NHL EHM Managerial Dynasty - Page 2

sachmo71 · 08-02-2004, 09:13 AM

Nice streak you have going here. Good news is that the fatigue factor is much better in the patch, so hopefully you can continue your career with out restarting.

Karim · 08-02-2004, 02:10 PM

Yes. 7-0-1 in the last 8 and it couldn't happen at a better time but there's still 18 games left and nothing is clinched yet.

Thanks for the info about fatigue. It's a "little" thing compared to features such as free agency or finances but it makes a difference in the day to day setting of the lineups.

Karim · 08-03-2004, 05:07 AM

February 27th, 2004
-----------------------------
I've taken a serious look at Ilya Kovalchuk. Other than an 8 in Bravery, his attributes are exceptional. His rating is only 7.07 which is a bit of a concern but I chalk that up to playing for Atlanta. I'm passing on this deal because I have pretty good chemistry right now and I'd have to depart with one or two pretty significant pieces of the puzzle to get him. Still, the Flair that he would bring is something that is missing on this team; only Steve Reinprecht and Jarome Iginla have double-digits in Flair.

Toronto trades F Nathan Perrot (27) to the New York Islanders for the rights to F Evgeny Tunik (19).

Game 65: vs. Washington
Kiprusoff starts and Reinprecht moves up to the first line to replace Richards. Bell centers the second line and Ruutu moves up to his right wing.

Our undefeated string comes to an end as we lose 4-1. Kiprusoff was pulled for, I believe, the first time this year. We gave up two PP goals; I just can't seem to get our specialty teams in order. We now embark on a crucial five game road string against Western Conference opponents with whom were fighting for the playoffs. The next five games may very well decide our fate.

Jaromir Jagr (NYR) wins Offensive Player of the Month.
Dwayne Roloson (Min) wins Defensive Player of the Month.
Jared Aulin (Wsh) wins Rookie of the Month.

The Board is pleased with my overall performance and our finances are extremely secure. Our payroll and player budget are each $33,500,000.

Vancouver has traded D Kirill Koltsov (21) to Pittsburgh for F Kris Beech (23).

Toronto has traded the rights to F John Mitchell (19) and a 3rd Round Pick in 2005 to Atlanta in exchange for D Garnet Exelby (22).

Because of all the recent trade activity by Toronto and because of the number of Maple Leafs fans at FOFC, here's a rundown of their up-to-date roster:

G Ed Belfour, 15-18-7, 2.81GAA, .897 SV%, 7.05 AvR - wants a new contract
G Trevor Kidd, 7-15-3, 3.70 GAA, .868 SV%, 6.16 AvR - being shopped around

D Aki Berg, 65 GP, 1 G, 12 Pts, +3, 32 Pim, 6.94 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch is an inspired leader
D Tomas Kaberle, 60 GP, 4 G, 23 Pts, -13, 18 Pim, 7.08 AvR - will strive to improve team's postion
D Wade Belak, 10 GP, 1 G, 4 Pts, +33, 33 Pim, 7.60 AvR - Atlanta and Washington are interested, spent most of the year in St. John's
D Drake Berehowsky, 58 GP, 0 G, 9 Pts, -18, 14 Pim, 6.66 AvR - has lost confidence in the GM
D Ken Klee, 54 GP, 5 G, 15 Pts, -16, 44 Pim, 7.22 AvR - will strive to improve team's position
D Brian Leetch, 65 GP, 8 G, 32 Pts, +4, 4 Pim, 7.35 AvR - feels the team has more potential than it's showing

F Harold Druken, 37 GP, 8 G, 19 Pts, +1, 14 Pim, 6.92 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch is an inspired leader
F Chad Kilger, 47 GP, 7 G, 15 Pts, -13, 6 Pim, 6.72 AvR - happy to stay on the team
F Alexei Ponikarovsky, 34 GP, 6 G, 13 Pts, -13, 12 Pim, 6.65 AvR - has lost confidence in the GM
F Gary Roberts, 47 GP, 14 G, 27 Pts, +5, 96 Pim, 6.96 AvR - will strive to improve team's position, proud to be playing in Toronto
F Nik Antropov, 56 GP, 9 G, 26 Pts, +0, 28 Pim, 7.16 AvR - will strive to improve team's position, enthusiastic about his future in Toronto
F Ron Francis, 59 GP, 9 G, 29 Pts, -12, 18 Pim, 7.02 AvR - feels the team has more potential than it's showing
F Joe Nieuwendyk, 44 GP, 14 G, 24 Pts, -1, 23 Pim, 6.89 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch has an essential role on the team
F Matt Stajan, 59 GP, 11 G, 23 Pts, -3, 12 Pim, 6.86 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position
F Mats Sundin, 65 GP, 23 G, 53 Pts, -1, 24 Pim, 7.35 AvR - feels the team has more potential than it's showing, proud to be playing in Toronto
F Tie Domi, 53 GP, 6 G, 15 Pts, -4, 153 Pim, 6.94 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position, proud to be playing in Toronto
F Tom Fitzgerald, 17 GP, 1 G, 6 Pts, +3, 4 Pim, 6.65 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position
F Alexander Mogilny, 60 GP, 19 G, 45 Pts, -6, 18 Pim, 7.08 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch has an essential role on the team
F Owen Nolan, 59 GP, 19 G, 34 Pts, -9, 53 Pim, 7.14 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position, Florida is interested
F Mikael Renberg, 50 GP, 8 G, 17 Pts, +1, 6 Pim, 6.70 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position
F Darcy Tucker, 25 GP, 2 G, 6 Pts, -4, 18 Pim, 6.68 AvR - proud to be playing in Toronto, tore MCL in November - out 3 months

Bryan Marchment has been playing the whole season in St. John's. The only prospects that look decent on the St. John's roster are G Mikael Tellqvist and D Pierre Hedin. For some reason, D Karel Pilar is buried with the CHL's Memphis Riverkings - San Jose is interested in his services. The only unsigned prospects that look any good are F Alexander Steen and F Jeremy Williams.

This team is old and it's time for a major rebuilding effort.

My seven scouts on their mission to find players eligible for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft have completed their search. After each scout finished their search, I manually imported their findings to Excel. I now have a list of 403 draft eligible players and the rank they were given 0-5 stars. Not every player was found by every scout so if a player was overlooked, he'll get a 0 rating from me for that particular scout. Some players were returned with a 0 rating but they were noticed for some reason or another so I'll adjust those players to have a rating of 0.5. I then almagamate the results based on their individual rating, the number of lists they made it onto (out of 7), and a margin of error based on the scouts ability to judge potential. From here I should be able to get a clear picture of the top players who I won't spend much time scouting anymore. My biggest concern is the mass of players in the 3-3.5 range; those are the ones I need to concentrate on in order to get a better feeling of who to draft in the mid-to-late rounds.

After my own formulas are inputted into Excel, here is the Top 30. A perfect score from my scouts would be 8.93. In italics is where they were drafted in real life this past year (round, pick, team). After my ranking is the ISS in-game mid-season ranking.

1)1) LW Alexander Ovechkin (18) - Dynamo, Russia (8.93) [1, 1, Wsh]
1)3) C Rostislav Olesz (18) - Vitkovice, Czech Republic (8.93) [1, 7, Fla]
1)2) C Yevgeni Malkin (18) - Metallurg M., Russia (8.93) [1, 2, Pit]
1)5) C Robbie Schremp (17) - London, OHL (8.93) [1, 25, Edm]

5)9) LW/RW Andrew Ladd (18) - Calgary, WHL (8.71) [1, 4, Car]

6)11) D Cam Barker (17) - Medicine Hat, WHL (8.66) [1, 3, Chi]
6)46) D Mike Green (18) - Saskatoon, WHL (8.66) [1, 29, Wsh]

8)4) D Andrej Meszaros (18) - Trencin, Slovakia (8.64) [1, 23, Ott]

9)51) RW/C Blake Wheeler (17) - Breck, USA (8.20) [1, 5, Pho]

10)18) LW Alexander Radulov (17) - Dynamo, Russia (7.93) [1, 15, Nsh]

11)20) LW Wojtek Wolski (18) - Brampton, OHL (7.90) [1, 21, Col]

12)-) G Marco Buhrer (24) - Bern, Switzerland (7.86) [not drafted]
This is the highest rated player not to appear on every scout's list. One scout thought he wasn't worthy of consideration whatsoever. I'm thinking this probably has something to do with his age. However, if he's still available in the mid-to-late rounds, I don't see why he shouldn't be picked up. His attributes and stats suggest he's already better than Gerber (also from Switzerland) and could step into a back-up role in the NHL fairly easily.

13)8) C Kyle Chipchura (18) - Prince Albert, WHL (7.69) [1, 18, Mon]

14)-) RW Jan Kolar (22) - Pardubice, Czech Republic (7.64) [not drafted]

15)13) RW Jakub Sindel (18) - Sparta, Czech Republic (7.36) [2, 54, Chi]

16)-) C Matthew Myers (19) - Devils, Great Britain (7.19) [not drafted]
Not surprisingly, a kid from Great Britain didn't get drafted into the NHL this past season. I suspect this anomaly is the result of the Cardiff Devils' researcher being a little too enthusiastic. Still, if the kid is good in the game, as in real life, who cares where he's from?

17)-) C Petr Koukal (21) - Pardubice, Czech Republic (7.14) [not drafted]
I realize that NHL teams shy away from drafting older players, but if they're good and have several years of development already, you'd think they'd be closer to NHL-ready than their 17 or 18 year old counterparts. Calgary drafted a 20 year old by the name of Brandon Prust in the 2nd round this year and he already looks AHL ready. Unless it's a sure thing, I think drafting college kids and overagers could be a wise strategy.

18)24) LW Johannes Salmonsson (18) - Djurgarden, Sweden (7.07) [2, 31, Pit]

19)53) C Bruce Graham (18) - Moncton, QMJHL (6.93) [2, 51, NYR]

20)39) LW Travis Zajac (18) - Salmon Arm, BCHL (6.87) [1, 20, NJ]

21)61) RD/LD Grant Lewis (19) - Darmouth, USA (6.86) [2, 40, Atl]

22)31) LW/RW Kris Chucko (17) - Salmon Arm, BCHL (6.66) [1, 24, Cgy]
22)-) RW/C Jaroslav Markovic (18) - Martin, Slovakia (6.66) [not drafted]
22)-) RD Roman Tesliuk (18) - Kamloops, WHL (6.66) [2, 44, Edm]

25)19) LW Alexandre Picard (18) - Lewiston, QMJHL (6.43) [1, 8, Cbs]

26)-) LD/RD Ondrej Stanek (20) - Slavia, Czech Republic (6.19) [not drafted]

27)87) RW/C Drew Stafford (18) - North Dakota, USA (6.13) [1, 13, Buf]

28)177) RW David Laliberte (17) - P.E.I., QMJHL (5.90) [4, 124, Phi]
28)56) LW Antonio Rizzello (19) - Rapperswil, Switzerland (5.90) [not drafted]

30)133) C Ryan Garlock (17) - Windsor, OHL (5.84) [2, 45, Chi]
30)-) C/LW Romano Lemm (19) - Kloten, Switzerland (5.84) [not drafted]
30)27) C Evan McGrath (18) - Kitchener, OHL (5.84) [4, 128, Det]
30)37) LW Fredrik Naslund (18) - Vasteras Jrs., Sweden (5.84) [4, 104, Dal]

Al Montoya(-), Ladislav Smid(-), Boris Valabik(-), Lauri Tukonen(38), A.J. Thelen(-), Devan Dubnyk(29), Petteri Nokelainen(7), Marek Schwarz(6), Lauri Korpikoski(-), Lukas Kaspar(35), Cory Schneider(52), Jeff Schultz(100), Mark Fistric(-) and Andy Rogers(161) were all first round selections this year but didn't figure into my top 30. What this means is that for whatever reason, my scouts are not high on these players. I'll report back once the actual draft happens in June and compare it to actual events but other than perhaps overrating some Europeans (which could simply be the fault of my scouts), I think SI did a very good job of modelling draft eligible players and the ISS ranking system. Remember these are mid-season rankings and things could really change. All I hope is that the success rate of NHL drafting is correctly modelled and that not everyone selected in the first round goes on to a successful career.

Karim · 08-03-2004, 07:01 AM

I've been playing around with a way to automate my drafting instead of having to leave it to hunches and guesswork based on scouting reports that tells me he's "loyal" or "reliable" or "consistent". Those type of reports are only useful if two players are identical in every other respect.

I've come up with the following formula to come up with a ranking:

[å((scout rating * (judging potential/10))*average attributes)]-((age+ISS ranking)/10)+(AvR*league modifier)

League Modifiers:

Finnish SM-League, Swedish Elite League, Czech Extra League = 1

Russian League = .9

Slovakian League = .8

QMJHL, OHL, WHL, NCAA, DEL = .7

Swiss League = .6

Swedish Allsvenskan, Finnish Mestis, Russian 1st Division, Austrian League, German 1st Division, Finnish A-Juniors, Russian A-Juniors, Swedish A-Juniors = .5

British Elite League and Finnish Suomi-League = .4

ISS rankings only go to 200 so I'm thinking of using 200 if the player is unranked.

What would also be cool would be to factor in changes from preliminary to mid-season to final rankings. Generally you prefer guys whose stock is on the rise so the ISS Ranking will be calculated using the Pre-liminary, Mid-Season and Finals Rankings but will be staggered toward the end.

klayman · 08-03-2004, 06:34 PM

That sounds like way too much work

DeToxRox · 08-03-2004, 07:23 PM

as far as Al Montoya not being in your draft list (and maybe a few others), kids in the NCAA aren't in EHM.

Karim · 08-03-2004, 09:16 PM

Actually, Al Montoya, A.J. Thelen and other NCAA players are indeed there. If you use the "modified" config file, you can also get the real NCAA teams.

The only limitation is that none of the NCAA teams are playable.

The reason he didn't make my Top 30 was simply because he didn't fit the criteria I established.

Karim · 08-03-2004, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klayman

That sounds like way too much work

Yes but I'm a draft freak so it's actually a good way to kill the hours and pretend to be productive...

Johnny93g · 08-03-2004, 10:23 PM

My God, theres no way id have enough patience to do that, and theres no way i would have enough patience to analyze the info either.....But if is quite fascinating to read....

I glad your not trading for Kovalchuk. It seems like everyone who plays this game get Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, Crosby, the same names over and over again(from what ive seen on the SI boards).......

Thanks for the Leafs update, some of the trades they have made

Everyone loves Brian Leetch, which makes sense, and there almost all proud to wear the blue and white

Next year, they will dominate, I guarentee it. But as long as there out of the playoffs....GO FLAMES

sachmo71 · 08-04-2004, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny93g

My God, theres no way id have enough patience to do that, and theres no way i would have enough patience to analyze the info either.....But if is quite fascinating to read....

I glad your not trading for Kovalchuk. It seems like everyone who plays this game get Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, Crosby, the same names over and over again(from what ive seen on the SI boards).......

Thanks for the Leafs update, some of the trades they have made

Everyone loves Brian Leetch, which makes sense, and there almost all proud to wear the blue and white

Next year, they will dominate, I guarentee it. But as long as there out of the playoffs....GO FLAMES

Everyone plays the game for different reasons. For me, fooling the AI is boring, but for some, they want the best record they can get. I'm pretty sure that eventually, Riz will get the AI into a state where these kind of trades will cost you big time.

Karim · 08-04-2004, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny93g

My God, theres no way id have enough patience to do that, and theres no way i would have enough patience to analyze the info either.....But if is quite fascinating to read....

Thanks Johnny. It's strange thought that I have the patience for the draft stuff but the fact that player instructions are tied to the position rather than the player bugs me (even though I have to admit it only takes me about 5 minutes whereas this draft stuff took a lot longer).

Karim · 08-04-2004, 10:41 AM

Some of the names you might expect on a draft list (like Cam Barker or Robbie Schremp) are not here because I specifically excluded them from consideration after not liking what I saw. Essentially, if the player had <8 in Bravery, Determination, Teamwork, Work Rate, Speed, Stamina and Strength he was eliminated.

Here's what Excel has spit out. I don't suspect my final draft list to change much from this as the only things that will change are final ISS rankings and AvR (which won't drastically affect the results). One thing I like about this analysis is that it shows how deep the draft is and the fall-off from one player to the next (at least in the opinion of my scouts). (Italics means not drafted in the NHL).

Top 30:
1) LW Alexander Ovechkin 126.345
2) LW/RW Andrew Ladd 102.359
3) RD Mike Green 96.737
4) RW Jakub Sindel 92.106
5) C Kyle Chipchura 86.252
6) G Marco Buhrer 81.002
7) LW/RW Kris Chucko 77.315
8) C Bruce Graham 73.824
9) LW Alexandre Picard 73.735
10) C Travis Zajac 71.569
11) RD/LD Grant Lewis 70.406
12) RW Antti Pihlstrom 66.600
13) C Matthew Myers 64.349 (The first Brit drafted to the NHL?)
14) C Evan McGrath 62.542
15) LW Antonio Rizzello 60.617
16) C Rob Hisey 60.510
17) C/RW Eric Hunter 59.728
18) LW John Vigilante 56.942
19) LW Fredrik Naslund 56.534
20) C Ryan Garlock 55.062
21) RD Roman Tesliuk 54.166
22) G Marek Schwarz 52.15
23) RW/C Jaroslav Markovic 51.994
24) LD/RD Kyrill Lyamin 51.897
25) G Jeff Glass 50.922
26) C Yannick Tifu 49.681
27) RW David Laliberte 48.496
28) LW/RW Jens Jacobs 46.679
29) C/LW/RW Filip Hollstrom 45.990
30) LW/C/RW Lars Erik Spets 45.304

Well, that was fun. Now back to playing the game.

klayman · 08-04-2004, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karim

Some of the names you might expect on a draft list (like Cam Barker or Robbie Schremp) are not here because I specifically excluded them from consideration after not liking what I saw. Essentially, if the player had <8 in Bravery, Determination, Teamwork, Work Rate, Speed, Stamina and Strength he was eliminated.

Come on, admit it. You didn't include Robbie cause he's an Oiler now

Karim · 08-04-2004, 04:11 PM

Like I said, I didn't like what I saw.

Karim · 08-04-2004, 04:16 PM

March 2nd, 2004
------------------------

Game 66: @ San Jose
Kipper starts on this crucial 5-game road swing. No changes to the lineup or tactics. Richards is still out.

A good start with a 4-2 victory; 3/3 on the PP. Reinprecht cashes in on a $150,000 bonus for reaching 20 assists.

Bill Guerin (Dal) wins Offensive Player of the Week.
Martin Gerber (Cgy) wins Defensive Player of the Week.

Game 67: @ Dallas
Kipper starts. I've planned it so Kipper plays in Phoenix in a few days. Warrener is out and replaced by Gauthier. (Careless me accidentally clicked on Continue Game before finishing my tactics).

Still, we managed a 3-2 OT loss so we get a point.

Vancouver trades G Blake Ward (22) and F Fedor Fedorov (22) to Florida for D Lukas Karjicek (21).

Toronto trades F Mikael Renberg (31) and the rights to D Dominic D'Amour (20) to Chicago for F Kyle Calder (25). This is the first good trade Toronto's made. Chicago has now essentially given up Mark Bell and Kyle Calder for Dean McAmmond and Mikael Renberg. No wonder Blackhawks fans are pulling their hair out.

Game 68: @ Los Angeles
Kipper starts because I forgot to make the switch. Warrener is still unavailable. Richards is healthy but I'm saving him for tomorrow against Phoenix.

We lose 5-3 but score two PP goals. Ruutu collects $50,000 for getting 15 goals. I've shown faith in the guy and he's been one of the best and most consistent players all year.

Sergei Fedorov will be out for 4 months with a separated shoulder.

Toronto trades F Owen Nolan (32) to Washington for G Maxime Ouellet (22). I can hear Johnny93g screaming now.

Edmonton trades D Igor Ulanov (34) and D Cory Cross (28) to Carolina for the rights to D Jesse Lane (21) and a 1st Round Pick in 2004. This one makes sense and looks like a good deal for both sides.

Toronto sends D Ken Klee (32) to Detroit for F Nathan Robinson (22). It looks like Toronto is planning to be involved in the Crosby sweepstakes.

Vancouver sends D Sami Salo (29) to Minnesota for F Kyle Wanvig (23).

Game 69: @ Phoenix
Kipper is at 84% with OK morale while Gerber is at 100% with Superb morale. I go with Gerber. I also play a hunch and put Richards with Bell on the 2nd line and keep Reinprecht with Iginla.

Yes! A must needed 4-2 victory. The Gelinas-Richards-Bell line was -1 so that didn't work but the Simon-Reinprecht-Iginla line looked good. Simon cashes in with $300,000 for getting 20 goals and 40 points. Reinprecht gets $150,000 for reaching 40 points and Ruutu gets $50,000 for reaching 30 points. A good day all around.

Great. Iginla will be out for two weeks after suffering an abdomen injury in practice. That means he'll probably be back with about 5 games left.

Game 70: @ Vancouver
Kipper starts. Gauthier in for Leopold. Nieminen in for Iginla.

We lose 2-1 in OT on a goal by Markus Naslund 24 seconds in.

The trade deadline has passed. There were no actual trades the day of the deadline but obviously lots took place leading up to it so I have no complaints there.

Jarome Iginla (Cgy) has won Offensive Player of the Week.
Ed Jovanovski (Van) has won Defensive Player of the Week.

Johnny93g · 08-04-2004, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karim

[size=2]
Toronto trades F Owen Nolan (32) to Washington for G Maxime Ouellet (22). I can hear Johnny93g screaming now.

OMG...NOOO.....Owen.....damn you Karim, damn this world you have created. We need Owen, screw Crosby, I want NOLAN

Karim · 08-05-2004, 12:32 AM

March 14th, 2004
-------------------------
Vancouver has now surpassed Phoenix as my main threat for the playoffs. Here are the standings with 12 games left to go. (GP - Pts)

Western Conference
-----------------------------
Colorado 71-99
Dallas 70-91
St. Louis 70-79
Los Angeles 71-83
Anaheim 71-79
Minnesota 71-79
Detroit 71-79
Calgary 70-78
------------------
Vancouver 72-74
Phoenix 71-71
Nashville 70-58
Edmonton 71-56
San Jose 71-52
Columbus 71-48
Chicago 71-43

Eastern Conference
-----------------------------
New Jersey 73-93
Carolina 72-85
Boston 73-84
NY Islanders 71-84
Ottawa 72-80
Philadelphia 71-80
Tampa Bay 72-74
Washington 71-73
--------------------------
Florida 72-72
NY Rangers 72-71
Buffalo 71-69
Pittsburgh 71-67
Atlanta 72-63
Toronto 71-61
Montreal 72-60

Game 71: vs. Detroit
Kipper starts. Leopold in for Regehr.

A solid and unexpected 5-1 win without Iginla or Regehr in the lineup, including 4 powerplay goals. The Gelinas-Richards-Nilson combination struck three times on the PP. The Board is pleased.

Game 72: vs. Buffalo
Gerber starts. Gauthier out for Regehr.

A 7-2 win. Bell was first star with 2 goals and 1 assist. The Gelinas-Richards-Nilson powerplay unit struck again; maybe finally I've discovered a line that clicks on the PP unit.

Eric Belanger (LA) wins Offensive Player of the Week.
Robert Esche (Phi) wins Defensive Player of the Week.

Game 73: @ Ottawa
Kipper starts. Both Regehr and Warrener have to come out because of conditioning so Gauthier is back in along with Montador who hasn't seen action in a while.

A great 4-2 road victory against a tough team with three regulars out.

Game 74: @ NY Islanders
Gerber starts. This wil be tough because it's the second game of back-to-back games on the road and the team is tired. Plus, I'm basically reduced to 3 lines since Ortmeyer is only at 72%.

An expected 3-1 loss. [I was overruled and Iginla was put in the lineup instead of Ortmeyer.] I'm later informed that Iginla is still 10 days away. Yikes. There's a way to lose the franchise as we approach the post-season.

Game 75: vs. Los Angeles
Gerber starts. Regehr and Iginla are out.

A good 4-2 victory to ensure the previous loss doesn't become a losing streak. Gelinas collects $200,000 for reaching 20 goals.

Game 76: @ Detroit
Kipper starts. No lineup changes.

A 5-3 loss. Shanahan gets a hatrick, two goals on the PP. No doubt Regehr would have helped here.

Pavel Datsyuk (Det) wins Offensive Player of the Week.
Ty Conklin (Edm) wins Defensive Player of the Week.

Wilm is out for ten days with a knee injury sustained during practice. Suddenly we're short of forwards but to bring Lombardi up means someone has to go down.

Game 77: @ Nashville
Gerber starts. Souray has to come out because he's exhausted. I use only three lines because we only have three centers. The fourth lines consists of Nieminen-Ortmeyer-Montador so I want them to see little ice as possible.

Another 5-3 loss. Not good. [Iginla was magically back in the lineup.] Nilson gets $100,000 for reaching 20 assists and Reinprecht gets $150,000 for getting 20 goals.

I recall Lombardi and demote Montador.

Game 78: vs. San Jose
Gerber starts. Lombardi centers the 3rd line and Yelle goes down to the 4th. I hate having offensive players on the fourth line.

Another "must win", 4-2 victory. Gelinas gets injured for a couple days. [Again, Iginla is playing without my consent.]

Game 79: @ St. Louis
Kipper starts. Iginla is officially back but Gelinas is out. More line juggling as a result. We're looking good but haven't mathematically clinched a playoff spot.

A 5-3 victory that clinches a playoff spot! Clark gets a $50,000 bonus for reaching 10 goals. Nieminen is out for 10 days with a broken finger. (I would have thought morale would be increased because of this but there's no change in that department.)

Game 80: vs. Edmonton
Gerber starts. Regehr, Gelinas and Nieminen are out.

The Greasers go down 7-1. [Gelinas played against my will and collects a bonus of $200,000 for 20 assists. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.]

Markus Naslund (Van) wins Offensive Player of the Month.
Ed Jovanovski (Van) wins Defensive Player of the Month.
Andrew Raycroft (Bos) wins Rookie of the Month.

Jaroslav Svoboda (Car) wins Offensive Player of the Week.
Fred Brathwaite (Cbs) wins Defensive Player of the Week.

In other leagues...

Czech Republic Extraliga
HC Slavia Praha beat HC Moeller Pardubic 4 games to 2
Leading scorer: F Tomas Divisek (24) - 52gp, 30g, 55pts (transfer arranged to Philadelphia)

Finland SM-Liga
Finals about to take place.
Leading scorer: F Petr Tenkrat (26) - 54gp, 26g, 53pts (rights owned by Florida)

Russian Superleague
Finals between Avangard Omsk and Ak-Bars Kazan even at 1 game a piece
Leading scorer: F Vadim Shakhraychuk (29) - 60gp, 22g, 57pts (no NHL rights)

Slovakia Extraliga
HC Slovan Slovnaft Bratislava leads Dukla Trencin 2 games to 1.
Leading scorer: F Roman Kukumberg (23) - 54gp, 28g, 50pts (draft eligible)

Swedish Elitserien
Vastra Frolunda HC leads Modo Hockey 3 games to 1. (Frolunda is stacked with great young players.)
Leading scorer: F Juha Lind (30) - 50gp, 25g, 48pts (no NHL rights)

Ontario Hockey League
Eastern Conference teams still alive: Barrie Colts, Ottawa 67s, Kingston Frontenacs, Brampton Battalion
Western Conference teams still alive: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Kitchener Rangers, Sarnia Sting, Owen Sound Attack
Leading scorer: F Corey Locke (19) - 68gp, 18g, 62pts (rights owned by Montreal)

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Teams still alive: P.E.I. Rocket, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Shawinigan Cataractes, Victoriaville Tigres
Leading scorer: F Jean-Francois Cyr (20) - 70gp, 31g, 60pts (free agent? - I was able to approach to sign; Chicago and New Jersey are interested)
Crosby watch: F Sidney Crosby (16) - 70gp, 25g, 44pts

Western Hockey League
Teams still alive: Red Deer Rebels, Brandon Wheat Kings, Calgary Hitmen, Regina Pats [I wonder if I'll get additional revenue as the Hitmen are owned by the Flames.]
Leading scorer: D Patrick Weller (20) - 69gp, 11g, 51pts (rights owned by Washington)

[If you get the chance, take a look at some of the obscure teams of Asia and Europe; or the Canadian bantam leagues. I wonder what it feels like for a 14 year old hockey player to see his name in the game? SI did an amazing job; the depth is incredible. To have these players and staff in the database for a first version is truely remarkable. I wonder if any NHL people have picked up this game. I think SI knows of some people in the Premiership who played CM.]

Karim · 08-06-2004, 05:21 AM

March 31st, 2004
-------------------------
I wrote out a depth chart (one of the few niceties lacking in this game) and realized we're really thin at goal and center. I make an offer to G Curtis McElhinney (20) playing at Colorado College. He's only been give 4 starts and I foresee him playing regularly in our ECHL affiliate in Las Vegas while G Brent Krahn (21) gets the bulk of the work in Lowell. If we draft a goalie (I've had my eye on 24 year-old Marco Buhrer) it will be to replace Gerber.

Game 81: vs. Anaheim
Kipper starts. Wilm, Regehr and Nieminen are out.

A 7-3 win. Richards has a hattrick including two shorthanded goals and a 4 point night. The Board is pleased.

McElhinney is delighted to have come to terms.

Game 82: vs. Columbus
Kipper starts because he has low morale coming off of a 6 rating and I want him in a good frame of mind going into the playoffs. I leave Regehr out even though he's ready to go (I'm having a hard time deciding who will be the healthy scratch among our seven defencemen).

1-1 tie.

[The home advantage bug has struck.] Even though we finish in fourth, we have to start against Los Angeles on the road. Other teams are also affected.

The final standings:

Eastern Conference
----------------------------
New Jersey 109
Carolina 97
Boston 95
Philadelphia 97
NY Islanders 96
Ottawa 90
Tampa Bay 83
Florida 82
---------------------
Washington 81
NY Rangers 79
Pittsburgh 76
Buffalo 74
Montreal 73
Toronto 72
Atlanta 69

Western Conference
------------------------
Colorado 112
Dallas 109
Detroit 92
Calgary 95
Los Angeles 92
Anaheim 90
Vancouver 90
Minnesota 88
--------------------
Phoenix 84
St. Louis 83
Nashville 69
San Jose 66
Edmonton 65
Columbus 57
Chicago 49

Marian Hossa (Ott) is the leading goalscorer with 55 goals in 82 games.
Keith Tkachuk (Stl) is the leading scorer with 86 points in 82 games.

Paul Martin (NJ) is the leading goalscorer among defencemen with 14 in 82 games.
Sergei Gonchar (Bos) is the leading scorer among defencemen with 46 points in 63 games.

Martin Brodeur (NJ) leads all goalies with 45 wins.
Marty Turco (Dal) leads all goalies with a 2.18 GAA and a .913 SV%.

Chris Kunitz (Ana) leads all rookie goalscorers with 29 goals in 82 games.
Joffrey Lupul (Ana) leads all rookies in points with 51 points in 81 games

Ed Jovanovski (Van) leads with an average rating of 7.64.

Paul Martin (NJ) leads in +/- with +53.

Chris Neil (Ott) leads in PIM with 328.

Calgary's Final Roster
--------------------------------
Brad Richards - 73gp, 36g, 65pts, +26, 22pim, 7.40 AvR
Mark Bell - 80gp, 25g, 59pts, +9, 77pim, 7.17 AvR
Jarome Iginla - 72gp, 29g, 55pts, +9, 54pim, 7.43 AvR
Steve Reinprecht - 82gp, 20g, 48pts, +21, 32pim, 7.20 AvR
Chris Simon - 77gp, 26g, 48 pts, +15, 140pim, 7.19 AvR
Martin Gelinas - 78gp, 21g, 43pts, +13, 22pim, 7.01 AvR
Jarkko Ruutu - 76gp, 21g, 39pts, +22, 207pim, 7.18 AvR
Markus Nilson - 76gp, 13g, 35pts, -1, 32pim, 6.89 AvR
Sheldon Souray - 76gp, 7g, 29pts, -10, 67pim, 7.21 AvR
Jed Ortmeyer - 80gp, 16g, 29pts, +2, 34pim, 6.74 AvR
Stephane Yelle - 82gp, 13g, 26pts, +4, 38pim, 6.99 AvR
Andrew Ference - 80gp, 4g, 23pts, +17, 24pim, 7.05 AvR
Jordan Leopold - 72gp, 3g, 22pts, +27, 19pim, 7.04 AvR
Chris Clark - 71gp, 10g, 21pts, +8, 110pim, 6.69 AvR
Robyn Regehr - 55gp, 4g, 21pts, -1, 64pim, 7.18 AvR
Clarke Wilm - 47gp, 9g, 19pts, +2, 14pim, 6.83 AvR
Toni Lydman - 76gp, 1g, 18pts, +1, 6pim, 6.89 AvR
Matthew Lombardi - 43gp, 7g, 15pts, +2, 18pim, 7.00 AvR
Ville Nieminen - 51gp, 7g, 15pts, +4, 26pim, 6.55 AvR
Denis Gauthier - 63gp, 1g, 12pts, +15, 145pim, 7.10 AvR
Steve Montador - 42gp, 2g, 10pts, +6, 24pim, 7.12 AvR
Rhett Warrener - 61gp, 1g, 10pts, +5, 66pim, 7.31 AvR

Miika Kiprusoff - 49gp, 25w, 20l, 3t, 2.50gaa, .904sv%, 7.00 AvR
Martin Gerber - 35gp, 17w, 13l, 4t, 2.57gaa, .901sv%, 7.03 AvR

AHL Farm stats
------------------------
Brent Krahn - 15gp, 7w, 3l, 5t, 2.06gaa, .914sv%, 8.13 AvR
Chuck Kobasew - 41gp, 20g, 39pts, +21, 38pim, 7.44 AvR

Stats from players no longer on the roster
------------------------------------------------------------
Roman Turek (Ana) - 40gp, 22w, 13l, 5t, 2.68gaa, .888sv%, 6.90 AvR
Krzysztof Oliwa (Mon) - 42gp, 6g, 11pts, -14, 141pim, 6.74 AvR
Peter Worrell (Mon) - 52gp, 12g, 25pts, -8, 109pim, 6.94 AvR (3 year contract extension)
Mike Commodore (Mon) - 45gp, 1g, 5pts, -16, 26pim, 6.51 AvR (1 year contract extension)
Craig Conroy (Tam) - 74gp, 14g, 37pts, -7, 24pim, 7.09 AvR (1 year contract extension)
Oleg Saprykin (Tam) - 66gp, 9g, 24pts, +4, 30pim, 6.85 AvR (my prediction of Richards' production being greater than Conroy and Saprykin combined came true)
Shean Donovan (NYR) - 66gp, 13g, 23pts, -10, 24pim, 6.80 AvR (2 year contract extension)
Dean McAmmond (Chi) - 82gp, 10g, 32pts, +3, 28pim, 6.83 AvR (2 year contract extension)

The key for us has been balanced scoring with seven 20+ goal scorers. Iginla, whether it was my tactics or something else, had his worst year in the NHL since his sophmore season. I hope he can pick it up in the playoffs. That being said, the board wanted to make the playoffs so that hurdle has been accomplished. I have no expectations now and anything that happens is gravy.

I've given Sheldon Souray a 3-year contract extension.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about to begin!

condors · 08-06-2004, 05:54 AM

good luck in the playoffs

klayman · 08-06-2004, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karim

Game 82: vs. Calgary

1-1 tie.

You think they could have at least won this game

Good luck in the playoffs.

3ric · 08-06-2004, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Swedish Elitserien
Vastra Frolunda HC leads Modo Hockey 3 games to 1. (Frolunda is stacked with great young players.)
Leading scorer: F Juha Lind (30) - 50gp, 25g, 48pts (no NHL rights)

Nice to see my local team (Frölunda) mentioned!

sachmo71 · 08-06-2004, 08:14 AM

Quote:

SI did an amazing job; the depth is incredible. To have these players and staff in the database for a first version is truely remarkable.

Errr...they had some help with that! :P

Karim · 08-06-2004, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klayman

You think they could have at least won this game

Good luck in the playoffs.

Opps! That should have been Columbus.

Karim · 08-06-2004, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Errr...they had some help with that! :P

That's right...the local researchers never get the credit. All the glory goes to the Head Researchers.

Karim · 08-06-2004, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3ric

Nice to see my local team (Frölunda) mentioned!

Cool! They really do seem to be great at developing young players.

Karim · 08-06-2004, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by condors

good luck in the playoffs

Thanks!

sachmo71 · 08-06-2004, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karim

That's right...the local researchers never get the credit. All the glory goes to the Head Researchers.

Actually, in the smaller leagues, the HR IS the primary researcher!

Karim · 08-06-2004, 08:46 AM

April 11th, 2004
----------------------

Eastern Conference Quarternfinals
-------------------------------------------------
Game 1: Florida 1 @ New Jersey 4 (gwg: Scott Gomez)
Game 2: Florida 1 @ New Jersey 2 (gwg: Jan Hrdina)
Game 3: New Jersey 0 @ Florida 2 (gwg: Vaclav Nederost) (Olli Jokinen injured and out for 4 months.)
Game 4: New Jersey 1 @ Florida 4 (gwg: Juraj Kolnik)
Game 5: Florida 1 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: Scott Gomez)
Game 6: New Jersey 3 @ Florida 1 (gwg: Turner Stevenson)

(Was there any doubt?)

Game 1: Boston 0 @ Ottawa 2 (gwg: Greg de Vries)
Game 2: Boston 7 @ Ottawa 4 (gwg: Michael Nylander)
Game 3: Ottawa 1 @ Boston 3 (gwg: Michael Nylander)
Game 4: Ottawa 2 @ Boston 1 (gwg: Radek Bonk)
Game 5: Boston 3 @ Ottawa 1 (gwg: Dan McGillis)
Game 6: Ottawa 0 @ Boston 2 (gwg: Glen Murray)

(Boston finally turns a good regular season into a round one victory.)

Game 1: NY Islanders 1 @ Philadelphia 3 (gwg: Keith Primeau)
Game 2: NY Islanders 2 @ Philadelphia 3 (gwg: Donald Brashear, 0:24 into OT)
Game 3: Philadelphia 2 @ NY Islanders 1 (gwg: Jeremy Roenick)
Game 4: Philadelphia 1 @ NY Islanders 4 (gwg: Mariusz Czerkawski)
Game 5: NY Islanders 1 @ Philadelphia 3 (gwg: Claude Lapointe)

(Too much depth in Philly.)

Game 1: Carolina 2 @ Tampa Bay 4 (gwg: Mark Smith)
Game 2: Carolina 1 @ Tampa Bay 3 (gwg: Cory Stillman)
Game 3: Tampa Bay 5 @ Carolina 4 (gwg: Vincent Lecavalier, 5:16 into OT)
Game 4: Tampa Bay 0 @ Carolina 2 (gwg: Pavel Brendl)
Game 5: Carolina 2 @ Tampa Bay 0 (gwg: Justin Williams)
Game 6: Tampa Bay 3 @ Carolina 1 (gwg: Darryl Sydor)

(Carolina was a surprise to make the playoffs.)

Western Conference Quarterfinals
-------------------------------------------------
Game 1: Minnesota 0 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Paul Kariya)
Game 2: Minnesota 1 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Paul Kariya)
Game 3: Colorado 0 @ Minnesota 1 (gwg: Nick Schultz)
Game 4: Colorado 3 @ Minnesota 2 (gwg: Matthew Barnaby, 8:34 into OT)
Game 5: Minnesota 1 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Dan Hinote)

(A Colorado-New Jersey final is probably a safe bet.)

Game 1: Vancouver 3 @ Dallas 5 (gwg: Rob DiMaio)
Game 2: Vancouver 0 @ Dallas 1 (gwg: Pierre Turgeon)
Game 3: Dallas 0 @ Vancouver 3 (gwg: Henrik Sedin)
Game 4: Dallas 0 @ Vancouver 5 (gwg: Lukas Krajicek)
Game 5: Vancouver 4 @ Dallas 1 (gwg: Todd Bertuzzi)
Game 6: Dallas 0 @ Vancouver 4 (gwg: Mats Lindgren)

(Sorry sachmo. Vancouver was 21 points worse and just made the playoffs while Dallas had such a strong season. I'm sure Turco wins the Vezina. I'm not sure what happened here.)

Game 1: Anaheim 3 @ Detroit 1 (gwg: Chris Kunitz)
Game 2: Anaheim 0 @ Detroit 4 (gwg: Ray Whitney)
Game 3: Detroit 0 @ Anaheim 1 (gwg: Zdeno Chara, 1:22 into OT)
Game 4: Detroit 0 @ Anaheim 2 (gwg: Stanislav Chistov)
Game 5: Anaheim 4 @ Detroit 1 (gwg: Vaclav Prospal)

(I can't say I'm sorry to see Detroit gone.)

Game 1: Calgary @ Los Angeles
My toughest decision is which defenceman to sit. I decide Lydman is the odd man out. He hasn't been that great this season with only 1 goal despite ample time on the powerplay. Whatever offense I give up, I get back in toughness when I add Gauthier to the lineup. Obviously Kiprusoff starts and I'm going to ride him ignoring conditioning as much as I can. No change to the forward ranks.

We lose 4-1 (gwg: Ian Laperriere). We were outshot 35-24 and gave up two powerplay goals. Simon got the only goal of the game. Richards had a '6' rating and didn't get a shot on goal. Iginla, Regehr and Souray were the only players rated '8'. A media report suggests Los Angeles is on its way to the cup.

Game 2: Calgary @ Los Angeles
I shake up the 2nd and 3rd lines because it seems Richards plays better at center than on the wing. 2nd line: Gelinas-Richards-Bell, 3rd line: Nilson-Lombardi-Ruutu. I'm hoping this will be enough of a change to get a split. Kiprusoff is at 89% but I'm not making a change. I'm also making Regehr key on Palffy who had 2 points in the first game.

We win 2-1 (gwg: Brad Richards). Richards scores with 1:53 left in the 3rd. We gave up the first goal on a powerplay. Kiprusoff was outstanding with a '9' rating and 1st star of the game. Ference was the only player with a '6' rating and I'll have to think about putting Lydman in. At least we won't be swept. Simon, Kiprusoff, Warrener, Leopold and Souray are given days off because they're "in need of rest" or "exhausted".

Game 3: Los Angeles @ Calgary
Kiprusoff is only at 85% and this is the first of back-to-back games at home. Meanwhile, Simon is only at 74%. There both going to have to play through it but I take Simon off the powerplay. Lydman comes in for Ference.

We win 4-1 (gwg: Sheldon Souray), outshooting Los Angeles 34-21. Souray's goal was short handed and every goal was scored in the 3rd period. Regehr, Leopold and Nilson had two points each. No '6' ratings for anyone. [Clarke Wilm was inserted for Simon without my approval.] The Board is delighted with this victory.

Game 4: Los Angeles @ Calgary
Kiprusoff and Lydman are at 78% and Simon is at 79%. I'm not making any lineup changes.

We win 4-1 (gwg: Martin Gelinas), outshooting Los Angeles 40-20. Mark Bell gets a hattrick and Brad Richards gets 3 assists. Iginla gets his first point of the playoffs. I don't know if I'm using him poorly or if he's been underrated by the Flames researcher. [Steve Montador was inserted for Lydman without my approval but Simon and Kiprusoff remained.] The Board is absolutely delighted with this victory.

Game 5: Calgary @ Los Angeles
The only person who is still "in need of rest" is Chris Simon at 84%. As a result, I don't make any lineup changes.

We lose 5-4 (gwg: Sean Avery, 6:39 into OT). We were outshot 36-30 and were 0/6 on the powerplay. Matthew Lombardi missed a penalty shot in the first which would have given us a 5-1 lead. We squandered a 4-1 lead which could be a demoralizing loss if we can't put this series away. Kiprusoff, Leopold, Clark and Simon all end up with '6' ratings. Iginla scored a goal but was a -1 and really isn't doing enough for the superstar he's supposed to be.

Game 6: Los Angeles @ Calgary
Leopold's at 70%, Kiprusoff is at 75% and Warrener is at 76%. I take Leopold out and put Ference back in. I also put in Nieminen who is only at 82% and take out Clark who is at 100%; the reason is that in five games Clark only has a rating of 6.40 and has very low morale.

We win 3-0 (gwg: Chris Simon) and close out the series! We outshot Los Angeles 28-14 and scored 2 powerplay goals. Richards had a goal and an assist. Lydman was the only player with a '6' rating. The Board is delighted. What? Not "absolutely delighted."

The World Championships are now underway.

Here is Team Canada:
G Martin Biron
G Jocelyn Thibault
G Chris Osgoode
D Bryan Campbell
D Shawn Heins
D Bryce Salvador
D Matt Spiller
D Eric Brewer
D Al MacInnis
D Derek Morris
D Brad Stuart
D Yannick Tremblay
F Eric Daze
F Rico Fata
F Dany Heatley
F Ryan Smyth
F Daniel Briere
F Eric Lindros
F Patrick Marleau
F Mike Ricci
F Mark Savard
F Trevor Letowski
F Owen Nolan
F Steve Sullivan
F Darcy Tucker

Here is Team USA:
G Mike Dunham
G Bobby Goepfert
G Jean-Marc Pelletier
D Francois Bouillon
D Todd Reirden
D Barry Richter
D Eric Weinrich
D Brett Hauer
D Jeff Jilson
D Lance Pitlick
D Tom Priessing
D Steve Shirreffs
F Bates Battaglia
F Nikos Dimitrakos
F Mike Grier
F Dan Lacouture
F Shawn McEachern
F Chris Drury
F Brian Holzinger
F David Legwand
F Todd Marchant
F Marty Reasoner
F Mike York
F Tom Fitzgerald
F Ryan Malone
F Landon Wilson

Here is Team Sweden:
G Andreas Hadelov
G Daniel Henriksson
G Stefan Liv
D Jan-Axel Alavaara
D Christian Backman
D Josef Boumedienne
D Pierre Hedin
D Niclas Kronwall
D Ronnie Sundin
D Dick Tarnstrom
D Daniel Tjarnqvist
D Henrik Tallinder
F Andreas Dackell
F Jonas Hoglund
F Andreas Johansson
F Niklas Nordgren
F Fredrik Sjostrom
F Johan Davidsson
F Jonas Johnson
F Alexander Steen
F Mats Sundin
F Per Svartvadet
F Niklas Andersson
F Nils Ekman
F Mikael Renberg
F Niklas Sundstrom

First upset sees Canada lose 3-1 to Switzerland.

sachmo71 · 08-06-2004, 09:00 AM

Bah, even the computer Stars have no heart. Vancouver? Sheesh!

scooter · 08-06-2004, 12:13 PM

Congratulations on the first round win! Great job!

I just stumbled into the dynasties forum yesterday for the first time. Your dynasty caught my eye and I spent some time reading it through - so sorry for coming to the party late (call me a fair-weather fan) but I'm here!

Karim · 08-06-2004, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooter

Congratulations on the first round win! Great job!

I just stumbled into the dynasties forum yesterday for the first time. Your dynasty caught my eye and I spent some time reading it through - so sorry for coming to the party late (call me a fair-weather fan) but I'm here!

Cool. Thanks for reading.

Karim · 08-06-2004, 12:52 PM

April 26th, 2004
-----------------------
We're screwed out of home ice advantage again.

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
-----------------------------------------------
Game 1: Tampa Bay 4 @ New Jersey 2 (gwg: Vincent Lecavalier)
Game 2: Tampa Bay 3 @ New Jersey 6 (gwg: Grant Marshall)
Game 3: New Jersey 0 @ Tampa Bay 3 (gwg: Mark Smith)
Game 4: New Jersey 0 @ Tampa Bay 2 (gwg: Mark Smith)
Game 5: Tampa Bay 3 @ New Jersey 4 (gwg: Scott Gomez, 5:36 into OT)
Game 6: New Jersey 7 @ Tampa Bay 1 (gwg: Sergei Brylin)
Game 7: Tampa Bay 1 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: John Madden)

(Lou Lamoriello's machine keeps on churning, coming back to win the series after going down 3 games to 1.)

Game 1: Boston 3 @ Philadelphia 4 (gwg: Alexei Zhamnov, 12:36 into OT)
Game 2: Boston 4 @ Philadelphia 2 (gwg: Brian Rolston)
Game 3: Philadelphia 5 @ Boston 1 (gwg: John Leclair)
Game 4: Philadelphia 1 @ Boston 3 (gwg: Sergei Gonchar)
Game 5: Boston 2 @ Philadelphia 4 (gwg: Sami Kapanen)
Game 6: Philadelphia 2 @ Boston 0 (gwg: Donald Brashear)

(Philly's run continues.)

Western Conference Semi-Finals
------------------------------------------------
Game 1: Vancouver 2 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Adam Foote)
Game 2: Vancouver 3 @ Colorado 4 (gwg: Adam Foote, 4:54 into OT)
Game 3: Colorado 3 @ Vancouver 1 (gwg: Rob Blake)
Game 4: Colorado 2 @ Vancouver 3 (gwg: Todd Bertuzzi, 8:46 into OT)
Game 5: Vancouver 4 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Daniel Sedin)
Game 6: Colorado 1 @ Vancouver 3 (gwg: Todd Bertuzzi)
Game 7: Vancouver 1 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Teemu Selanne)

(Peter Forsberg had been out the entire playoffs until Game 3. Joe Sakic has been out since March 9th. Vancouver almost does the impossible, coming back to win after being down 3 games to 0. Vancouver finishes its playoff run seeing Todd Bertuzzi leading the playoffs in scoring.)

Game 1: Calgary @ Anaheim
Clearly Kiprusoff's our guy. Ference and Montador are out. I keep Nieminen in for Clark. No change otherwise.

We lose 4-2 (gwg: Petr Sykora). We were outshot 36-29, gave up two powerplay goals and were outhit 24-10. Jordan Leopold suffered a knee injury and will be out for about a week.

Game 2: Calgary @ Anaheim
Ference comes in for Leopold. I make a lineup shuffle by bringing Clarke Wilm to center the fourth line and move Yelle to the third line. Lombardi shifts to left wing on the fourth line. I decide to make Regehr focused on Sykora.

We lose 5-2 (gwg: Mike Leclerc). We're in a deep hole now. Although Sykora didn't register a point, Lupol scored twice. Actually, Sykora is now out for two months after Regehr got a hold of him. We gave up two more powerplay goals and were outshot 41-22. Both Kiprusoff and Wilm got a '5' rating while Iginla was -2 with a '6' rating. Clearly he's not producing and hasn't been for the entire year and I try the Darryl Sutter technique of calling him out. Iginla thinks my warning was unfair. He's now pissed off and thinks he's been unfairly treated.

Game 3: Anaheim @ Calgary
With Iginla now pissed off, it might ripple through the team and this will be a short series. Regehr is only at 70% so Montador gets his first action of the series. I keep the same forward lines but shorten the bench to three lines.

We win 3-1 (gwg: Chris Simon). Iginla is a no show. We outshoot Anaheim 38-17 but go 0/7 on the powerplay. Ruutu gets a goal and an assist and is first star of the game. Our fourth line gets one shift with a combined ice-time of 51 seconds. [Leopold was inserted into the lineup instead of Lydman. This I don't understand as he's supposedly still injured while Lydman is healthy and at full strength.] The Board is delighted with the victory but it's an uphill battle now and I wouldn't get too excited.

Game 4: Anaheim @ Calgary
Regehr is only at 79% so I don't put him in. Lydman comes in for Leopold. No changes to the forward lines. I set Warrener to watch Lupul. Again, I go with three lines hoping Iginla can bust out one of these times.

We lose 3-1 (gwg: Dan Bylsma), giving both a short-handed and powerplay goal. We did outshoot Anaheim 28-22 but J.S. Giguere was solid again with an '8' rating. He's definitely outplayed Kiprusoff in the series. I suspect Anaheim clinches it at home. The Board is delighted with my overall performance but the praise rings kind of hollow now.

Game 5: Calgary @ Anaheim
Warrener and Gauthier are out and Leopold and Regehr come back in. Chris Clark comes in for Jed Ortmeyer and I decide to role four lines once again.

We win 3-2 (gwg: Martin Gelinas, 11:50 into OT) to give us another home game where we could always use the revenue. Iginla got a 5 minute kneeing penalty and a game misconduct 1:06 into the game. He gets a '5' rating for it and I call him out again to which he replies that I'm being unfair. I'm not sure what it's going to take to get through to him. He gets suspended for 3 games as a result and I appeal. Jarkko Ruutu plays a whopping 27:54.

Game 6: Anaheim @ Calgary
I don't get a decision on the appeal to Iginla's suspension before this game so Mark Bell becomes my first line right winger. Lydman comes out; his 6.29 AvR in the playoffs is disgraceful. Warrener takes his place and I tell him to shadow Chistov. Ortmeyer comes back in to take the spot vacated by Iginla. I move Richards to the number one line to keep the Richards-Bell duo together. It's a makeshift group.

We lose 3-1 (gwg: Jason Krog). Wilm scored our only goal late as we fell down 3-0. In an ironic twist of fate, Roman Turek got his second start of the playoffs in place of J.S. Giguere and was first star of the game with an '8' rating, sticking it to his old team. The makeshift first line was -2 all around.

It was a nice run and a series win after seven years out of the playoffs isn't bad. What killed us were specialty teams and the lack of productivity of Jarome Iginla. Toni Lydman is also seriously overrated and I'll be looking to make a move there. We also need another forward with flair and offensive creativity; maybe Lombardi, Kobasew or Lundqvist can provide the spark next year. I'll definitely give them the chance. After all was said and done, Richards, Bell and Gelinas all had more points in the playoffs than Jarome.

I'm informed that my exclusive rights to prospects F Michael Lambert (20) and F Darren Lynch (20) will expire in a month so I offer them contracts. I foresee them playing in the AHL next year.

World Championship Quarterfinals
Slovakia 2 vs. Czech Republic 1
Finland 3 vs. Germany 2
Latvia 3 vs. Canada 10 (Heatley-Lindros-Sullivan combine for 18 points.)
Sweden 2 vs. USA 4

SirFozzie · 08-06-2004, 02:11 PM

Good run.. let's see if you can improve in season 2..

Booj · 08-06-2004, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karim

(Boston finally turns a good regular season into a round one victory.)

Well, they were playing Ottawa... something had to give

Karim · 08-06-2004, 03:22 PM

May 6th, 2004
--------------------
I've set everyone to no practice. I won't set any off-season conditioning until July.

I NOW get a message that the NHL agrees that I had valid grounds for appeal and Iginla's suspension has been revoked. It would have been nice to had him for Game 6.

Both Lynch and Lambert are delighted to have come to terms with the Flames.

Eastern Conference Finals
--------------------------------------
Game 1: Philadelphia 0 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: John Madden)
Game 2: Philadelphia 3 @ New Jersey 5 (gwg: Scott Gomez)
Game 3: New Jersey 3 @ Philadelphia 2 (gwg: Scott Stevens, 4:11 into 3OT)
Game 4: New Jersey 5 @ Philadelphia 2 (gwg: Jeff Friesen)

(The best goalie in the world always helps.)

Western Conference Finals
---------------------------------------
Game 1: Anaheim 2 @ Colorado 4 (gwg: Alex Tanguay)
Game 2: Anaheim 2 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Andrei Nikolishin, 7:38 into 3OT)
Game 3: Colorado 3 @ Anaheim 0 (gwg: Steve Konowalchuk)
Game 4: Colorado 0 @ Anaheim 2 (gwg: Steve Rucchin)
Game 5: Anaheim 0 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Paul Kariya)

(Never in doubt.)

World Championship Semifinals
Finland 3 vs. Slovakia 4
USA 2 vs. Canada 5

Stanley Cup Finals
---------------------------
Game 1: Colorado 1 @ New Jersey 5 (gwg: Viktor Kozlov)
Game 2: Colorado 1 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: Sergei Brylin)
Game 3: New Jersey 4 @ Colorado 6 (gwg: Teemu Selanne)
Game 4: New Jersey 1 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Joe Sakic, 4:37 into OT)
Game 5: Colorado 2 @ New Jersey 4 (gwg: Jan Hrdina)
Game 6: New Jersey 3 @ Colorado 1 (gwg: Jamie Langenbrunner)

(Back-to-back Stanley Cups for the model franchise, New Jersey Devils. Patrick Elias wins the Conn Smythe Trophy.)

World Championship Finals
Canada 5 vs. Slovakia 4

Russian Superleague Finals
Avangard Omsk beats Ak-Bars Kazan, 3 games to 2.

Czech Extraliga Finals
HC RABAT Kladno beats HC Prostejov, 4 games to 2.

Finnish SM-Liga Finals
Turun Palloseura beats Rauman Lukko, 3 games to 1.

Swedish Elitserien Finals
Vastra Frolunda HC beats Modo Hockey, 4 games to 1.

Slovakian Extraliga Finals
HC Slovan Slovnaft Bratislava beats Dukla Trencin, 4 games to 1.

OHL Finals
Kitchener Rangers beat Brampton Battalion, 4 games to 2.

QMJHL Finals
Shawinigan Cataractes beat Chicoutimi Saguenees, 4 games to 1.

WHL Finals
Kootenay Ice beat Red Deer Rebels, 4 games to 1.

Memorial Cup Finals
Kootenay Ice 6 vs. Shawinigan 2

NCAA Frozen Four
(Yeah, we wish!)

Calder Cup Finals
(Maybe next version...)

I receive a trade offer and it's the first legitimate offer this year. Buffalo is offering F Taylor Pyatt (22) and a 3rd Round Pick in 2004 for D Jordan Leopold (23). I've noticed that Leopold's attributes have increased. It's a fair offer but I'm not looking to deal Leopold.

I get the chance to vote on the Vezina Trophy and give my vote to Marty Turco.

Art Ross Trophy: Keith Tkachuk (Stl)

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Jaromir Jagr (NYR) - Other nominees: Zdeno Chara (Ana), Roman Hamrlik (Phi)

Calder Memorial Trophy: Joffrey Lupul (Ana) - Other nominees: Chris Kunitz (Ana), Jared Aulin (Wsh)

Frank J. Selke Trophy: Jamie Langenbrunner (NJ) - Other nominees: Chris Neil (Ott), Steve Konowalchuk (Col)

Hart Memorial Trophy: Joe Thornton (Bos) - Other nominees: Todd Bertuzzi (Van), Markus Naslund (Van)

Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns (NJ) - Other nominees: Peter Laviolette (Car), Mike Sullivan (Bos)

James Norris Memorial Trophy: Ed Jovanovski (Van) - Other nominees: Rob Blake (Col), Derek Morris (Pho)

King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Ryan Johnson (Stl) - Other nominees: Trent Hunter (NYI), Andy McDonald (Ana)

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Markus Naslund (Van) - Other nominees: Paul Kariya (Col), Zigmund Palffy (Los)

Lester B. Pearson Award: Makus Naslund (Van) - Other nominees: Joe Thornton (Bos), Ed Jovanovski (Van)

Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: Marian Hossa (Ott)

Vezina Trophy: Martin Brodeur (NJ) - Other nominees: Tommy Salo (Col), Robert Esche (Phi) [This one is quite surprising to me. Turco was tops in GAA, SV% and had only one fewer win than Brodeur and wasn't even in the Top 3?]

William M. Jennings Trophy: Marty Turco (Dal)

NHL Plus-Minus Award: Paul Martin (NJ)

Nashville Predators have won the NHL Draft Lottery. The 2004 NHL Entry Draft will take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

scooter · 08-07-2004, 12:18 PM

Congrats on a successful season. How do your team finances look? I know you were operating on a shoestring up there north of the border. Did the tickets sales for the playoffs help much?

DeToxRox · 08-07-2004, 02:57 PM

Karim: This is the best dynasty I've read in quite some time. Keep up the amazing work.

Karim · 08-07-2004, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooter

Congrats on a successful season. How do your team finances look? I know you were operating on a shoestring up there north of the border. Did the tickets sales for the playoffs help much?

My player budget is $33,500,000. I'm at that right now. I have $16,500,000 in transfer funds; I've gathered this is for signing bonuses and compensation for signing coaches and players from other teams. This year we've made about $15,000,000.

On the profile, finances are listed as "secure" and the Board tells me finances are "extremely secure".

A quick look around the league:

"Rich"
NY Islanders
Tampa Bay

"Secure"
Calgary
Minnesota
Phoenix
Columbus
Chicago
Washington
Pittsburgh
Montreal
Atlanta

Every other team is "Ok". I think this is determined by comparing how much under or over your player budget you are.

Karim · 08-07-2004, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Karim: This is the best dynasty I've read in quite some time. Keep up the amazing work.

Thanks. Some good draft stuff coming up.

Karim · 08-07-2004, 03:17 PM

June 14th, 2004
-----------------------
I get a message saying the proposed transfer of D Jonas Frogen (24) has been cancelled. I take a look at his profile and he doesn't have a team so I'm not quite sure what that's all about. I offer him another contract with a two-way clause.

Philadelphia trades D Danil Markov (27) to Montreal for F Trevor Letowski (27) and the rights to F Alexander Perezhogin (20). This is Letowski's third team in less than a year as he's gone from Columbus to Montreal to Philadelphia.

Florida trades F Denis Shvidki (23) and G Blake Ward (22) to Edmonton for D Alexei Semenov (23). I'm a fan of Semenov and don't think this is a good trade by the Oilers.

Frogen is delighted to have come to terms with Calgary. Right now he looks to be an 8th or 9th defenceman and could move up if we deal Lydman or if he plays well. I project him to play in the AHL this season but he'll get a couple of exhibition games and we'll go from there.

The 2004 NHL Entry Draft is about to begin. We have the 22nd Pick and have 10 picks total, including #8 in the 2nd Round from Montreal and #11 in the 4th Round from the Rangers. There is little fan fare and immediately you're taken to a screen with every available player - 801 screens worth or 11,207 eligible players. You can sort by numerous ways. Players who have been ranked by ISS have their final rankings visible. If you sort by attributes, only those players you've actually scouted have their attributes showing (I have attribute masking enabled). I have learned from the SI forums that you can trade during the draft but there are no AI-initiated or AI-AI trades. I can live with those limitations for a first version; I'm just hoping the drafting doesn't follow the ISS ranking religiously and that not every player selected turns into a guaranteed player.

Round 1
------------
#1 - Nashville selects C Yevgeni Malkin - Metallurg M., Russia (Ranked #2 by ISS)

#2 - Chicago selects LW Alexander Ovechkin - Dynamo, Russia (Ranked #1 by ISS)

#3 - Columbus selects C Rostislav Olesz - Vitkovice, Czech Republic (Ranked #3 by ISS)

#4 - Edmonton selects C Robbie Schremp - London, Canada (Ranked #5 by ISS) (Gotta love the '4' in Determination. Mr. Schremp, meet Mr. Phaneuf.)

#5 - San Jose selects LW Alexander Radulov - Dynamo, Russia (Ranked #15 by ISS) (Good to see teams aren't slaves to ISS rankings.)

#6 - Atlanta selects LD Andrej Meszaros - Trencin, Slovakia (Ranked #4 by ISS)

I offer the Rangers, who have the next pick (originally from Toronto), Toni Lydman and my #22 for the #7 pick. They reject. Good to see.

#7 - NY Rangers select LW/RW Andrew Ladd - Calgary, Canada (Ranked #9 by ISS) (This is who I would have taken with this selection.)

#8 - Montreal selects C Petteri Nokelainen - Saipa, Finland (Ranked #8 by ISS)

#9 - Buffalo selects G Jeff Glass - Kootenay, Canada (Ranked #51 by ISS) (Awesome! Not only did Buffalo go somewhat off the board but both myself and Buffalo had Glass on our shortlists for about half the year. They followed through on their interest.)

#10 - Pittsburgh selects G Justin Peters - St. Michael's, Canada (Ranked #76 by ISS) (Looks like a run on goalies but not the usual suspects.)

One cool thing is that everyone selected thus far has seen a jump in their reputation. Justin Peters (for whatever reason) and Alexander Ovechkin were the only two players who had a "Superb" reputation coming into the draft. Their first round selections have increased their reputations into the elusive "Star" category.

#11 - NY Rangers select G Marek Schwarz - Sparta, Czech Republic (Ranked #7 by ISS)

#12 - Washington selects LD Cam Barker - Medicine Hat, Canada (Ranked #10 by ISS)

#13 - St. Louis selects C Kyle Chipchura - Prince Albert, Canada (Ranked #6 by ISS) (His stock fell but not as much as in real life. I had him highly rated.)

#14 - Phoenix selects RW Linus Bladstrom - Oskarshamn, Sweden (Ranked #12 by ISS)

#15 - Florida selects LW Wojtek Wolski - Brampton, Canada (Ranked #20 by ISS)

#16 - Tampa Bay selects LW Alexandre Picard - Lewiston, Canada (Ranked #14 by ISS)

#17 - Minnesota selects LW Johannes Salmonsson - Djurgarden, Sweden (Ranked #28 by ISS)

#18 - Vancouver selects G Julien Ellis - Shawinigan, Canada (Ranked #78 by ISS) (Brian Burke goes off the board! - sort of)

#19 - Ottawa selects RW Jakub Sindel - Sparta, Czech Republic (Ranked #16 by ISS) (Damn. I was hoping he'd still be around at #22.)

#20 - Ottawa selects G Devan Dubnyk - Kamloops, Canada (Ranked #21 by ISS) (5 goalies taken in the first 20 picks!)

#21 - Montreal selects C Rob Hisey - Erie, Canada (Ranked #11 by ISS) (Small forward dropped quite a bit. My scouts were not high on him.)

#22 - Calgary selects LW/RW Kris Chucko - Kamloops, Canada (Ranked #24 by ISS) (You just knew I had to do it - Calgary's real life first round selection. I noticed Chucko's reputation didn't improve so maybe only the Top 10 of the first round see a jump in reputation. It's good to see that this feature hasn't been overblown.)

#23 - NY Islanders select C Evan McGrath - Kitchener, Canada (Ranked #23 by ISS)

#24 - Edmonton selects C Craig Voakes - Kitchener, Canada (Unranked!) (Ha, ha! The Greasers don't disappoint!)

#25 - Washington selects RW Liam Reddox - Peterborough, Canada (Ranked #22 by ISS) (Gotta love that '1' in Determination.)

#26 - Washington selects LW Lukas Kaspar - Chemopetrol, Czech Republic (Ranked #37 by ISS)

#27 - Edmonton selects RW Petr Pohl - Gatineau, Canada (Ranked #147 by ISS) (He was on my list but not for the 1st Round.)

#28 - Edmonton selects RD Emil Axelsson - Orebro, Sweden (Ranked #29 by ISS) (Four 1st Round picks for Edmonton! This draft may cripple the Oilers for decades!)

#29 - Colorado selects LW/RW Lauri Tukonen - Blues, Finland (Ranked #41 by ISS)

#30 - New Jersey selects C/LW Chris Bourque - Moncton, Canada (Unranked! Ray Bourque's son gets into the 1st Round.)

I know not too many people care about any rounds outside of the first but I'll cover the second round in detail to see if we start flying all over the place for selections or whether teams start going by ISS Rankings.

Round 2
------------
#31 - Chicago selects LW Roman Voloshenko - Krylja Sovetov, Russia (Ranked #13 by ISS) (Biggest drop so far but not clear why.)

#32 - Columbus selects RW Antti Pihlstrom - Lukko, Finland (Ranked #26 by ISS) (I had him rated almost as high as Chucko. Good pick.)

#33 - Vancouver selects C David Bolland - London, Canada (Ranked #25 by ISS)

#34 - San Jose selects C Enver Lisin - Avangard, Russia (Ranked #17 by ISS)

#35 - Chicago selects RD Mike Green - Saskatoon, Canada (Ranked #44 by ISS) (Damnit! I had him ranked as one of the top players in the draft and thought he would slip to my #8 pick in the 2nd Round because of only being ranked #44. Only 3 picks away! I only had Ovechkin and Ladd rated higher but didn't want to take a defenceman in the first round because I have depth in that area. I now have a decision to make.)

#36 - Atlanta selects LW John Vigilante - Plymouth, Canada (Ranked #30 by ISS) (The first American selected in the draft.)

#37 - Carolina selects LD/RD Wes O'Neil - Notre Dame, USA (Ranked #32 by ISS) (The first NCAA player taken. He was on my list.)

#38 - Calgary selects RD/LD Grant Lewis - Dartmouth, USA (Ranked #69 by ISS) (The second American and NCAA player taken but the highest rated defenceman left on my draft board. He had an amazing 57 points in 55 games for Dartmouth and is an exceptional skater with offensive skills, much more so than Mike Green. He has also generated interest from Vancouver and Montreal so I have to take him. This is my last pick until the fourth round. I was tempted to take Travis Zajac or take a home run swing with Fredrik Naslund so we'll see where they go.)

#39 - Buffalo selects C/RW Patrik Bartschi - Kloten, Switzerland (Unranked!) (The first Swiss player selected. I have several Swiss players on my board but he wasn't one of them.)

#40 - Pittsburgh selects C/RW Erik Hunter - Prince George, Canada (Ranked #18 by ISS) (Biggest drop. Probably due to a poor 6.90 AvR.)

#41 - Toronto selects G Dan LaCosta - Owen Sound, Canada (Ranked #34 by ISS)

#42 - Washington selects G Miika Wickman - Hermes HT, Finland (Ranked #27 by ISS) (I don't remember goalies ever going so fast.)

#43 - St. Louis selects RW/C Drew Stafford - North Dakota, USA (Ranked #57 by ISS)

#44 - Phoenix selects C Brandon Dubinsky - Portland, USA (Ranked #19 by ISS) (Biggest drop to date - 25 spots. It may have something to do with his complaining about Portland's poor team and wanting to move to another team in the WHL.)

#45 - Colorado selects LW Nick Fugere - Gatineau, Canada (Unranked!) (Has a Superb reputation and the highest Flair (18) I've seen. Otherwise, I don't know much about him.)

#46 - Montreal selects RD/LD Sami Lepisto - Jokerit, Finland (Ranked #62 by ISS)

#47 - Florida selects C Jordan Morrison - Peterborough, Canada (Ranked #66 by ISS)

#48 - Pittsburgh selects C Aki Seitsonen - Prince Albert, Canada (Ranked #96 by ISS) (Real life Flames 2nd Round Pick.)

#49 - Anaheim selects RD/RW Mark Wilson - Kootenay, Canada (Unranked!)

#50 - Ottawa selects C Travis Zajac - Salmon Arm, Canada (Ranked #42 by ISS) (Surprised he lasted this long.)

#51 - Philadelphia selects LD Jeff Schultz - Calgary, Canada (Ranked #93 by ISS) (6'7", 235 lbs. - Strength=20 - but can't skate - Speed=6)

#52 - Florida selects LW Adam Berti - Erie, Canada (Ranked #92 by ISS)

#53 - NY Islanders select RD Jordan Smith - Sault Ste. Marie, Canada (Ranked #55 by ISS) (Another on my list, but not 2nd Round.)

#54 - Phoenix selects LD/RD Johan Fransson - Lulea, Sweden (Ranked #35 by ISS)

#55 - Boston selects RW/C Blake Wheeler - Breck, USA (Ranked #54 by ISS) (Boston's first selection is #55 overall.)

#56 - Washington selects LW Mike Santorelli - Tri-City, USA (Ranked #31 by ISS) (Tied for biggest drop - 25 spots. No clear reason why.)

#57 - Carolina selects G Gabriel Bouthillette - Gatineau, Canada (Ranked #55 by ISS) (Superb reputation - 8th goalie taken.)

#58 - Chicago selects G Carlo Direinzo - Owen Sound, Canada (Ranked #83 by ISS) (9th goalie taken - Crazy!)

#59 - Colorado selects C Tyler Haskins - St. Michael's, Canada (Ranked #86 by ISS)

#60 - Phoenix selects LW Karel Hromas - Sparta, Czech Republic (Ranked #48 by ISS)

That's the end of Round 2. From now on I'll just post things of interest to those who I know are reading or anything out of the ordinary or noteworthy.

Round 3
------------
#63 - Edmonton selects C Brad Efthimiou - Erie, Canada (Ranked #50 by ISS) (Leave it to the Oilers to select someone whose name you can't pronounce.)

#75 - Florida selects G Al Montoya - Michigan, USA (Unranked.) (12th goalie selected.)

#76 - Tampa Bay selects LW Antonio Rizzello - Rapperswil, Switzerland (Ranked #59 by ISS) (Highest ranked Swiss player.)

#79 - Anaheim selects LW Fredrik Naslund - Vasteras Jrs., Sweden (Ranked #40 by ISS) (Dropped 39 spots. It was too much to hope that he'd be there in the 4th Round.)

#81 - Los Angeles selects C Yannick Tifu - Rouyn-Noranda, Canada (Ranked #38 by ISS) (Dropped 43 spots. First selection by L.A.)

#82 - Detroit selects RD George Bradley - Kitchener, Canada (Unranked.) (Detroit's first selection doesn't come until #82 and they take an unranked player.)

#83 - NY Islanders select C Olivier Latendresse - Val d'Or, Canada (Ranked #33 by ISS) (New leader for biggest drop from ISS ranking - 50 spots.)

#88 - Dallas selects G David Shantz - Mississauga, Canada (Ranked #171 by ISS) (First Dallas selection at #88.)

Round 4
------------
#95 - Minnesota selects LD/RD A.J. Thelen - Michigan State, USA (Unranked)

#101 - Calgary selects C Niklas Johansson - Farjestad, Sweden (Ranked #189 by ISS) (Only 18 and is already a complete player with double-digit attributes. I have a few higher rated forwards who are either over twenty, unranked, or both, and figure I could still get them in later rounds. No 20+ year old player has been selected yet and no doubt I will be the first.)

#112 - Calgary selects C Matthew Myers - Racers, Great Britain (Unranked) (This guy looks like a Jason Wiemer type with more speed. All my scouts are high on him and he's a noted pugilist. I'm happy to make him the first English-born player to be drafted by a NHL club. After I select him his morale jumps to Superb and his reputation jumps from Unproven to Ok. I don't want him playing in England anymore, however, and will want to develop him in the AHL or ECHL.)

#118 - Dallas selects RW Ville Simola - Ilves Jrs., Finland (Ranked #61 by ISS) (New leader for biggest drop from ISS ranking - 57 spots)

Round 5
------------
#121 - Chicago selects RW David Clarkson - Kitchener, Canada (Unranked) (The first 20 year old selected in the draft.)

#122 - Columbus selects G Kevin Druce - Sault St. Marie, Canada (Unranked) (The second 20 year old taken and the 19th goalie selected.)

#123 - Edmonton selects G Antti Niemi - K-Vantaa, Finland (Unranked) (The 20th goalie selected.)

#124 - Nashville selects RD Jonas Leetma - Frolunda, Sweden (Unranked) (The fourth consecutive unranked player selected and the first 21 year old. Looks like anything goes from here on out.)

#127 - Toronto selects LW Karl Fabricius - Hammarby, Sweden (Unranked) (6'1", 198lbs., 21 years old, played in the Elite League this past season.)

#129 - Buffalo selects RW Peter Oberg - Modo, Sweden (Unranked) (Damn. This is the player I was going to select this round. He could step into the NHL right away.)

#142 - Calgary selects LD Andy Rogers - Calgary, Canada (Ranked #159 by ISS) (I take the first and only ranked player in the fifth round and think I got a steal. He's only 18 and at 6'6", 227lbs., he has all the physical tools already and good hockey sense. Now he just needs to round out his game.)

#148 - Dallas selects LD Andre Benoit - Sudbury, Canada (Unranked) (A solid pickup. Was on my list.)

Round 6
------------
#157 - Toronto selects LW/RW Kris Hogg - Kamloops, Canada (Ranked #71 by ISS) (New leader for biggest drop from ISS ranking - 86 spots. The question is why did he drop? It's hard to tell but I suppose the thinking is if you can get a ranked player late in the draft, you may have yourself a steal.)

#163 - St. Louis selects RD Matt Church - Amherst, Canada (Ranked #68 by ISS) (A drop of 95 spots.)

#172 - Calgary selects RW Scott McCulloch - Regina, Canada (Unranked) (This is what I feel to be my first gamble. McCulloch just turned 18, was playing in the AJHL before suffering a shoulder injury and was out for two months. He then signed on with Regina of the WHL where he only saw 16 games of action. So there's not a lot of stats to go on but he's 6'1, 222 and appears to be the aggressive up and down winger we'll need for a 3rd or 4th line. While I've been trying to make up my mind about a couple Europeans - a Swede and a Norwegian - McCulloch keep popping out at me. I make this yet another Edmontonian in the Calgary organization. I have three picks left so hopefully both Euros will still be there along with Marco Buhrer. The only problem is that G Taylor Dakers is someone I'd also like to pick up but I don't have enough picks.)

#178 - Dallas selects C Valtteri Tenkanen - HPK, Finland (Ranked #133 by ISS) (A 19 year old with more technical skills than physical skills.)

Round 7
-----------
I've made a trade with Bobby Clarke. I send him my 7th Round Pick for their two 8th Round Picks. I now have four picks left and hope that the four guys I want will still be available.

#183 - Edmonton selects LW/RW Dane Byers - Red Deer, Canada (Unranked.) (He was on my board but not one of the four players that I still want. Looks to be a grinding winger.)

#187 - Toronto selects LW Brandon Prust - Guelph, Canada (Unranked). (Real life Calgary Flames 3rd Round pick. I hope he's better in real life than his attributes indicate.)

#188 - Montreal selects LW/RW Dan DaSilva - Portland, USA (Ranked #52 by ISS). (Dropped 136 spots below his ranking. The only thing that stands out is the Determination of '1'.)

Round 8
------------
#213 - Edmonton selects LW/RW Yannick Seidenberg - Medicine Hat, Canada (Unranked) (19 year old, 47 points in the WHL, pretty good looking attributes.)

#217 - Toronto selects LW Dan Tryborn - Arboga, Sweden (Unranked) (Double-digit attributes in almost everything.)

#232 - Calgary selects G Taylor Dakers - Kootenay, Canada (Unranked) (Outside of Marek Schwarz, Devan Dubnyk, Jeff Glass and Al Montoya, Dakers is the only young goalie on our list. The key is that he just turned 18 and has mean physical and mental skills. His technical skills are lacking and I'm hoping they'll improve in time. I wasn't going to take a young goalie until I saw how many were being selected. He's the 26th goalie selected.)

#234 - Calgary selects LW/RW Jens Jacobs - Hammerby, Sweden (Ranked #127 by ISS) (My scouts are not sold on him but his attributes are sick including an '18' in Slapshot. I figure it's worth the gamble. He's only 19 so he still has time to develop. Getting a ranked prospect this late is a bonus.)

#237 - Carolina selects LW Matt Francis - Surrey, Canada (Ranked #72 by ISS) (Dropped 166 spots below his ranking. Looks pretty good.)

#238 - Calgary selects LW/C/RW Lars Erik Spets - L.I.K, Norway (Unranked) (This first Norwegian selected in this year's draft. My scouts like him better than Jacobs. Again, he has double digit attributes in everything except aggression. 11 different teams around the world are interested, including Anaheim. He destroyed the Norwegian league and is looking to take the next step. At only 19, I think this guy has a lot of potential and the fact that he can play all three forward positions doesn't hurt. He also has decent size at 5'11, 209 lbs. I'm hoping this pick becomes a diamond in the rough.)

Round 9
------------
#243 - Edmonton selects LW T.J. Muloch - Regina, Canada (Ranked #63 by ISS) (Leave it to the Oilers to select a guy with initials for a first name. Takes the title for biggest drop; dropped 181 spots below his ISS Ranking so how good can he be?)

#247 - Toronto selects LW Shaun Clinton - Belleville, Canada (Ranked #151 by ISS) (Not good. Single-digit attributes in everything - at least according to my scouts.)

#262 - Calgary selects G Marco Buhrer - Bern, Switzerland (Unranked) (I draft the oldest player. He's 24 but there's no other way to sign him to play in the NHL other than by drafting him. He's my last selection because I figured it would be safe. Each of my scouts have high opinions of him and his attributes look like he could give Gerber a run for the money. At least, that is what I am hoping. Buhrer is the 27th and last goalie selected.)

#268 - Dallas selects C Brett Liscomb - Windsor, Canada (Ranked #173 by ISS)

======================================================

Calgary Flames 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1(22) - F Kris Chucko (18, 6'2", 189 lbs.) - Kamloops, Canada
2(38) - D Grant Lewis (19, 6'3", 209 lbs.) - Dartmouth, USA
4(101) - F Niklas Johansson (18, 5'10", 200 lbs.) - Farjestad, Sweden
4(112) - F Matthew Myers (6'1", 202 lbs.) - Racers, Great Britain
5(142) - D Andy Rogers (17, 6'6", 227 lbs.) - Calgary, Canada
6(172) - F Scott McCullogh (18, 6'1", 222 lbs.) - Regina, Canada
8(232) - G Taylor Dakers (17, 6'2", 178 lbs.) - Kootenay, Canada
8(234) - F Jens Jacobs (19, 5'9", 178 lbs.) - Hammerby, Sweden
8(238) - F Lars Erik Spets (19, 5'11", 209 lbs.) - L.I.K., Norway
9(262) - G Marco Buhrer (24, 5'10", 178 lbs.) - Bern, Switzerland

I have made offers to Myers, Spets and Buhrer. [Some players turn 18 in August. I'm not sure they'd be draft eligible.]

Edmonton Oilers 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections
----------------------------------------------------------------
1(4) - F Robbie Schremp (17, 6'0", 200 lbs.) - London, Canada
1(24) - F Craig Voakes (18, 6'0", 205 lbs.) - Kitchener, Canada
1(27) - F Petr Pohl (17, 6'1", 185 lbs.) - Gatineau, Canada
1(28) - D Emil Axelsson (18, 6'3", 220 lbs.) - Orebro, Sweden
3(63) - F Brad Efthimiou (19, 5'10", 189 lbs.) - Erie, Canada
5(123) - G Antti Niemi (20, 6'1", 204 lbs.) - K-Vantaa, Finland
7(183) - F Dane Byers (18, 6'1", 196 lbs.) - Red Deer, Canada
8(213) - F Yannick Seidenberg (19, 5'11", 209 lbs.) - Medicine Hat, Canada
9(243) - F T.J. Muloch (18, 5'11", 200 lbs.) - Regina, Canada

Toronto Maple Leafs 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections
----------------------------------------------------------------
2(41) - G Dan LaCosta (18, 6'2", 224 lbs.) - Owen Sound, Canada
5(127) - F Karl Fabricius (21, 6'1", 198 lbs.) - Hammarby, Sweden
6(157) - F Kris Hogg (18, 6'0", 200 lbs.) - Kamloops, Canada
7(187) - F Brandon Prust (20, 5'11", 211 lbs.) - Guelph, Canada
8(217) - F Dan Tryborn (21, 5'10", 180 lbs.) - Arboga, Sweden
9(247) - F Shaun Clinton (18, 6'2", 213 lbs.) - Belleville, Canada

Dallas Stars 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections
---------------------------------------------------------------
3(88) - G David Shantz (18, 6'1", 198 lbs.) - Mississauga, Canada
4(118) - F Ville Simola (19, 6'0", 205 lbs.) - Ilves Jrs., Finland
5(148) - D Andre Benoit (20, 5'11", 198 lbs.) - Sudbury, Canada
6(178) - F Valtteri Tenkanen (19, 5'11", 198 lbs.) - HPK, Finland
9(268) - F Brett Liscomb (18, 5'10", 200 lbs.) - Windsor, Canada

[Overall, I'm very impressed with the design of the entry draft. Really all that is missing is AI-AI trading and being approached for a trade. Other than that, the AI selections are top notch. Now I just hope that the success rates of each first round selection is not standardized. I read one report on the SI boards from a person who claimed to fast sim several years into the future. He stated that all first round picks played 1000 games in the NHL, second round picks 750 games, third round picks, 500 games, etc. I certainly hope he is wrong. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before I can verify or dismiss his claim. Somehow I have a feeling Riz wouldn't have deliberately copped out like this unless he was pressed for time.]

Blade6119 · 08-07-2004, 03:30 PM

wow, amazing detail and coverage...im totally hooked! Great job Karim!!!!!

DeToxRox · 08-07-2004, 03:40 PM

I am intrigued to see how the Swiss goalie developes. Keep it up.

Karim · 08-07-2004, 04:11 PM

Thanks guys. Needless to say, the draft is my favourite part of any sim...

klayman · 08-07-2004, 07:06 PM

Robbie Schremp owns you!!!!

henry296 · 08-07-2004, 08:35 PM

Interesting that the Penguis took another goalie. How did Fleury do this season and did he play at all in the NHL?

Karim · 08-07-2004, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by henry296

Interesting that the Penguis took another goalie. How did Fleury do this season and did he play at all in the NHL?

No. Pittsburgh made the smart move and let him play on a strong Cape Breton team in junior.

His stats:
51 gp, 28 w, 13 l, 10 t, 2.04 gaa, .915 sv%, 7.69 AvR

His loan to Cape Breton expires shortly so we might see him in the NHL this year.

Karim · 08-07-2004, 09:06 PM

June 21st, 2004
-----------------------
I'm keeping an eye on a few 20 year old North Americans who weren't drafted. As soon as their junior eligibility expires, I'm going to offer them contracts. I don't see them as anything more than AHL/ECHL depth but the more bodies you have, the better chance someone develops.

The off-season has mellowed Jarome and he's no longer upset at my warning. He still thinks the team needs strengthening and does Yelle and Nilson. [This problem where players are concerned about a lack of organizational depth will be addressed in the second patch.]

Columbus is offering F Jason King (22), G Tyler Moss (28) and a 4th Round Pick in 2005 in exchange for F Matthew Lombardi (22). Since I have plans for a 3rd line of Lombardi-Lundqvist-Kobasew (the commonly-known "Kid Line"), I reject the trade.

Nashville trades the rights to F Gustav Grasberg (21) and the rights to D Adam Andersson (21) to Montreal for F Tomas Plekanec (21).

Since we're approaching the July 1st deadline for qualifying offers, here's a league-wide list of notable free agents:

Anaheim
D Keith Carney - UFA
F Steve Rucchin - UFA
F Samuel Pahlsson - RFA
F Petr Schastlivy - RFA
F Alexei Smirnov - RFA

Atlanta
F Ilya Kovalchuk - RFA
F Brad Larsen - RFA
G Kari Lehtonen - RFA

Boston
D Dan McGillis - UFA
D Sean O'Donnell - UFA
F Rob Zamuner - UFA
D Jonathan Girard - RFA
F Michal Grosek - RFA
F Craig MacDonald - RFA

Buffalo
F Jason Botteril - RFA
F Dominic Pittis - RFA

Calgary
F Clarke Wilm - UFA

Carolina
F Jaroslav Svoboda - RFA

Chicago
D Philippe Boucher - UFA
G Steve Passmore - UFA
F Dmitry Afanasenkov - RFA

Colorado
F Matthew Barnaby - UFA
F Darby Henrickson - UFA
F Paul Kariya - UFA
F Steve Moore - UFA
F Dennis Bonvie - RFA
F Dan Hinote - RFA

Columbus
G Fred Brathwaite - UFA
F Mark Hartigan - UFA
F David Ling - UFA
F Brad Moran - UFA
D Derrick Walser - UFA
F Jody Shelley - RFA

Dallas
F Rob DiMaio - UFA
F Bill Guerin - UFA
F Niko Kapanen - UFA
D Jon Klemm - UFA
F Jere Lehtinen - UFA
F Dave Lowry - UFA
D Richard Matvichuk - UFA
F Mike Modano - UFA
D Teppo Numminen - UFA
F David Oliver - UFA
F Jarrod Skalde - UFA
G Ron Tugnutt - UFA
F Scott Young - UFA
F Barrett Heisten - RFA

Detroit
D Chris Chelios - UFA
G Dominik Hasek - UFA
F Brett Hull - UFA
F Steve Yzerman - UFA
G Marc Lamothe - RFA

Edmonton
F Fernando Pisani - UFA
D Lubomir Sekeras - UFA
F Shawn Horcoff - RFA

Florida
G Steve Shields - UFA
D Mathieu Biron - RFA
F Petr Taticek - RFA

Los Angeles
G Milan Hnilicka - UFA
F Luc Robitaille - UFA
F John Tripp - UFA
F Eric Belanger - UFA
D Joe Corvo - RFA
G Cristobal Huet - RFA
F Steve Kelly - RFA
F Esa Pirnes - RFA

Minnesota
F Marc Chouinard - RFA

Montreal
F Krzysztof Oliwa - UFA
F Benoit Gratton - RFA

Nashville
D Jamie Allison - RFA
F Adam Hall - RFA
F Wyatt Smith - RFA

New Jersey
D Tommy Albelin - UFA
F Grant Marshall - UFA
F Turner Stephenson - UFA
F Scott Gomez - RFA

New York Islanders
D Alexander Karpovtsev - UFA
D Jason Blake - RFA

New York Rangers
F Sandy McCarthy - UFA
F Josh Green - RFA
D Chris McAllister - RFA
F Martin Sonnenberg - RFA
G Stephen Valiquette - RFA

Ottawa
F Jody Hull - UFA
D Curtis Leschyshyn - UFA
F Rob Ray - UFA
F Bryan Smolinski - UFA
G Martin Prusek - RFA

Philadelphia
F Tony Amonte - UFA
F Donald Brashear - UFA
G Sean Burke - UFA
F Keith Primeau - UFA
F Mark Recchi - UFA
F Andre Savage - UFA
F Alexei Zhamnov - UFA
F Radovan Somik - RFA

Phoenix
none

Pittsburgh
F Kelly Buchberger - UFA
G Martin Brochu - UFA
F Mario Lemieux - UFA
F Eric Meloche - UFA
F Reid Simpson - UFA
F John Sim - RFA

San Jose
F Todd Harvey - RFA
F Scott Parker - RFA
F Wayne Primeau - RFA

St. Louis
F Eric Boguniecki - UFA
F Steve McLaren - UFA
F Scott Pellerin - UFA
F Pascal Rheaume - UFA
F Brian Savage - UFA
F Pavol Demitra - RFA
F Ryan Johnson - RFA
D Christian Laflamme - RFA
F Reed Low - RFA
F Jamal Mayers - RFA
F Igor Valeev - RFA

Tampa Bay
F Dave Andreychuk - UFA
F Martin Cibak - RFA
F Ruslan Fedotenko - RFA
F Mark Smith - RFA

Toronto
G Ed Belfour - UFA
F Ron Francis - UFA
D Bryan Marchment - UFA
F Josh Holden - RFA

Vancouver
D Wade Brookbank - UFA
F Pat Cavanaugh - UFA
F Mike Keane - UFA
F Mats Lindgren - RFA
F Brandon Reid - RFA

Washington
F Colin Forbes - RFA
F Darcy Verot - RFA

For a team like ours, none of the names are particularly appealing. I'm shortlisting Jere Lehtinen because he's a player I've always liked and could easily play on the top line left wing. It's more out of curiousity than anything else as there are several teams interested.

F Matthew Myers (19), G Marco Buhrer (24) and F Lars-Erik Spets (19) all are delighted to come to terms with the Flames.

Jarome Iginla has been voted Player of the Year by Calgary Fans.

Owners have paid $7.75 million in dividends to shareholders. I see that they haven't increased the player budget so I make a request to do so. They inform me that the current budget is suitable enough to attract quality players to succeed.

Scout Larry Johnston and Assistant Coach Rich Preston have left the team and Clarke Wilm is now an unrestricted free agent.

On the first day of free agency I'm informed that Atlanta is close to signing Keith Primeau. A look at his profile shows that Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Phoenix are all interested, along with Moscow Dynamo of all places.

F Joel Lundqvist (22) has come over from Sweden to join the team on a $300,000/yr., 3 year contract. Myers' two-way contract is $130,000/yr. for 3 years; Buhrer gets a 3 year deal worth $475,000/yr.

I'm also informed that the deal for Spets has been cancelled. [By whom? He is a complete free agent as his contract with L.I.K. has expired. I own his rights and no other team is interested.] I try again.

A quick check of the transactions list shows that several team have signed prospects and Europeans. Some of the notables:

F Patrick Eaves (19) - Ottawa, 1(29), 2003 (Son of former Calgary player, Mike Eaves.)

F Robert Nilsson (19) - NY Islanders, 1(15), 2003 (Son of former Calgary great, Kent Nilsson.)

F Ville Hamalainen (22) - Chicago signs the player who wouldn't sign for me. Obviously Chicago promised him more playing time.

F Jesse Niinimaki (20) - Edmonton, 1(15), 2002

F Alexander Steen (20) - Toronto, 1(24), 2002 (Son of former Winnipeg Jets great, Tomas Steen.)

F Andrei Kastsitsyn (20) - Montreal, 1(10), 2002

F Andrei Taratukhin (22) - Traded to Tampa as part of the Richards' deal. I'll be keeping an eye on his progress.

I don't know if all these young players are going to be playing regularly for their parent club but clearly there's a changing of the guard going on.

I offer up six exhibition games; a home-and-home series with Edmonton and Vancouver along with home visits by Minnesota and Colorado. They all accept.

St. Louis will host the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

I make an offer to D Brennan Evans (21) who is already playing for Lowell. I want a full minor league system. Lars Erik Spets signs a 3-year deal at $170,000/yr. with a Two-Way Clause. Darren Lynch and Michael Lambert have joined the team as has Evans on a $130,000/yr., 2 year deal with a Two-Way Clause.

Johnny93g · 08-07-2004, 11:33 PM

I see the draft is up, and I get excited that Toronto should have a top 10 pick....Then I realize that we have Brian Leetch, so no top 10 pick...Damn....

Karim, do us a huge favour, dont ruin your dynasty by goin through the FA period yet....Please, wait tell the patch comes out before advancing....The results will be garbage. I ended my dynasty because I couldnt continue with such stupid and unbelievable results. More players sign as coaches...it sucks....Anyway, its a great read, so I hope you wait for the patch until advancing.....

Karim · 08-08-2004, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny93g

Karim, do us a huge favour, dont ruin your dynasty by goin through the FA period yet....Please, wait tell the patch comes out before advancing....The results will be garbage. I ended my dynasty because I couldnt continue with such stupid and unbelievable results. More players sign as coaches...it sucks....Anyway, its a great read, so I hope you wait for the patch until advancing.....

But it's only the geezers that sign as coaches, right?

Isn't the patch due in late August?

I don't know if I have the will power to shut it down for a couple weeks.

Come September I won't have as much time as I do now.

Karim · 08-08-2004, 03:57 AM

Ok, here's a compromise.

I've been using 'rolling saves' (a very good idea), so I have a saved game from July 7th, 2004, before Robinson and Yzerman signed.

Meanwhile, I'll keep playing with my regular game just to see how bad things really are and whether I feel the need to wait for the patch.

(I really don't have a problem with Yzerman becoming an assistant coach because it falls within my realm of possibility. Robinson, Trottier, Granato and Tocchet for example, all became assistant coaches shortly after retiring and not for the teams for which they played.)

08-04-2004, 04:16 PM	#65
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	March 2nd, 2004 ------------------------ Game 66: @ San Jose Kipper starts on this crucial 5-game road swing. No changes to the lineup or tactics. Richards is still out. A good start with a 4-2 victory; 3/3 on the PP. Reinprecht cashes in on a $150,000 bonus for reaching 20 assists. Bill Guerin (Dal) wins Offensive Player of the Week. Martin Gerber (Cgy) wins Defensive Player of the Week. Game 67: @ Dallas Kipper starts. I've planned it so Kipper plays in Phoenix in a few days. Warrener is out and replaced by Gauthier. (Careless me accidentally clicked on Continue Game before finishing my tactics). Still, we managed a 3-2 OT loss so we get a point. Vancouver trades G Blake Ward (22) and F Fedor Fedorov (22) to Florida for D Lukas Karjicek (21). Toronto trades F Mikael Renberg (31) and the rights to D Dominic D'Amour (20) to Chicago for F Kyle Calder (25). This is the first good trade Toronto's made. Chicago has now essentially given up Mark Bell and Kyle Calder for Dean McAmmond and Mikael Renberg. No wonder Blackhawks fans are pulling their hair out. Game 68: @ Los Angeles Kipper starts because I forgot to make the switch. Warrener is still unavailable. Richards is healthy but I'm saving him for tomorrow against Phoenix. We lose 5-3 but score two PP goals. Ruutu collects $50,000 for getting 15 goals. I've shown faith in the guy and he's been one of the best and most consistent players all year. Sergei Fedorov will be out for 4 months with a separated shoulder. Toronto trades F Owen Nolan (32) to Washington for G Maxime Ouellet (22). I can hear Johnny93g screaming now. Edmonton trades D Igor Ulanov (34) and D Cory Cross (28) to Carolina for the rights to D Jesse Lane (21) and a 1st Round Pick in 2004. This one makes sense and looks like a good deal for both sides. Toronto sends D Ken Klee (32) to Detroit for F Nathan Robinson (22). It looks like Toronto is planning to be involved in the Crosby sweepstakes. Vancouver sends D Sami Salo (29) to Minnesota for F Kyle Wanvig (23). Game 69: @ Phoenix Kipper is at 84% with OK morale while Gerber is at 100% with Superb morale. I go with Gerber. I also play a hunch and put Richards with Bell on the 2nd line and keep Reinprecht with Iginla. Yes! A must needed 4-2 victory. The Gelinas-Richards-Bell line was -1 so that didn't work but the Simon-Reinprecht-Iginla line looked good. Simon cashes in with $300,000 for getting 20 goals and 40 points. Reinprecht gets $150,000 for reaching 40 points and Ruutu gets $50,000 for reaching 30 points. A good day all around. Great. Iginla will be out for two weeks after suffering an abdomen injury in practice. That means he'll probably be back with about 5 games left. Game 70: @ Vancouver Kipper starts. Gauthier in for Leopold. Nieminen in for Iginla. We lose 2-1 in OT on a goal by Markus Naslund 24 seconds in. The trade deadline has passed. There were no actual trades the day of the deadline but obviously lots took place leading up to it so I have no complaints there. Jarome Iginla (Cgy) has won Offensive Player of the Week. Ed Jovanovski (Van) has won Defensive Player of the Week. Last edited by Karim : 08-04-2004 at 04:16 PM.

08-07-2004, 03:17 PM	#90
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	June 14th, 2004 ----------------------- I get a message saying the proposed transfer of D Jonas Frogen (24) has been cancelled. I take a look at his profile and he doesn't have a team so I'm not quite sure what that's all about. I offer him another contract with a two-way clause. Philadelphia trades D Danil Markov (27) to Montreal for F Trevor Letowski (27) and the rights to F Alexander Perezhogin (20). This is Letowski's third team in less than a year as he's gone from Columbus to Montreal to Philadelphia. Florida trades F Denis Shvidki (23) and G Blake Ward (22) to Edmonton for D Alexei Semenov (23). I'm a fan of Semenov and don't think this is a good trade by the Oilers. Frogen is delighted to have come to terms with Calgary. Right now he looks to be an 8th or 9th defenceman and could move up if we deal Lydman or if he plays well. I project him to play in the AHL this season but he'll get a couple of exhibition games and we'll go from there. The 2004 NHL Entry Draft is about to begin. We have the 22nd Pick and have 10 picks total, including #8 in the 2nd Round from Montreal and #11 in the 4th Round from the Rangers. There is little fan fare and immediately you're taken to a screen with every available player - 801 screens worth or 11,207 eligible players. You can sort by numerous ways. Players who have been ranked by ISS have their final rankings visible. If you sort by attributes, only those players you've actually scouted have their attributes showing (I have attribute masking enabled). I have learned from the SI forums that you can trade during the draft but there are no AI-initiated or AI-AI trades. I can live with those limitations for a first version; I'm just hoping the drafting doesn't follow the ISS ranking religiously and that not every player selected turns into a guaranteed player. Round 1 ------------ #1 - Nashville selects C Yevgeni Malkin - Metallurg M., Russia (Ranked #2 by ISS) #2 - Chicago selects LW Alexander Ovechkin - Dynamo, Russia (Ranked #1 by ISS) #3 - Columbus selects C Rostislav Olesz - Vitkovice, Czech Republic (Ranked #3 by ISS) #4 - Edmonton selects C Robbie Schremp - London, Canada (Ranked #5 by ISS) (Gotta love the '4' in Determination. Mr. Schremp, meet Mr. Phaneuf.) #5 - San Jose selects LW Alexander Radulov - Dynamo, Russia (Ranked #15 by ISS) (Good to see teams aren't slaves to ISS rankings.) #6 - Atlanta selects LD Andrej Meszaros - Trencin, Slovakia (Ranked #4 by ISS) I offer the Rangers, who have the next pick (originally from Toronto), Toni Lydman and my #22 for the #7 pick. They reject. Good to see. #7 - NY Rangers select LW/RW Andrew Ladd - Calgary, Canada (Ranked #9 by ISS) (This is who I would have taken with this selection.) #8 - Montreal selects C Petteri Nokelainen - Saipa, Finland (Ranked #8 by ISS) #9 - Buffalo selects G Jeff Glass - Kootenay, Canada (Ranked #51 by ISS) (Awesome! Not only did Buffalo go somewhat off the board but both myself and Buffalo had Glass on our shortlists for about half the year. They followed through on their interest.) #10 - Pittsburgh selects G Justin Peters - St. Michael's, Canada (Ranked #76 by ISS) (Looks like a run on goalies but not the usual suspects.) One cool thing is that everyone selected thus far has seen a jump in their reputation. Justin Peters (for whatever reason) and Alexander Ovechkin were the only two players who had a "Superb" reputation coming into the draft. Their first round selections have increased their reputations into the elusive "Star" category. #11 - NY Rangers select G Marek Schwarz - Sparta, Czech Republic (Ranked #7 by ISS) #12 - Washington selects LD Cam Barker - Medicine Hat, Canada (Ranked #10 by ISS) #13 - St. Louis selects C Kyle Chipchura - Prince Albert, Canada (Ranked #6 by ISS) (His stock fell but not as much as in real life. I had him highly rated.) #14 - Phoenix selects RW Linus Bladstrom - Oskarshamn, Sweden (Ranked #12 by ISS) #15 - Florida selects LW Wojtek Wolski - Brampton, Canada (Ranked #20 by ISS) #16 - Tampa Bay selects LW Alexandre Picard - Lewiston, Canada (Ranked #14 by ISS) #17 - Minnesota selects LW Johannes Salmonsson - Djurgarden, Sweden (Ranked #28 by ISS) #18 - Vancouver selects G Julien Ellis - Shawinigan, Canada (Ranked #78 by ISS) (Brian Burke goes off the board! - sort of) #19 - Ottawa selects RW Jakub Sindel - Sparta, Czech Republic (Ranked #16 by ISS) (Damn. I was hoping he'd still be around at #22.) #20 - Ottawa selects G Devan Dubnyk - Kamloops, Canada (Ranked #21 by ISS) (5 goalies taken in the first 20 picks!) #21 - Montreal selects C Rob Hisey - Erie, Canada (Ranked #11 by ISS) (Small forward dropped quite a bit. My scouts were not high on him.) #22 - Calgary selects LW/RW Kris Chucko - Kamloops, Canada (Ranked #24 by ISS) (You just knew I had to do it - Calgary's real life first round selection. I noticed Chucko's reputation didn't improve so maybe only the Top 10 of the first round see a jump in reputation. It's good to see that this feature hasn't been overblown.) #23 - NY Islanders select C Evan McGrath - Kitchener, Canada (Ranked #23 by ISS) #24 - Edmonton selects C Craig Voakes - Kitchener, Canada (Unranked!) (Ha, ha! The Greasers don't disappoint!) #25 - Washington selects RW Liam Reddox - Peterborough, Canada (Ranked #22 by ISS) (Gotta love that '1' in Determination.) #26 - Washington selects LW Lukas Kaspar - Chemopetrol, Czech Republic (Ranked #37 by ISS) #27 - Edmonton selects RW Petr Pohl - Gatineau, Canada (Ranked #147 by ISS) (He was on my list but not for the 1st Round.) #28 - Edmonton selects RD Emil Axelsson - Orebro, Sweden (Ranked #29 by ISS) (Four 1st Round picks for Edmonton! This draft may cripple the Oilers for decades!) #29 - Colorado selects LW/RW Lauri Tukonen - Blues, Finland (Ranked #41 by ISS) #30 - New Jersey selects C/LW Chris Bourque - Moncton, Canada (Unranked! Ray Bourque's son gets into the 1st Round.) I know not too many people care about any rounds outside of the first but I'll cover the second round in detail to see if we start flying all over the place for selections or whether teams start going by ISS Rankings. Round 2 ------------ #31 - Chicago selects LW Roman Voloshenko - Krylja Sovetov, Russia (Ranked #13 by ISS) (Biggest drop so far but not clear why.) #32 - Columbus selects RW Antti Pihlstrom - Lukko, Finland (Ranked #26 by ISS) (I had him rated almost as high as Chucko. Good pick.) #33 - Vancouver selects C David Bolland - London, Canada (Ranked #25 by ISS) #34 - San Jose selects C Enver Lisin - Avangard, Russia (Ranked #17 by ISS) #35 - Chicago selects RD Mike Green - Saskatoon, Canada (Ranked #44 by ISS) (Damnit! I had him ranked as one of the top players in the draft and thought he would slip to my #8 pick in the 2nd Round because of only being ranked #44. Only 3 picks away! I only had Ovechkin and Ladd rated higher but didn't want to take a defenceman in the first round because I have depth in that area. I now have a decision to make.) #36 - Atlanta selects LW John Vigilante - Plymouth, Canada (Ranked #30 by ISS) (The first American selected in the draft.) #37 - Carolina selects LD/RD Wes O'Neil - Notre Dame, USA (Ranked #32 by ISS) (The first NCAA player taken. He was on my list.) #38 - Calgary selects RD/LD Grant Lewis - Dartmouth, USA (Ranked #69 by ISS) (The second American and NCAA player taken but the highest rated defenceman left on my draft board. He had an amazing 57 points in 55 games for Dartmouth and is an exceptional skater with offensive skills, much more so than Mike Green. He has also generated interest from Vancouver and Montreal so I have to take him. This is my last pick until the fourth round. I was tempted to take Travis Zajac or take a home run swing with Fredrik Naslund so we'll see where they go.) #39 - Buffalo selects C/RW Patrik Bartschi - Kloten, Switzerland (Unranked!) (The first Swiss player selected. I have several Swiss players on my board but he wasn't one of them.) #40 - Pittsburgh selects C/RW Erik Hunter - Prince George, Canada (Ranked #18 by ISS) (Biggest drop. Probably due to a poor 6.90 AvR.) #41 - Toronto selects G Dan LaCosta - Owen Sound, Canada (Ranked #34 by ISS) #42 - Washington selects G Miika Wickman - Hermes HT, Finland (Ranked #27 by ISS) (I don't remember goalies ever going so fast.) #43 - St. Louis selects RW/C Drew Stafford - North Dakota, USA (Ranked #57 by ISS) #44 - Phoenix selects C Brandon Dubinsky - Portland, USA (Ranked #19 by ISS) (Biggest drop to date - 25 spots. It may have something to do with his complaining about Portland's poor team and wanting to move to another team in the WHL.) #45 - Colorado selects LW Nick Fugere - Gatineau, Canada (Unranked!) (Has a Superb reputation and the highest Flair (18) I've seen. Otherwise, I don't know much about him.) #46 - Montreal selects RD/LD Sami Lepisto - Jokerit, Finland (Ranked #62 by ISS) #47 - Florida selects C Jordan Morrison - Peterborough, Canada (Ranked #66 by ISS) #48 - Pittsburgh selects C Aki Seitsonen - Prince Albert, Canada (Ranked #96 by ISS) (Real life Flames 2nd Round Pick.) #49 - Anaheim selects RD/RW Mark Wilson - Kootenay, Canada (Unranked!) #50 - Ottawa selects C Travis Zajac - Salmon Arm, Canada (Ranked #42 by ISS) (Surprised he lasted this long.) #51 - Philadelphia selects LD Jeff Schultz - Calgary, Canada (Ranked #93 by ISS) (6'7", 235 lbs. - Strength=20 - but can't skate - Speed=6) #52 - Florida selects LW Adam Berti - Erie, Canada (Ranked #92 by ISS) #53 - NY Islanders select RD Jordan Smith - Sault Ste. Marie, Canada (Ranked #55 by ISS) (Another on my list, but not 2nd Round.) #54 - Phoenix selects LD/RD Johan Fransson - Lulea, Sweden (Ranked #35 by ISS) #55 - Boston selects RW/C Blake Wheeler - Breck, USA (Ranked #54 by ISS) (Boston's first selection is #55 overall.) #56 - Washington selects LW Mike Santorelli - Tri-City, USA (Ranked #31 by ISS) (Tied for biggest drop - 25 spots. No clear reason why.) #57 - Carolina selects G Gabriel Bouthillette - Gatineau, Canada (Ranked #55 by ISS) (Superb reputation - 8th goalie taken.) #58 - Chicago selects G Carlo Direinzo - Owen Sound, Canada (Ranked #83 by ISS) (9th goalie taken - Crazy!) #59 - Colorado selects C Tyler Haskins - St. Michael's, Canada (Ranked #86 by ISS) #60 - Phoenix selects LW Karel Hromas - Sparta, Czech Republic (Ranked #48 by ISS) That's the end of Round 2. From now on I'll just post things of interest to those who I know are reading or anything out of the ordinary or noteworthy. Round 3 ------------ #63 - Edmonton selects C Brad Efthimiou - Erie, Canada (Ranked #50 by ISS) (Leave it to the Oilers to select someone whose name you can't pronounce.) #75 - Florida selects G Al Montoya - Michigan, USA (Unranked.) (12th goalie selected.) #76 - Tampa Bay selects LW Antonio Rizzello - Rapperswil, Switzerland (Ranked #59 by ISS) (Highest ranked Swiss player.) #79 - Anaheim selects LW Fredrik Naslund - Vasteras Jrs., Sweden (Ranked #40 by ISS) (Dropped 39 spots. It was too much to hope that he'd be there in the 4th Round.) #81 - Los Angeles selects C Yannick Tifu - Rouyn-Noranda, Canada (Ranked #38 by ISS) (Dropped 43 spots. First selection by L.A.) #82 - Detroit selects RD George Bradley - Kitchener, Canada (Unranked.) (Detroit's first selection doesn't come until #82 and they take an unranked player.) #83 - NY Islanders select C Olivier Latendresse - Val d'Or, Canada (Ranked #33 by ISS) (New leader for biggest drop from ISS ranking - 50 spots.) #88 - Dallas selects G David Shantz - Mississauga, Canada (Ranked #171 by ISS) (First Dallas selection at #88.) Round 4 ------------ #95 - Minnesota selects LD/RD A.J. Thelen - Michigan State, USA (Unranked) #101 - Calgary selects C Niklas Johansson - Farjestad, Sweden (Ranked #189 by ISS) (Only 18 and is already a complete player with double-digit attributes. I have a few higher rated forwards who are either over twenty, unranked, or both, and figure I could still get them in later rounds. No 20+ year old player has been selected yet and no doubt I will be the first.) #112 - Calgary selects C Matthew Myers - Racers, Great Britain (Unranked) (This guy looks like a Jason Wiemer type with more speed. All my scouts are high on him and he's a noted pugilist. I'm happy to make him the first English-born player to be drafted by a NHL club. After I select him his morale jumps to Superb and his reputation jumps from Unproven to Ok. I don't want him playing in England anymore, however, and will want to develop him in the AHL or ECHL.) #118 - Dallas selects RW Ville Simola - Ilves Jrs., Finland (Ranked #61 by ISS) (New leader for biggest drop from ISS ranking - 57 spots) Round 5 ------------ #121 - Chicago selects RW David Clarkson - Kitchener, Canada (Unranked) (The first 20 year old selected in the draft.) #122 - Columbus selects G Kevin Druce - Sault St. Marie, Canada (Unranked) (The second 20 year old taken and the 19th goalie selected.) #123 - Edmonton selects G Antti Niemi - K-Vantaa, Finland (Unranked) (The 20th goalie selected.) #124 - Nashville selects RD Jonas Leetma - Frolunda, Sweden (Unranked) (The fourth consecutive unranked player selected and the first 21 year old. Looks like anything goes from here on out.) #127 - Toronto selects LW Karl Fabricius - Hammarby, Sweden (Unranked) (6'1", 198lbs., 21 years old, played in the Elite League this past season.) #129 - Buffalo selects RW Peter Oberg - Modo, Sweden (Unranked) (Damn. This is the player I was going to select this round. He could step into the NHL right away.) #142 - Calgary selects LD Andy Rogers - Calgary, Canada (Ranked #159 by ISS) (I take the first and only ranked player in the fifth round and think I got a steal. He's only 18 and at 6'6", 227lbs., he has all the physical tools already and good hockey sense. Now he just needs to round out his game.) #148 - Dallas selects LD Andre Benoit - Sudbury, Canada (Unranked) (A solid pickup. Was on my list.) Round 6 ------------ #157 - Toronto selects LW/RW Kris Hogg - Kamloops, Canada (Ranked #71 by ISS) (New leader for biggest drop from ISS ranking - 86 spots. The question is why did he drop? It's hard to tell but I suppose the thinking is if you can get a ranked player late in the draft, you may have yourself a steal.) #163 - St. Louis selects RD Matt Church - Amherst, Canada (Ranked #68 by ISS) (A drop of 95 spots.) #172 - Calgary selects RW Scott McCulloch - Regina, Canada (Unranked) (This is what I feel to be my first gamble. McCulloch just turned 18, was playing in the AJHL before suffering a shoulder injury and was out for two months. He then signed on with Regina of the WHL where he only saw 16 games of action. So there's not a lot of stats to go on but he's 6'1, 222 and appears to be the aggressive up and down winger we'll need for a 3rd or 4th line. While I've been trying to make up my mind about a couple Europeans - a Swede and a Norwegian - McCulloch keep popping out at me. I make this yet another Edmontonian in the Calgary organization. I have three picks left so hopefully both Euros will still be there along with Marco Buhrer. The only problem is that G Taylor Dakers is someone I'd also like to pick up but I don't have enough picks.) #178 - Dallas selects C Valtteri Tenkanen - HPK, Finland (Ranked #133 by ISS) (A 19 year old with more technical skills than physical skills.) Round 7 ----------- I've made a trade with Bobby Clarke. I send him my 7th Round Pick for their two 8th Round Picks. I now have four picks left and hope that the four guys I want will still be available. #183 - Edmonton selects LW/RW Dane Byers - Red Deer, Canada (Unranked.) (He was on my board but not one of the four players that I still want. Looks to be a grinding winger.) #187 - Toronto selects LW Brandon Prust - Guelph, Canada (Unranked). (Real life Calgary Flames 3rd Round pick. I hope he's better in real life than his attributes indicate.) #188 - Montreal selects LW/RW Dan DaSilva - Portland, USA (Ranked #52 by ISS). (Dropped 136 spots below his ranking. The only thing that stands out is the Determination of '1'.) Round 8 ------------ #213 - Edmonton selects LW/RW Yannick Seidenberg - Medicine Hat, Canada (Unranked) (19 year old, 47 points in the WHL, pretty good looking attributes.) #217 - Toronto selects LW Dan Tryborn - Arboga, Sweden (Unranked) (Double-digit attributes in almost everything.) #232 - Calgary selects G Taylor Dakers - Kootenay, Canada (Unranked) (Outside of Marek Schwarz, Devan Dubnyk, Jeff Glass and Al Montoya, Dakers is the only young goalie on our list. The key is that he just turned 18 and has mean physical and mental skills. His technical skills are lacking and I'm hoping they'll improve in time. I wasn't going to take a young goalie until I saw how many were being selected. He's the 26th goalie selected.) #234 - Calgary selects LW/RW Jens Jacobs - Hammerby, Sweden (Ranked #127 by ISS) (My scouts are not sold on him but his attributes are sick including an '18' in Slapshot. I figure it's worth the gamble. He's only 19 so he still has time to develop. Getting a ranked prospect this late is a bonus.) #237 - Carolina selects LW Matt Francis - Surrey, Canada (Ranked #72 by ISS) (Dropped 166 spots below his ranking. Looks pretty good.) #238 - Calgary selects LW/C/RW Lars Erik Spets - L.I.K, Norway (Unranked) (This first Norwegian selected in this year's draft. My scouts like him better than Jacobs. Again, he has double digit attributes in everything except aggression. 11 different teams around the world are interested, including Anaheim. He destroyed the Norwegian league and is looking to take the next step. At only 19, I think this guy has a lot of potential and the fact that he can play all three forward positions doesn't hurt. He also has decent size at 5'11, 209 lbs. I'm hoping this pick becomes a diamond in the rough.) Round 9 ------------ #243 - Edmonton selects LW T.J. Muloch - Regina, Canada (Ranked #63 by ISS) (Leave it to the Oilers to select a guy with initials for a first name. Takes the title for biggest drop; dropped 181 spots below his ISS Ranking so how good can he be?) #247 - Toronto selects LW Shaun Clinton - Belleville, Canada (Ranked #151 by ISS) (Not good. Single-digit attributes in everything - at least according to my scouts.) #262 - Calgary selects G Marco Buhrer - Bern, Switzerland (Unranked) (I draft the oldest player. He's 24 but there's no other way to sign him to play in the NHL other than by drafting him. He's my last selection because I figured it would be safe. Each of my scouts have high opinions of him and his attributes look like he could give Gerber a run for the money. At least, that is what I am hoping. Buhrer is the 27th and last goalie selected.) #268 - Dallas selects C Brett Liscomb - Windsor, Canada (Ranked #173 by ISS) ====================================================== Calgary Flames 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1(22) - F Kris Chucko (18, 6'2", 189 lbs.) - Kamloops, Canada 2(38) - D Grant Lewis (19, 6'3", 209 lbs.) - Dartmouth, USA 4(101) - F Niklas Johansson (18, 5'10", 200 lbs.) - Farjestad, Sweden 4(112) - F Matthew Myers (6'1", 202 lbs.) - Racers, Great Britain 5(142) - D Andy Rogers (17, 6'6", 227 lbs.) - Calgary, Canada 6(172) - F Scott McCullogh (18, 6'1", 222 lbs.) - Regina, Canada 8(232) - G Taylor Dakers (17, 6'2", 178 lbs.) - Kootenay, Canada 8(234) - F Jens Jacobs (19, 5'9", 178 lbs.) - Hammerby, Sweden 8(238) - F Lars Erik Spets (19, 5'11", 209 lbs.) - L.I.K., Norway 9(262) - G Marco Buhrer (24, 5'10", 178 lbs.) - Bern, Switzerland I have made offers to Myers, Spets and Buhrer. [Some players turn 18 in August. I'm not sure they'd be draft eligible.] Edmonton Oilers 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1(4) - F Robbie Schremp (17, 6'0", 200 lbs.) - London, Canada 1(24) - F Craig Voakes (18, 6'0", 205 lbs.) - Kitchener, Canada 1(27) - F Petr Pohl (17, 6'1", 185 lbs.) - Gatineau, Canada 1(28) - D Emil Axelsson (18, 6'3", 220 lbs.) - Orebro, Sweden 3(63) - F Brad Efthimiou (19, 5'10", 189 lbs.) - Erie, Canada 5(123) - G Antti Niemi (20, 6'1", 204 lbs.) - K-Vantaa, Finland 7(183) - F Dane Byers (18, 6'1", 196 lbs.) - Red Deer, Canada 8(213) - F Yannick Seidenberg (19, 5'11", 209 lbs.) - Medicine Hat, Canada 9(243) - F T.J. Muloch (18, 5'11", 200 lbs.) - Regina, Canada Toronto Maple Leafs 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2(41) - G Dan LaCosta (18, 6'2", 224 lbs.) - Owen Sound, Canada 5(127) - F Karl Fabricius (21, 6'1", 198 lbs.) - Hammarby, Sweden 6(157) - F Kris Hogg (18, 6'0", 200 lbs.) - Kamloops, Canada 7(187) - F Brandon Prust (20, 5'11", 211 lbs.) - Guelph, Canada 8(217) - F Dan Tryborn (21, 5'10", 180 lbs.) - Arboga, Sweden 9(247) - F Shaun Clinton (18, 6'2", 213 lbs.) - Belleville, Canada Dallas Stars 2004 NHL Entry Draft Selections --------------------------------------------------------------- 3(88) - G David Shantz (18, 6'1", 198 lbs.) - Mississauga, Canada 4(118) - F Ville Simola (19, 6'0", 205 lbs.) - Ilves Jrs., Finland 5(148) - D Andre Benoit (20, 5'11", 198 lbs.) - Sudbury, Canada 6(178) - F Valtteri Tenkanen (19, 5'11", 198 lbs.) - HPK, Finland 9(268) - F Brett Liscomb (18, 5'10", 200 lbs.) - Windsor, Canada [Overall, I'm very impressed with the design of the entry draft. Really all that is missing is AI-AI trading and being approached for a trade. Other than that, the AI selections are top notch. Now I just hope that the success rates of each first round selection is not standardized. I read one report on the SI boards from a person who claimed to fast sim several years into the future. He stated that all first round picks played 1000 games in the NHL, second round picks 750 games, third round picks, 500 games, etc. I certainly hope he is wrong. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before I can verify or dismiss his claim. Somehow I have a feeling Riz wouldn't have deliberately copped out like this unless he was pressed for time.] Last edited by Karim : 08-07-2004 at 04:09 PM.

08-07-2004, 03:30 PM	#91
Blade6119 Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona	wow, amazing detail and coverage...im totally hooked! Great job Karim!!!!! __________________ *Underachievement* The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut by the lawnmower. *Despair* It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black. *Demotivation* Sometimes the best solution to morale problems is just to fire all of the unhappy people. http://www.despair.com/viewall.html

08-07-2004, 09:06 PM	#97
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	June 21st, 2004 ----------------------- I'm keeping an eye on a few 20 year old North Americans who weren't drafted. As soon as their junior eligibility expires, I'm going to offer them contracts. I don't see them as anything more than AHL/ECHL depth but the more bodies you have, the better chance someone develops. The off-season has mellowed Jarome and he's no longer upset at my warning. He still thinks the team needs strengthening and does Yelle and Nilson. [This problem where players are concerned about a lack of organizational depth will be addressed in the second patch.] Columbus is offering F Jason King (22), G Tyler Moss (28) and a 4th Round Pick in 2005 in exchange for F Matthew Lombardi (22). Since I have plans for a 3rd line of Lombardi-Lundqvist-Kobasew (the commonly-known "Kid Line"), I reject the trade. Nashville trades the rights to F Gustav Grasberg (21) and the rights to D Adam Andersson (21) to Montreal for F Tomas Plekanec (21). Since we're approaching the July 1st deadline for qualifying offers, here's a league-wide list of notable free agents: Anaheim D Keith Carney - UFA F Steve Rucchin - UFA F Samuel Pahlsson - RFA F Petr Schastlivy - RFA F Alexei Smirnov - RFA Atlanta F Ilya Kovalchuk - RFA F Brad Larsen - RFA G Kari Lehtonen - RFA Boston D Dan McGillis - UFA D Sean O'Donnell - UFA F Rob Zamuner - UFA D Jonathan Girard - RFA F Michal Grosek - RFA F Craig MacDonald - RFA Buffalo F Jason Botteril - RFA F Dominic Pittis - RFA Calgary F Clarke Wilm - UFA Carolina F Jaroslav Svoboda - RFA Chicago D Philippe Boucher - UFA G Steve Passmore - UFA F Dmitry Afanasenkov - RFA Colorado F Matthew Barnaby - UFA F Darby Henrickson - UFA F Paul Kariya - UFA F Steve Moore - UFA F Dennis Bonvie - RFA F Dan Hinote - RFA Columbus G Fred Brathwaite - UFA F Mark Hartigan - UFA F David Ling - UFA F Brad Moran - UFA D Derrick Walser - UFA F Jody Shelley - RFA Dallas F Rob DiMaio - UFA F Bill Guerin - UFA F Niko Kapanen - UFA D Jon Klemm - UFA F Jere Lehtinen - UFA F Dave Lowry - UFA D Richard Matvichuk - UFA F Mike Modano - UFA D Teppo Numminen - UFA F David Oliver - UFA F Jarrod Skalde - UFA G Ron Tugnutt - UFA F Scott Young - UFA F Barrett Heisten - RFA Detroit D Chris Chelios - UFA G Dominik Hasek - UFA F Brett Hull - UFA F Steve Yzerman - UFA G Marc Lamothe - RFA Edmonton F Fernando Pisani - UFA D Lubomir Sekeras - UFA F Shawn Horcoff - RFA Florida G Steve Shields - UFA D Mathieu Biron - RFA F Petr Taticek - RFA Los Angeles G Milan Hnilicka - UFA F Luc Robitaille - UFA F John Tripp - UFA F Eric Belanger - UFA D Joe Corvo - RFA G Cristobal Huet - RFA F Steve Kelly - RFA F Esa Pirnes - RFA Minnesota F Marc Chouinard - RFA Montreal F Krzysztof Oliwa - UFA F Benoit Gratton - RFA Nashville D Jamie Allison - RFA F Adam Hall - RFA F Wyatt Smith - RFA New Jersey D Tommy Albelin - UFA F Grant Marshall - UFA F Turner Stephenson - UFA F Scott Gomez - RFA New York Islanders D Alexander Karpovtsev - UFA D Jason Blake - RFA New York Rangers F Sandy McCarthy - UFA F Josh Green - RFA D Chris McAllister - RFA F Martin Sonnenberg - RFA G Stephen Valiquette - RFA Ottawa F Jody Hull - UFA D Curtis Leschyshyn - UFA F Rob Ray - UFA F Bryan Smolinski - UFA G Martin Prusek - RFA Philadelphia F Tony Amonte - UFA F Donald Brashear - UFA G Sean Burke - UFA F Keith Primeau - UFA F Mark Recchi - UFA F Andre Savage - UFA F Alexei Zhamnov - UFA F Radovan Somik - RFA Phoenix none Pittsburgh F Kelly Buchberger - UFA G Martin Brochu - UFA F Mario Lemieux - UFA F Eric Meloche - UFA F Reid Simpson - UFA F John Sim - RFA San Jose F Todd Harvey - RFA F Scott Parker - RFA F Wayne Primeau - RFA St. Louis F Eric Boguniecki - UFA F Steve McLaren - UFA F Scott Pellerin - UFA F Pascal Rheaume - UFA F Brian Savage - UFA F Pavol Demitra - RFA F Ryan Johnson - RFA D Christian Laflamme - RFA F Reed Low - RFA F Jamal Mayers - RFA F Igor Valeev - RFA Tampa Bay F Dave Andreychuk - UFA F Martin Cibak - RFA F Ruslan Fedotenko - RFA F Mark Smith - RFA Toronto G Ed Belfour - UFA F Ron Francis - UFA D Bryan Marchment - UFA F Josh Holden - RFA Vancouver D Wade Brookbank - UFA F Pat Cavanaugh - UFA F Mike Keane - UFA F Mats Lindgren - RFA F Brandon Reid - RFA Washington F Colin Forbes - RFA F Darcy Verot - RFA For a team like ours, none of the names are particularly appealing. I'm shortlisting Jere Lehtinen because he's a player I've always liked and could easily play on the top line left wing. It's more out of curiousity than anything else as there are several teams interested. F Matthew Myers (19), G Marco Buhrer (24) and F Lars-Erik Spets (19) all are delighted to come to terms with the Flames. Jarome Iginla has been voted Player of the Year by Calgary Fans. Owners have paid $7.75 million in dividends to shareholders. I see that they haven't increased the player budget so I make a request to do so. They inform me that the current budget is suitable enough to attract quality players to succeed. Scout Larry Johnston and Assistant Coach Rich Preston have left the team and Clarke Wilm is now an unrestricted free agent. On the first day of free agency I'm informed that Atlanta is close to signing Keith Primeau. A look at his profile shows that Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Phoenix are all interested, along with Moscow Dynamo of all places. F Joel Lundqvist (22) has come over from Sweden to join the team on a $300,000/yr., 3 year contract. Myers' two-way contract is $130,000/yr. for 3 years; Buhrer gets a 3 year deal worth $475,000/yr. I'm also informed that the deal for Spets has been cancelled. [By whom? He is a complete free agent as his contract with L.I.K. has expired. I own his rights and no other team is interested.] I try again. A quick check of the transactions list shows that several team have signed prospects and Europeans. Some of the notables: F Patrick Eaves (19) - Ottawa, 1(29), 2003 (Son of former Calgary player, Mike Eaves.) F Robert Nilsson (19) - NY Islanders, 1(15), 2003 (Son of former Calgary great, Kent Nilsson.) F Ville Hamalainen (22) - Chicago signs the player who wouldn't sign for me. Obviously Chicago promised him more playing time. F Jesse Niinimaki (20) - Edmonton, 1(15), 2002 F Alexander Steen (20) - Toronto, 1(24), 2002 (Son of former Winnipeg Jets great, Tomas Steen.) F Andrei Kastsitsyn (20) - Montreal, 1(10), 2002 F Andrei Taratukhin (22) - Traded to Tampa as part of the Richards' deal. I'll be keeping an eye on his progress. I don't know if all these young players are going to be playing regularly for their parent club but clearly there's a changing of the guard going on. I offer up six exhibition games; a home-and-home series with Edmonton and Vancouver along with home visits by Minnesota and Colorado. They all accept. St. Louis will host the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. I make an offer to D Brennan Evans (21) who is already playing for Lowell. I want a full minor league system. Lars Erik Spets signs a 3-year deal at $170,000/yr. with a Two-Way Clause. Darren Lynch and Michael Lambert have joined the team as has Evans on a $130,000/yr., 2 year deal with a Two-Way Clause. Last edited by Karim : 08-08-2004 at 07:11 AM.

08-07-2004, 11:33 PM	#98
Johnny93g College Starter Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Toronto	I see the draft is up, and I get excited that Toronto should have a top 10 pick....Then I realize that we have Brian Leetch, so no top 10 pick...Damn.... Karim, do us a huge favour, dont ruin your dynasty by goin through the FA period yet....Please, wait tell the patch comes out before advancing....The results will be garbage. I ended my dynasty because I couldnt continue with such stupid and unbelievable results. More players sign as coaches...it sucks....Anyway, its a great read, so I hope you wait for the patch until advancing..... __________________ FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML

08-02-2004, 02:10 PM	#52
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	Yes. 7-0-1 in the last 8 and it couldn't happen at a better time but there's still 18 games left and nothing is clinched yet. Thanks for the info about fatigue. It's a "little" thing compared to features such as free agency or finances but it makes a difference in the day to day setting of the lineups.

08-03-2004, 05:07 AM	#53
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	February 27th, 2004 ----------------------------- I've taken a serious look at Ilya Kovalchuk. Other than an 8 in Bravery, his attributes are exceptional. His rating is only 7.07 which is a bit of a concern but I chalk that up to playing for Atlanta. I'm passing on this deal because I have pretty good chemistry right now and I'd have to depart with one or two pretty significant pieces of the puzzle to get him. Still, the Flair that he would bring is something that is missing on this team; only Steve Reinprecht and Jarome Iginla have double-digits in Flair. Toronto trades F Nathan Perrot (27) to the New York Islanders for the rights to F Evgeny Tunik (19). Game 65: vs. Washington Kiprusoff starts and Reinprecht moves up to the first line to replace Richards. Bell centers the second line and Ruutu moves up to his right wing. Our undefeated string comes to an end as we lose 4-1. Kiprusoff was pulled for, I believe, the first time this year. We gave up two PP goals; I just can't seem to get our specialty teams in order. We now embark on a crucial five game road string against Western Conference opponents with whom were fighting for the playoffs. The next five games may very well decide our fate. Jaromir Jagr (NYR) wins Offensive Player of the Month. Dwayne Roloson (Min) wins Defensive Player of the Month. Jared Aulin (Wsh) wins Rookie of the Month. The Board is pleased with my overall performance and our finances are extremely secure. Our payroll and player budget are each $33,500,000. Vancouver has traded D Kirill Koltsov (21) to Pittsburgh for F Kris Beech (23). Toronto has traded the rights to F John Mitchell (19) and a 3rd Round Pick in 2005 to Atlanta in exchange for D Garnet Exelby (22). Because of all the recent trade activity by Toronto and because of the number of Maple Leafs fans at FOFC, here's a rundown of their up-to-date roster: G Ed Belfour, 15-18-7, 2.81GAA, .897 SV%, 7.05 AvR - wants a new contract G Trevor Kidd, 7-15-3, 3.70 GAA, .868 SV%, 6.16 AvR - being shopped around D Aki Berg, 65 GP, 1 G, 12 Pts, +3, 32 Pim, 6.94 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch is an inspired leader D Tomas Kaberle, 60 GP, 4 G, 23 Pts, -13, 18 Pim, 7.08 AvR - will strive to improve team's postion D Wade Belak, 10 GP, 1 G, 4 Pts, +33, 33 Pim, 7.60 AvR - Atlanta and Washington are interested, spent most of the year in St. John's D Drake Berehowsky, 58 GP, 0 G, 9 Pts, -18, 14 Pim, 6.66 AvR - has lost confidence in the GM D Ken Klee, 54 GP, 5 G, 15 Pts, -16, 44 Pim, 7.22 AvR - will strive to improve team's position D Brian Leetch, 65 GP, 8 G, 32 Pts, +4, 4 Pim, 7.35 AvR - feels the team has more potential than it's showing F Harold Druken, 37 GP, 8 G, 19 Pts, +1, 14 Pim, 6.92 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch is an inspired leader F Chad Kilger, 47 GP, 7 G, 15 Pts, -13, 6 Pim, 6.72 AvR - happy to stay on the team F Alexei Ponikarovsky, 34 GP, 6 G, 13 Pts, -13, 12 Pim, 6.65 AvR - has lost confidence in the GM F Gary Roberts, 47 GP, 14 G, 27 Pts, +5, 96 Pim, 6.96 AvR - will strive to improve team's position, proud to be playing in Toronto F Nik Antropov, 56 GP, 9 G, 26 Pts, +0, 28 Pim, 7.16 AvR - will strive to improve team's position, enthusiastic about his future in Toronto F Ron Francis, 59 GP, 9 G, 29 Pts, -12, 18 Pim, 7.02 AvR - feels the team has more potential than it's showing F Joe Nieuwendyk, 44 GP, 14 G, 24 Pts, -1, 23 Pim, 6.89 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch has an essential role on the team F Matt Stajan, 59 GP, 11 G, 23 Pts, -3, 12 Pim, 6.86 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position F Mats Sundin, 65 GP, 23 G, 53 Pts, -1, 24 Pim, 7.35 AvR - feels the team has more potential than it's showing, proud to be playing in Toronto F Tie Domi, 53 GP, 6 G, 15 Pts, -4, 153 Pim, 6.94 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position, proud to be playing in Toronto F Tom Fitzgerald, 17 GP, 1 G, 6 Pts, +3, 4 Pim, 6.65 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position F Alexander Mogilny, 60 GP, 19 G, 45 Pts, -6, 18 Pim, 7.08 AvR - thinks Brian Leetch has an essential role on the team F Owen Nolan, 59 GP, 19 G, 34 Pts, -9, 53 Pim, 7.14 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position, Florida is interested F Mikael Renberg, 50 GP, 8 G, 17 Pts, +1, 6 Pim, 6.70 AvR - will strive to improve the team's position F Darcy Tucker, 25 GP, 2 G, 6 Pts, -4, 18 Pim, 6.68 AvR - proud to be playing in Toronto, tore MCL in November - out 3 months Bryan Marchment has been playing the whole season in St. John's. The only prospects that look decent on the St. John's roster are G Mikael Tellqvist and D Pierre Hedin. For some reason, D Karel Pilar is buried with the CHL's Memphis Riverkings - San Jose is interested in his services. The only unsigned prospects that look any good are F Alexander Steen and F Jeremy Williams. This team is old and it's time for a major rebuilding effort. My seven scouts on their mission to find players eligible for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft have completed their search. After each scout finished their search, I manually imported their findings to Excel. I now have a list of 403 draft eligible players and the rank they were given 0-5 stars. Not every player was found by every scout so if a player was overlooked, he'll get a 0 rating from me for that particular scout. Some players were returned with a 0 rating but they were noticed for some reason or another so I'll adjust those players to have a rating of 0.5. I then almagamate the results based on their individual rating, the number of lists they made it onto (out of 7), and a margin of error based on the scouts ability to judge potential. From here I should be able to get a clear picture of the top players who I won't spend much time scouting anymore. My biggest concern is the mass of players in the 3-3.5 range; those are the ones I need to concentrate on in order to get a better feeling of who to draft in the mid-to-late rounds. After my own formulas are inputted into Excel, here is the Top 30. A perfect score from my scouts would be 8.93. In italics is where they were drafted in real life this past year (round, pick, team). After my ranking is the ISS in-game mid-season ranking. 1)1) LW Alexander Ovechkin (18) - Dynamo, Russia (8.93) [1, 1, Wsh] 1)3) C Rostislav Olesz (18) - Vitkovice, Czech Republic (8.93) [1, 7, Fla] 1)2) C Yevgeni Malkin (18) - Metallurg M., Russia (8.93) [1, 2, Pit] 1)5) C Robbie Schremp (17) - London, OHL (8.93) [1, 25, Edm] 5)9) LW/RW Andrew Ladd (18) - Calgary, WHL (8.71) [1, 4, Car] 6)11) D Cam Barker (17) - Medicine Hat, WHL (8.66) [1, 3, Chi] 6)46) D Mike Green (18) - Saskatoon, WHL (8.66) [1, 29, Wsh] 8)4) D Andrej Meszaros (18) - Trencin, Slovakia (8.64) [1, 23, Ott] 9)51) RW/C Blake Wheeler (17) - Breck, USA (8.20) [1, 5, Pho] 10)18) LW Alexander Radulov (17) - Dynamo, Russia (7.93) [1, 15, Nsh] 11)20) LW Wojtek Wolski (18) - Brampton, OHL (7.90) [1, 21, Col] 12)-) G Marco Buhrer (24) - Bern, Switzerland (7.86) [not drafted] This is the highest rated player not to appear on every scout's list. One scout thought he wasn't worthy of consideration whatsoever. I'm thinking this probably has something to do with his age. However, if he's still available in the mid-to-late rounds, I don't see why he shouldn't be picked up. His attributes and stats suggest he's already better than Gerber (also from Switzerland) and could step into a back-up role in the NHL fairly easily. 13)8) C Kyle Chipchura (18) - Prince Albert, WHL (7.69) [1, 18, Mon] 14)-) RW Jan Kolar (22) - Pardubice, Czech Republic (7.64) [not drafted] 15)13) RW Jakub Sindel (18) - Sparta, Czech Republic (7.36) [2, 54, Chi] 16)-) C Matthew Myers (19) - Devils, Great Britain (7.19) [not drafted] Not surprisingly, a kid from Great Britain didn't get drafted into the NHL this past season. I suspect this anomaly is the result of the Cardiff Devils' researcher being a little too enthusiastic. Still, if the kid is good in the game, as in real life, who cares where he's from? 17)-) C Petr Koukal (21) - Pardubice, Czech Republic (7.14) [not drafted] I realize that NHL teams shy away from drafting older players, but if they're good and have several years of development already, you'd think they'd be closer to NHL-ready than their 17 or 18 year old counterparts. Calgary drafted a 20 year old by the name of Brandon Prust in the 2nd round this year and he already looks AHL ready. Unless it's a sure thing, I think drafting college kids and overagers could be a wise strategy. 18)24) LW Johannes Salmonsson (18) - Djurgarden, Sweden (7.07) [2, 31, Pit] 19)53) C Bruce Graham (18) - Moncton, QMJHL (6.93) [2, 51, NYR] 20)39) LW Travis Zajac (18) - Salmon Arm, BCHL (6.87) [1, 20, NJ] 21)61) RD/LD Grant Lewis (19) - Darmouth, USA (6.86) [2, 40, Atl] 22)31) LW/RW Kris Chucko (17) - Salmon Arm, BCHL (6.66) [1, 24, Cgy] 22)-) RW/C Jaroslav Markovic (18) - Martin, Slovakia (6.66) [not drafted] 22)-) RD Roman Tesliuk (18) - Kamloops, WHL (6.66) [2, 44, Edm] 25)19) LW Alexandre Picard (18) - Lewiston, QMJHL (6.43) [1, 8, Cbs] 26)-) LD/RD Ondrej Stanek (20) - Slavia, Czech Republic (6.19) [not drafted] 27)87) RW/C Drew Stafford (18) - North Dakota, USA (6.13) [1, 13, Buf] 28)177) RW David Laliberte (17) - P.E.I., QMJHL (5.90) [4, 124, Phi] 28)56) LW Antonio Rizzello (19) - Rapperswil, Switzerland (5.90) [not drafted] 30)133) C Ryan Garlock (17) - Windsor, OHL (5.84) [2, 45, Chi] 30)-) C/LW Romano Lemm (19) - Kloten, Switzerland (5.84) [not drafted] 30)27) C Evan McGrath (18) - Kitchener, OHL (5.84) [4, 128, Det] 30)37) LW Fredrik Naslund (18) - Vasteras Jrs., Sweden (5.84) [4, 104, Dal] Al Montoya(-), Ladislav Smid(-), Boris Valabik(-), Lauri Tukonen(38), A.J. Thelen(-), Devan Dubnyk(29), Petteri Nokelainen(7), Marek Schwarz(6), Lauri Korpikoski(-), Lukas Kaspar(35), Cory Schneider(52), Jeff Schultz(100), Mark Fistric(-) and Andy Rogers(161) were all first round selections this year but didn't figure into my top 30. What this means is that for whatever reason, my scouts are not high on these players. I'll report back once the actual draft happens in June and compare it to actual events but other than perhaps overrating some Europeans (which could simply be the fault of my scouts), I think SI did a very good job of modelling draft eligible players and the ISS ranking system. Remember these are mid-season rankings and things could really change. All I hope is that the success rate of NHL drafting is correctly modelled and that not everyone selected in the first round goes on to a successful career.

08-03-2004, 07:01 AM	#54
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	I've been playing around with a way to automate my drafting instead of having to leave it to hunches and guesswork based on scouting reports that tells me he's "loyal" or "reliable" or "consistent". Those type of reports are only useful if two players are identical in every other respect. I've come up with the following formula to come up with a ranking: [å((scout rating * (judging potential/10))average attributes)]-((age+ISS ranking)/10)+(AvRleague modifier) League Modifiers: Finnish SM-League, Swedish Elite League, Czech Extra League = 1 Russian League = .9 Slovakian League = .8 QMJHL, OHL, WHL, NCAA, DEL = .7 Swiss League = .6 Swedish Allsvenskan, Finnish Mestis, Russian 1st Division, Austrian League, German 1st Division, Finnish A-Juniors, Russian A-Juniors, Swedish A-Juniors = .5 British Elite League and Finnish Suomi-League = .4 ISS rankings only go to 200 so I'm thinking of using 200 if the player is unranked. What would also be cool would be to factor in changes from preliminary to mid-season to final rankings. Generally you prefer guys whose stock is on the rise so the ISS Ranking will be calculated using the Pre-liminary, Mid-Season and Finals Rankings but will be staggered toward the end. Last edited by Karim : 08-04-2004 at 07:40 AM.

08-03-2004, 06:34 PM	#55
klayman College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Edmonton	That sounds like way too much work

08-03-2004, 07:23 PM	#56
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	as far as Al Montoya not being in your draft list (and maybe a few others), kids in the NCAA aren't in EHM.

08-03-2004, 09:16 PM	#57
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	Actually, Al Montoya, A.J. Thelen and other NCAA players are indeed there. If you use the "modified" config file, you can also get the real NCAA teams. The only limitation is that none of the NCAA teams are playable. The reason he didn't make my Top 30 was simply because he didn't fit the criteria I established.

08-03-2004, 10:23 PM	#59
Johnny93g College Starter Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Toronto	My God, theres no way id have enough patience to do that, and theres no way i would have enough patience to analyze the info either.....But if is quite fascinating to read.... I glad your not trading for Kovalchuk. It seems like everyone who plays this game get Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, Crosby, the same names over and over again(from what ive seen on the SI boards)....... Thanks for the Leafs update, some of the trades they have made Everyone loves Brian Leetch, which makes sense, and there almost all proud to wear the blue and white Next year, they will dominate, I guarentee it. But as long as there out of the playoffs....GO FLAMES __________________ FOOL- Toronto Marlboros FOOL Classic Champions 2073, 2078, 2079, 2114, 2116, 2117, 2129, 2152, 2155, 2169, 2192 46 35 FOOL H- New York Giants World Champions 1914, 1928 BBCF: Notre Dame TML

08-04-2004, 10:41 AM	#62
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	Some of the names you might expect on a draft list (like Cam Barker or Robbie Schremp) are not here because I specifically excluded them from consideration after not liking what I saw. Essentially, if the player had <8 in Bravery, Determination, Teamwork, Work Rate, Speed, Stamina and Strength he was eliminated. Here's what Excel has spit out. I don't suspect my final draft list to change much from this as the only things that will change are final ISS rankings and AvR (which won't drastically affect the results). One thing I like about this analysis is that it shows how deep the draft is and the fall-off from one player to the next (at least in the opinion of my scouts). (Italics means not drafted in the NHL). Top 30: 1) LW Alexander Ovechkin 126.345 2) LW/RW Andrew Ladd 102.359 3) RD Mike Green 96.737 4) RW Jakub Sindel 92.106 5) C Kyle Chipchura 86.252 6) G Marco Buhrer 81.002 7) LW/RW Kris Chucko 77.315 8) C Bruce Graham 73.824 9) LW Alexandre Picard 73.735 10) C Travis Zajac 71.569 11) RD/LD Grant Lewis 70.406 12) RW Antti Pihlstrom 66.600 13) C Matthew Myers 64.349 (The first Brit drafted to the NHL?) 14) C Evan McGrath 62.542 15) LW Antonio Rizzello 60.617 16) C Rob Hisey 60.510 17) C/RW Eric Hunter 59.728 18) LW John Vigilante 56.942 19) LW Fredrik Naslund 56.534 20) C Ryan Garlock 55.062 21) RD Roman Tesliuk 54.166 22) G Marek Schwarz 52.15 23) RW/C Jaroslav Markovic 51.994 24) LD/RD Kyrill Lyamin 51.897 25) G Jeff Glass 50.922 26) C Yannick Tifu 49.681 27) RW David Laliberte 48.496 28) LW/RW Jens Jacobs 46.679 29) C/LW/RW Filip Hollstrom 45.990 30) LW/C/RW Lars Erik Spets 45.304 Well, that was fun. Now back to playing the game.

08-04-2004, 04:11 PM	#64
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	Like I said, I didn't like what I saw.

08-05-2004, 12:32 AM	#67
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	March 14th, 2004 ------------------------- Vancouver has now surpassed Phoenix as my main threat for the playoffs. Here are the standings with 12 games left to go. (GP - Pts) Western Conference ----------------------------- Colorado 71-99 Dallas 70-91 St. Louis 70-79 Los Angeles 71-83 Anaheim 71-79 Minnesota 71-79 Detroit 71-79 Calgary 70-78 ------------------ Vancouver 72-74 Phoenix 71-71 Nashville 70-58 Edmonton 71-56 San Jose 71-52 Columbus 71-48 Chicago 71-43 Eastern Conference ----------------------------- New Jersey 73-93 Carolina 72-85 Boston 73-84 NY Islanders 71-84 Ottawa 72-80 Philadelphia 71-80 Tampa Bay 72-74 Washington 71-73 -------------------------- Florida 72-72 NY Rangers 72-71 Buffalo 71-69 Pittsburgh 71-67 Atlanta 72-63 Toronto 71-61 Montreal 72-60 Game 71: vs. Detroit Kipper starts. Leopold in for Regehr. A solid and unexpected 5-1 win without Iginla or Regehr in the lineup, including 4 powerplay goals. The Gelinas-Richards-Nilson combination struck three times on the PP. The Board is pleased. Game 72: vs. Buffalo Gerber starts. Gauthier out for Regehr. A 7-2 win. Bell was first star with 2 goals and 1 assist. The Gelinas-Richards-Nilson powerplay unit struck again; maybe finally I've discovered a line that clicks on the PP unit. Eric Belanger (LA) wins Offensive Player of the Week. Robert Esche (Phi) wins Defensive Player of the Week. Game 73: @ Ottawa Kipper starts. Both Regehr and Warrener have to come out because of conditioning so Gauthier is back in along with Montador who hasn't seen action in a while. A great 4-2 road victory against a tough team with three regulars out. Game 74: @ NY Islanders Gerber starts. This wil be tough because it's the second game of back-to-back games on the road and the team is tired. Plus, I'm basically reduced to 3 lines since Ortmeyer is only at 72%. An expected 3-1 loss. [I was overruled and Iginla was put in the lineup instead of Ortmeyer.] I'm later informed that Iginla is still 10 days away. Yikes. There's a way to lose the franchise as we approach the post-season. Game 75: vs. Los Angeles Gerber starts. Regehr and Iginla are out. A good 4-2 victory to ensure the previous loss doesn't become a losing streak. Gelinas collects $200,000 for reaching 20 goals. Game 76: @ Detroit Kipper starts. No lineup changes. A 5-3 loss. Shanahan gets a hatrick, two goals on the PP. No doubt Regehr would have helped here. Pavel Datsyuk (Det) wins Offensive Player of the Week. Ty Conklin (Edm) wins Defensive Player of the Week. Wilm is out for ten days with a knee injury sustained during practice. Suddenly we're short of forwards but to bring Lombardi up means someone has to go down. Game 77: @ Nashville Gerber starts. Souray has to come out because he's exhausted. I use only three lines because we only have three centers. The fourth lines consists of Nieminen-Ortmeyer-Montador so I want them to see little ice as possible. Another 5-3 loss. Not good. [Iginla was magically back in the lineup.] Nilson gets $100,000 for reaching 20 assists and Reinprecht gets $150,000 for getting 20 goals. I recall Lombardi and demote Montador. Game 78: vs. San Jose Gerber starts. Lombardi centers the 3rd line and Yelle goes down to the 4th. I hate having offensive players on the fourth line. Another "must win", 4-2 victory. Gelinas gets injured for a couple days. [Again, Iginla is playing without my consent.] Game 79: @ St. Louis Kipper starts. Iginla is officially back but Gelinas is out. More line juggling as a result. We're looking good but haven't mathematically clinched a playoff spot. A 5-3 victory that clinches a playoff spot! Clark gets a $50,000 bonus for reaching 10 goals. Nieminen is out for 10 days with a broken finger. (I would have thought morale would be increased because of this but there's no change in that department.) Game 80: vs. Edmonton Gerber starts. Regehr, Gelinas and Nieminen are out. The Greasers go down 7-1. [Gelinas played against my will and collects a bonus of $200,000 for 20 assists. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.] Markus Naslund (Van) wins Offensive Player of the Month. Ed Jovanovski (Van) wins Defensive Player of the Month. Andrew Raycroft (Bos) wins Rookie of the Month. Jaroslav Svoboda (Car) wins Offensive Player of the Week. Fred Brathwaite (Cbs) wins Defensive Player of the Week. In other leagues... Czech Republic Extraliga HC Slavia Praha beat HC Moeller Pardubic 4 games to 2 Leading scorer: F Tomas Divisek (24) - 52gp, 30g, 55pts (transfer arranged to Philadelphia) Finland SM-Liga Finals about to take place. Leading scorer: F Petr Tenkrat (26) - 54gp, 26g, 53pts (rights owned by Florida) Russian Superleague Finals between Avangard Omsk and Ak-Bars Kazan even at 1 game a piece Leading scorer: F Vadim Shakhraychuk (29) - 60gp, 22g, 57pts (no NHL rights) Slovakia Extraliga HC Slovan Slovnaft Bratislava leads Dukla Trencin 2 games to 1. Leading scorer: F Roman Kukumberg (23) - 54gp, 28g, 50pts (draft eligible) Swedish Elitserien Vastra Frolunda HC leads Modo Hockey 3 games to 1. (Frolunda is stacked with great young players.) Leading scorer: F Juha Lind (30) - 50gp, 25g, 48pts (no NHL rights) Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference teams still alive: Barrie Colts, Ottawa 67s, Kingston Frontenacs, Brampton Battalion Western Conference teams still alive: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Kitchener Rangers, Sarnia Sting, Owen Sound Attack Leading scorer: F Corey Locke (19) - 68gp, 18g, 62pts (rights owned by Montreal) Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Teams still alive: P.E.I. Rocket, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Shawinigan Cataractes, Victoriaville Tigres Leading scorer: F Jean-Francois Cyr (20) - 70gp, 31g, 60pts (free agent? - I was able to approach to sign; Chicago and New Jersey are interested) Crosby watch: F Sidney Crosby (16) - 70gp, 25g, 44pts Western Hockey League Teams still alive: Red Deer Rebels, Brandon Wheat Kings, Calgary Hitmen, Regina Pats [I wonder if I'll get additional revenue as the Hitmen are owned by the Flames.] Leading scorer: D Patrick Weller (20) - 69gp, 11g, 51pts (rights owned by Washington) [If you get the chance, take a look at some of the obscure teams of Asia and Europe; or the Canadian bantam leagues. I wonder what it feels like for a 14 year old hockey player to see his name in the game? SI did an amazing job; the depth is incredible. To have these players and staff in the database for a first version is truely remarkable. I wonder if any NHL people have picked up this game. I think SI knows of some people in the Premiership who played CM.]

08-06-2004, 05:21 AM	#68
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	March 31st, 2004 ------------------------- I wrote out a depth chart (one of the few niceties lacking in this game) and realized we're really thin at goal and center. I make an offer to G Curtis McElhinney (20) playing at Colorado College. He's only been give 4 starts and I foresee him playing regularly in our ECHL affiliate in Las Vegas while G Brent Krahn (21) gets the bulk of the work in Lowell. If we draft a goalie (I've had my eye on 24 year-old Marco Buhrer) it will be to replace Gerber. Game 81: vs. Anaheim Kipper starts. Wilm, Regehr and Nieminen are out. A 7-3 win. Richards has a hattrick including two shorthanded goals and a 4 point night. The Board is pleased. McElhinney is delighted to have come to terms. Game 82: vs. Columbus Kipper starts because he has low morale coming off of a 6 rating and I want him in a good frame of mind going into the playoffs. I leave Regehr out even though he's ready to go (I'm having a hard time deciding who will be the healthy scratch among our seven defencemen). 1-1 tie. [The home advantage bug has struck.] Even though we finish in fourth, we have to start against Los Angeles on the road. Other teams are also affected. The final standings: Eastern Conference ---------------------------- New Jersey 109 Carolina 97 Boston 95 Philadelphia 97 NY Islanders 96 Ottawa 90 Tampa Bay 83 Florida 82 --------------------- Washington 81 NY Rangers 79 Pittsburgh 76 Buffalo 74 Montreal 73 Toronto 72 Atlanta 69 Western Conference ------------------------ Colorado 112 Dallas 109 Detroit 92 Calgary 95 Los Angeles 92 Anaheim 90 Vancouver 90 Minnesota 88 -------------------- Phoenix 84 St. Louis 83 Nashville 69 San Jose 66 Edmonton 65 Columbus 57 Chicago 49 Marian Hossa (Ott) is the leading goalscorer with 55 goals in 82 games. Keith Tkachuk (Stl) is the leading scorer with 86 points in 82 games. Paul Martin (NJ) is the leading goalscorer among defencemen with 14 in 82 games. Sergei Gonchar (Bos) is the leading scorer among defencemen with 46 points in 63 games. Martin Brodeur (NJ) leads all goalies with 45 wins. Marty Turco (Dal) leads all goalies with a 2.18 GAA and a .913 SV%. Chris Kunitz (Ana) leads all rookie goalscorers with 29 goals in 82 games. Joffrey Lupul (Ana) leads all rookies in points with 51 points in 81 games Ed Jovanovski (Van) leads with an average rating of 7.64. Paul Martin (NJ) leads in +/- with +53. Chris Neil (Ott) leads in PIM with 328. Calgary's Final Roster -------------------------------- Brad Richards - 73gp, 36g, 65pts, +26, 22pim, 7.40 AvR Mark Bell - 80gp, 25g, 59pts, +9, 77pim, 7.17 AvR Jarome Iginla - 72gp, 29g, 55pts, +9, 54pim, 7.43 AvR Steve Reinprecht - 82gp, 20g, 48pts, +21, 32pim, 7.20 AvR Chris Simon - 77gp, 26g, 48 pts, +15, 140pim, 7.19 AvR Martin Gelinas - 78gp, 21g, 43pts, +13, 22pim, 7.01 AvR Jarkko Ruutu - 76gp, 21g, 39pts, +22, 207pim, 7.18 AvR Markus Nilson - 76gp, 13g, 35pts, -1, 32pim, 6.89 AvR Sheldon Souray - 76gp, 7g, 29pts, -10, 67pim, 7.21 AvR Jed Ortmeyer - 80gp, 16g, 29pts, +2, 34pim, 6.74 AvR Stephane Yelle - 82gp, 13g, 26pts, +4, 38pim, 6.99 AvR Andrew Ference - 80gp, 4g, 23pts, +17, 24pim, 7.05 AvR Jordan Leopold - 72gp, 3g, 22pts, +27, 19pim, 7.04 AvR Chris Clark - 71gp, 10g, 21pts, +8, 110pim, 6.69 AvR Robyn Regehr - 55gp, 4g, 21pts, -1, 64pim, 7.18 AvR Clarke Wilm - 47gp, 9g, 19pts, +2, 14pim, 6.83 AvR Toni Lydman - 76gp, 1g, 18pts, +1, 6pim, 6.89 AvR Matthew Lombardi - 43gp, 7g, 15pts, +2, 18pim, 7.00 AvR Ville Nieminen - 51gp, 7g, 15pts, +4, 26pim, 6.55 AvR Denis Gauthier - 63gp, 1g, 12pts, +15, 145pim, 7.10 AvR Steve Montador - 42gp, 2g, 10pts, +6, 24pim, 7.12 AvR Rhett Warrener - 61gp, 1g, 10pts, +5, 66pim, 7.31 AvR Miika Kiprusoff - 49gp, 25w, 20l, 3t, 2.50gaa, .904sv%, 7.00 AvR Martin Gerber - 35gp, 17w, 13l, 4t, 2.57gaa, .901sv%, 7.03 AvR AHL Farm stats ------------------------ Brent Krahn - 15gp, 7w, 3l, 5t, 2.06gaa, .914sv%, 8.13 AvR Chuck Kobasew - 41gp, 20g, 39pts, +21, 38pim, 7.44 AvR Stats from players no longer on the roster ------------------------------------------------------------ Roman Turek (Ana) - 40gp, 22w, 13l, 5t, 2.68gaa, .888sv%, 6.90 AvR Krzysztof Oliwa (Mon) - 42gp, 6g, 11pts, -14, 141pim, 6.74 AvR Peter Worrell (Mon) - 52gp, 12g, 25pts, -8, 109pim, 6.94 AvR (3 year contract extension) Mike Commodore (Mon) - 45gp, 1g, 5pts, -16, 26pim, 6.51 AvR (1 year contract extension) Craig Conroy (Tam) - 74gp, 14g, 37pts, -7, 24pim, 7.09 AvR (1 year contract extension) Oleg Saprykin (Tam) - 66gp, 9g, 24pts, +4, 30pim, 6.85 AvR (my prediction of Richards' production being greater than Conroy and Saprykin combined came true) Shean Donovan (NYR) - 66gp, 13g, 23pts, -10, 24pim, 6.80 AvR (2 year contract extension) Dean McAmmond (Chi) - 82gp, 10g, 32pts, +3, 28pim, 6.83 AvR (2 year contract extension) The key for us has been balanced scoring with seven 20+ goal scorers. Iginla, whether it was my tactics or something else, had his worst year in the NHL since his sophmore season. I hope he can pick it up in the playoffs. That being said, the board wanted to make the playoffs so that hurdle has been accomplished. I have no expectations now and anything that happens is gravy. I've given Sheldon Souray a 3-year contract extension. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about to begin! Last edited by Karim : 08-06-2004 at 08:19 AM.

08-06-2004, 05:54 AM	#69
condors College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000	good luck in the playoffs

08-06-2004, 08:46 AM	#78
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	April 11th, 2004 ---------------------- Eastern Conference Quarternfinals ------------------------------------------------- Game 1: Florida 1 @ New Jersey 4 (gwg: Scott Gomez) Game 2: Florida 1 @ New Jersey 2 (gwg: Jan Hrdina) Game 3: New Jersey 0 @ Florida 2 (gwg: Vaclav Nederost) (Olli Jokinen injured and out for 4 months.) Game 4: New Jersey 1 @ Florida 4 (gwg: Juraj Kolnik) Game 5: Florida 1 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: Scott Gomez) Game 6: New Jersey 3 @ Florida 1 (gwg: Turner Stevenson) (Was there any doubt?) Game 1: Boston 0 @ Ottawa 2 (gwg: Greg de Vries) Game 2: Boston 7 @ Ottawa 4 (gwg: Michael Nylander) Game 3: Ottawa 1 @ Boston 3 (gwg: Michael Nylander) Game 4: Ottawa 2 @ Boston 1 (gwg: Radek Bonk) Game 5: Boston 3 @ Ottawa 1 (gwg: Dan McGillis) Game 6: Ottawa 0 @ Boston 2 (gwg: Glen Murray) (Boston finally turns a good regular season into a round one victory.) Game 1: NY Islanders 1 @ Philadelphia 3 (gwg: Keith Primeau) Game 2: NY Islanders 2 @ Philadelphia 3 (gwg: Donald Brashear, 0:24 into OT) Game 3: Philadelphia 2 @ NY Islanders 1 (gwg: Jeremy Roenick) Game 4: Philadelphia 1 @ NY Islanders 4 (gwg: Mariusz Czerkawski) Game 5: NY Islanders 1 @ Philadelphia 3 (gwg: Claude Lapointe) (Too much depth in Philly.) Game 1: Carolina 2 @ Tampa Bay 4 (gwg: Mark Smith) Game 2: Carolina 1 @ Tampa Bay 3 (gwg: Cory Stillman) Game 3: Tampa Bay 5 @ Carolina 4 (gwg: Vincent Lecavalier, 5:16 into OT) Game 4: Tampa Bay 0 @ Carolina 2 (gwg: Pavel Brendl) Game 5: Carolina 2 @ Tampa Bay 0 (gwg: Justin Williams) Game 6: Tampa Bay 3 @ Carolina 1 (gwg: Darryl Sydor) (Carolina was a surprise to make the playoffs.) Western Conference Quarterfinals ------------------------------------------------- Game 1: Minnesota 0 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Paul Kariya) Game 2: Minnesota 1 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Paul Kariya) Game 3: Colorado 0 @ Minnesota 1 (gwg: Nick Schultz) Game 4: Colorado 3 @ Minnesota 2 (gwg: Matthew Barnaby, 8:34 into OT) Game 5: Minnesota 1 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Dan Hinote) (A Colorado-New Jersey final is probably a safe bet.) Game 1: Vancouver 3 @ Dallas 5 (gwg: Rob DiMaio) Game 2: Vancouver 0 @ Dallas 1 (gwg: Pierre Turgeon) Game 3: Dallas 0 @ Vancouver 3 (gwg: Henrik Sedin) Game 4: Dallas 0 @ Vancouver 5 (gwg: Lukas Krajicek) Game 5: Vancouver 4 @ Dallas 1 (gwg: Todd Bertuzzi) Game 6: Dallas 0 @ Vancouver 4 (gwg: Mats Lindgren) (Sorry sachmo. Vancouver was 21 points worse and just made the playoffs while Dallas had such a strong season. I'm sure Turco wins the Vezina. I'm not sure what happened here.) Game 1: Anaheim 3 @ Detroit 1 (gwg: Chris Kunitz) Game 2: Anaheim 0 @ Detroit 4 (gwg: Ray Whitney) Game 3: Detroit 0 @ Anaheim 1 (gwg: Zdeno Chara, 1:22 into OT) Game 4: Detroit 0 @ Anaheim 2 (gwg: Stanislav Chistov) Game 5: Anaheim 4 @ Detroit 1 (gwg: Vaclav Prospal) (I can't say I'm sorry to see Detroit gone.) Game 1: Calgary @ Los Angeles My toughest decision is which defenceman to sit. I decide Lydman is the odd man out. He hasn't been that great this season with only 1 goal despite ample time on the powerplay. Whatever offense I give up, I get back in toughness when I add Gauthier to the lineup. Obviously Kiprusoff starts and I'm going to ride him ignoring conditioning as much as I can. No change to the forward ranks. We lose 4-1 (gwg: Ian Laperriere). We were outshot 35-24 and gave up two powerplay goals. Simon got the only goal of the game. Richards had a '6' rating and didn't get a shot on goal. Iginla, Regehr and Souray were the only players rated '8'. A media report suggests Los Angeles is on its way to the cup. Game 2: Calgary @ Los Angeles I shake up the 2nd and 3rd lines because it seems Richards plays better at center than on the wing. 2nd line: Gelinas-Richards-Bell, 3rd line: Nilson-Lombardi-Ruutu. I'm hoping this will be enough of a change to get a split. Kiprusoff is at 89% but I'm not making a change. I'm also making Regehr key on Palffy who had 2 points in the first game. We win 2-1 (gwg: Brad Richards). Richards scores with 1:53 left in the 3rd. We gave up the first goal on a powerplay. Kiprusoff was outstanding with a '9' rating and 1st star of the game. Ference was the only player with a '6' rating and I'll have to think about putting Lydman in. At least we won't be swept. Simon, Kiprusoff, Warrener, Leopold and Souray are given days off because they're "in need of rest" or "exhausted". Game 3: Los Angeles @ Calgary Kiprusoff is only at 85% and this is the first of back-to-back games at home. Meanwhile, Simon is only at 74%. There both going to have to play through it but I take Simon off the powerplay. Lydman comes in for Ference. We win 4-1 (gwg: Sheldon Souray), outshooting Los Angeles 34-21. Souray's goal was short handed and every goal was scored in the 3rd period. Regehr, Leopold and Nilson had two points each. No '6' ratings for anyone. [Clarke Wilm was inserted for Simon without my approval.] The Board is delighted with this victory. Game 4: Los Angeles @ Calgary Kiprusoff and Lydman are at 78% and Simon is at 79%. I'm not making any lineup changes. We win 4-1 (gwg: Martin Gelinas), outshooting Los Angeles 40-20. Mark Bell gets a hattrick and Brad Richards gets 3 assists. Iginla gets his first point of the playoffs. I don't know if I'm using him poorly or if he's been underrated by the Flames researcher. [Steve Montador was inserted for Lydman without my approval but Simon and Kiprusoff remained.] The Board is absolutely delighted with this victory. Game 5: Calgary @ Los Angeles The only person who is still "in need of rest" is Chris Simon at 84%. As a result, I don't make any lineup changes. We lose 5-4 (gwg: Sean Avery, 6:39 into OT). We were outshot 36-30 and were 0/6 on the powerplay. Matthew Lombardi missed a penalty shot in the first which would have given us a 5-1 lead. We squandered a 4-1 lead which could be a demoralizing loss if we can't put this series away. Kiprusoff, Leopold, Clark and Simon all end up with '6' ratings. Iginla scored a goal but was a -1 and really isn't doing enough for the superstar he's supposed to be. Game 6: Los Angeles @ Calgary Leopold's at 70%, Kiprusoff is at 75% and Warrener is at 76%. I take Leopold out and put Ference back in. I also put in Nieminen who is only at 82% and take out Clark who is at 100%; the reason is that in five games Clark only has a rating of 6.40 and has very low morale. We win 3-0 (gwg: Chris Simon) and close out the series! We outshot Los Angeles 28-14 and scored 2 powerplay goals. Richards had a goal and an assist. Lydman was the only player with a '6' rating. The Board is delighted. What? Not "absolutely delighted." The World Championships are now underway. Here is Team Canada: G Martin Biron G Jocelyn Thibault G Chris Osgoode D Bryan Campbell D Shawn Heins D Bryce Salvador D Matt Spiller D Eric Brewer D Al MacInnis D Derek Morris D Brad Stuart D Yannick Tremblay F Eric Daze F Rico Fata F Dany Heatley F Ryan Smyth F Daniel Briere F Eric Lindros F Patrick Marleau F Mike Ricci F Mark Savard F Trevor Letowski F Owen Nolan F Steve Sullivan F Darcy Tucker Here is Team USA: G Mike Dunham G Bobby Goepfert G Jean-Marc Pelletier D Francois Bouillon D Todd Reirden D Barry Richter D Eric Weinrich D Brett Hauer D Jeff Jilson D Lance Pitlick D Tom Priessing D Steve Shirreffs F Bates Battaglia F Nikos Dimitrakos F Mike Grier F Dan Lacouture F Shawn McEachern F Chris Drury F Brian Holzinger F David Legwand F Todd Marchant F Marty Reasoner F Mike York F Tom Fitzgerald F Ryan Malone F Landon Wilson Here is Team Sweden: G Andreas Hadelov G Daniel Henriksson G Stefan Liv D Jan-Axel Alavaara D Christian Backman D Josef Boumedienne D Pierre Hedin D Niclas Kronwall D Ronnie Sundin D Dick Tarnstrom D Daniel Tjarnqvist D Henrik Tallinder F Andreas Dackell F Jonas Hoglund F Andreas Johansson F Niklas Nordgren F Fredrik Sjostrom F Johan Davidsson F Jonas Johnson F Alexander Steen F Mats Sundin F Per Svartvadet F Niklas Andersson F Nils Ekman F Mikael Renberg F Niklas Sundstrom First upset sees Canada lose 3-1 to Switzerland.

08-06-2004, 09:00 AM	#79
sachmo71 The boy who cried Trout Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: TX	Bah, even the computer Stars have no heart. Vancouver? Sheesh!

08-06-2004, 12:13 PM	#80
scooter High School Varsity Join Date: May 2004 Location: Camano Island, WA	Congratulations on the first round win! Great job! I just stumbled into the dynasties forum yesterday for the first time. Your dynasty caught my eye and I spent some time reading it through - so sorry for coming to the party late (call me a fair-weather fan) but I'm here!

08-06-2004, 12:52 PM	#82
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	April 26th, 2004 ----------------------- We're screwed out of home ice advantage again. Eastern Conference Semi-Finals ----------------------------------------------- Game 1: Tampa Bay 4 @ New Jersey 2 (gwg: Vincent Lecavalier) Game 2: Tampa Bay 3 @ New Jersey 6 (gwg: Grant Marshall) Game 3: New Jersey 0 @ Tampa Bay 3 (gwg: Mark Smith) Game 4: New Jersey 0 @ Tampa Bay 2 (gwg: Mark Smith) Game 5: Tampa Bay 3 @ New Jersey 4 (gwg: Scott Gomez, 5:36 into OT) Game 6: New Jersey 7 @ Tampa Bay 1 (gwg: Sergei Brylin) Game 7: Tampa Bay 1 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: John Madden) (Lou Lamoriello's machine keeps on churning, coming back to win the series after going down 3 games to 1.) Game 1: Boston 3 @ Philadelphia 4 (gwg: Alexei Zhamnov, 12:36 into OT) Game 2: Boston 4 @ Philadelphia 2 (gwg: Brian Rolston) Game 3: Philadelphia 5 @ Boston 1 (gwg: John Leclair) Game 4: Philadelphia 1 @ Boston 3 (gwg: Sergei Gonchar) Game 5: Boston 2 @ Philadelphia 4 (gwg: Sami Kapanen) Game 6: Philadelphia 2 @ Boston 0 (gwg: Donald Brashear) (Philly's run continues.) Western Conference Semi-Finals ------------------------------------------------ Game 1: Vancouver 2 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Adam Foote) Game 2: Vancouver 3 @ Colorado 4 (gwg: Adam Foote, 4:54 into OT) Game 3: Colorado 3 @ Vancouver 1 (gwg: Rob Blake) Game 4: Colorado 2 @ Vancouver 3 (gwg: Todd Bertuzzi, 8:46 into OT) Game 5: Vancouver 4 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Daniel Sedin) Game 6: Colorado 1 @ Vancouver 3 (gwg: Todd Bertuzzi) Game 7: Vancouver 1 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Teemu Selanne) (Peter Forsberg had been out the entire playoffs until Game 3. Joe Sakic has been out since March 9th. Vancouver almost does the impossible, coming back to win after being down 3 games to 0. Vancouver finishes its playoff run seeing Todd Bertuzzi leading the playoffs in scoring.) Game 1: Calgary @ Anaheim Clearly Kiprusoff's our guy. Ference and Montador are out. I keep Nieminen in for Clark. No change otherwise. We lose 4-2 (gwg: Petr Sykora). We were outshot 36-29, gave up two powerplay goals and were outhit 24-10. Jordan Leopold suffered a knee injury and will be out for about a week. Game 2: Calgary @ Anaheim Ference comes in for Leopold. I make a lineup shuffle by bringing Clarke Wilm to center the fourth line and move Yelle to the third line. Lombardi shifts to left wing on the fourth line. I decide to make Regehr focused on Sykora. We lose 5-2 (gwg: Mike Leclerc). We're in a deep hole now. Although Sykora didn't register a point, Lupol scored twice. Actually, Sykora is now out for two months after Regehr got a hold of him. We gave up two more powerplay goals and were outshot 41-22. Both Kiprusoff and Wilm got a '5' rating while Iginla was -2 with a '6' rating. Clearly he's not producing and hasn't been for the entire year and I try the Darryl Sutter technique of calling him out. Iginla thinks my warning was unfair. He's now pissed off and thinks he's been unfairly treated. Game 3: Anaheim @ Calgary With Iginla now pissed off, it might ripple through the team and this will be a short series. Regehr is only at 70% so Montador gets his first action of the series. I keep the same forward lines but shorten the bench to three lines. We win 3-1 (gwg: Chris Simon). Iginla is a no show. We outshoot Anaheim 38-17 but go 0/7 on the powerplay. Ruutu gets a goal and an assist and is first star of the game. Our fourth line gets one shift with a combined ice-time of 51 seconds. [Leopold was inserted into the lineup instead of Lydman. This I don't understand as he's supposedly still injured while Lydman is healthy and at full strength.] The Board is delighted with the victory but it's an uphill battle now and I wouldn't get too excited. Game 4: Anaheim @ Calgary Regehr is only at 79% so I don't put him in. Lydman comes in for Leopold. No changes to the forward lines. I set Warrener to watch Lupul. Again, I go with three lines hoping Iginla can bust out one of these times. We lose 3-1 (gwg: Dan Bylsma), giving both a short-handed and powerplay goal. We did outshoot Anaheim 28-22 but J.S. Giguere was solid again with an '8' rating. He's definitely outplayed Kiprusoff in the series. I suspect Anaheim clinches it at home. The Board is delighted with my overall performance but the praise rings kind of hollow now. Game 5: Calgary @ Anaheim Warrener and Gauthier are out and Leopold and Regehr come back in. Chris Clark comes in for Jed Ortmeyer and I decide to role four lines once again. We win 3-2 (gwg: Martin Gelinas, 11:50 into OT) to give us another home game where we could always use the revenue. Iginla got a 5 minute kneeing penalty and a game misconduct 1:06 into the game. He gets a '5' rating for it and I call him out again to which he replies that I'm being unfair. I'm not sure what it's going to take to get through to him. He gets suspended for 3 games as a result and I appeal. Jarkko Ruutu plays a whopping 27:54. Game 6: Anaheim @ Calgary I don't get a decision on the appeal to Iginla's suspension before this game so Mark Bell becomes my first line right winger. Lydman comes out; his 6.29 AvR in the playoffs is disgraceful. Warrener takes his place and I tell him to shadow Chistov. Ortmeyer comes back in to take the spot vacated by Iginla. I move Richards to the number one line to keep the Richards-Bell duo together. It's a makeshift group. We lose 3-1 (gwg: Jason Krog). Wilm scored our only goal late as we fell down 3-0. In an ironic twist of fate, Roman Turek got his second start of the playoffs in place of J.S. Giguere and was first star of the game with an '8' rating, sticking it to his old team. The makeshift first line was -2 all around. It was a nice run and a series win after seven years out of the playoffs isn't bad. What killed us were specialty teams and the lack of productivity of Jarome Iginla. Toni Lydman is also seriously overrated and I'll be looking to make a move there. We also need another forward with flair and offensive creativity; maybe Lombardi, Kobasew or Lundqvist can provide the spark next year. I'll definitely give them the chance. After all was said and done, Richards, Bell and Gelinas all had more points in the playoffs than Jarome. I'm informed that my exclusive rights to prospects F Michael Lambert (20) and F Darren Lynch (20) will expire in a month so I offer them contracts. I foresee them playing in the AHL next year. World Championship Quarterfinals Slovakia 2 vs. Czech Republic 1 Finland 3 vs. Germany 2 Latvia 3 vs. Canada 10 (Heatley-Lindros-Sullivan combine for 18 points.) Sweden 2 vs. USA 4

08-06-2004, 02:11 PM	#83
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	Good run.. let's see if you can improve in season 2.. __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

08-06-2004, 03:22 PM	#85
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	May 6th, 2004 -------------------- I've set everyone to no practice. I won't set any off-season conditioning until July. I NOW get a message that the NHL agrees that I had valid grounds for appeal and Iginla's suspension has been revoked. It would have been nice to had him for Game 6. Both Lynch and Lambert are delighted to have come to terms with the Flames. Eastern Conference Finals -------------------------------------- Game 1: Philadelphia 0 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: John Madden) Game 2: Philadelphia 3 @ New Jersey 5 (gwg: Scott Gomez) Game 3: New Jersey 3 @ Philadelphia 2 (gwg: Scott Stevens, 4:11 into 3OT) Game 4: New Jersey 5 @ Philadelphia 2 (gwg: Jeff Friesen) (The best goalie in the world always helps.) Western Conference Finals --------------------------------------- Game 1: Anaheim 2 @ Colorado 4 (gwg: Alex Tanguay) Game 2: Anaheim 2 @ Colorado 3 (gwg: Andrei Nikolishin, 7:38 into 3OT) Game 3: Colorado 3 @ Anaheim 0 (gwg: Steve Konowalchuk) Game 4: Colorado 0 @ Anaheim 2 (gwg: Steve Rucchin) Game 5: Anaheim 0 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Paul Kariya) (Never in doubt.) World Championship Semifinals Finland 3 vs. Slovakia 4 USA 2 vs. Canada 5 Stanley Cup Finals --------------------------- Game 1: Colorado 1 @ New Jersey 5 (gwg: Viktor Kozlov) Game 2: Colorado 1 @ New Jersey 3 (gwg: Sergei Brylin) Game 3: New Jersey 4 @ Colorado 6 (gwg: Teemu Selanne) Game 4: New Jersey 1 @ Colorado 2 (gwg: Joe Sakic, 4:37 into OT) Game 5: Colorado 2 @ New Jersey 4 (gwg: Jan Hrdina) Game 6: New Jersey 3 @ Colorado 1 (gwg: Jamie Langenbrunner) (Back-to-back Stanley Cups for the model franchise, New Jersey Devils. Patrick Elias wins the Conn Smythe Trophy.) World Championship Finals Canada 5 vs. Slovakia 4 Russian Superleague Finals Avangard Omsk beats Ak-Bars Kazan, 3 games to 2. Czech Extraliga Finals HC RABAT Kladno beats HC Prostejov, 4 games to 2. Finnish SM-Liga Finals Turun Palloseura beats Rauman Lukko, 3 games to 1. Swedish Elitserien Finals Vastra Frolunda HC beats Modo Hockey, 4 games to 1. Slovakian Extraliga Finals HC Slovan Slovnaft Bratislava beats Dukla Trencin, 4 games to 1. OHL Finals Kitchener Rangers beat Brampton Battalion, 4 games to 2. QMJHL Finals Shawinigan Cataractes beat Chicoutimi Saguenees, 4 games to 1. WHL Finals Kootenay Ice beat Red Deer Rebels, 4 games to 1. Memorial Cup Finals Kootenay Ice 6 vs. Shawinigan 2 NCAA Frozen Four (Yeah, we wish!) Calder Cup Finals (Maybe next version...) I receive a trade offer and it's the first legitimate offer this year. Buffalo is offering F Taylor Pyatt (22) and a 3rd Round Pick in 2004 for D Jordan Leopold (23). I've noticed that Leopold's attributes have increased. It's a fair offer but I'm not looking to deal Leopold. I get the chance to vote on the Vezina Trophy and give my vote to Marty Turco. Art Ross Trophy: Keith Tkachuk (Stl) Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Jaromir Jagr (NYR) - Other nominees: Zdeno Chara (Ana), Roman Hamrlik (Phi) Calder Memorial Trophy: Joffrey Lupul (Ana) - Other nominees: Chris Kunitz (Ana), Jared Aulin (Wsh) Frank J. Selke Trophy: Jamie Langenbrunner (NJ) - Other nominees: Chris Neil (Ott), Steve Konowalchuk (Col) Hart Memorial Trophy: Joe Thornton (Bos) - Other nominees: Todd Bertuzzi (Van), Markus Naslund (Van) Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns (NJ) - Other nominees: Peter Laviolette (Car), Mike Sullivan (Bos) James Norris Memorial Trophy: Ed Jovanovski (Van) - Other nominees: Rob Blake (Col), Derek Morris (Pho) King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Ryan Johnson (Stl) - Other nominees: Trent Hunter (NYI), Andy McDonald (Ana) Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Markus Naslund (Van) - Other nominees: Paul Kariya (Col), Zigmund Palffy (Los) Lester B. Pearson Award: Makus Naslund (Van) - Other nominees: Joe Thornton (Bos), Ed Jovanovski (Van) Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy: Marian Hossa (Ott) Vezina Trophy: Martin Brodeur (NJ) - Other nominees: Tommy Salo (Col), Robert Esche (Phi) [This one is quite surprising to me. Turco was tops in GAA, SV% and had only one fewer win than Brodeur and wasn't even in the Top 3?] William M. Jennings Trophy: Marty Turco (Dal) NHL Plus-Minus Award: Paul Martin (NJ) Nashville Predators have won the NHL Draft Lottery. The 2004 NHL Entry Draft will take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

08-07-2004, 12:18 PM	#86
scooter High School Varsity Join Date: May 2004 Location: Camano Island, WA	Congrats on a successful season. How do your team finances look? I know you were operating on a shoestring up there north of the border. Did the tickets sales for the playoffs help much?

08-07-2004, 02:57 PM	#87
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	Karim: This is the best dynasty I've read in quite some time. Keep up the amazing work.

08-07-2004, 03:40 PM	#92
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	I am intrigued to see how the Swiss goalie developes. Keep it up.

08-07-2004, 04:11 PM	#93
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	Thanks guys. Needless to say, the draft is my favourite part of any sim...

08-07-2004, 07:06 PM	#94
klayman College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Edmonton	Robbie Schremp owns you!!!!

08-07-2004, 08:35 PM	#95
henry296 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	Interesting that the Penguis took another goalie. How did Fleury do this season and did he play at all in the NHL? __________________ "It's a great day for hockey" - "Badger" Bob Johnson

08-08-2004, 03:57 AM	#100
Karim College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Calgary	Ok, here's a compromise. I've been using 'rolling saves' (a very good idea), so I have a saved game from July 7th, 2004, before Robinson and Yzerman signed. Meanwhile, I'll keep playing with my regular game just to see how bad things really are and whether I feel the need to wait for the patch. (I really don't have a problem with Yzerman becoming an assistant coach because it falls within my realm of possibility. Robinson, Trottier, Granato and Tocchet for example, all became assistant coaches shortly after retiring and not for the teams for which they played.)

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