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I loved my playoff experience, well sort of..
Contributed by MinnesotaMay 16, 2012, 03:29:40 pm
I was so pumped making the playoffs, getting the number one seed in the conference and what rolls into town, The Oiler Juggernaut of Yzerman, Tikkanen, Duchene need I go on. Well they shelled arguably the best goalie of the league and drove him out of every game. I was happy to be here but Edmonton is ruining my experience, all is good I plan on making it back next season and relish the opportunity to fight another day. Just hoping to win maybe one game, that isn't much to ask is it??
GYHL Draft Lottery: Explained
Contributed by Rockies-CommishMay 14, 2012, 10:42:41 am
This year we are introducing the lottery to the GYHL Entry Draft. Below is how it works:
-Only the bottom 5 teams enter the lottery, and only for the 1st round, the lottery will not effect the 2nd and 3rd rounds, they will just be ordered in place of where teams finished
-Each pick in the top 5 is decided by a lottery
-First the 5 teams are entered, with the highest odds going to the lowest placed team
-Odds are 50%, 30%, 10%, 6% and 4% in order from the lowest placed team to the highest placed team
-Whoever wins this lottery picks 1st OV
-Second pick is determined by a lottery with the remaining 4 teams. Highest odds going to the lowest remaining team.
-Odds are 60%, 30%, 6% and 4% in order from the lowest placed team to the highest placed team
-Whoever wins this lottery picks 2nd OV
-Third pick is determined by a lottery with the remaining 3 teams. Highest odds going to the lowest remaining team.
-Odds are 75%, 20% and 5%
-Whoever wins this lottery picks 3nd OV
-Fourth pick is determined by a lottery with the 2 remaining teams. Highest odds going to the lowest remaining team.
-Odds are 85% and 15%
-Whoever wins this lottery picks 4th OV
-Whoever loses this lottery picks 5th OV
All lotteries will be ran in a custom lottery at www.draftpicklottery.com
Hockey's Future: Top 25 Prospects Part IV
Contributed by BostonMay 13, 2012, 07:38:50 pm
#10 - Brendan Morrison - Oakland Jr. Seals (OAK) - Left Wing - 19 years old
The Skinny - The former first round draft pick had a solid season this past year for the Jr. Seals, putting up 22 goals, and more importantly, tied for the team lead in assists with 51. Morrison is a terrific defensive and playmaking left winger, who saw a great deal of time on the top line for Oakland's farm team with Jason Arnott and Daniel Alfredsson.
The Outlook - Morrison could be the top left winger for the Seals team next season. Left wing is the top position that the Seals lack young depth in, and Morrison could anchor the left side next season and we predict he will be a Calder Trophy candidate if he's given the call up.
Career Prediction - 1st/2nd line left winger; top penalty kill unit
#9 - Sergei Krivokrasov - Toronto Marlies (TOR) - Right Wing - 20 years old
The Skinny - Despite not being able to bring the Marlies into the AHL postseason, an 88-point season is nothing to be upset about. The speedy left winger led the team in goals, assists, points, shots and tied for the team lead in powerplay goals.
The Outlook - Krivokrasov will most likely be called up next season to the Maple Leafs. He'll be right at home on the right side, teaming with fellow youngsters Jamie Leach and Glen Murray. He will tussle amongst these two players for playing time.
Career Prediction - 2nd line right wing; 2nd powerplay unit
#8 - Roman Turek - Grand Rapids Griffins (STL) - Goaltender - 22 years old
The Skinny - The "aging" Turek put up a ridiculous 54-win season for the Griffins this past season, with arguably the best team in the league in front of him. Irregardless, Turek had a 2.98 GAA and .890 save percentage, proving that his win total was not just a product of a great team in front of him.
The Outlook - The clock is ticking on Turek, as far as his age in the AHL. Ron Hextall and Roberto Romano are better goaltenders at this point in time, but both are 30 or older, leaving the door wide open for Turek in the next few seasons, depending on his skill development, to become a full-time St. Louis Blue.
Career Prediction - Franchise goaltender
#7 - Igor Korolev - Macon Whoopee (HFD) - Center - 20 years old
The Skinny - The highest rated center on our list put up 98 points this past season for Macon; done primarily on the second line. Despite feeling pressure from fellow Top 25 prospect and teammate Milan Hejduk, we believe that Korolev will be a more immediate player for the Whalers.
The Outlook - The fourth line center spot for Hartford, right now, is wide open. Pending Hejduk being called up, Korolev should slip into that fourth position and might even see some time on the penalty kill.
Career Prediction - 1st/2nd line center; top PK unit
#6 - Daniel Alfredsson - Oakland Jr. Seals (OAK) - Right Wing - 18 years old
The Skinny - Last year's first round pick isn't the top pick in this list, but certainly has a ton of upside. One of the best defensive players in the AHL used his abilities to lead the team in goals and points. Alfredsson also put up 284 shots for the Jr. Seals, essentially running their offense, as an 18-year old.
The Outlook - The parent Seals team has some older talent on the right side in Tony Granato and Gino Cavallini, but the Seals have been actively shopping the two, effectively opening a potential spot for Alfredsson on the first or second line, depending on how the team values Alfredsson to fellow youngster Dallas Drake.
Career Prediction - 1st line right wing; top PP unit; top PK unit
Its Official, Quebec Makes the Playoffs
Contributed by QuebecMay 13, 2012, 04:06:57 pm
The Nordiques have triumphed over adversity and carried their new GM into the playoffs. Despite the rumors the team would fold under the new management style, the club held firm and finished the regular season with 82 points and a winning record of 38-36-6.
The AHL team was a complete bust winning only 5 games this Season, but GM Reed did not seem all that concerned.
"I can only focus on baby steps at the moment and I needed to get this team younger while staying talented. I think we accomplished that. Every new guy we brought in fit in exceptionally well and did exactly what he was supposed to do in the role he was aquired for."
In other news, the Nordiques will be aquiring some financial rewards thanks to their former GM, as their endorsement selections will see them top the coffers off with a cool 4.5 Million in cash.
"We really need to focus on these playoffs now" said Reed. "Its one thing to get here, but its another entirely to advance. We are steadfast in our commitment to our fans and we plan on destroying our competitors.
GREED
Playoff Preview: Vancouver -vs- Calgary
Contributed by VancouverMay 13, 2012, 02:54:17 pm
The Vancouver Canucks have had one of their best seasons in the GYHL and look to take on the Calgary Flames as a 5th seed. There was a big of a stumble in the final weeks of the season but the Nucks held on to secure good standing above Division rivals such as the mighty Oilers, the Avs, and the Kings.
Despite hitting a wall the Canucks had an amazing season and numerous players had career years. Quite a number of trades were also made while keeping the core intact - on the whole the team weathered the season nicely and although being clobbered by the Flames in the regular season they feel confident going into the post-season.
On paper the Canucks match up very well against the Flames - in fact many pundits were left scratching their heads when asked about the success of the Flames this season with such a young team in the toughest division of the GYHL.
CENTER
The Flames' center depth is not one of their strengths, however, they shouldn't be written off. Leading the team at this position are four guys 24 and under. Sidney Hall being the Captain at 22 and their top centerman with 71 points and a -10. Yake and Ronan followed up with solid season's for such a young group with 63 and 58 points respectively but alas this pales in comparison to the Canucks' center corpse that features Brent Sutter, Igor Larionov, Carey Wilson, and Mike Sullivan.
Sutter lead the team this season with 94 points, the best production of his career. Not so far behind was Igor Larionov with a stellar performance as he notched 88 points on the season. Not since season 1 has he played this well. Many speculate that the pressure of being Captain got to him - he was made captain in season 2 and gave up the C just this season to Viktor Ivanov.
As for the 3rd and 4th lines, Carey Wilson and his 54 points along with Mike Sullivan's 21 solid points and 119 hits provide depth that the Flames simply don't have.
Edge: Canucks take the cake with the Center position with their top 3 centermen being far more experienced and more talented and productive.
LEFT WING
The winger positions tell a different story and the Flames certainly may have an edge on the left side as young Russian superstar Anton Popov lead the way this season with 79 points and a team best 34 goals in 73 games. Brent Fedyk was no slouch here and same with Theoren Fleury - both put up 30 goals+ as well. Clearly there is a balanced attack and the Flames are dangerous on all 3 of their forward lines. The Flames don't use a 4th line and have no 4th LW.
On the Canucks they have been lead at LW by Martin Straka, the 19 rookie phenom. He absolutely exploded onto the scene but has tapered off just a bit these last two weeks and part of his slump has lead to the overall team slump - that said he lead all rookies this year with his 74 points and impressive +20.
Trade deadline acquisition Jim Fox was supposed to take the burden off of Straka and after a strong week of play there was a bit of a trouble spot finding which lines would work best. Alas Fox missed the 30 goal platform but it's likely he would have reached it had he not played on Oakland all season.
Kelly Kisio had started the season out in a major slump but ever since Carey Wilson joined the team he's turned it around and part of Wilson's arrival and the emergence of the 3rd line is what may have caused the top two lines to slump. Kisio and Wilson were double digit minuses just two weeks ago and have since turned to even or better having each tallied 10-20 points in that span. Hitting 20 goals was laughable for either if you brought it up two weeks ago but each ended with 19.
Rounding up the LW position is Alexei Zhamnov but he's already been scratched in the final games for the more experienced, defensive, and gritty Jim McKenzie.
EDGE: Calgary takes the LW position having Popov, Fedyk, and Theo - the trio is absolute dynamite.
RIGHT WING
Tony Tanti has finally broke the 90 point plateau and leads the Flames in scoring and tied with Popov for 34 goals. Tanti has seemed to always under-perform despite winning a Cup with the Rangers in season 7. He looks to have found a groove these past two seasons though and have been steadily raising the level of his game.
Tanti is absolutely dangerous from the right wing but after him there is quite a drop off as 22 year old rookie Andrei Kovalenko and rookie Brian Rolston, 21, are all the support he's got. While Kovalenko has had an amazing season getting 69 points, and Rolston's 35 points are not to be overlooked it just a lot of pressure now in the playoffs to put in 3 guys with 2 being so young.
On the Canucks they haven't a dominant force like Tanti but Claude Lemieux has quietly re-emerged as a major threat from the wing. After being traded I'd venture to say he's averaged a point a game and reached 36 goals, 2nd only to Sutter's 46 on the team. He's then closely followed by the vetern Walt Poddubny's 27 goals and 58 points, and the "don't call it a sophomore slump" Peter Bondra's 25 goals and 58 points. Actually, Bondra has outperformed his rookie season, however, expectations were far greater given that he has been playing with Larionov all season.
On the 4th line the veteran banger Rick Vaive has found himself playing regularly since Zhamnov was moved to LW after Valerie Kamensky was traded.
EDGE: Even - Being bias towards the Canucks I would say they've got the edge but Tanti's 92 points stand out despite really only having Kovalenko as another RW threat. If Claude Lemieux can avoid suspension the depth of the Canucks' RW should out-do the Flames'.
Final Though on Offense - Theo and Claude will each be a major X-Factor for their respective teams and we're sure to see these two duke it out. The two play such a similar style and agitate to such an extent that it will be impossible not to imagine a confrontation and fisticuffs. The entire series could hinge on whoever bests the other.
DEFENSE
The Flames' used to have Ray Bourque anchoring the entire team but alas those days are past and now they've got a solid corpse lead by Doug Lidster and Lyle Odelein. With the exception of Lidster and his 50 points the other 5 guys pretty much spread the load quite effectively as Ode, Zettler, and Manson each have near 10 goals and over 20 points - Cam Russell rounds out the group. They are a highly penalized bunch one should mention as Manson and Zettler each have over 150 pims - this may run their team into trouble in a longer series.
On the whole the Calgary defense is not to be overlooked but they are relatively young for dmen and much of the load is carried on the shoulders on their anchor, Doug Lidster.
The Canucks on the other hand boast a trio of veteran two-way defensemen of the same ilk as Lidster with Mike Ramsey leading the way having potted 14 goals and 49 points. Backing him up is Jim Johnson and Dave Ellett, all getting 10+ goals and 40+ points. Meanwhile the young Captain Viktor Ivanov exploded this season to achieve career highs and getting 12 goals and tied Ramsey with 49 points.
This gives the Canucks a solid top 4 defensive unit and their discipline and experience cannot be overlooked when compared to the Flames'. Rounding out the entire corpse is a Russian pairing of Vladimir Malakhov and Mikhail Tatarinov - all in all the 6 dmen together all had a +6 or better rating and combined for well over 700 hits.
EDGE: The Canucks take this as they boast the most talent and their top 4 dmen simply outplayed the entire Flames' defensive corpse production-wise when it comes to stats in every category.
GOALTENDING
The Flames' Bill Ranford has been solid this year but only has 30 wins - I'm not entire sure who was responsible for the other 9 wins though - apparently whoever that was ended up traded or something. In any case Ranford's 3.32GAA and .887 SV% are good. They aren't tops in the league but they are good numbers to have!
The numbers look even better when you compare them to the Canucks' Brian Hayward - despite getting 33 wins his 3.59GAA and .867 SV% are simply crap. He's got more years and experience but it's clear who was the better goalie over the season. Backing Hayward up was Khabibulin and while he sports better averages his 6-11-3 record were not up to expectations.
EDGE: The Flames have the edge here - Hayward is more experienced but that may not be enough. Ranford has been great this season but not amazing. Everything will come down to which goalie can turn it on and get hot.
CONCLUSION
Of course I'm going to say the Canucks will win but how will they do it? I think having a huge edge in experience and leadership will play a pivotal role in leading the Canucks over the Flames - the depth of using all four lines may pan out in a 7 game series but only if it goes the distance the depth should play in the favor of Vancouver.
Additionally I think having such a great group of Centermen and Defensemen will lead the Canucks over the Flames.
The series in no shape way or form will be easy as the Flames have had the regular season edge - it's just a matter of who raises their level more and I think - to beat a dead horse - having experienced guys peppered throughout our lineup will lead the Canucks into the second round for the first time ever.
Good luck to Kurtis!