Cammalleri - Johnson - Vrabata

x - Kadri, Brassard

Keith (A) - Girardi
Kronwall - Voynov
Tyutin - Oduya

x - Quincey

Fleury
Halak

HC: Mike Babcock
AC: John Tortorella

PP1:
Sharp - Tavares - Hornqvist
Keith - Voynov

PP2:
Cammalleri- Thornton - Iginla
Kronwall - Hartnell

PK1:
Steen - Johnson
Keith - Girardi

PK2:
Sharp - Nugent-Hopkins
Kronwall - Oduya


Main focus is puck possession. Wanted to grab 4 offensive playmaking centers and fill in the wings with scoring two-way players. My main strategy during the draft was to grab leaders and veterans. In my starting lineup I have 3 captains (including Iginla) and 9 alternate captains (ok, they're not all currently A's, but they were once in their career).

As per coaching, I made a point to grab Babcock as the first coach off the board. His emphasis on puck possession is key and experience in big games with veterans will really help. Also, grabbing Torts as my AC will help develop a defensive identity for my squad. Shot blocking and physicality is a skill that no team can be without if they want to win in any hockey league.

[meow]

HC: Bruce Boudreau (240)
AC: Craig Berube (288)
GC: Arturs Irbe (289)

Line #1:
Bobby Ryan - Sidney Crosby - (C) - T.J. Oshie
Sid between a big, strong scorer in Ryan and a strong, defensively responsible space maker in Oshie.
Line #2:
Thomas Vanek - Paul Stastny - James Neal
Stastny, the number one center in the league at directly creating shots for his linemates in 2013-14 (citation needed) centers the leagues best garbage man in Vanek and the best one dimensional shooter in the game.
Line #3:
Alex Galchenyk - Antoine Vermette (A) - Kyle Okposo
Interesting mix here. Slide Galchenyk here and dropped Burrows to 4th line. Vermette is fast, smart and tenacious - plays a 200 foot, consistent game. Okposo is a bull that has a good release.
Line #4:
Matt Cooke - Jay McClement - Alexandre Burrows
Defensive agitator - faceoff specialist - forechecker. A pretty meat and potatoes fourth line.
Healthy Scratches:
Dale Weise

Pairing #1:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Travis Hamonic
Ekman-Larsson would be a superstar if he played in a more hockey friendly enviroment. Thinks the game well. Smooth skater. Logs big minutes. Hamonic is tough as nails. Doesn't take a shift off or give opponents an easy play. Plays bigger than his frame. Logs big minutes.
Pairing #2:
Jonas Brodin - Kevin Bieksa (A)
Brodin is a puck mover. With the talent up front, they need the puck. Brodin can get it to them where they need it and when they need it. Low maintenance. Logs big minutes. Bieksa brings the pain. Initiates contact with everyone and everything, but does it intelligently. Well-rounded player.
Pairing #3:
Karl Alzner - Radko Gudas
Alzner is a shutdown guy. Big, strong, mobile, and smart. Safe plays all day. Gudas hits and drops clappers. Did I mention he's physical? He's physical. Punishingly physical. And he hits guys.
Healthy Scratches:
Brenden Dillion (241)
Interesting case here. Dillion is a big dude that can move pretty well. He doesn't do anything exceptionally, but he does everything reasonably well. Might try and slip him in about half the games, depending on match ups.

Goaltending:
Jonathan Quick (24)
Steve Mason (265)

Quick gets about 70% of the starts. Maybe Mason can carve out a few more nods if Irbe can coach him. Mason has never had a competent goaltending instructor. Let's see how he plays with the best in the league.
________________________________________________________________
Powerplay Unit #1:
Vanek - Crosby - Neal
Alzner - Ekman-Larsson
Sid works the half-way. Neal plays his off-wing for one-timer. Vanek (king of the garbage goal) gets his big butt in the low slot/side of net like he does so well. Two left handed defenseman to give a one-timer opportunity. I'd like to run a more traditional umbrella style pp, but I don't have a pure PPQB, so the puck will be on Sid's and OEL's sticks most often. I only want Neal to touch the puck if it immediately is fired on net or passed to him in the middle of the box, then one-touched right back out to relieve some pressure on the perimeter. This unit should click at about a 50% success rate.

Powerplay Unit #2:
Ryan - Stastny - Okposo
Brodin - Bieksa
Similar set-up, minus the one-timer chance from D to D pass. Stastny can create for shooters Ryan and Okposo, both of which have lethal shots from 25 feet in.
________________________________________________________________
Killer Unit #1:
McClement - Oshie
Alzner - Harmonic

The defensive awareness of the forwards is off the charts. Both D log a ton of SH minutes.

Killer Unit #2:
Vermette - Cooke
Ekman-Larsson - Gudas

The defensive awareness of the forwards is off the charts. Yin-yang of D. Ekman-Larsson is smooth like butter. I'm pretty sure Gudas would two hand his own mother.

Coaching style and base strategies:
Move the puck, move yourself. We plan on rolling three lines and three pairs of D as often as possible. I wanted players that can skate and that think the game at an above average level. The fourth line will be used for between 6 to 8 even strength minutes a night, but will mainly kill penalties and act as a momentum changing line. Forecheck will be aggressive. Most likely a 2-1-2 with F2 being a little soft. Adjustments will be made to switch to a 1-2-2 with a heavy F2. Neutral zone will have aggressive D that pressure opponents before they gain the red. The first back checker had better be on his horse with some back pressure. D zone coverage will be standard. Weak side winger sags a bit low to show additional support on a turnover to breakout play.

[SolidSnake]

New York Rangers

Coach Ken Hitchcock

Ladd - Backstrom - Perry
Kane - Carter
Saad - Berglund x
Brouwer -

Doughty - Seabrook
Bogosian - Hamhuis
Goligoski -Boychuk

Leddy




Rask

[pcm]

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

GOALIES
Price
Luongo

DEFENSE
Ryan Suter (A) - Carlson
Hejda - Shea Weber (C)
Markov - Gudbranson

x: Mitchell

FORWARDS
Skinner - Duchene - Wheeler
Huberdeau - Staal (A) -Simmonds
Dubinsky - Zajac - Horton
Laich - Bolland - Bjugstad

x: Zuccarello, McDavid

COACHES
Michel Therrien
Tom Renney


PP1: Skinner - Duchene - Staal | Suter - Weber
PP2: Huberdeau - Zajac - Wheeler | Markov - Carlson

PK1: Dubinsky-Bolland | Suter - Weber
PK2: Laich-Zajac | Hejda - Gudbranson

I don't need any long-winded explanation here. This team is built to play the same way up and down the lineup. It starts with olympic gold goaltending and an elite blueline that is savvy, mobile, and big. Defense is the name of the game here. Not passive defense, mind you, rather HCMT will employ a smart defensive structure that utilizes the speed and strength of our players to own the center of the ice in all 3 zones, forcing the play to the boards. Unlike Therrien's Canadiens, Metallurg also has the size to dominate battles along the boards and in front of the net.

Every line is built with a combination of speed, size, and tenacity. We're not going to play a pretty offensive game. We're going to win puck battles, attack in waves, and crash the net with reckless abandon. This will open up the lanes for our cannons from the blueline to fire away at will. Our LW's are lefties, our RW's are righties. We've got 2 LH centers and 2 RH centers.

Our top line of Skinner-Duchene-Wheeler will have a little extra freedom to use its exceptional skating to be more creative in their attack. If we face an overloaded offensive unit, we can switch up our lines to create a shutdown lgroup of Laich-Dubinsky-Bolland. Bjustad or Zuccarello would then join Zajac and Horton on the 3rd line. But each is already built with a smart defensive component, and an agitating factor tha will outwork other team's top and bottom lines.

On defense, each pairing features a monster, defensive stalwart and a mobile puck moving dman. Again, the pairings are each LH-RH to maximize every advantage. Suter and Weber will anchor their own pairings, but if any one line is giving us trouble, we can reunite them and play them half the game.

While Metallurg doesn't have the flash and sizzle of the other teams, we have the kind of identity that wins championships.

[JS©]

Landeskog - Stamkos - Kessel
Lucic - O'Reilly - St. Louis
Schwartz - Fisher - Radulov
Ward - J. Jokinen - Jagr
Bonino - Niederreiter

Yandle - Pietrangelo
Maatta - Byfuglien
Gardiner -J. Schultz
xxxxx

Varlamov
C. Anderson

Coach: Patrick Roy
Asst: John Stevens

[meow]

bump

[André]

Some nice Swede love right there Mikey287 Hedman's cap hit must be among the very best in the league.

[meow]

BUMP

[mikey287]

Please provide your rosters/lines in full.

2 special teams units each. Captain and at least one alternate captain (or two).

Feel free to create a little blurb about your team's style, or about individual lines or about whatever...

This coming work week we'll start the process of roster discussion in this thread and then hopefully by the end of the week or so, we'll have a public vote for regular season standings. So let's not dilly dally...

[meow]

BUMP

[mikey287]

I have updated my post (and some others as well) with information regarding our respective teams (great!)...so there appears to be no add/drops afoot, so I'd like to close that at this point and get to the critique/defend part. I40 already started some of that discussion in the other thread. I think it might be easier to follow in this thread, where the rosters are, but it makes little difference I guess.

So feel free to ask questions (pointed, loaded, or otherwise) about the other teams. If you're a little unsure, feel free to attack my team...what's wrong with it, why will your team dominate mine, what does my team lack or have too much of, etc. etc.

Currently, we're talking regular season only...so having big playoff players will not be as much of a help here...

Again, productive and constructive...not just tearing down for the sake of tearing down..."wow, Montreal sucks..." - more along the lines of, "Montreal's second line is pretty suspect for this level of play I think...Kunitz is a fine complementary piece, but Semin can be a ghost sometimes, even with his skill level and it would leave a relatively green Kyle Turris at the helm...I wonder how that will matchup against my second line of..."

Ya know, something like that...

So, please carry on, when discussion dies down sufficiently (probably should be a few days), then we'll have a public vote on the standings...

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

just want to point out that some rosters are unfinished (and haven't been updated in over a week).

[mikey287]

just want to point out that some rosters are unfinished (and haven't been updated in over a week).

Right, we can start with the finished ones. Hopefully the others will update them as we move along...if not, their loss I suppose...and ours to a degree...

[meow]

MTL - Surprised you have Turris at 2 and Pleks at 3.

CAL - A little green in net. Great mix of youth and experience on D - even within the pairings. Suspect assistant coaches

TBD - No back-up goalie?? No assistant coaches?? Centers are slotted perfectly for their roles.

SEA - Best coaching staff. Were you paid to select so many Americans? Vanilla defense - which is not a bad thing at all.

HAR - Incomplete lineup

TOR - Good killers. Interesting fourth line make up

LA - Best goalie tandem. How many centers do you need man?? Lack of PMD. Good coaching staff.

ICE - Hot and cold goalies. Wingers have some jam. Fairly mobile D

NYR - Incomplete lineup

MET - Speeeeeed. Great top pair. Nice 1A 1B in net. Not much wow factor.

CBJ - Great goaltending. Mobile D. Top line has some flair. Fourth line is 3 very different style of players.

[Beveridge]

SEA - Best coaching staff. Were you paid to select so many Americans? Vanilla defense - which is not a bad thing at all.

The number of Americans was not premeditated.

Big named defenders went off the board quicker than anticipated so once it got back to us in the 3rd round, the team decided to focus on the top 2 forward lines as 5 of our first 6 picks demonstrated. Our original plan for the defense was to have pairings from the old NHL be found here. That idea went out the window quickly as Girardi was selected ahead of where we were hoping to snag him to pair him back with McDonagh. The game plan changed to a mix bag of reliability (Martin/Greene/Beauchemin) and high risk/high reward (Myers, Green).

As mentioned on the roster information itself, the defense isn't flashy, doesn't scream stars, but we feel that it can be one of the most consistent blue lines in the league.

[mikey287]

MTL - Surprised you have Turris at 2 and Pleks at 3.

Thanks for the post overall, meow.

And to answer to mine: I'm just as surprised as you are.

[count2infinity]

\
CAL - A little green in net. Great mix of youth and experience on D - even within the pairings. Suspect assistant coaches

Yes we're green in net, but the defensive style of Sutter should provide excellent protection on our goalies. I feel Dan Bylsma is better suited for an assistant coaching position rather than head coach. He's a special teams and offensively sound planner. Good with x's and o's for planned plays, etc. I will admit Gary Roberts is a throw away pick as I just flat out like the guy... I would not be surprised at all to see him some day coaching at some level. It's hard to deny the amount of help he'd be with veterans and young players alike with their nutrition and fitness, especially leading up to the opening game.

[MRandall25]

\
CAL - A little green in net. Great mix of youth and experience on D - even within the pairings. Suspect assistant coaches

Yes we're green in net, but the defensive style of Sutter should provide excellent protection on our goalies. I feel Dan Bylsma is better suited for an assistant coaching position rather than head coach. He's a special teams and offensively sound planner. Good with x's and o's for planned plays, etc. I will admit Gary Roberts is a throw away pick as I just flat out like the guy... I would not be surprised at all to see him some day coaching at some level. It's hard to deny the amount of help he'd be with veterans and young players alike with their nutrition and fitness, especially leading up to the opening game.

To build off of this, anything at the point we picked Roberts would have been a throw away and the player would likely never see the lineup. It's a relative waste of a pick regardless of who we would've taken, because our lineup was virtually set by the time we got around to picking Boedker (with 4 rounds remaining). Why not have a little fun with it?