Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2018 6:18:12 GMT -5
Here it is, the moment we have all been waiting for... the Bracket Finals, pitting the two BarDown Godfathers against each other!
Will it be Smashville or the Devil himself?
We'll know at midnight tonight! Get your votes in.
Other than two players on my entire team, everyone is 30 or under. I may not have the best roster year one, but I without a doubt have a roster that will outlast anyone's for years to come. In sim leagues, this is my preferred way to build a contender and I think my team is second to none when it comes to longevity. With the randomness of the sim I'd rather have 5-7 years of a being a top 5 team than 2-3 years of being a top 3 team. This gives me a big edge towards other teams that is just unmatched.
My first pick came down to grabbing a top line center under 25. Monahan has averaged 62pts over the last four seasons and is one of the most consistent players in the league at both ends of the ice. With the additions of Neal and Lindholm, Monahan will have wingers like he's never seen before. This should boost his production as he enters his prime. My second pick I wanted a top line winger under 25, so it was easy to grab a guy like Filip Forsberg. He's also averaged 62pts the last 4 years and will only continue to improve his game. With forwards like Monahan, Forsberg, Zibanejad, Toffoli and Tierney who still have room to grow despite being NHL players already, this gives me a massive advantage. Top it all off with guys in their prime like JVR, Little, Frolik, Killorn and Comeau, plus veterans like Marleau and Steen, I feel like my forward depth is unmatched by anyone in the league.
Then we go to the backend with Brodie, Lindholm, Skjei, Muzzin, Scandella and Del Zotto. Every single one of them averaged 21 minutes or higher last year in the NHL and all six averaged 29pts. They're also ALL under 30 years old. To get this kind of talent on defense at this age is unreal. No one else in this league can say they have 6 top four defensemen all under 30.
Last but not least I have a very consistent (career average .918 SV%) high end goalie on a team that just keeps getting better and better, and a backup goalie that could end up being a starter on a rising Buffalo team.
Put it all together and there is no other team in this league that can steadily compete for as long as my team can.
Being the last remaining team out of the final four that went the extremely young prospect route I think already speaks volumes to the team that I have assembled. Slaying the beast that is Connor McDavid from the Red Wings, and perhaps the 3 best young forward tandem in Mackinnon, Pettersson and Nylander from the Flames to get where I am right now. I think what separated my team from the rest so far is the pure value I have gotten at each and every pick. I personally think that anybody can have a successful first 5-10 picks or so because of the players that are available. It is when you get into rounds 10-30 that I think really define teams in both the short term but especially the long term. Being that this poll is only through the first 20 picks, I think it is hard to argue that any team in the league made better picks in rounds 11-20. I was able to stockpile high value prospects after high value prospects in these rounds where it was beginning to trend down. In fact through the first 20 picks my oldest player is 23 year old Teuvo Teravainen who is coming off his first full NHL season and put up a stellar 64 points.
Obviously Jack Eichel is my franchise center who is poised for a monstrous breakout season. I followed that pick with Miro Heiskanen who is arguably the best prospect not named Dahlin, however some people actually view Heiskanen as a better all around defenseman than Dahlin. (I'm not one of those people but HFBoards is a scary place sometimes) Then we were able to add the top rated forward prospect in Andrei Svechnikov who would have gone 1st overall if it wasn't for that same Dahlin guy. However, these were the easy picks I was talking about where it doesn't really take much knowledge to take these type of players.
I think where my knowledge kicked in was actually as early as round 6, identifying Martin Necas who is going to be a bonafide #1 Center in Carolina who would coincidentally be paired with Svechnikov in real life. #1 Centers are extremely hard to come by and the fact I was able to get him in round 6 to go behind Jack Eichel was outstanding. Following that up with Dobson and Juolevi was also something I did not have in my cards at the time as I normally wait to build my defense, but the sheer value of these guys available in rounds 7 and 8 compared to some of the other young defenseman taken ahead of them already was too good to pass up. Dobson projects to be the Islanders #1 D while Juolevi projects to be a top pairing defenseman. However, my favorite defensive pick was somehow acquiring Dante Fabbro in round 10 who I had rated around the same level as Dobson and Juolevi which would round out my future top 4 defense, while taking Kravtsov in round 9 to round out my top 6 forwards.
Perhaps another Steel of the draft.. *pun alert* was Sam Steel in round 11, which just happened to be my pick directly after Fabbro. This guy is oozing with talent and on a lackluster Anaheim Ducks team, this kid has all the opportunity in the world. I followed that pick with obviously one of my favorite players in McLeod who has so much raw skill and top end speed he projects to be a deadly weapon if he moves to wing for the Devils in the near future playing alongside either Hischier or Zacha. Martin Kaut is a guy I also am really high on from this past entry draft going 16th overall, he reminds me so much of Martin Necas being both of them were from the Czech league in their draft year, not too much hype around either of them, and Kaut actually had better numbers than Necas did in their draft year. Kaut will be one of the guys that some people will look back on maybe as soon as next season and be like wow I should have picked him up similar to Necas.
Of course we had to pick up Andreis brother, Evgeny to unite the Svechnikov Brothers which is our official trademark and team slogan now as seen above. Unfortunately the good times quickly took a turn as I almost threw up not just one Flyers player but 2 in a row... Phillipe Myers and Oskar Lindblom. Myers may actually end up being the #2 defenseman in Philly being Provorovs D partner, this ranks up there with my Fabbro pick in terms of what i think my best value round was. Lindblom is an extremely skilled winger who will most likely be playing 2nd line minutes this year or even possibly first line if Philly shuffles their depth chart around. Our next pick secures our 6 defenseman in the likes of Vaakanainen who somehow was still there in round 17, being 18th overall in last years draft. Vaakanainen projects to maybe even be on the Bruins top Defensive pairing as he is there top left shot defensive prospect and is ranked as their best prospect even though other Bruin prospects were taken ahead of him in the draft oddly enough. My final 3 picks I really enjoyed as the first of the trio i took Jake Virtanen in round 18 who I count as a calculated risk. Being that he was my 12th forward taken I figured why not take a flyer on the former 6th overall pick who just put up 20 points in the NHL and seems to be heading in the right direction to perhaps become a 2nd liner but may end up just being a 3rd line player. The low risk high reward in round 18 was too good to not take. Jason Robertson is another guy I really like and think he will reach the Dallas Stars' top 6 in the next 2 years as he possesses offensive firepower putting up over 40 goals in juniors 2 years in a row while also leading his team in points for 2 years in a row as well. My last pick is the big powerforward Lawson Crouse the former 11th overall pick in 2015. Powerforwards always take the longest to develop but Crouse is on a nice path right now putting up 32 points in 57 AHL games and ending the year strong. I think Crouse takes a big stride this season and plays close to all 82 games in the NHL this year.
Obviously not having a goalie is a big question mark, but as I stated before goalies are a crap shoot and I'd much rather take a skater in case one of my prospects does not pan out I have more in the cupboard to pull from and hit the jackpot on. Goales are by far the easiest position to trade for because teams who are starting their rebuilds every season always move their goalies and many teams end up with having 2 starters with the new ratings every season. Not to mention you can always trade for a veteran goalie that is still rated good as a rental as you develop goalies you take a flier on and hope they pan out.
Will it be Smashville or the Devil himself?
We'll know at midnight tonight! Get your votes in.
Nashville Predators
Other than two players on my entire team, everyone is 30 or under. I may not have the best roster year one, but I without a doubt have a roster that will outlast anyone's for years to come. In sim leagues, this is my preferred way to build a contender and I think my team is second to none when it comes to longevity. With the randomness of the sim I'd rather have 5-7 years of a being a top 5 team than 2-3 years of being a top 3 team. This gives me a big edge towards other teams that is just unmatched.
My first pick came down to grabbing a top line center under 25. Monahan has averaged 62pts over the last four seasons and is one of the most consistent players in the league at both ends of the ice. With the additions of Neal and Lindholm, Monahan will have wingers like he's never seen before. This should boost his production as he enters his prime. My second pick I wanted a top line winger under 25, so it was easy to grab a guy like Filip Forsberg. He's also averaged 62pts the last 4 years and will only continue to improve his game. With forwards like Monahan, Forsberg, Zibanejad, Toffoli and Tierney who still have room to grow despite being NHL players already, this gives me a massive advantage. Top it all off with guys in their prime like JVR, Little, Frolik, Killorn and Comeau, plus veterans like Marleau and Steen, I feel like my forward depth is unmatched by anyone in the league.
Then we go to the backend with Brodie, Lindholm, Skjei, Muzzin, Scandella and Del Zotto. Every single one of them averaged 21 minutes or higher last year in the NHL and all six averaged 29pts. They're also ALL under 30 years old. To get this kind of talent on defense at this age is unreal. No one else in this league can say they have 6 top four defensemen all under 30.
Last but not least I have a very consistent (career average .918 SV%) high end goalie on a team that just keeps getting better and better, and a backup goalie that could end up being a starter on a rising Buffalo team.
Put it all together and there is no other team in this league that can steadily compete for as long as my team can.
Forsberg - Monahan - van Riemsdyk
Steen - Zibanejad - Toffoli
Marleau - Little - Killorn
Comeau - Tierney - Frolik
Brodie - Lindholm
Skjei - Muzzin
Scandella - Del Zotto
Andersen
Hutton
Steen - Zibanejad - Toffoli
Marleau - Little - Killorn
Comeau - Tierney - Frolik
Brodie - Lindholm
Skjei - Muzzin
Scandella - Del Zotto
Andersen
Hutton
New Jersey Devils
Being the last remaining team out of the final four that went the extremely young prospect route I think already speaks volumes to the team that I have assembled. Slaying the beast that is Connor McDavid from the Red Wings, and perhaps the 3 best young forward tandem in Mackinnon, Pettersson and Nylander from the Flames to get where I am right now. I think what separated my team from the rest so far is the pure value I have gotten at each and every pick. I personally think that anybody can have a successful first 5-10 picks or so because of the players that are available. It is when you get into rounds 10-30 that I think really define teams in both the short term but especially the long term. Being that this poll is only through the first 20 picks, I think it is hard to argue that any team in the league made better picks in rounds 11-20. I was able to stockpile high value prospects after high value prospects in these rounds where it was beginning to trend down. In fact through the first 20 picks my oldest player is 23 year old Teuvo Teravainen who is coming off his first full NHL season and put up a stellar 64 points.
Obviously Jack Eichel is my franchise center who is poised for a monstrous breakout season. I followed that pick with Miro Heiskanen who is arguably the best prospect not named Dahlin, however some people actually view Heiskanen as a better all around defenseman than Dahlin. (I'm not one of those people but HFBoards is a scary place sometimes) Then we were able to add the top rated forward prospect in Andrei Svechnikov who would have gone 1st overall if it wasn't for that same Dahlin guy. However, these were the easy picks I was talking about where it doesn't really take much knowledge to take these type of players.
I think where my knowledge kicked in was actually as early as round 6, identifying Martin Necas who is going to be a bonafide #1 Center in Carolina who would coincidentally be paired with Svechnikov in real life. #1 Centers are extremely hard to come by and the fact I was able to get him in round 6 to go behind Jack Eichel was outstanding. Following that up with Dobson and Juolevi was also something I did not have in my cards at the time as I normally wait to build my defense, but the sheer value of these guys available in rounds 7 and 8 compared to some of the other young defenseman taken ahead of them already was too good to pass up. Dobson projects to be the Islanders #1 D while Juolevi projects to be a top pairing defenseman. However, my favorite defensive pick was somehow acquiring Dante Fabbro in round 10 who I had rated around the same level as Dobson and Juolevi which would round out my future top 4 defense, while taking Kravtsov in round 9 to round out my top 6 forwards.
Perhaps another Steel of the draft.. *pun alert* was Sam Steel in round 11, which just happened to be my pick directly after Fabbro. This guy is oozing with talent and on a lackluster Anaheim Ducks team, this kid has all the opportunity in the world. I followed that pick with obviously one of my favorite players in McLeod who has so much raw skill and top end speed he projects to be a deadly weapon if he moves to wing for the Devils in the near future playing alongside either Hischier or Zacha. Martin Kaut is a guy I also am really high on from this past entry draft going 16th overall, he reminds me so much of Martin Necas being both of them were from the Czech league in their draft year, not too much hype around either of them, and Kaut actually had better numbers than Necas did in their draft year. Kaut will be one of the guys that some people will look back on maybe as soon as next season and be like wow I should have picked him up similar to Necas.
Of course we had to pick up Andreis brother, Evgeny to unite the Svechnikov Brothers which is our official trademark and team slogan now as seen above. Unfortunately the good times quickly took a turn as I almost threw up not just one Flyers player but 2 in a row... Phillipe Myers and Oskar Lindblom. Myers may actually end up being the #2 defenseman in Philly being Provorovs D partner, this ranks up there with my Fabbro pick in terms of what i think my best value round was. Lindblom is an extremely skilled winger who will most likely be playing 2nd line minutes this year or even possibly first line if Philly shuffles their depth chart around. Our next pick secures our 6 defenseman in the likes of Vaakanainen who somehow was still there in round 17, being 18th overall in last years draft. Vaakanainen projects to maybe even be on the Bruins top Defensive pairing as he is there top left shot defensive prospect and is ranked as their best prospect even though other Bruin prospects were taken ahead of him in the draft oddly enough. My final 3 picks I really enjoyed as the first of the trio i took Jake Virtanen in round 18 who I count as a calculated risk. Being that he was my 12th forward taken I figured why not take a flyer on the former 6th overall pick who just put up 20 points in the NHL and seems to be heading in the right direction to perhaps become a 2nd liner but may end up just being a 3rd line player. The low risk high reward in round 18 was too good to not take. Jason Robertson is another guy I really like and think he will reach the Dallas Stars' top 6 in the next 2 years as he possesses offensive firepower putting up over 40 goals in juniors 2 years in a row while also leading his team in points for 2 years in a row as well. My last pick is the big powerforward Lawson Crouse the former 11th overall pick in 2015. Powerforwards always take the longest to develop but Crouse is on a nice path right now putting up 32 points in 57 AHL games and ending the year strong. I think Crouse takes a big stride this season and plays close to all 82 games in the NHL this year.
Obviously not having a goalie is a big question mark, but as I stated before goalies are a crap shoot and I'd much rather take a skater in case one of my prospects does not pan out I have more in the cupboard to pull from and hit the jackpot on. Goales are by far the easiest position to trade for because teams who are starting their rebuilds every season always move their goalies and many teams end up with having 2 starters with the new ratings every season. Not to mention you can always trade for a veteran goalie that is still rated good as a rental as you develop goalies you take a flier on and hope they pan out.
New Jersey Devils Future Starting Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Jack Eichel - Teuvo Teravainen
Jonathan Drouin - Martin Necas - Vitali Kravtsov
Martin Kaut - Sam Steel - Oskar Lindblom
Evgeny Svechnikov - Michael McLeod - Jason Robertson
Jake Virtanen - Lawson Crouse
Miro Heiskanen - Noah Dobson
Olli Juolevi - Dante Fabbro
Phillipe Myers - Urho Vaakanainen
Pylon 1
Pylon 2
Andrei Svechnikov - Jack Eichel - Teuvo Teravainen
Jonathan Drouin - Martin Necas - Vitali Kravtsov
Martin Kaut - Sam Steel - Oskar Lindblom
Evgeny Svechnikov - Michael McLeod - Jason Robertson
Jake Virtanen - Lawson Crouse
Miro Heiskanen - Noah Dobson
Olli Juolevi - Dante Fabbro
Phillipe Myers - Urho Vaakanainen
Pylon 1
Pylon 2