Thunder in the West (Fantasy NHL)

[coasterholic14]

Regular Season Finale 2011 Review

Early on, Iginla gets his 500th NHL goal…Kotalik is out for 3 weeks…with the second most common problem amongst my players, a rotator cuff strain. Kazionov will get a nice callup now.

Suchanek got assist #200 in our 5-3 loss to LA…but somehow we would still clinch a playoff spot after the game. Doug Murray played in his 300th game a few nights later.

In a practice, backup goalie Brian Boucher would go down for 3 weeks…do I even need to tell you it was a hip flexor strain? Apparently, I have a bunch of old guys who need hip replacements on my team.

Middle of the month is game 6 against Portland. Callup Rane Carnegie gets us on the board early, just 53 seconds into the game, followed up by a goal from Suchanek. Dubinsky would score for Portland with just 56 seconds left in the period to make it 2-1. 23 seconds into the second, Henrik Sedin gets a powerplay marker to tie the game at two, but Neal would give us the lead once again with a powerplay goal of his own…that 3-2 score would stand, and we improve to 4-2 against the (now) 15th place Portland Meadowlarks. Brewer got his 300th point in the game, and it was Kopitar’s 300th NHL game.

Murray gets injured for a week or so, Flynn will get the callup…that means I currently have Howard, Flynn, Carnegie, and Kazionov up from Spokane. Nearing months end, Iginla hits career game 1100.

Kotalik comes back in the lineup before our last game of the month, meaning Kazionov (16GP 4G 6A 10PTS +2 6PIM) will head back down. As you can see, Kazionov had a solid outing with 3rd line duties and some PP time, but he was blanked for points in his last 5 game and wasn’t quite as good as when he started…still a solid outing, no major mistakes (only 1 giveaway in 16 games). With Esche back, Howard (4GP 2-2-0 2.56GAA .902 SV%) is also headed back down.

Kopitar also hit the 200 assist mark before month’s end, and Morris got his 100th goal. With Doug Murray back, Flynn was sent back down, he had a pretty uneventful recall this time around.

Entering April and nearing the end of the regular season, we get our 56th win…a new NHL record. As if last season wasn’t awesome enough, this year’s going even better!

Time for game 7 against Portland, currently leading the series 4-2, and this game only accentuated both of our positions. Kopitar and Hunter got powerplay markers in the first, then Hunter got a shorty and Kopitar notched his second in the second period. Kopitar got things started in the third by completing his hat-trick, then Kotalik and Gaustad added their own goals. Dubinsky got Portland’s only goal, on the PP, but we creamed them 7-1! Hunter got his 200th assist in the game. Carnegie (26GP 3G 7A 10PTS +2 6PIM) was sent back down to the AHL after Tripp returned, as you can see, his earlier call-up went much better.

Last game of the season against Portland, and it’s another slaughter. Hunter and Kopitar each get two, Iginla adds another, and we take game 8 by a score of 5-1 (and the series 6-2).

At the end of the season, we stand at an excellent 58-19-5 with 121 points, giving us our second straight President’s Trophy. We finished just 4 points ahead of Atlanta, 7 points ahead of Montreal, two of the perennial top teams. Portland, Buffalo, and Boston finished at the very bottom of the league…again. Iginla (82GP 51G 45A 96PTS +50 64PIM) and Kopitar (71GP 32G 57A 89PTS +31 42PIM) were our best players, and each had career years. Kotalik wasn’t quite as strong this year, but finished with 66 points (29 goals) in 71 games, and the second line of Schaefer, Suchanek, and Hunter finished with 56, 67, and 62 points respectively. Brewer (6G 36A), Morris (7G 33A) and Schultz (2G 33A) led the defense. Esche went 46-13-2 with 1.97 GAA and a .927SV%.

Despite this being our best year yet, we finished 20th in attendance at 16,608 per game (Atlanta was again dead last despite another stellar year at 14,508). Our 3.32 GFA was 13th best in the league, 2.13 GAA was best in the league, league leading 10 shutouts, 2nd lowest shots against average (27.46), league leading .923 SV%, 14th ranked PP (16.9%), and 5th place PK (86.6%).

Before the end of the season we resigned the following players:
- James Van Riemsdyk (1yr @ $900K) – Another decent, albeit somewhat disappointing year for a first round draft pick. He’s got all the tools, hopefully another year will allow him to figure out how to fully utilize them.
- Chris Francis (1yr @ $500K) – This year has been a step back for him in terms of production, probably due to getting stuck with minimal ice time with Hughes, Repkin, and Oulhanen in front of him. Just sent him to the ECHL and he got a hat-trick in his first game…I want to give him another year to see if he improves.
- Aleksej Repkin (1yr @ $525K) – Having another solid AHL season with 40 points in 60 games (previous seasons are 46 in 82 and 42 in 67)…definitely earned another year to help Spokane and provide me potential depth.
- Jimmy Howard (2yrs @ $950K) – Howard had some decent outings in the NHL this year when filling in for injuries, and he dominated the AHL (38-5-5 1.80GAA .931 SV%). Boucher will likely be asking too much to be a backup next year, Howard will probably take his place.

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: Round 1 (vs. Los Angeles Gridlock)

LA seems to be becoming a very common opponent of ours in the playoffs, and this year will be no different. Despite outscoring them 14-10 during the regular season, we split the series 2-2.

Game 1 started out well enough, with the second line making a beautiful play to Suchanek, who got the only goal of the first. In the second, things went terribly wrong in the second half, and LA got 3 unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission. Another goal from the second line, this time with Schaefer scoring, would get us back within 1 goal, but Hejduk crushed those hopes a few minutes later and we drop game 1 at home 4-2.

Second game started off terribly…Gaustad got called for cross-checking just 26 seconds in, and it resulted in a goal for Hejduk and the LA Gridlock just 1:09 into the game. They widened the gap further at 15:37 with a goal from Vanek, but Morris got us in the game with a late powerplay marker of his own. In the second, it was all Thunderbirds, with a goal from Iginla and Hunter (both getting primary assist from Kotalik, secondary from Kopitar) to give us a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Falardeau then pitched in two of his own for a 5-2 lead, which even Hejduk could only cut to 5-3 by the end of the game. Series tied now 1-1.

Heading to LA, the third matchup started off drastically in our favor, with goals from Neal, Hunter, and Schaefer in the first. Vigier got a goal for LA in the second, and Lecavalier notched one midway through the third, but Kotalik answered and sealed the 4-2 victoriy. Up 2-1.

Game 4 gets off to the slowest start, taking 19:46 of the first for the first goal to be scored. Defensemen Doug Murray and Ryan Wilson set up Schaefer for the only goal of the period. Enforcers Johnathan Tripp and Chris Dingman added goals in the second for a 3-0 lead. Hejduk couldn’t be stopped from getting his obligatory marker, but all in vein as they lost 3-1…the same as the series now.

Back home, we were looking to wrap up the series, LA looking to stay alive. Kotalik got us on the board first but youngster Sean O’Connor tied the game up with just 10 sec left in the first, his first goal and 5th point in 39 total NHL games. Kunitz gave LA a second period lead, and they held that lead through most of the third, when Iginla tied the game up at 54:47. Time was ticking away, and LA’s hopes were fading, but our complacency was showing…Hejduk made us pay and got the GWG with just 17 seconds left in regulation…thorn in our side he is.

In LA for game 6, the Gridlock are fighting hard to stay alive, but we’re not underestimating them this time, and both teams are held off the board for the only scoreless first period in the series. After that, we wore LA down, and got goals from Brewer and Kotalik in the second, Kopitar and Dingman in the third, and coasted to a 4-0 victory, and a 4-2 series win!

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: R2 Conference Semi-Finals (vs. Milwaukee Mavericks)

Next up it appears is the Milwaukee Mavericks, a team we’ve yet to see in the playoffs. During the regular season, Milwaukee outscored us 9-7 and took the series 2-1-1 (we were 2-2-0 against them)…should be a very tight series.

Boy was I right about things being tight…game 1 at home, we get a 1-0 victory, Kotalik getting the only goal at 43:53 of the game.

Another sellout crowd at home (nice I get support during the playoffs at least…after we finished 20th in overall attendance). The enforcer line got the first goal near the halfway mark of the first, with Falardeau getting the goal, and Kotalik got one with just 58 sec left in the first. Nick Parrish would get a goal for Milwaukee with just over 5 min left, but it wasn’t enough and we won by a score of 2-1.

Now we head to Milwaukee, in front of their sellout crowd. Nobody scores in the first period, but we get two in the latter half of the second period, one from Dingman, one from Gaustad for a 2-0 lead. Morrow answers back quickly in the 3rd to get Milwaukee within a goal, but Suchanek widens the margin just two and a half minutes later…and the game would stand at 3-1. Close games, but I’m shocked Milwaukee hasn’t fared slightly better.

In Milwaukee again, Kotalik gets two goals in the first two periods for a 2-0 lead. Again, within 5 min of the third, Milwaukee gets back in the game with a goal of their own, but again, we answer back in just minutes. Iginla makes the game 3-1, and the game ends as such…meaning we swept Milwaukee 4-0.

In game 4, Lee Falardeau broke his ankle when Tomas Kaberle took a slap shot point blank into his leg as he was sliding to block the shot…he’ll be out for 3 months. He’s been a solid and consistent 4th line guy, makes lots of hits, doesn’t cough up the puck much, but also has the ability to contribute on occasion…still, it could hurt his chances of a contract renewal if someone fills in for him and performs well.

After the series we were able to come to terms with John Hughes (80GP 42G 54A 96PTS +18 85PIM) for 3yrs @ $1.2 million. He did great last year, with 56 points in 57 games…this year, he had 96 in 80, and 42 goals (more than double his previous goal output).

Just days after, Gaustad got injured during a practice and will be out for 3 weeks with…(take a guess, you pretty much have a 50/50 shot)…if you said “rotator cuff strain” this time instead of “hip flexor,” you win!! Down 2 centers means I will need to call a couple guys up to fill in…which means Spokane may lose a few of their best guys in the middle of the playoffs. I hate to do that, but it might be necessary (McCarty is still on the roster, but I’ve seen molasses move faster uphill).

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: R3 Conference Finals (vs. Winnipeg Moose)

In the Conference Finals, we’ll be facing off against the Winnipeg Moose, who came into the playoffs as the 4th seed in the Western Conference. In four regular season games we outscored them 12-9 en route to a 2-1-1 series victory. Repkin’s getting a callup for injuries, but to avoid killing Spokane’s playoff chances, I’m going to play a man down.

We got off to a bit of a rough start in our first game, and Tambellini got a goal just over a minute into the game after we took a stupid early penalty (that’s not the first time this has happened now). We spent some time and regained our composure, and halfway through the first, Hunter netted a pair of goals just 41 seconds apart to give us a 2-1 lead. Kotalik added another tally halfway through the second for a two-goal lead going into the third. Winnipeg fought back, and their efforts resulted in a goal with just under 3 minutes left, on the PP once again. It wasn’t enough, and we won 3-2.

Game 2 saw Winnipeg continue to get PP goals, with Gomez getting the only goal of the first. Under a minute into the second, Schaefer tied it up for us with a great individual effort, but within five minutes, Gomez would net another, and Tambellini would add to it to get a 3-1 lead. Murray got us back within a goal a minute after Tambellini got his, but Kobasew single-handedly made it a 4-2 game with only 39 seconds left in the second. Thunderbirds fought back hard and valiantly, and the hard work paid off…Hunter and Iginla each got goals in the middle of the period to tie it up, and then, unbelievably, Chris Dingman got the GWG with help from Tripp and Wilson. 5-4 victory, 2-0 series lead heading into Winnipeg.

For the first road game of the series, it seems our enforcers took over, as Iginla got a goal compliments of Dingman and Tripp, and in the third Dingman got a goal again off a pass from Tripp, making it 2-0. Tambellini wouldn’t get off our backs though and got a goal with 13 minutes to go, but call-up Aleksej Repkin would get his first point in his second playoff game, netting a goal 21 seconds later. The 3-1 lead would hold and give us a comfortable 3-0 series lead.

Game four started off strong for us…very strong in fact. Kotalik, Suchanek, Wilson, Iginla, and Schaefer each netted goals within 32 minutes of the game, for a huge 5-0 lead. After this the team cooled off and was just looking to protect the lead…the sitting back cost us two quick goals before the end of the second from Ponikarovsky and (of course) Tambellini (who is becoming like Hejduk to us). In the third, it took 6 minutes, but Winnipeg got themselves back in the game when Tambellini made it 5-3. Morris re-gained our 3 goal lead with a marker of his own, making Gomez’s late goal worthless, other than weakening our 5-0 win to a 6-4 win…another series surprisingly swept! Repkin played poorly his first game, but got 1G 1A through the other two, and was sent down to help out Spokane while we wait for the Stanley Cup Finals!

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: Stanley Cup Finals (vs. Atlanta Resurgens)

Looks like we’ll be playing against perennial-frontrunner of the NHL and two-time champions, the Atlanta Resurgens. We only played them once this year, and it was a 2-1 loss.

Starting us off at home, it is our enforcer line which once again pulls through in getting us on the board first, with Tripp taking a nice feed from Dingman. Suchanek, on a breakaway, was hammered from behind, giving him a penalty shot, but he failed to trick the veteran Kippy. He got his revenge early in the second though, giving us a 2-0 lead, again with help from the enforcers. Perhaps we got cocky, or Atlanta’s talent started to show through, as Dustin Penner and Chad Painchaud tied it up before the second period ended. The third was hard fought by both teams, and the goalies were stellar, no doubt keeping the game a tie through regulation. In OT, it took 7 min for the deciding goal to be scored, thanks Iginla! We took the first game 3-2, no doubt thanks in most part to Esche’s 52 saves on 54 shots.

Game two started off as a very even tilt…Hunter got the only goal of the first, Iginla made it 2-0 in the second, but Wolski pulled Atlanta within one with a powerplay goal. In the third period, penalties were the difference maker. Hunter got a PPG, then Lindros for Atlanta to cut back to a 1 goal lead for us once again, but Suchanek would get the next PP marker for a 2-goal lead. Iginla’s final late in the period would give us an easy 5-2 victory.

Time to head to Atlanta, for an ASTOUNDING crowd of…15,278. Hunter, once again, gets the first goal of the game, just 2 min in, but Lindros repays the favor just a few minutes later. Iginla gets a PPG in the second, Brewer one in the third, and we take a 3-1 lead. Handzus gets a shorty in the final 10 minutes, but Atlanta just seems to have lost its regular season power, and we take a 3-0 series lead after a 3-2 victory.

Here we are, a chance to sweep the cup…or we could wait and bring it back home? Suchanek wants to win it, and gets the first goal of the game, but over the next 30 minutes, things didn’t go as well. Cammalleri, Lindros, and Lombardi each get goals for Atlanta for a 3-1 lead…their first lead of the entire series. Kotalik keeps us in it with a late second period goal, down just 3-2 now. After a scoreless first half of the third, Kopitar gets one to tie the game at 3-3. With just over 2 min left, Tanguay regains Atlanta’s lead, and it looks like game 5 is inevitable. But with the goalie pulled and just 1:02 left in the game, who should pull through but Dingman, with the game-tying-goal!! Overtime now, and unlikely heroes/enforcers Tripp and Dingman setup Kopitar for the series winning goal…it’s a sweep!!

We were great in the regular season, but outstanding in the post-season…16-2-0! The top line was good for 1PPG+ each, and Esche put together a 16-1-0 record, 1.91GAA, and a .935 SV% (and 2 shutouts).

[coasterholic14]

End of 2010-2011 Season

AHL Playoffs:
Spokane wound up finishing 61-13-6 for 128 points, topping the West Division by 34 points, but only squeaked past Thunder Bay by a single point (Syracuse was 3 back, Carolina 7, and the rest of the league were 27+ points back). Cincinnati had another year they’d rather forget…16-55-9 for 41 points

In the first round Spokane faced the California Quake, who challenged but couldn’t handle Spokane. After taking game one by a score of 5-3, Spokane then won four straight for a 4-1 series victory. California did challenge them, forcing OT in game 4 and double OT in game 5. Fargo swept Calgary, Thunder Bay and and Omaha kept things close by having the road team win the first 6, before Thunder Bay took game 7 at home, and Billings squeaked by with a 4-3 victory over New Mexico.

In the East, Syracuse swept Hamilton, Carolina destroyed Nashville 4-1 (winning its two road games 7-1 and 7-2), Richmond took out Michigan in 5 games, and Portland (Maine) downed Hartford in 6.

In the Conference Semi-Final, Spokane faced the Billings Bulls, a relatively common playoff opponent, and took them down in 7 games. Thunder Bay and Fargo, arch-enemies of one another, were pitted against each other once again, with Fargo taking the series this year in six games. On the other side, Richmond swept Carolina, outscoring them 13-2...ouch. The other series saw Syracuse pretty much walk all over Portland…other than a 3-1 loss, they destroyed Portland by scores of 3-0, 8-2, 6-1, and 5-1.

Despite having another outstanding season, Spokane just couldn’t get things together consistently in the playoffs…even Howard’s injury seemed to have little to do with it. Rautio played very well, with only one <.900SV% game, and Spokane won game four by 5-0, but lost the series 4-1 to Fargo. Over East, Richmond got squashed by Syracuse…one game losing 8-2.

In the Calder Cup Finals, regulars Fargo and Syracuse would face off…but it wasn’t much of a battle, as Fargo took the series in just 5 games! Congrats go to Fargo, keep it in the West at least!

NHL Playoffs:
The Eastern Conference saw the Atlanta Resurgens (1) facing the Jacksonville Rivermen (8), Montreal Metros (2) faced Philadelphia Rebels (7), Washington Patriots (3) faced Carolina Equalizers (6), and the Norfolk Ironclads (4) battled the Toronto Knights (5) (the battle of heavy metal?). The heavy metal ships pretty much sailed past the Knights…only took 5 games. Montreal put down the rebellion in 5 games, and the Equalizers were unequally beaten in 6 games. Atlanta surprisingly struggled with Jacksonville, who forced game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series.

In the West, our Emerald City Thunderbirds (1) faced the Los Angeles Gridlock (8), Chicago Express (2) faced the Vancouver Whitecaps (7), Colorado Mountaineers (3) battled the Milwaukee Mavericks (6), and the Winnipeg Moose (4) faced the Edmonton Diggers (5). Obviously, we beat LA in 6 games, suffering our only 2 playoff losses of the entire playoffs…against the #8 seed of all teams. Milwaukee and Winnipeg took their series pretty easily in five games. Chicago and Vancouver had a much tighter battle, though Chicago took a 3-0 series lead, Vancouver forced a double OT game 4 to stay alive, OT in game 5 to get back in, and beat them handily in game 6 to tie the series. Game 7 saw Chicago take a 2-0 lead, and won 3-2.

In the Semi-Finals in the East, Atlanta got off to a quick 2-0 start, outscoring the Ironclads 9-2, but Norfolk fought back with two of their own, outscoring 7-1. After that, Atlanta took the next two with relative ease to win 4-2. Washington tried to fight back against Montreal, but just didn’t have enough and also lost 4-2. On our side, we swept the Milwaukee Mavericks, then Winnipeg won their series 4-2…mostly pretty close games there.

In the Eastern Conference finals, the two powerhouse teams behind us faced off in an epic battle…Montreal took game one 5-4, lost 3-1, lost 4-2, won 4-1, and then lost 3-1 and 2-1 in the final two…Atlanta in six. We somehow swept Winnipeg 4-0. You already know how the Stanley Cup Finals went, 2nd cup in a row!

World Championships:
This year, the World Championships are being held in Slovakia. From Group E, USA, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland qualified for playoffs while Canada, Russia, Slovakia , and Czech Republic made it through from Group F. Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Austria would not make it through, and their WC ended.

The Semi-Finals saw USA facing Finland, Canada facing Russia. Despite going down 1-0 in the first, USA got 4 goals to Finland’s 1 over the remainder of the game to win 4-2. Russia, against the odds, took a 3-0 lead with 3 goals in 4 min in the first, but over the next period and a half, Canada would tie it with one even strength, on PP, and one SH goal. Russia regained the lead on the PP 56 min in, and sealed the game with an empty netter…5-3.

Finland then proceeded to knock out Canada in the Bronze Medal game, and Russia knocked the USA back to Silver with a 4-2 victory in the Gold Medal game…their first gold since 1993.

Renewed contracts:
- Nathan Martine (2yrs @ $625K) – While he suffered a step back in points (50 vs 31), he improved in goals, and much is likely due to his decreased PP time (only 10 pts this year vs 33 last). Even still, despite his tendency to make some bad giveaways, he makes lots of hits, has played well both seasons, and has NHL potential for sure still.
- Ray Flynn (1yr @ $525K) – Had his best season yet this year with 49 pts in 67 games, and tons of hits, takeaways, and blocked shots. Only concern is his high number of giveaways (65)…but he earned another year and has filled in respectably (if not somewhat invisibly) during brief callus.
- Doug Murray (1yr @ $750K) – Solid, cheap defensive depth.
- Yuri Postnikh (1yr @ $500K) – Not the greatest of d-men, especially with 82 giveaways, but I’ll give him another year.
- Trent Hunter (4yrs @ $3,000,000) – It’s a bit of a price to pay for a second liner, but 127 points over his past two seasons and me sitting nicely under the cap still next year, I’m willing to pay. If he becomes too expensive to keep, he could catch a fair trade.
- Ryan Oulahen (1yr @ $700K) – Convinced him to sign a two-way contract. Continues to improve (50 pts in 44 games…missed games due to Spokane having lots of vets last year), and still has an outside shot at the NHL. This will likely be his last year if he doesn’t make the jump.
- Bobby Bolt (1yr @ $525K) – Limited chance of making the NHL, but he’s a big hitter and is very useful in the AHL as a checker. With Spokane, he has 181 points, 951 hits and has won 13 of 24 fights in 306 AHL games over the past 4 seasons.
- Brandon Prust (1yr @ $605K) – Like Bolt, signed him to a two-way deal to keep some good veteran presence and another enforcer with my prospects.

Signed the following prospects:
- Mikhail Churlyaev – LD (RUS, 21) – $500K (3 years)
This Season: Rus-3—Moscow D-2 (38GP, 2G 10A 12PTS, +4, 70 PIM)
GM Report: Showed marginal improvement this year again, but his game hasn’t improved as much as I’d hoped. He still lays out tons of hits, so he could work out as a depth guy, but his future is dimming.

- Slavomir Jabrocky – C/LW (SVK, 19) – $900K (3 years)
This Season: WHL—Saskatoon Blades (64GP, 48G 44A 92PTS, +46, 46 PIM)
GM Report: While 09-10 was about the same as his previous season, last year he nearly doubled his production in both goals and assists. He’s not physical despite his size, but he’s got a knack for the net.

- Joacim Romo – RW/LW (SWE, 19) – $500K (3 years)
This Season: Swe-2—Hammarby IF (42GP, 20G 27A 47PTS, +32, 20 PIM)
GM Report: He’s been around different leagues each of the past few years, so hard to see if he’s made improvement, but you can’t argue he’s done well in whatever league he’s been placed so far. My scouts aren’t sold, and neither am I, but he could pan out nicely.

- Lars Eliasson – LD (SWE, 19) – $500K (3 years)
This Season: Swe-2—IF Sundsvall Hockey (44GP, 4G 18A 22PTS, -7, 28 PIM)
GM Report: He hasn’t shown near the improvement I was hoping for with the second round defenseman, but then again, it was an insanely weak draft. I’d still give him depth potential.

NOTE: I did not sign Pierre-Alexandre Vandall…he didn’t even play most of the year, just 6 naff games with Rio Grande Valley in the CHL. No improvement in his game either, so no point in wasting the roster spot.

End of year trophies:
We won a handful of trophies this year, but were mostly runners-up to trophies. Ryan Wilson was 2nd runner up for the Calder Memorial, losing out to fellow d-men Jeff Rogers and Joey Gaustad. Dingman and Falardeau were the runners-up for the Frank J. Selke. Robert Esche won the Vezina, William M. Jennings, Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award, and was named to the Second All-Star Team. Iginla was second runner up for the NHL Plus-Minus Award. Kopitar won the conn Smythe (Kotalik was runner-up), and was named to the First All-Star Team, was first runner up for the Lester B. Pearson Award, and second runner up for the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Art Ross – Ilya Kovalchuk (MON) (third time winning, Montreal players have won the past 5 years)
Bill Masterton – Peter Forsberg (COL)
Calder Memorial – Jeff Rogers (MCM)
Conn Smythe – Anze Kopitar (EMC)
Frank J. Selke – Matt Cooke (WNP)
Jack Adams – Ron Chartier (EMC)
James Norris Memorial – Jay Bouwmeester (ATL)
Hart Memorial – Ilya Kovalchuk (MON) (3 years in a row)
King Clancy Memorial – Mike modano (BUF)
Lady Byng Memorial – Ilya Kovalchuk (MON)
Lester B. Pearson – Patrick Marleau (TOR)
Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard – Ilya Kovalchuk (MON) (5 years in a row—60+ goals per year—66 this year)
Vezina – Robert Esche (EMC)
William M. Jennings – Robert Esche (EMC)
NHL Plus-Minus Award – Ilya Kovalchuk (MON)
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award – Robert Esche (EMC)

[coasterholic14]

2011 NHL Entry Draft

We made two draft day deals this year…

To Emerald City Thunderbirds:
- RW Ruslan Romanov (2009 4th Round Pick—113 overall)
- CAR 2011 2nd Round Pick

To Carolina Equalizers:
- EMC 2011 2nd Round Pick
- EMC 2011 3rd Round Pick

After seemingly getting screwed at the end of the first round, with a lot of 2nd round guys I wanted going before pick #30, I wanted to improve my position. Unfortunately, when I included a player, Carolina complained about “roster issues” (really? It’s the end of the friggin season…). I added a 3rd rounder, was looking for some young wingers, and saw they just signed Romanov. Don’t know much about him but he’s fast, agile, determined, nice hands, and has great positioning…and he fills a role I need.


To Emerald City Thunderbirds:
- ATL 2011 3rd Round Pick

To Atlanta Resurgens:
- LD Ray Flynn

I like Flynn, he’s been a great AHL d-man, and still has some depth NHL potential…but I’m loaded at LD (Del Zotto, Martine, Eliasson, just drafted Ageev)…so I trade him to regain my 3rd rounder.

Top Five Draft Picks 2011:
1 – Boston – RW Bobby Harding (OHL)
2 – Buffalo – LD/RD Korey Bernard (WHL)
3 – Arizona – LW Charlie Silverthorn (QMJHL)
4 – Portland – G Derrick Hays (WHL)
5 – Alaska – RW/LW Benoit Saulnier (WHL)

2011 NHL Entry Draft Picks:
1st Round (30th Overall): LD/RD Ruslan Ageev
Birthdate: 2/12/93 Height: 5'11" Weight: 196 lbs Nationality: RUS
Current Team: Moscow C Jrs (Rus-Jr)
Last Season: 19GP, 9G-21A (30PTS), +25, 71 PIM
Projected Role: My scouts were really high on this guy, and he looked better than most of my other options left at the end of the first round, so I took him (though I wish he were a natural RD since I’m loaded at LD). His balance is poor, but he’s fast, fit, plays a busy game, has a wicked slapper, and is a strong hitter (on the rare occasion he hits). Last year he got 40 points, but it took 37 games.

2nd Round (50th Overall): G Dave Walsh
Birthdate: 9/2/93 Height: 6'3” Weight: 163 lbs Nationality: USA
Current Team: Deerfield Academy (USHE)
Last Season: 28GP, 20-8-0, 2.25 GAA, .920SV%
Projected Role: Here’s an awesome goalie who was, for reasons beyond my understanding, unranked. Perhaps because Deerfield released him and he didn’t play the second half of the year? I know it’s a bit of a risk, but someone was bound to pick him up before I could if I waited until the next round, it’s just been my luck so far this year (and most previous years). If nobody signs him, I’ll sign him and send him to the ECHL or AHL (depending on whether or not Howard is my backup next season).

3rd Round (90th Overall): RW Janne Rantala
Birthdate: 4/17/93 Height: 6'2" Weight: 174 lbs Nationality: FIN
Current Team: Lappeenranta Jrs (Fin Jr)
Last Season: 39GP, 33G-21A (54PTS), +32, 48 PIM
Projected Role: Star of his Finnish Jr team for sure, almost a goal a game, 54 points! Ranked 103rd, my scouts gave him second line potential, and I believe them, he’s just a solid overall player with nice size

4th Round (120th Overall): C Pelle Sundqvist
Birthdate: 6/23/93 Height: 6'2" Weight: 165 lbs Nationality: SWE
Current Team: IK Viking (Swe-4)
Last Season: 35GP, 11G-18A (29PTS), +8, 42 PIM
Projected Role: Another guy I took a bit earlier (ranked 132nd)…scouts range from 2nd to 4th line potential. Fast skater, hard worker, nice stickhandler. He’s got some self-confidence issues, but he’s very professional and anticipates play well, slightly less talented overall than Rantala.

5th Round (150th Overall): LW/RW Slava Zakharov
Birthdate: 2/11/93 Height: 5'9" Weight: 163 lbs Nationality: RUS
Current Team: Barnaul (Rus-3)
Last Season: 50GP, 19G-25A (44PTS), +4, 80 PIM
Projected Role: Nearly doubled his points (24 to 44) and over doubled his goals (7 to 19) in his second year with Barnaul, he was also an unranked guy coming into the draft. He’s not physical by any means, and he can get knocked off the puck by a fairly light breeze, but he’s got great hands, stamina, solid selection of shots, and is good at finding himself in open ice with a knack for the puck and the net. Scouts give him third/fourth line potential, I’m inclined to agree.

6th Round (180th Overall): RW/LW Pavel Stepanov
Birthdate: 1/19/92 Height: 5'10" Weight: 178 lbs Nationality: RUS
Current Team: Samara-2 (Rus-3)
Last Season: 34GP, 4G-3A (7PTS), +4, 30 PIM
Projected Role: Unranked player #3. He didn’t have the greatest year, but he’s got the tools to be a skilled third line forward. He easily looked better than the players that were left and “ranked” (I think the ISS guys were on some drugs again this year with a bunch of these players…”Can you skate? No? Perfect, you should rank 75th”). Great shooting, positioning, passing, deke, pokecheck, and not afraid to muck it up in the corners.

7th Round (210th Overall): LD/RD Jacob St. Jacques
Birthdate: 10/3/92 Height: 6'2" Weight: 216 lbs Nationality: CAN
Current Team: London Knights (OHL)
Last Season: 28GP, 5G-3A (8PTS), +2, 148 PIM
Projected Role: Enforcer for my ranks. There wasn’t anyone left I had much interest in, so I looked to see what d-men were left, and which were RD (or could at least play RD competently). Saw Jacques, a fast, aggressive, hard-hitting d-man, who has won 27 of his 30 career fights in the OHL…I’ll take the chance on him.

[coasterholic14]

Offseason (2011):

The following players were released or couldn’t reach an extension agreement:
- Rane Carnegie (career AHLer of over 1PPG, but his NHL callup last year was very unimpressive…at 26 his chance is up)
- Darren McCarty (old, played like 10 games, played like rubbish, retiring)
- Brendan Mikkelson (just don’t have the room for him, and he’s not the greatest prospect)
- Phil Oreskovic (decent young d-man, good hitter, but I’ve got better prospects, who won’t make 60 giveaways)
- Raffi Torres (not nearly as good this year as last year, I’ll look for a more consistent option)
- Ondrej Weiss (just couldn’t come to terms, will attempt to resign him)
- Lee Falardeau (couldn’t come to turns, might try to resign him again)
- Brian Boucher (had no interest in resigning, might try to get him back but he’ll probably be asking for too much)

We basically need some depth guys, and some goalies. If one’s not available, Howard will probably get to play backup, but that leaves me with only one goalie in the system. I re-signed a few guys, picked up my depth:

- Ondrej Weiss – C/LW (CZE, 24) - $525K (2 years)
Last Season: AHL—Spokane Komets (80GP 10G 21A 31PTS +27 114PIM)
GM Report: Can’t complain about his rookie performance…add 100+ hits and >50% on faceoffs, definitely want to give him a couple more years to show what he’s capable of.

- Lee Falardeau – C (USA, 28) - $570K (1 year)
Last Season: NHL—Emerald City Thunderbirds (82GP 5G 7A 12PTS +7 85PIM)
GM Report: Wasn’t as good last year as ’09-’10, but still a solid, hard-hitting energy line guy. I wanted him around in case none of my prospects are able to fill his spot.

- Matt Keetley – G (CAN, 25) - $525K (1 year)
Last Season: LNAH—Trois-Rivieres Caron & Guay (53GP 38-5-10S 1.80GAA .929 SV%)
GM Report: Kind of disappointing there were no goalies under age 26 who were any good, but Keetley has proven excellent in the ECHL, LNAH, and AAL-4, so he could be a decent backup option for Spokane.

- Chris Thorburn – RW/C (CAN, 28) - $525K (2 years)
Last Season: AHL—Syracuse Chiefs (50GP 29G 24A 53PTS +46 94PIM)
GM Report: He dominated in the AHL last year, but before that, he played 4 solid seasons for the New York Nationals, getting 15-20 points per year, 120-165 PIM, 100-150 hits, and 30 or so takeaways, and won 18 of his 43 fights (won 9 of 10 in ’09-’10). Along with Tripp, Dingman, and Gaustad, I have a nice set of enforcers lol

[coasterholic14]

Preseason

Another very good preseason, we went 7-1-0, with several BIG victories (7-1, 9-2, 7-2, 5-0). Our final game, against Alaska (Portland was unavailable the entire end of the preseason for a game…I think they were just scared) was our closest, a 3-2 SO victory in which we lost the lead twice (both goals from Iginla). Our only regulation loss was a 3-2 loss to Vancouver.

This year, we again tried to set up a Pacific (Northwest) Cup between us, Portland, Vancouver, and Alaska (Edmonton as an alternate). Again though, like last year, despite us requesting the cup over a month in advance (and several times over the next few weeks), the Canadian teams were once again “unavailable” to play (despite having no games scheduled. I switched it up to a Pacific Cup between us, Portland, Alaska, and San Jose (like last year), but Portland wasn’t available by then, so I settled for finishing preseason games against San Jose and Alaska. I guess it’s just as well, seeing as the preseason games saw 11,000+ people (and our first game against LA was a sellout), whereas last year the cup games saw about 3,000.

[coasterholic14]

2010-2011 Season Preview:

Just like last year, despite winning the Stanley Cup (now the last two years in a row), and going through only minimal changes in our lineup (backup goalie, 3rd line RW), we’re being ranked as the 18th team this year. I’m confident we can easily do better than that…much better.

The top three teams are predicted to be the Montreal Metros (as always), Washington Patriots (regularly a top team), and the big surprise this year, the Philadelphia Rebels (a middle-of-the-road team most years). Portland, Buffalo, Motor City (Detroit), Boston, and Alaska are the bottom five...shocking huh?

I’m surprised to see that as outstanding as Esche has been the past couple of years, he still doesn’t even qualify as a top 10 goalie…at least in the eyes of THN. I guess that Vezina last year was just a fluke. Kippy is, of course, rated #1, but Budaj (yes…Peter freakin’ Budaj) is #10. So 36-29-5 2.87GAA and a .900 SV% in his BEST season yet is better than last year’s Vezina winner and a guy with a couple great seasons? *FACEPALM*

Brewer has dropped back to the 9th best defenseman in the league, but young Alex Grant (74GP 4G 5A 9PTS -11 75PIM 117 HITS 21GV 3TA 60SB) is apparently better, at #7. Anze Kopitar (311GP 120G 202A 322PTS +105) is still NOT ranked in the top 10 centers? Granted the guys listed are all stellar centers, but Kopitar deserves a bit more love than he’s getting from the league. I guess Iginla gets all the extra love, again ranked #1 on the right wing…he’s great, but I still maintain he’s not THE best in the league.

Lineup for the 2010-2011 Emerald City Thunderbirds (season starts off with H/A against Alaska)
A. Kotalik // A. Kopitar // J. Iginla (C)
P. Schaefer // R. Suchanek // T. Hunter
J. Neal // P. Gaustad (A) // C. Thorburn
C. Dingman // L. Falardeau // J. Tripp

E. Brewer // D. Morris (A)
J. Schultz // S. O’Brien
D. Murray // R. Wilson

Starting Goalie: R. Esche
Backup: J. Howard

My Top Prospects:
1. LD/RD Ruslan Ageev (Rus-3)
2. LD Michael Del Zotto (AHL)
3. RW/LW Dale Hunt (AHL)
4. G Dave Walsh (UCHE)
5. C John Hughes (AHL)
6. LW/C Franklin Marcoux (QMJHL)
7. RW Janne Rantala (Fin-2)
8. LD/RD Jake Schneider (USCE)
9. C/RW Ladislav Kames (Cze-1)
10. C Pelle Sundqvist (Swe-4)
11. LW/RW Slava Zakharov (Rus-3)
12. RW/LW Pavel Stepanov (Rus-3)

At some point during the season I hope to give the following guys callus to see how they perform (5 games):
Defense: Nathan Martine, Michael Del Zotto
Left Wing: James Van Riemsdyk, Denis Kazionov
Center: John Hughes, Ryan Oulahen, Aleksej Repkin
Right Wing: Dale Hunt
Goalie: N/A

[coasterholic14]

October 2011 Review:

Team has gotten off to a somewhat rocky start this season, 3-3-0 through their first six. We’re not losing any games big, our offense has just been very streaky to start the season. Ryan Wilson hit his 100th NHL game at the end of this run.

Schultz got his 100th point in our 6-2 victory over Arizona as we approached the end of the month.

Ales Kotalik got 4 goals, including a natural hat trick in our 6-3 victory over Carolina on October 28…that’s a new NHL record. In a far less noteworthy note, it was Thorburn’s 300th NHL game. The last game of the month marks Brewer’s 800th.

We end October on more of an upswing, but aren’t really settling into any sort of groove or consistency. The month ends 8-5-0 for 16 points, a tie with Vancouver for first in the division, but with 2 games in hand, the Whitecaps get the tiebreaker. We’re 5th in the Western Conference by points/tiebreakers, but there are actually 5 teams tied with 16 points (Vancouver holds the top spot). Twin City with 15 is actually 3rd due to leading their division. Overall, we’re 8th, best team is Texas with 18 points. Alaska, Motor City, Arizona, and PORTLAND are at the back of the field.

Spokane ends the month 4-1-0 for 8 points and 5th in the Conference, 16th overall. Their place in the standings is deceiving though…like last year, they had about 1.5 games per week in the first month, but face 15 games each of the next two months.

[coasterholic14]

November 2011 Review:

Kopitar went on a 10 game point streak, racking up 3 goals and 16 assists (10 game assist streak also).

Our first against Portland this year comes in November, and the game isn’t even close. Falardeau, Iginla, and O’Brien get goals in the first for the early 3-0 lead, then Schultz gets his own in the second before Fehr gets the only goal Portland would score shortly after. Iginla would get another, and Hunter would add the final tally for our 6-1 victory! Esche was injured in the game and will be out for about 10 days (second time this season he’s been injured).

After the game, Schultz was named NHL Defensive Player of the Week for his 2G – 3A in the week’s 3 games.

Wilson suffered a bit of an injury down the line, so I brought up Michael Del Zotto to fill in for a few games as best he could (he’s a LD playing RD…don’t forget I have Martine too as my other call-up worthy AHL D-man). Howard has been a decent replacement/backup goalie, but nothing to write home about thus far. At least the team is (mostly) doing a bit better now.

Nearing the end of the month, James Neal hits his 200th NHL game! Schaefer also hits 500 points!

In November, we go 8-4-1, making us 16-9-1 overall for 33 points, 2 points behind the division leading Vancouver Whitecaps and 4th in the conference (3rd by points). San Jose leads the conference and the league with 36 points. We are 7th overall, 5th by points, 2nd in the league in goals scored. Top teams are San Jose, Montreal, Vancouver, and Norfolk…Portland, Alaska, Boston, Arizona, and Detroit are stuck in the stinker.

Jarome Iginla (26GP 21G 18A 39PTS) and Anze Kopitar (26GP 9G 30A 39PTS) lead the league in points, but just barely. Kotalik (26GP 18G 16A 34PTS) is 8th. Iginla also got named NHL Offensive Player of the month for his 10G 11A over 13 games this month, and Del Zotto, despite only playing 5 games, was named NHL Rookie of the Month with 2G 1A during his brief callup to replace Ryan Wilson. Throw in 9 hits and 3 takeaways and he could very well be a regular before the year is over.

Spokane had a great month, despite the insane schedule, and is now caught up on games. They top the West Division at 15-3-3 for 33 points, 3 ahead of the California Quake. Overall, they are second just 1 point behind AHL-leading Thunder Bay IceDogs. Cincy is last…shocker…

[coasterholic14]

December 2011 Review:

Game two against Portland this year...and it’s an absolute rout. Iginla and Kotalik both got hat tricks, Kotalik’s was a natural hat trick, and Kopitar and O’Brien added goals for an 8-0 beating of Portland (4PPG, 1SHG). The first line of Kotalik (3G 1A), Kopitar (1G 4A), and Iginla (3G 2A) absolutely tore it up. This lead to Kopitar getting NHL Offensive Player of the Week with 4G 6A in 3 games!

Ryan Wilson has recovered from his injury, so that means we’ll be sending back Del Zotto (9GP 2G 2A 4PTS +5) for now. As you can see, he had a very solid stint with us, especially when coupled with 15 hits, 8 blocked shots, and no giveaways. Depending on how things go, he may take Murray’s spot on the third pairing and Murray will be #7.

Midway through the month, and game 3 against Portland. Wellwood scored the only goal in the first to give Portland a 1-0 lead, then Iginla got the only goal of the second to tie it. In the third, we took a number of stupid penalties, which resulted in two powerplay markers for Portland, and led to a 3-1 victory.

When the World Junior Championships U-20 Div 1 ended, the USA came up one point short of making it behind Slovenia. This despite having easily the best team and lineup in Div 1. Walsh was goalie for the USA, never allowed more than 3 goals against in a single game, and actually only allowed 7 total goals in five games. USA tied Italy with 7 points behind Slovenia’s 8…USA will not make it AGAIN this year.

Neal suffered a chest injury in a nasty open ice hit in our 2-1 loss to Montreal. Kotalik was given a 2 game suspension the game before, so we’ll need to make 2 callups in our next game. JVR and Kazionov will get the two spots. Hunter takes over 1st line LW, JVR 2nd line RW, Kazionov 3rd line LW. JVR’s been somewhat disappointing thus far, so we’re giving him the higher line, Kazionov more PP time though.

As the end of the month approaches, we see back to back games against Portland, first on the road, then at home. In Portland for the first, our fourth of the season, we get goals from Iginla, O’Brien, and JVR get goals, and we win 3-1. Far more impressive though was the 48 hits we pummeled our rivals with, to which they countered with 8 of their own. PIM were surprisingly low though, with 5 PPs each.

Next is a Tuesday night homestand, where a big corwd of 16,778 gathers. Second night in a row means Howard gets the nod in net tonight. Kotalik, Gaustad, and Kopitar net goals, and Howard stops all 28 shots in the shutout. While Portland fought back more tonight with 19 hits, we destroyed them with 49. The big difference was our perfect PK, which managed to stop all 10 shorthanded chances.

After 3 games, Kotalik and Neal return to the lineup, Kazionov (0G 1A) and JVR (1G 1A) are sent back down to the AHL…both had quite respectable callus.

December is a fantastic month for the Thunderbirds, going 10-3-0, not at the top of the division with 53 points (26-12-1), 6 ahead of second place Vancouver, and leading the Western Conference by 3 over Chicago. Overall, we’re in a first place tie with Montreal, but they have 3 games in hand on us. Norfolk is just one point behind, Chicago, San Jose, and Carolina are 3 back. Toronto is actually tied with us at 53 points, but Montreal holds the tie-breaker. Kopitar (39GP 17G 43A 60PTS) and Iginla (39GP 31G 28A 59PTS) still lead the league in points. Kotalik (36GP 22G 25A 47PTS) is 12th. Young Anze KopiSTAR was named NHL Offensive Player of the month, with 8 goals, 13 assists (21 pts) in 13 games through December. Buffalo, Alaska, Boston, NJ, and Motor City/Detroit suck as usual.

Spokane is now 23-7-5 with 51 points, topping the West Division by 7 points over Las Vegas. Overall, they are third, 6 points behind Fargo, 7 behind Thunder Bay, the two perennial top teams (of course both are being fed by multiple NHL teams). Cincy still only has 4 wins, but they did get an additional OT/SOL, so they now have 11 points (4-27-3)!

Mikhail Churlyaev was named ECHL Rookie of the month after getting 1G 5A in 13 games.

[coasterholic14]

January 2012 Review:

World Junior Championships

This year, Group A consisted of Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, and the Slovakia, while Group B saw Austria, Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Sweden…as mentioned earlier, the USA didn’t make it in again this year. For perhaps the first time ever, Canada did not sweep their opponents, and did not get the bye to the semi-finals…instead Russia took their place; on the other side, Geramny earned themselves the bye. Belarus, Czech Republic, Austria, and Kazakhstan fell to the Relegation league, where Belarus and Czech expectedly survived and will keep their spots for next year. I need to remember to apply to be USA’s GM next year to see if I can get them back into the WJC U20.

In the Semi-Finals, something went terribly wrong for Russia against Canada, who they beat 3-1 in the Round Robin. In the semi-final game, they got obliterated by Canada 10-0. Finland beat Germany 4-3 in a shootout. Russia was surprised once again, this time by huge underdogs from Germany, who took the Bronze with a 3-2 OT thriller. Canada then destroyed Finland 7-1 for Gold…that’s 8 straight now.

January Review

Yet another game against Portland, this one is a sellout in their barn. Portland gets the only two in the first, with one from Daniel Sedin at 1:40 and Radek Dvorak at 14:43 for a 2-0 lead. Iginla gets one early in the second to pull within one, but Dvorak makes it a two goal game once again before the period is out. Just 23 seconds into the third period, Iginla gets his second of the night to keep us in the game. In the final few minutes, Schaefer and Hunter get goals to give us a 4-3 edge, which Kopitar sealed with a PPG with just 8 seconds left in the game. Win 5-3

GM Brandon Greene made several contract extensions as the calendar turned to a new year:
- Denis Kazionov (2yrs @ $525K) – Kazionov has the potential to be a roster player with his consistent play during callups, or at the very least a dominant AHL guy with NHL filler potential
- Dale Hunt (1yr @$900K) – With 25 points in 34 games, he’s not quite on pace with last year, but no doubt I’m going to give him at least one more year to improve.
- Chris Dingman (1yr @ $550K) – Low price for a great enforcer!
- Michael Del Zotto (2yrs @ $975K) – As you know, tons of potential, made a nice showing already, he’ll be on the team very shortly.

Young defensive prospect and ECHL Rookie of the Month from December, Mikhail Churlyaev will be out for 6-7 months with “a stinger”…whatever that is? Bee sting?

Braydon Regier got to play in the ECHL All-Star game where he represented Idaho on the National Conference team. He got no points, no +/-, nothing in the team’s 5-1 victory.

Morris played his 1000th NHL game, in a huge 9-4 victory against the lowly Motor City Mechanics. Kotalik and Hunter got 2G 3A each, Kopitar got 2G 2A. Schaefer got his 300th assist in the game, and it marked Falardeau’s 300th NHL game. After the game, Kotalik was named NHL Offensive Player of the Week with 4G 6A in 3 games!

The top line continues its tear, and with 4 points in our 8-4 victory over Colorado (Howard was in net again like last game), he surpassed his 400th career NHL point (now at 403). Kotalik is also on a 10 game assist streak, with 18 in that time.

During the last full week of the month, Anze Kopitar got 1G 4A in two games, good enough for NHL Offensive Player of the Week! He also took top honors for the month as NHL Offensive Player of the month, with 9 goals, 15 assists (24pts) in 12 games! Sadly during our last game of the month, in a lower scoring game that saw only our top line play well, Trent Hunter’s 9 game 12 goal streak came to an end.

We had another outstanding month going 9-2-1, now 35-14-2 for 72 points overall, topping the Western Conference, and just two points behind the league-leading Montreal Metros (though they have 2 games in hand on us). Chicago Express sit just one behind us. New Jersey and Motor City still embarrass themselves at the bottom. Kopitar (51GP 26G 58A 84PTS), Iginla (51GP 42G 32A 74PTS), and Kotalik (48GP 32G 42A 74PTS) are now 1-2-3 in the league in points…yes Kotalik got 27 points in 12 games last month to move from 12th to 3rd in points!

Spokane is now 35-9-5 with 75 points at the top of the West Division, that’s 16 now ahead of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, they’re still just behind the powerhouse teams in Fargo (tied but Fargo has a game in hand) and Thunder Bay (3 points up). Cincy had quite a month, getting 3 wins in January to nearly double that statistic, now at 7 wins, 17 points.

[coasterholic14]

February 2012 Review:

We had five players this year selected to represent us in the AHL All-Star Game: John Hughes and Michael Del Zotto playing for Canada, Denis Kazionov, Aleksej Repkin, and Samuli Rautio on PlanetUSA. Hughes suffered a neck strain at the end of January, forcing him to miss the All-Star Game, which saw PlanetUSA win 5-. Del Zotto got an assist, but was a -2, Kazionov got 2G 1A and was a +3 and named AHL All-Star MVP, Repkin was blanked, and Rautio stopped all 9 shots he faced in the half of the game he played. Pretty good showing by the Spokane/Emerald City reps!

Second game of the month is against Portland again, and we’re risking it playing Howard (who had two terrible outings at the end of last month). Hunter got the first goal of the game, 1:12 in, to give us a 1-0 lead, but Dvorak was able to tie it up. In the second period, Schaefer regained our lead early, but was answered by Daniel Sedin. Kotalik got it back within a minute and a half, but 4 min later, Sedin tied it up again. After that, Sheppard got one for Portland to give them the lead, thankfully, Kotalik was able to tie it before intermission. Kotalik completed his hat trick in the third, and Trip sealed it with the empty netter. It was Gaustad’s 500th NHL game.

Western All-Stars earned themselves a 5-3 victory over the East this year. Iginla and Kopitar represented us on the Western squad, Iginla got 2 assists, Kopitar was kept off the scoresheet. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that the league’s points leader (a center) was played on the 3rd line?...and at the RW?...

Hunter got a nasty cut on his foot from a skate and will be out 10 days, JVR gets the callup to fill in for him (don’t feel Hunt is quite ready for the NHL yet). Martine was also given a callup to replace Murray, who’s struggled a bit lately.

Trade deadline passed quite silently for us…I love our team this year, even with a few underperformers, I don’t want to mess with the teams awesome chemistry right now.

Our offense wasn’t quite as hot this month, nor was our goaltending, but we still put up a nice 7-4-1 record for February, making us 42-18-3 on the year with 87 points. Chicago is just two points behind us in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Montreal pulled away with an incredible 10-1-2 (22 out of 26 points) in February, now leading the league with 96 points. Norfolk is tied with us at 87 for 2nd, but we have 3 games in hand, Chicago is 4th. Boston is doing better, now 25th in the league, Edmonton has dropped to 26th, followed by Arizona, Buffalo, New Jersey, and Motor City. Kopitar (63GP 30G 71A 101PTS) still leads the league In points, followed by the surging Ales Kotalik (60GP 43G 53A), while Iginla (63GP 47G 42A 89PTS) has slipped to 4th.

Spokane has improved to 44-11-5 for 93 points, 21 ahead of Las Vegas, 29 ahead of California in the West Division, and in a tie for first in the league. That’s right, Spokane now battles Thunder Bay for the league lead, but TB has a game in hand and two more wins. Fargo is 6 points behind us, Richmond 7. Cincy had their best month yet with 4 wins, bringing their total up to 11, and only 1 point behind Erie for last place.

[coasterholic14]

March-April 2012 Review:

Everyone’s healed up and back to normal, so my callups are headed back down. JVR (8GP 2G 2A 4PTS +1 8PIM) and Martine (5GP 0G 3A +1 2PIM) both had solid callups. It’s surprising JVR seems to be suffering some troubles in the AHL (17 points in 46 games), but he had a solid both at the end of December and now…he might play for a spot next year.

Mid-month, GM Brandon Greene announces that the team has come to terms with Kotalik, giving him a 2 year extension @ $3.89 million per year. Come on, the guy is having by far his best year ever, he’s already cracked 100 points, and this year he’s making $4.5 million (so he’s taking a pay cut)! You bet I’m gonna keep him, even if he only manages a point-per-game next year and this was a fluke…he, Kopitar, and Iginla are really clicking this year.

Due to some injury issues in Spokane, and being short on d-men right now as is, we decided to make a late-season signing to help fill them out. John Desrochers was signed to a 1yr @ $525K contract for the rest of this season. He’s been great in the minors, this year getting 50 points in 65 games with Minnesota of the AAL-4…not the greatest league but he could provide nice depth for Spokane, pluse he’s a RD.

After a bit of a rough start to the month, we neared the end with a 10 game win streak, finally losing to Vancouver 5-3 on March 28th…I guess after getting embarrassed by us 7-0 two nights before they felt a need to play a bit better.

Our last game of the month was also our last game against Portland for the season. Kopitar got us on the board early for a 1-0 lead, but Sutherby tied it up before the first intermission. Schaefer and Thorburn added goals of their own and we took the game 3-1. That gives us a devastating 7-1 record against them this year!

Anze Kopitar was named NHL Offensive Player of the Month once again, with 10 goals and 17 assists in 15 games through March. He was also named Offensive Player of the Month during the last week of March with 5G 5A in 4 games! Hughes won AHL Player of the Month with 7G 7A in 8 games.

Before the end of the year, we resigned John Tripp for 2 years $700K/yr…great price for a great enforcer!

The final month and change sees us go 14-4-1, ending our record for the year at 56-22-4 with 116 points, topping the Western Conference. Montreal won the President’s Trophy with 120 points, a new NHL record (though we got 1 more win than them). Toronto finishes 3rd in points 7 in standings because Montreal is ahead of them. Colorado, Philly, and Norfolk round out the top 5. At the other end of the spectrum are the late-faltering Kansas City, Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, and the Motor City. We end in a tie with Chicago for most goals for, best in goals against. Our attendance was 17th in the league, but at 16,871, we’re just 100 from moving up 3 spots, and about 700 shy of our shutout crowd. Best PP in the league, 4th best PK, 3rd in PIM, great shooting percentage, just a fantastic year.

Anze Kopitar (82GP 45G 90A 135PTS) dominated the league in points, with teammates Jarome Iginla (82GP 60G 56A 116PTS) and Ales Kotalik (79GP 52G 63A 115PTS) end second and third in points. Our second line of Schaefer, Suchanek, and Hunter each had 57-65 points, Schultz and Morris led the d-men in points with 52 and 45 respectively. Howard was a decent but inconsistent backup this year.

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: Round 1 (vs. Los Angeles Gridlock)

Round 1 we get to face a common playoff foe, the LA Gridlock, a team we are 3-0-1 against this year with 15GF – 9GA.

We start the series off at home, in front of another sold out crowd! Radek Suchanek and Derek Morris got the only goals of the game for a 2-0 victory. Esche had 20 saves and a shutout in the effort. Our top line was held pointless.

Game two was much more interesting, but the start was not what we wanted. Don MacLean got a goal three minutes in, and Vincent Lecavalier got one with 3 minutes left for a 2-0 lead after the first. The top line got their points when Kopitar netted his first of the game to get us within one, but it was answered by Steve Sullivan just a minute and a half later. Iginla, Kotalik, and Kopitar made almost the exact same play halfway through the game, this time even strength, and Kopitar got his second of the game, down 3-2 after two. In the final period, we fought back long and hard, but nothing was working…that is until Suchanek got a goal with 1:14 left in the game to tie it! We hadn’t had a single lead in the game though, and so it would be in OT, as Janko got the GWG for LA. Series tied 1-1.

Now we head to LA, the land of total gridlock and a sellout crowd of just over 18K. In the game, we locked them down entirely, holding them to just 15 shots, and our oppressive play forced them to take 13PKs in the game. Their goalie did all he could against an onslaught of 52 shots, but inevitable, 3 PP markers slipped by him. Kopitar, Hunter, and Morris got the goals for our 3-0 win. No doubt Ryan Miller earned 3rd star of the game against those odds.

Game four was another tight one it seemed. Kopitar got the only goal of the first and Vigier got the only of the second for a 1-1 tie after 40 minutes. Schultz made a fantastic pass up ice in the third to get Kotalik and Gaustad in a 2-on-1, which resulted in a beautiful SH goal for Gaustad, and a 2-1 lead. But Vigier would respond with his second goal of the game, this time on the PP, to tie it 2-2 midway through the final period. Nobody else would score, so OT would ensue. There, it took 15 minutes of tight play before anyone could seal the game, and surprisingly, Thorburn got us the GWG! Up 3-1 now!

Back home, we are so ready to seal the series at home for once! It’s essentially a repeat of game 3…we hold them to 25 shots, make 53, plow them with 44 hits, get 11 powerplays, and net 3 powerplay markers for a 3-0 win (and the series). Hunter, Kopitar, and Iginla got the goals, Esche suffered a slight injury which saw him leave the game early, but Howard stopped all 17 he faced as well.

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: Round 2 (vs. Milwaukee Mavericks)

This was a tight, tight series during the year, we split the series 2-2, with an even 16GF – 16GA (L 4-6, W 5-3, L 4-6, W 3-1).

Game 1 was a tight defensive battle through the first 40 minutes of the game, with only Iginla cracking their defense late in the second for a 1-0 lead. Kotalik sealed the game with just a few minutes left, and we took the game 2-0.

Our second game at home started off worse…much worse. Between 5:36 and 6:36 of the first period (yes 1 minute exactly), Milwaukee got goals from Jussi Jokinen, Jan Bulis, and Igor Grigorenko…surprisingly Esche wasn’t yanked. We tightened it up defensively and stopped the bleeding. In the second, we came out a different team, and between 23:13 and 24:33 (1 min 20 sec), we tied the game with gaols from Schaefer, Kopitar, and Iginla. With less than a minute left, Samuelsson regained the lead for Milwaukee…Esche was now pulled after letting in 4 goals on 13 shots. Grigorenko got another in the third to gain a two goal lead, which Kotalik cut down to a one goal lead, but we couldn’t score again. Milwaukee sure sniped us, with 5 goals on 18 shots…YIKES.

Sold out in Milwaukee, we experienced one of our more exciting games, both good and bad. Esche was still sleeping after the last game, and Georges Laraque got one by him without any help just 21 seconds into the game. We responded though, with our 3rd line feeding Gaustad’s tying goal before the 2 minute mark. Samuelsson regained their lead a few minutes later, but Kotalik tied it once again with less than 30 seconds in the period. Early in the second, Samuelsson yet again scored to regain the lead, but Ryan Wilson tied it up with a blast from the point 16 seconds later, and that tie remained through the second. In the third, we finally got our first lead with a goal from Schaefer 4 minutes into the period. Halfway through the final stanza, Arnason then tied the game with his single-handed effort. OT was very tight, but just as the period was winding down, with 15 seconds remaining, Kopitar fed Iginla, who fed Kotalik for the GWG on the powerplay! Esche faced 56 shots tonight, only letting in 4, a much better effort. We also killed off 11 of 12 penalties we faced, but got destroyed in faceoffs (29%).

In Milwaukee once again, Kennedy got the Mavs on the board early for a 1-0 lead, which held up until enforcers Dingman, Falardeau, and Tripp teamed up to get a goal and tie it halfway through the game. In the third, Ekman scored, only to be answered by James Neal to tie the game. Heading into OT, early on, Kotalik got taken out on a breakaway, giving him a penalty shot! He moved in and tried to catch Grahame off guard with a 5-hole shot, but he read it like an open book and stopped Kotalik. Two minutes later, Brewer got a blast from the blue line that went in and won it! Up 3-1 in the series.

Esche has been having a lot of trouble waking up for games, and it was no different to start game 5 back at home…36 seconds in, Paul Ranger got a blaster past him. Halfway through, Kopitar tied it up, only to be answered by Laraque 12 seconds later. Tripp tied it up once again 44 seconds later, but Jokinen regained the lead before the end of the period. Kaberle added another later on, and we lost this one at home 4-2.

Facing elimination at home, Milwaukee was determined not to lose, but Dingman didn’t agree and got a goal just 2:37 into the game. We backed off a bit and went into defense mode to hold them off, which worked for the next 44 minutes, but Kaberle eventually tied it. Game moved on into OT, and halfway through, our top line pulled through, and Kotalik got the series clinching goal!

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: Conference Finals (vs. Chicago Express)

Next up, Chicago! During the regular season this year we were 2-0-2 against them, and outscored them 15-8

In game 1, starting the series at home, the ice was only broken with 8 seconds left in the first, when Dingman came through with a goal off a rebound from a Schultz shot. I must say, my enforcer line has been very impressive the past few years in the playoffs with some great and timely goals. No other goals were scored until just 8 minutes left in the game, when Suchanek netted one with the help of his linemates, and then Kopitar got a shorty with just a few minutes left to take game one 3-0. That’s an amazing result considering we only had 1 PP, Chicago had 9…we pretty much destroyed them with 55 hits, they only got 5, that’s carnage!

Game two, Kopitar gets us on the board early with a powerplay marker and a 1-0 lead. Scorless through the remainder of the first 30 min, Gagne tied it up with a PPG of his own, but Tripp got our lead back just 36 seconds later! In the third, Suchanek netted an powerplay goal of his own just over 1:30 in, rendering Richards later PPG worthless…victory 3-2. Both 2 for 6 on the PP, hits were again one sided our way 53-8.

Now in Chicago, we face 20,500 screaming fans…but it’s no matter. Hunter (2), Kotalik, and Tripp (again) all got powerplay goals and we stole the show 4-0. We softened up on the hitting with 35, they picked up with 13, but their cheap shots led to 10 powerplays…and we were sure to capitalize on plenty!

We knew game 4 would be tough, in their barn, with them staving off elimination (and a sweep). That said, Kopitar didn’t want to let that happen, get a goal 2 min in, and with 4 min to go in the first, for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. In the second though, Richards (SH) and Lisin (PP) would get special teams goals and tie it up. Just 20 minutes left to play, Tallinder is first to break the tie and give Chicago their first lead of the game…and the series. Wilson tied it himself just a minute and a half later, but Todd Paul would regain the lead for Chicago 14 seconds later. Chicago would stay alive with a 4-3 victory.

Back home, we’re ready to finish the series, and we have a great first half. Hunter and Neal each get goals in the first 5 minutes, then Iginla makes it 3-0 just past the halfway mark of the game. Perhaps comfortable with the lead or thinking it’s over, the team backs off, and Hagman and Hartnell capitalize on our complacency with goals less than 3 minutes after our last. In the third, Chicago is really fighting us, and their efforts result in a tying goal…it’s on now! The battling is hard and fierce, but after 60 minutes, it’s still a tie…time for OT. Both teams battle long and hard, it’s a back and forth battle, really showcasing the best of both teams, but nobody can break the tie, and it’s the same through the 2nd OT period. Finally, 5 min into the third OT, with both teams utterly exhausted, a winner is determined. Enver Lisin nets the winning goal on the powerplay in an epic game. I have to give them credit for making a 4 goal comeback to win, and major props to Lehtonen who stopped 58 of 61 shots in over 100 minutes of gameplay (Esche played well also with 41/45 saved). In an ironic note, the number one star of the game was determined to be ex-Thunderbird d-man, Zbynek Michalek with 2 assists. He’s been doing very well in Chicago on the 2nd pairing…good for him! We just didn’t have the right spot for him on our roster. Note: we had 69 hits in the game.

We head back to Chicago for game 7…Iginla gets the lead 33 seconds in, and Kopitar widens the game after 5:25. Paul scores in the first, Gagne with 20 seconds left in the second to tie it up. Schaefer gets a goal 4 min in the third, and it’s the goal that would seal the game and the series. Chicago was simply exhausted by the series and our very physical play.

[coasterholic14]

Playoffs: Stanley Cup Finals (vs. Toronto Knights)

It’s funny, we thought it’d be Montreal here, not us, they dominated the season. Unfortunately for them, Kovalchuk, their biggest scorer and star, was injured early in the playoffs and really took away their momentum. Now, we face another Canadian powerhouse in the Knights, who we beat 5-3 in our only game of the season.

With home ice advantage, we were hoping to take advantage and get game one started off on the right foot, but failed to do so. Hossa got an early goal for Toronto after a stupid penalty on our part which gave them a lead and shook our confidence a bit. Thankfully, we came out renewed in the second, and with lots of pressure, were able to get goals from Neal and Schultz to get the lead. In the third, our PK struggles again and Frolov ties it up early. The rest of the game remained tight, and OT would ensue to determine a winner. The hero of the game would be John Madden, who won it for Toronto just a few minutes into OT.

Game two got off to an even slower start, taking until the second period for someone to get things moving. Thankfully for us, Kotalik and Iginla both decided to get goals for a 2-0 lead, a lead which held until halfway through the third when Marleau got a goal to keep Toronto in the game. With the goalie pulled, Toronto desperately fought to tie it up, but some bad mistakes led to two empty net goals for us from Neal and Gaustad for a deceiving 4-1 victory.

In Toronto, we finally got off on the right foot with a PP goal just 1:53 into the game, then another goal 21 seconds into the second period. Brian Campbell kept Toronto close with his goal a few minutes later, and we would again give up the two goal lead when Sykora scored late in the game. This time, we were the ones who sealed the OT at 76:11 with Iginla netting the winner.

Game four saw Toronto again score first and early, with Sykora getting his goal at 3:37. We snapped out of it and fought back with two goals from Thorburn to give us a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. In the second period, between 25:49 and 29:01, the teams alternated two goals each, with Allison tying it (25:49), Brewer regaining our lead (26:23), Antropov tying it (28:02), and Hunter regaining our lead once again (29:01)…that’s how period 2 would end. Up 4-3, Iginla made it a two gal lead, forcing Toronto to pull their goalie late. Brewer got the EN goal, and we would win 6-3, with a 3-1 series lead!

We’re home, and it’s about time we win the cup at home! That didn’t happen…after early goals from Frolov and Antropov, Hunter and Schaefer would tie it, but Marleau would score, as would Antropov and Frolov again, and we dropped this one 5-2. Our physical play cost us with Toronto going 3 for 10 on the PP.

Ready for payback now, we come out and get two goals 12 seconds apart very early in the game, thanks to Hunter and Schaefer. Marleau attempts to hurt our momentum with an answering goal less than two minutes later, but Kotalik and Neal add more goals for a 4-1 lead. Antropov tries to get Toronto back in the game in the third, but Thorburn returns our three-goal lead. Just 12 seconds into the third, Brewer gets his first, and 7 minutes later his second…we destroy Toronto 7-2 for our THIRD STRAIGHT STANLEY CUP!!!

[coasterholic14]

End of 2011-2012 Season

AHL Playoffs:
Spokane finished with a dominant 60-13-7 record for 127 points, top of the division by 33 points! The beat out Thunder Bay and a surprisingly good Richmond team by 8 points, and 10 ahead of Fargo. Cincy was lucky to finish the season without being overrun by rampant fans after another terrible year. Only 2 wins in the last month and change, 13-61-6 overall (almost exact opposite of Spokane) for 32 points.

In the first round Spokane faced the New Mexico Rattlers…they took one of their games at home, but just couldn’t keep up with Spokane who took the series in just 5 games. Fargo swept the Madison Icehawks, and in quite a destructive and embarrassing fashion. Their worst victory was 6-3…they also won 6-2, 7-2, and 11-1. Thunder bay had a bit of a challenge with Calgary, but won in 6 games, as did Las Vegas, who each took big victories in their home games to start, before Vegas took the next two by scores of 3-2.

In the East, Porltand swept Hamilton, Richmond pwned Florida, and Syracuse beat Quebec with only slight trouble in 6 games, and Cleveland snuck out 4 close victories in 5 games against Nashville (haha…take that Cincinnati).

In the Conference Semi-Final, Spokane was up against Las Vegas. Spokane took game one, before losing an OT thriller 5-4, then swapped 5-2 victories with Vegas on the Strip. Vegas got within a game with a 5-1 victory, but Spokane held on with a 6-5 game, then took the series with a 3-0 shutout in game 7. Fargo had little trouble beating Calgary in 5 games. Closer to the Atlantic, Richmond walked all over Cleveland, making them look like Cincy. Portland and Syracuse went to 7 games, where Portland clinched it with a 3-0 shutout.

Down to the Conference Finals, Spokane faces a familiar foe in Fargo…the bad news, Rautio goes out with an injury in game 1 that will keep him out of the rest of the series. Spokane does all they can to hold on, and they never let in more than 4 goals, but their spirit seemed broken and the offense was shut down (never got more than 3 goals in a game)…lost it 4-2. The Richmond vs. Portland series was very close, very tight, and very low scoring. Teams alternated 2-0 victories in Richmond, then shutouts again in Portland (1-0 POR, 3-0 RCH), before the only game of the series that was NOT a shutout, a 3-1 victory for Richmond at home. The teams then alternated 1-0 home victories, meaning Richmond moves on to the finals. That’s right, 6 of 7 games were shutouts…goals were RCH 9 – 5 through SEVEN games…

Fargo is no stranger to the Calder Cup Finals…they’ve won the regular season twice, been runners-up for the cup twice, and won the cup once (’10-’11), while Richmond made their first ever appearance. Fargo’s experience was no good though, and Richmond swept them for their first ever cup! Congrats guys!

NHL Playoffs:
The Eastern Conference saw the Montreal Metros (1) facing the Atlanta Resurgens (8) (usually the #1 seed), Philadelphia Rebels (2) faced Texas Bandits (7) (Philly was 7 last year), Norfolk Ironclads (3) faced Washington Patriots (6) (last year #3), and the Toronto Knights (4) battled the Columbus Copperheads (5) (where did they come from?). As you can see, a bunch of typical teams in swapped positions. Norfolk and Toronto swept their series, and Toronto actually had 3 shutouts and an 8-2 victory. Montreal beat the former two-time champs in 5, Philly beat Texas pretty easily in 6.

In the West, our Emerald City Thunderbirds (1) faced the Los Angeles Gridlock (8) (again this year), Colorado Mountaineers (2) battled the Milwaukee Mavericks (7) (same battle as last year, but 2 vs. 7 instead of 3 vs. 6), Chicago Express (3) were pitted against San Jose Wildfire (6), and the Vancouver Whitecaps (4) faced the Indiana Hoosiers (5). Obviously, we beat LA in 5 games, one game less than it took us last year. Indiana shocked Vancouver by winning in 5, with 3 of the games going to OT, and the other two being decided by just 1 goal each as well. Milwaukee had an interesting battle with Colorado, but won in 6 games, Chicago and San Jose saw the road team win the first 6 games before Chicago had the only home victory in game 7.

In the Semi-Finals in the East, Toronto had a huge upset over the Metros, whose play was obviously hurt by the loss of Kovalchuk in the previous round. Philly went up in their series 3-1, only to have Norfolk come back and force game 7, but they couldn’t hold off Philly at home. We beat Milwaukee in 6 games, Chicago had little struggle against Indiana in their 5 game series win…though Indiana forced game 5 into OT.

In the Eastern Conference finals, Toronto actually swept…swept…Philadelphia, and the Thunderbirds took Chicago in 6. Obviously, we ended up with our second cup in a row…no need to review that again!

World Championships:
This year, the World Championships are being held in Russia. From Group E, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, and Switzerland qualified for playoffs while Finland, Slovakia , Sweden, and the USA made it through from Group F. Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Austria would not make it through once again this year.

USA got destroyed 7-3 by Russia in the Quarter Finals, and would not go any further in this year’s World Championships. The Semi-Finals saw the Czechs (this year’s “dark horse”) facing Russia, Canada facing Sweden. Russia and Czech traded goals in the first (RUS scoring first) ending in a 2-2 tie, then trading 5 goals in the second (CZE scoring first), with Canada having a 5-4 victory. Only goal in the third would be an EN by Czech to ice it. Canada scored first in their game, only to be answered by Sweden and held scoreless the remainder of regulation. Canada would win it in OT however to move on to the Gold Medal game.

Sweden and Russia were locked in an epic battle for Bronze, neither team holding more than a 1 goal lead…it ended 5-4 just 52 seconds into OT, with Sweden getting the victory. In the Gold Game, the “dark horse” faded, and lost 6-2 to Canada.

Renewed contracts:
- Yuri Postnikh (1yr @ $525K) – Decided to extend his contract yet another year, he’s showing decent improvement each year…though his giveaway numbers are rather embarrassing. He’s more “depth” for Spokane than anything.
- James Van Riemsdyk (1yr @ $950K) – This past season was more like the way his previous season SHOULD have been, 20G – 30A – 50PTS +23. He also had a nice 8 game callup, where he got 4 points! He’ll get more time this year.
- Ryan Toporowski (1yr @ $525K) – Decent depth for Spokane, but not much improvement of his attributes.
- Grant Scott (2yrs @ $550K) – Showed decent improvement this year, getting 39 points in 80 games, he also had 285 hits, and is a natural RD (which I seriously lack). Only glaring hole is the 97 giveaways he made last year…YIKES, but his 111 blocked shots were fantastic.
- James Neal (1yr @ $575K) – Another decent, not great year from him, 7 goals 24 points. Don’t be surprised to see Kazionov or JVR taking his spot when he gets cold during the year.
- Chris Francis (1yr @ $525K) – Dominant at the ECHL level, there just hasn’t been much room for him in the AHL to improve (6 min ice time)…he’s great at faceoffs though, and is nice depth, so we’ll give him one last shot.
- John Desrochers (1yr @ $525K) – That’s right, signed on a whim for depth, the guy has impressed. He got 7 points in 13 regular season games, 8 in 18 playoff games, good hitter, and a RD!
- Aleksej Repkin (1yr @ $550K) – Though he’s never made an impression in the NHL, he’s always so strong in the AHL. He’ll at least give Spokane a veteran center, since Oulahen will not be getting resigned this year (only 27 points this year…his worst since his rookie year).
- Lee Falardeau (1yr @ $575K) – Solid 4th line checker for cheap money.

Signed the following prospects:
- Franklin Marocoux – LW/C (CAN, 20) – $545K (3 years)
This Season: QMJHL—Victoriaville Tigres (67GP, 44G 54A 98PTS, +26, 105 PIM)

- Jake Schneider – LD/RD (USA, 19) – $525K (3 years)
This Season: USCE—Quinnipiac (22GP, 3G 14A 17PTS, +1, 28 PIM)

- Guy Ellis – LD/RD (USA, 19) – $525K (3 years)
This Season: UCWE—Alaska (50GP, 8G 25A 33PTS, -9, 98 PIM)

- Jamie Smith – RW/LW (USA, 19) – $525K (3 years)
This Season: UCCE—Northern Michigan (50GP, 10G 19A 29PTS, -8, 58 PIM)

- Ilnaz Mikhno – LW/C (RUS, 20) – $525K (3 years)
This Season: Rus-2—Novokuznetsk 8(8GP, 1G 2A 3PTS,0, 10 PIM)

- Ladislav Kames – C/RW (CZE, 20) – $525K (3 years)
This Season: Cze-1—Hame (43GP, 3G 2A 5PTS, -14, 60 PIM)

End of year trophies:
Kopitar was our big winner this year, winning the Art Ross (first time in 5 years MON didn’t win it), Con Smyth, Hart Memorial, Lester B. Pearson, NHL Plus-Minus, and being named to the NHL First All-Star team. Iginla and Kotalik came in as the runners-up for the Art Ross, Conn Smyth, and NHL Plus-Minus awards each as well. Jeff Schultz won the James Norris Memorial Trophy, Iginla won the “Rocket” Richard, and Esche won the Vezina, William M. Jennings, Roger Crozier Saving Grace, and was also named to the First All-Star team.

Art Ross – Anze Kopitar (EMC)
Bill Masterton – Dany Heatly (CAR)
Calder Memorial – Matt Duchene (BUF)
Conn Smythe – Anze Kopitar (EMC) (2nd year straight)
Frank J. Selke – Dave Scatchard (COL)
Jack Adams – Ron Chartier (EMC) (2nd year straight)
James Norris Memorial – Jeff Schultz (EMC)
Hart Memorial – Anze Kopitar (EMC) (broke Kovalchuk’s 3 year run)
King Clancy Memorial – Mats Sundin (SJW)
Lady Byng Memorial – Simon Gagne (CHI)
Lester B. Pearson – Anze Kopitar (EMC)
Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard – Jarome Iginla (EMC) (broke Kovalchuk’s 5 year run)
Vezina – Robert Esche (EMC) (2nd year in a row)
William M. Jennings – Robert Esche (EMC) (2nd year in a row)
NHL Plus-Minus Award – Ilya Kovalchuk (MON)
Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award – Robert Esche (EMC) (2nd year in a row)




MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: Just so you guys know, this will be my last update for the forseeable future (even though I have since completed the draft). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing this story the past few months, and will no doubt likely stop by this saved game in the future to play once again (I often revisit old saved games)…for now though, I’ve just burnt out of it. If I do revisit the save, I will be sure to make some general updates as to how things play out.

I’m ready at this point to start a new save with Lidas most recent rosters (or at least one of the more recent roster updates). Who knows, perhaps I will start another story in the near future. I’ve learned quite a lot from writing this one, some things I enjoyed doing, other things I grew tired of but wanted to keep with the same format, I also noticed where I’d possibly like to make some changes in the future. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope everyone enjoyed reading along…perhaps it’s best to quite while I’m ahead anyway with 3 cups, and drafts that never have who I want left by the 30th/60th picks