In this post, we will preview the top-10 for the upcoming NHL entry draft. The Thrashers will be picking first, the Blue Jackets second, and the Predators third.
1. Darcy Sutter, LW (6'1 177) from Canada Sutter is undoubtly the top pick for this draft. He is great at everything, has top-notch speed and hands, is incredibly mature for his age and can play in all situations. We could see him becoming a key 1st liner for any time that drafts him. 2. Kalle Sala, C (6'3 192) from Finland The Fin center could be an home-run pick for the second team to talk at the draft table. He has amazing offensive abilities, can shoot the puck extremely well and make plays out of nothing. Will need to upgrade his skating a little bit. 3. Boyd Long, RW (6'3 210) from Canada Long is a big power forward that loves to crash the net and fight. He has good hands and agility that allow him to score goals in tight, or make plays on the rush. He is the kind of guy teams love to place on their top-line to create havoc next to finesse players. 4. Matt Plaxton, C (6'2 194) from Canada Amazing playmaker with great vision, Plaxton moves very well on the ice and and can do a lot of different stuff every shift. 5. Grigori Lyapunov, D (6' 177) from Russia The top D in this draft, Lyapunov is an excellent skater that plays the body well and can be physical. He is extremely smart and always makes the right plays. He has good enough skills that he can join the rush and make solid outlet passes. 6. Joe Bowen, LW (6'2 215) from Canada Bowen is a guy that just does everything well, but still needs to work on his defensive game a little bit. He is big and skilled and knows how to score goals. 7. Manny Inward, LW (6'1 203) from Canada Inward is an all-out offensive player with amazing speed and hands of gold. He can snipe from anywhere in the offensive zone, but will need to upgrade his two-way play. 8. Shawn Levins, RW (6' 198) from Canada Here is another offensive guy that needs work defensively. He is finesse player with a good arsenal of shots and is a great skater. 9. Joe Wahler, D (5'11 201) from Canada A smart defenseman that is considered a defensive-minded guy, he does all the little things well. He is always well positioned, he can hit, fight and defend extremely well. 10. Anatoli Antipov, RW (5'8 167) from Russia A very small winger with a ton of skills, Antipov plays with an edge that allows him to make space around the net to score goals. He is a solid skater and understands the two-way game.
I always liked the freeware version of EHM and had the urge to play it again recently. After toying with a couple of story ideas, here is what I came up with. I will be playing with the default rosters and settings of the game, starting with the 2001-02 season, taking control of the Nashville Predators. Here we go!
The Nashville Predators hockey club has appointed Austin Killer as their new general manager. David Poile, who has been with the team since they came into the NHL in 1998, had to resign due to personnal reasons. The Predators, being a product of NHL expansion, still having a pretty weak roster, didn't receive a ton of interest in their vacant GM position. Killer, a 27 years old Harvard alumni hailing from the state of Minnesota, has a background in politics. His hockey curriculum includes pond hockey all-star, minor league assistant coach and more recently, part-time scout for the Harvard hockey program.
Local media are saying he won the job through his father's connection with team owner Craig Leipold.
A LITTLE BACK STORY
The state of Tennesse was fortunate enough to enter the brotherhood of the top hockey league in the world when the Predators were awarded a hockey club, to start play in the Fall of 1998. The city had tried to lure the New Jersey Devils to their brand new arena back in 1995, but the plan fell through. NHL commissionner Gary Bettman later announced that Nashville would headline a new dawn of NHL expansion, starting with the Predators, followed by hockey clubs in Atlanta, Minnesota and Columbus. David Poile and Barry Trotz were quickly named general manager and head coach.
Once a name and logo was decided on, Nashville took part in the expansion draft, in which they were able to select one player from each existing NHL franchises (26). Players selected included Andrew Brunette, Scott Walker, Uwe Krupp, Al Iafrate, and Mike Richter, although the latter three never played a game for the Predators. The team also participated in the NHL entry draft, drafting David Legwand with the 2nd overall pick. Legwand is considered by many the current franchise player of the hockey club.
They finished the 1998-99 season second-last in the West with a 28-47-7 record, and proceeded to select goaltender Brian Finley 6th overall in the draft. They also had accumulated five 2nd-round picks, choosing Jonas Andersson, Adam Hall, Andrew Hutchinson, Ed Hill and Jan Lasak.
The team barely improved In 1999-2000, finishing with a record of 28-40-7-7, for last in the West. At the draft table, they picked Scott Hartnell 6th overall, and Daniel Widing 36th.
For their 3rd NHL season, the team led by Barry Trotz finally improved, finishing 10th in the West with 80 points. In the 2001 NHL draft, they chose defenseman Dan Hamhuis 12th overall as well as Timofei Shishkanov and Tomas Slovak in the second round.
Which brings us to now. GM Austin Killer has decided to keep Trotz on board, and the team head coach has just made the finishing cuts to end the club's 2001 training camp. It is worth noting that Killer made as many as three free agent acquisitions after being hired, in order to let some of the younger players of the organisation further develop in the minors. Those acquisitions are forwards Todd Warriner, Aaron Gavey and John MacLean. Also, after training camp was over, he dealt goaltender Mike Dunham to Calgary for young center Marc Savard, who is slated to pivot the Predators' 2nd line this year.
Killer said: ''It is imperative that the kids are not rushed to the NHL. This is the franchise's 4th year in this league, but I do not feel that we are ready yet to compete for a playoff spot. We are still building for the future. We have some great pieces, like David Legwand, Scott Hartnell and Tomas Vokoun, who has been giving the reigns with the departure of Dunham. I feel as though this is a transition year for us. We could be competiting to make the playoffs starting next year, in the 2002-2003 season, but that is still a long way from now.''
Killer has said he plans on dealing some of his veteran players for picks and youngsters during the upcoming playing season.
Here is Trotz' final roster - your 2001-02 Nashville Predators, boasting a payroll of only $26,54M :
#7 LW Cliff Ronning #43 LW Vitalii Yachmenev #17 LW Scott Hartnell #28 LW Todd Warriner #11 C David Legwand #91 C Marc Savard #21 C Tom Fitzgerald #18 C Aaron Gavey #24 RW Scott Walker #22 RW Greg Johnson #62 RW Petr Tenkrat #15 RW John MacLean #2 D Bill Houlder #44 D Kimmo Timonen #5 D Andy Delmore #32 D Cale Hulse #3 D Karlis Skrastins #4 D Mark Eaton #29 G Tomas Vokoun #50 G Chris Mason C: Cliff Ronning A: Bill Houlder, Scott Walker
Additionally, here are the club's top-10 prospects for the Fall of 2001:
1 Dan Hamhuis, D 2 Brian Finley, G 3 Vladimir Orszagh, F 4 Denis Arkhipov, F 5 Martin Erat, F 6 Tomas Slovak, D 7 Jordin Tootoo, F 8 Jan Lasak, G 9 Timofei Shishkanov, F 10 Pavel Skrbek, D
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Julianosaur got a reaction from Chris in Freeware EHM throwback Nashville dynasty - Free the Sabercat!