French Collection

I'm not a fan of picking Nylander, mainly because of my dislike for his brother (Wilhelmina). I don't hate the kid, just his team and the fact that he looks like a 16 year old girl. However, the dynamic in the building, with those thousands of Leafs supporters there, would be awesome.

Reinhart Eichel Vesey, the REV line.

I like the move and am trying to focus on the positives: Exclusive rights, Jack Eichel, need top 6 LW, deep pockets, short list, improving club. Pierre Lebrun, Bob McKenzie and John Buccigross all seem to think he's signing. Lots of connections with those 3 reporters. Let's go GMTM!!

Is Okposo Moulson 2.0? Get him away from Tavares and watch the numbers drop.

R.I.P. Gordie. Glad my son and I got to meet him a few years ago. He grabbed my son and put him in a headlock for a photo. There will never be another like him.

I tried unsuccessfully as well. Didn't get day 2 as I'm not driving 6 hours 1 way without first round tix.

Chychrun's parents live in Florida.

Some of the top guys may be beat up from long playoff runs. Tkachuk and Juolevi are two that come to mind. Matthews and Laine just finished the World Championship. Interesting that Tim Murray likes the combine because it identifies athletes. Eichel and Guhle were top performers last year.

Housley for offense, Hajt for defense, Schoenfeld for grit and Ramsey for all round ability.

Canada is able to draw some high end players because it is an audition for the Olympics and World Cup teams for guys on the bubble. A few go for the experience of trying it, a la Crosby last year.

Nice to see ROR and Sam get some winning experience at this level.

Sorry folks, it was Darcy Tucker not Mark Recchi who won 3 Memorial Cups with Kamloops. Tyson Nash and Ryan Huska were also part of all 3.

[quote name="Sabres Fan In NS" post="826599" timestamp The Q is funny in that you can run away from the rest of the league, win the league regular season championship by a lot, win the league playoff and capture your first President's Cup and then dominate and win your first Memorial Cup as Champion of the CHL, Champions League, if you will, one year. Then two years later you are almost DFL and drafting first overall. The Memorial Cup is tough to win because your Junior career may be 4 years and you need to be on a team with a bunch of solid 18-20 year olds. Teams load up if they feel they have a chance to go deep. The majority of players on a team like that graduate following the cup run, leaving the team to rebuild. Guelph lost in the final in 2014 and have been in rebuilding mode since, finishing 18th in the OHL this year. Mark Recchi won 3 Memorial Cups in his junior career which is unheard of. The only other guy I know of is Bob Savard who won 3 consecutive Cups, 2 with the Cornwall Royals and a 3rd with the Kitchener Rangers.

Finland is full of confidence as a hockey nation. They've been getting medals at the Olympics, won the World Juniors and I believe the U18 this year. That is impressive for a smaller country.

I've seen Dineen play a dozen times this year and I like him. He's a Brian Leetch light version. He doesn't wow you but at the end of the game he's had a hand in a lot of power play scoring. He's not big and tough but could be an NHL PP QB. Came in projected as a 3-4 D and was 1-2 by year end.

Elliotte Friedman reports the Sabres are interested in Czech free agent D-man Michal Kempny. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-panthers-chart-bold-new-direction/

I want the west to win the Cup because neither franchise has ever won. I'm leaning towards the Blues because they've been around longer but wouldn't be upset to see the heartbreak Sharks win. Those vets have been on a good team for a long time. The media would whine that the east is weaker and that there may not be a challenger to Western dominance until... the Sabres grow into a contender.

I realize what you're saying about puck moving D. I agree we don't need any Hal Gill types in this day and age. I was thinking more along the lines of Vlasic from the Sharks, who is a top 4 on a good team and was on Team Canada for the last Olympics. Never gets any press but obviously well respected. Checking his stats surprised me because he is getting some points, 39 this year, career best. He did get over a point a game in his last year in the Q as well. You may be on to something there, where scouts don't look for the Rod Langways, the coaches develop them into those roles once they turn pro.

Nice research. Focuses on the offensive side of the position. Defensemen come with a variety of skill sets and the shut down guys may not put up big numbers at any level but still end up on the first or second pair. I've always liked Ellis, on a different team he could be the PP QB. He would put up way better numbers with Josi.

I'm disappointed they got #1 pick but at least we stayed at 8. Ticket prices for the draft just tripled. I still want to go but will have to try and tune out Leaf Nation.

Matthews will always be in the shadow of the Eichel Tower.

I've only seen Chychrun play once. He didn't impress me, just played a solid two way game. This was early in the season before the Finns and others passed him. He didn't seem to be a potential #1 overall as was mentioned last year. Take my advice with a grain of salt as I watched Ekblad about 8 times in his draft year and thought his size was the only thing standing out. He was solid at both ends but didn't scream first overall. Maybe I expect too much from these young Dmen.

Kid is a finisher, good shot. Most of them where Mama hides the cookies.

Chicago is probably in the Caggiula mix due to a winning tradition, chance to play with North Dakota alumni Toews and their need for entry level contracts. Their revolving door needs cheap talent every year to keep that expensive core together. I hope his invite to our development camp made a good impression on him. The chance to grow with our young core and be close to home would be the best selling features. He sounds like a potential replacement for Ennis. A bit bigger too.

I think the NHL should relegate the Leafs to the AHL. Tanking would not be an option if relegation was in place. Sorry about your team MODO. That franchise has produced some talent over the years. Can they get back to the SHL next year by winning the Allsvenskan? Seems like relegation is a European thing, even the IIHF World Championships follow that process.