Challenge #31 - Future Boston Bruins - Discussion Thread

[batdad]

Yeah me too. I took Dicks, Pickryl and Caillard. Pickryl with the same pick and Caillard at 109.

[batdad]

SO in my game, Ducks fire coach Jan 15. Then the GM hires a new coach Feb 10, and is fired the same day! Outstanding.

[batdad]

Alot of struggles in the third quarter for many I hear? I am very pleased with the team in the last few games. In our last 6 games we are 5-1 and have won our last four, which for this quarter ended up giving us an over 500 record at 10-9-1. At one point was 6 games under 500 and am now only 2 games under. Great quarter for the boys.

[batdad]

Wow. Made it to 500. 30-30-4. Cool beans. Still in 10th, 4 points out of 7th and 8th. Sabres and Devils tied there, each with a game in hand on me. Ottawa in 9th 2 points up and I have 2 games in hand on them.

ETA: at 39 years old, Troy Brouwer is 1 goal off of his career high of 32, way way back in 2013-14 with the Washington Capitals. 11 years ago.

[Anonymous11]

Trying out a challenge as a noob, see how it goes, I guess.

[batdad]

darn Leafs. Back to under 500 real fast.Home and home with them, and another loss and now 3 games under again and in 12th place. BAHHHHHHH


ALso BRouwer has not scored in the 5 games since the post. Ugh. (1-4 in those games)

[Anonymous11]

How do you use the upload tool? It says I can't use it because I'm not logged in, even though I am. Does it have to do with the number of posts I have?

[batdad]

Not that I know of. Not sure why it is a problem, unless your registration has to be approved 1st. Which is possible that you are living on borrowed time until archi approves or kicks you out. I vote kick out.


I kid I kid.

[jesterx7769]

Dang I need to catch up haven't even started the first season yet I've been so busy lately.

[rancer890]

Here's my draft picks:

Rd 1 (6th overall) - Herman Dicks (Kootenay) - RW/LW - 6'1", 169 lbs
Rd 2 (36th) - Zech MacKinnon (Cornell) - RD - 6'4", 207 lbs
Rd 3 (66th) - Milos Prikryl (HC Sparta Praha) - RD - 6'2", 185 lbs
Rd 4 (96th) - Gaetan Caillard (Gatineau) - LW - 6', 200 lbs
Rd 4 (109th) - Daun Ayotte (Saginaw) - LW - 5'9", 178 lbs
Rd 5 (126th) - Woody Kaufman (Dartmouth) - RD/LD - 5'11", 196 lbs
Rd 7 (186th) - Ville-Matti Lohtander (Barrie) - LW/RW - 5'11", 169 lbs

I see some similarities between your draft and mine. Most of us took Dicks. I remember looking at MacKinnon but taking Chamerlain instead. I took Prikryl in the 3rd too. I also drafted Kaufman and Lohtander but I took Kaufan in the 7th round and Lohtander in the 4th.

Dicks was the best player left. I really was considering taking one of the Russian goalies Gubin and Spiridonov but given the needs we had, I took the position player. I looked at Chamerlain and another d-man, Grishin, but I really liked MacKinnon's attributes and scouting report. I was considering taking Lohtander a lot earlier but he kept dropping in the draft and I'm very happy I managed to get him in the 7th round.

Seeing that we drafted a lot of the same players, how have they done in your save so far?

Dicks has been a bit inconsistent, with 16 points (7-9) in 23 games and getting suspended for a game misconduct. Prikryl's doing a good job in South Carolina (1-18 for 19 points in 33 games) and on the top d-man pairing, on the PP and PK. I think I will keep him in the ECHL the whole season because I don't see him getting much time with the P-Bruins (I don't control them). Lohtander has an ugly 6.09 rating with Barrie (11 points, 1G-10A, in 33 games), while Kaufman has 18 points (6-12) in 28 games with Dartmouth. Caillard has 29 points (17-12) in 39 games and plays on the second line.

I'm just at the 40 game mark, 9-27-4. We've even had a couple 2 game winning streaks. Gotta take the little victories any way I can given my horrible attempt with tactics . Next goal: 3 game winning streak in the next 20 games!

[batdad]

Dicks is average at best (in junior for me with 7.3 rating), Caillard doing well, think he is above 8 in junior. Do not have game up. Prikryl is hard to say....Did well in U20 Div 1 tourney (Czech is dropped to div 1 for 1st season we play), and having mixed results playing with adults in Europe. I find though that this does not matter much, and will be bringing him over to play next year in the minors.

My best result though is my 2nd round guy that you do not have... in 59 games Groleau has 20 goals and is 3rd on my team in goals, playing mainly 3 and 4 line minutes with occasional PP time. He is 3rd in rookie scoring, with an average rating in the low 7s. Love that kid so far.

[jesterx7769]

Bruins are 30th in NHL Preview, first time this has happened to me in any of the challenges

[rancer890]

I remember clicking on Groleau's profile and looking at it briefly, but I never gave it much thought to draft him because I was thinking of the 3 d-men in my last post.

And Bernier has come back but we're not doing too well with him. Unfortunately, Woodcroft/Reijasalo has been worse so we're riding Bernier win or lose and I just hope we can stay healthy.

[jesterx7769]

lol I don't ever post individual game things but game 1 against the stacked Capitals I win 6-1. However, I was brutally outshot 26-46 blocking another 23, giving them 75 to my 35, wow!

edit so I dont double post: Nick Ritchie of Lightning is god on skates! 6'3 230lbs near 20's in every attribute, getting 10m a year! highest I've seen! It says he was #1 in 2014 but I don't remember seeing him in the draft from the other challenge

[bruins72]

How do you use the upload tool? It says I can't use it because I'm not logged in, even though I am. Does it have to do with the number of posts I have?

Try clearing your cache and then signing back in. I know that seemed to work for one other person who was having trouble with that.

[bruins72]

Here's my draft picks:

Rd 1 (6th overall) - Herman Dicks (Kootenay) - RW/LW - 6'1", 169 lbs
Rd 2 (36th) - Zech MacKinnon (Cornell) - RD - 6'4", 207 lbs
Rd 3 (66th) - Milos Prikryl (HC Sparta Praha) - RD - 6'2", 185 lbs
Rd 4 (96th) - Gaetan Caillard (Gatineau) - LW - 6', 200 lbs
Rd 4 (109th) - Daun Ayotte (Saginaw) - LW - 5'9", 178 lbs
Rd 5 (126th) - Woody Kaufman (Dartmouth) - RD/LD - 5'11", 196 lbs
Rd 7 (186th) - Ville-Matti Lohtander (Barrie) - LW/RW - 5'11", 169 lbs

So I'm about 40 (NHL) games into my game.

Dicks has 16 G and 24 A in 28 games with Kootenay and a 7.89 average rating and a +17. He got 17 of his points on the PP and 2 SH. He's looking good and playing where he should be.

Chamberlain was my 2nd rounder. He's doing okay with Swift Current. He's got 4 G and 6 A in 44 games with a 7.32 average rating. He's also got 62 PIM, 150 hits, and 72 SB. He's averaging about 23 minutes of ice time per game. Your guy MacKinnon is doing well at Cornell. He's got 24 points in 26 games and an average rating of 7.65.

Prikryl needs to be brought to NA next season. He's just not playing much over in the Czech league. This season he's played 8 games with SpartaJr (and got 5 points) and then 7 games with Sparta (and just 1 point). He needs regular ice time.

Lohtander is playing in Barrie of the OHL and isn't exactly setting the world on fire. He's got 18 points in 36 games with an average rating of 6.56. Kaufman is doing well at Dartmouth. He's got 20 points in 29 games and an average rating of 8.00. He's got 180 hits and is playing almost 30 minutes a night!

[batdad]

Your Dicks is better than my Dicks.
But you will say you knew that already.

MacKinnon went 44 to LA in my game, 8 avg rating at Cornell. 14-28-42 41 games. Pretty darn good for a D. 18 PPP 29 min/gm
Chamberlind went 42 to Buffalo, 7.85 in Kelowna, 10-29-39 68 games. 24 PP points, so wow there. 26 Min per game.
Grishin went 45 to Ducks, 6.58 wth Ak Bars main team, 33 games 1-2-3. Playing with men.11 Min per game.

So I htink you picked right among the dmen.

Prikryl started the season on the men's team played 19 games there, and was doing okay but not great and sent to junior 2 weeks ago, and has played 6 games 30 min per game, 4 points 7.9 rating.

Lohtander not drafted in my game. 6.52 avg rate in Barrie, 17-14-31 58 games 16 minutes ...not that exciting.

[rancer890]

I'm finally at the 60 game mark, and in this stretch we went 8-8-4, including 3-1-1 record against the Red Wings. Our record now stands at 17-35-8, and we're now only 8 points behind the 29th placed Panthers, with 3 games in hand.

I've been riding on Bernier the entire quarter and he's been keeping me in games and helping us win. I moved Troy Jacobson onto the top line and he's been great. His stats for the season now are 15G-23A-38P in 46 games with an 8.02 rating. I'm giving him the first line PP and using him on the PK more as well. Bryan Owens, Schenn, Vandersteen, Aberg, and Khomutov keep impressing up front while Carrier, Severson, Gormley and Riekkinen (although he's still very inconsistent) are doing a lot better than earlier in the season.

I've started to resign some players already, including Beausoleil, Reijasalo, Khomutov, Fahas, Tichy, and Polyanski to 1 year contracts, and Gormley, Schenn, and Carrier to 2 year contracts. I'm finalizing a 2 year agreement on Owens as well and will soon sign Bernier on a new 1 year contract. The one player I'm undecided on is Eriksson, because I want my young players to get more ice-time, but given how much cap space we have, and our lack of depth all season, I probably will resign him...

On the prospect front...

- Dicks is still having an average season, with 9G, 20A in 41 games. He's playing 20-21 minutes a game, but he hasn't had many breakout games with Kootenay, from his 6.71 rating. Unfortunately, keeping him on the Bruins for 7 games might have hurt his confidence and numbers this season...

- Zack MacKinnon has 9 G, 14 A in 34 games with Cornell and a rating approaching 8. He's playing nearly half the game all season. I think he can do well in Providence next season and I'm likely to sign him in the summer.

- Prikryl playing 25 minutes a game with South Carolina, with half of that on the PP and PK. He has 1 G, 23 A in 51 games. He's living up to his 18 Bravery, blocking 81 shots and as well as dishing out 77 hits. I think a callup to Providence is well deserved and we'll see what he can do in the American league.

- Gaetan Caillard has 24 G, 20 A in 57 games with Gatineau along with an 8.05 rating. He's only 2 points off matching his rookie total in 11 less games. Despite playing on the 3rd line, he's playing 19 minutes a night with responsibilities on the 2nd line PP and PK units. Hopefully by next season he can get into the top 6, and maybe even the top line when Croz goes pro and if Franck Pepy can stick with his NHL club.

- Daun Ayotte has 24 G, 14 A, and a 7.02 rating in 56 games with Saginaw, and has already doubled his offensive input from one year ago. He's been playing on the 3rd line and the 2nd line PP unit. Here's hoping for a strong end to his junior season, and with players in the top 6 graduating from the O, Ayotte can get a chance to showcase his skills next season.

- Woody Kaufman has scored 10 G, and added 22 A in 41 games with Dartmouth, compiling a 7.8 rating. He's got 2 solid years in the ECAC, so next stop will be the AHL.

- Ville-Matti Lohtander continues to struggle, with 2 G, 13 A in 49 games, and a brutal 6.08 rating. He's been given opportunities, getting between 15-20 minutes a night, but not producing offensively. He's been getting as many 7 and up games as 5 and 6 ratings. Good thing I only spent a 7th on him...

Foppa also says Jan Skoda is our top prospect, and he's averaging over a point a game in the Czech First DIvision. I have no idea whether that's second or third tier but I'll be signing him over the summer. He was scoreless in 2 pre-season games with us.

[batdad]

Yeah SKoda is kicking butt for me in AHL. BRought him over right away. Him and that kid that was in college (C) are doing real well. Skoda won AHL POW, then the other kid did( Noble)

As for my team...well this is shaping up to be a hell of a playoff race.

9 games left for me in 10th with 72 points

Ahead of me in 9th New Jersey 9 games left 72 points (We play one more time)
AHead of me in 8th Carolina 8 games left 73 points (We do not play)
Behind me in 11th Ottawa 8 games left 72 points (We play in the last game of the season)

This is amazing to me. I never thought I would be in the hunt when I fell 6 games below 500. Right now only 1 game below.

[bruins72]

Your Dicks is better than my Dicks.

You said it. Not me.

[batdad]

Heh.

Played 75 games now. 8th place, tied with Ottawa with a game in hand, 1 up on Carolina and 2 up on New Jersey. Devils have played same number of games as me.

Relying heavily on Bernier right now. he has played in 13 of my last 15 games, and started 14 of them, yanked him 2 times and in one of Haas two starts he came in.

His record in this time frame is darn good though. 8-4-0 with 2 shutouts GAA 2.1 and Save 925 or so. Really pleased. STAY HEALTHY......PPPPPPPPLEEEAASSEEE

[batdad]

With my loss to Tampa, it is now a 5 team race. Pittsburgh has won their last 4 games and has moved up to being 1 point behind me.

7 Buffalo 77 87

8 Boston 76 76
9 Ottawa 77 76
10 Pens 76 75
11 Canes 77 75
12 NJ 75 74

13 Det 76 69

[batdad]

Came up a bit short. Well exactly one point short. The point that I gave up to New Jersey in game 80 of the season by having to go into a shootout to beat them. How frustrating.

That being said I have discovered someone.

Called up Skoda for the last few games as Brouwer seems dead, and so does Erickson.

Skoda line for his NHL career so far

4 games 4 goals 2 assists 6 points. 8.75 rating.

Back he goes to Providence to light it up in the playoffs.

darn

[bruins72]

Even though you missed the playoffs, you still did a nice job of turning your season around. Right now I'm 46 games in and sitting at 14th in the conference. Eriksson and Brouwer are so gone after this season but I really can't replace them at the moment. My top line was doing better once I put Jacobson back up there but then he got injured. Fortunately, it was only for about a week. Still, it's been a struggle.

[jesterx7769]

Yeah this season isn't looking good. It may be the worst I have done in a challenge so good job Bruins putting me in my place after saying last time it wasn't hard to make the playoffs with a challenge team.

I resigned Parise despite no one else and its looking like a big mistake, I started by putting him and Eriksson on the top line..yeah no. Their poor skating/physical skills are just way way too bad, I was hoping the technical skills would be enough.