***The Official NHL Thread 2008/2009***

Can't wait for the season!

 

Holy Canolies,bro! I love my Hockey but can't do anything like that anymore.
Glad to hear you got your tix....

Hope my Devils do well this year.Not really a good off season for them except Brian Rolsten and maybe if Holik finds his old magic.But,looking forward to the season none the less.....

 

Ok, Im an Islander fan as many of you know...so the question is, can any of you non Isle fans out there name a single player on the isles roster not named Dipietro, Guerin, weight, Hunter, or Witt?

Ready? Go!

*crickets*

Thats what I thought. Gonna be a long year. At least Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, and that #1 overall will be something to build around.

 

THIN would be an upgrade. 13 of their top 19 most talented (in my opinion) players on their roster are under 25, and a couple like Dipietro are only slightly older.

But I have to say I like what Garth Snow is trying to do, stockpile picks and the farm system, because they simply cant attract any top flight FA's even by overpaying. So really this was the only way to go. That top Center prospect in juniors, forget his name, is eventually going to give the isles a solid 1-2 with Bailey down the middle. Then Okposo, Comeau, Bergenheim and some of the guys they plucked loose in this years draft like Kirill Petrov. Ah well, 3 years from now, we'll be nice

 

Let's go Rangers! 1994!

 

Unified, what are your thoughts on the B's this year?

Very young team... and how about Milan Lucic? I love the way that kid plays.

Hopefully we're in for a pretty good year, at least till the playoffs roll around..

 

Can't wait to watch the Wings win it all again!! Back to back again!!!

When you compare your roster from year to year, and all you have to report in changes is loosing Hasek, and gaining Hossa and Conklin... Id say chances of repeating are pretty damn good!

 

Excellent writeup, Unified.

There's been alot of talk surrounding this Tukka Rask kid... hopefully he lives up to the billing, because I agree with you, our goaltending isn't good enough to take us where we want to go.

I'm so sick of the Habs though, if they whip us again this year I might cry.

 

UT, regarding Nokie, he played some wing for the Isles. As a good defensive player who played LW at times we used him when we went to the Left Wing Lock on occassion. Then again under Nolan the defensive system wasnt really given a name it was just more or less chaos. So to answer your question he can certainly do an adequate job on the wing if hes needed there.

 

Hot damn. I've been waiting for this classic Uni thread for a month.

We beat the Sabres 7-4. Fans in TO are already planning the parade on Bloor and Queen Street. Dominic Moore looked like Jean Beliveau. And Jeff Finger was Bobby Orr. It's going to be a looong year, so we might as well cherish every win like it's the last one.

BTW Uni, shame to see the price of those tickets. Some of my fondest and most joyous early childhood memories are from watching the Canadiens at the Old Montreal Forum with my grandfather. In those days, front row seats didn't cost you an arm and a leg.

 

me too. loooks like its going to be along year. I'm just rooting not to have the worst record in hockey. i'll be happy with that

 

Screw that, Im rooting to have the worst record in hockey. Theres a stud C and a stud D coming out this year both of which look to be solid. We arent making the playoffs unless things break perfectly; which they wont cause our best player, Dipi, is already hurt. And we already have 3 #2's stockpiled and im sure we'll look to move vets at the deadline to get more picks. Im sick of making the playoffs as an 8 seed or just missing the playoffs. Build this back through the draft and next year we have a bumper crop of cap space with good FA's.

So we'll suck for one more year, something we've done well for the last 15 years, most of them anyway and finally build a team. Garth has the right idea since we cant get good FA's unless we overpay by 10 million....

 

I'm still mad about that trade...stupid JFJ

 

Go Flyers!

 

Claude Lemiuex - that's right, all 43 years old of him - is contemplating a comeback.

RDS - Claude Lemieux tente un retour

It's in french, but here is a little translation:

You gotta love Pepe.

 

Well hopefully that's not the marketing campaign the Islanders are using this year I would be happy with second worst but if we get first the guy better be the next Gretzky or Potvin, Bossy or Trottier or Nystrom or etc

 

Fear not, the '09 draft is very strong at the top. The top 6 is the best I've seen in a long time. As the lead horse, John Tavares has been the talk of the land for years now. He broke Gretzky's single season record in the OHL by scoring 72 goals as a 16 year old with the Oshawa Generals. Because he set the bar so high early on, a lot thought he had a disappointing season last year. He doesn't have the fire, or skating ability I look for in a top prospect, but the pure goal scoring ability is undeniable. IMO he could just be a highly skilled player who burst onto the scene very early and drops from consensus number 1 draft pick to mid first rounder because of concerns about his game translating to the next level, like Angelo Esposito. Or he steps up his game at the World Juniors and cements his status as a number 1 pick.

I fell in love with Victor Hedman at the U20's in December. Haven't seen him play for MoDo, but it's Sweden's best development factory. Has produced the Sedin twins, Alfredsson, Forsberg, Naslund, Sundstrom, and many others. They'll pair him with Hans Jonsson, and let him learn the intricacies of the game. Just a tremendous physical specimen that reminds me of a young Chris Pronger in the way he looks so effortless in moving the puck out of his own end, for a man with such size. In his back end, his reach and physicality makes him a dominant force. And at 6'7 220 pounds, being an 18 years of age, he will only grow. He would be my number 1 pick as of today.

They had another player, Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, who was the youngest player ever to play for the Swedish national junior team at the tournament at 16 years of age. He was flying all over the ice, and is listed as a top 5 prospect as well. Scouts are looking at potential far more than production, which is a dangerous game though. He needs to have a big tournament at the U20's.

I want to see more of Jared Cowen, Brayden Schenn and Matt Duchene at the World Juniors in December, and in the OHL and WHL before I form any opinion about them. They helped lead Canada's national men's summer U-18 team to a gold medal, and are considered big time prospects, but that's purely based on what I've read on paper. Lastly, don't sleep on Zach Kassian, or Jordan Schroeder as they could sneak into the top 6. I've witnessed some dazzling stuff from Schroeder, and some Lucic/Bertuzzi bone jarring hits, and skills from Kassian.

 

Man, awesome rundown for the prospects. Thanks alot for the info. Question, how are you seeing these guys? I cant find anything but NHL on my cable? I would love to see some college hockey let alone some international but its never on

 

No worries bro. Sopcast has most NHL games streamed each night, and many Euro league playoff games (SEL, Slovnaft, Super League, DEL, etc). I always find myself in Canada around X-Mas time, and at that time the World Juniors are broadcasted on TSN - the Canadian equivalent of ESPN. December 26 is known as Boxing day for most, I just know it as the start of the World Juniors. I also try to watch some Memorial Cup games to see some of the WHL teams, as they've been silently overtaking the OHL in terms of talent in the last few years. It also helps that the Maple Leafs have been so bad for the last 5 years. I've been less and less focused on them, and have dedicated the months of April to the NFL draft, and two weeks in December/January to the World Juniors.

 

Tavares was the dude I was thinking of. I dont see his skills not translating at all. Hes still a baby. No different then Crosby and some of the others at the same age. If the Isles fnished last and had him and Okposo on that first line for the next 10-15 years Id be very happy.

Hes got a great shot, hes adequate defensively, great awareness.....yeah hes not a great skater but hes definitely not a bad one. Guys like Sakic and Crosby or even Doug Weight were never blazing fast and they have had or are having great careers and I dont think Tavares is any worse a skater....

I would also say hedman has far more questions then Tavares since his resume isnt quite as established. He has good skills and should be a bruiser but I question if he will really be a star worthy of a top 3 pick.

 

Just don't see the extraordinary vision or the deceptive speed of a Burnaby Joe. Nor do I see a pure passer like Doug Weight, who could stickhandle in a phonebooth. As for Sidney Crosby, I think he's a pretty strong skater, but more importantly, he was a great skater at Rimouski. In Tavares's case, he's considered an average skater with Oshawa. How will that translate in the NHL ? And it's not only the wheels. As Uni said, I'm not sure he has the foot speed of a bonified number 1 draft pick. The short area burst that a Sid the Kid, Alexei Filatov or Robin Figren have. In truth, I see a lot of the same pure goal scoring ability, and hockey sense of a Luc Robitaille - which isn't shabby considering the number of goals Lucky Luc put up.

On the other hand, Victor Hedman reminds me of Chris Pronger. He was the second best defenseman behind Drew Doughty at the World Juniors and will only get faster, bigger and stronger. I can't wait to see what he does this year at the Worlds. His resume isn't that bad either, having made his debut on the Swedish National Team at the age of 17, and notching the most points scored by a 16 year old defenseman in SEL J20 history.

 

Eh I see enough speed to believe he will be an elite center. The point i was getting at is you dont need the breakaway speed of early Sergei fedorov. Additionally, you have to consider that skating is something you can work on and develop but the pure talent he has is rare. Even if he never becomes a great skater, he will still be a very good player.

That said I think as a former goalie, a GM like Snow may be more inclined to go with Hedman since a goalie truly knows the value of a great defenseman.

 

Sure, the breakaway speed isn't necessarily needed, but you do need above average foot speed to be a franchise player. And considering he doesn't have above average foot speed at the OHL level, how will he look in the NHL ? You can get away with being an average skater if you're a playmaker like Adam Oates or Mark Savard - and they weren't even taken first overall nor are they franchise players - but we know John Tavares isn't that type of player. He could turn out to be a Brett Hull, or a Mike Bossy, which is a lethal sniper.

My point is, even if he becomes that type of once in a decade sniper, I'll take a horse on the back end that logs 30 minutes of ice time, quarterbacks the PP, and shuts down the other team's best player every single time. Give me Scott Stevens, Chris Pronger, or Zdeno Chara over Luc Robitaille or Brett Hull any day.

On to your second point, he can work on his skating like a Joe Thornton did. Thornton wasn't the best skater with the Greyhounds, but could get away with it because of his size and skills. With the Bruins, he had to develop that part of his game, and he became a better skater. Often though, these kids have been attending skating schools since they were 8 years old, so seldom do you see improvement after the age of 18.

I do agree with you about Snow going for Hedman, and Fletcher for Tavares, because of the hometown connection Tavares has in Toronto, and Snow knowing the value of that All star defenseman.

 

12th year in a row for no hockey here in Winnipeg

 

LOL @ Luongo being named captain...looking at their roster though the only other choice would have been one of the Sedin twins. Not much else there.

Isles already have injuries to Campoli and Andy Sutton....but dont worry, Thomas Pock will save us

 

The Rangers pull off the sweep in the Czech Republic. Let's Go Rangers!

 

i hope the penguins miss the playoffs. go flyers!

going deep this year again!