All posts by Rob Cooke

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NHL, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are an interesting team to follow this season. Thanks to late season heroics from Devan Dubnyk the Wild managed to claw their way back into a playoff spot. Without Duby’s 38 consecutive starts, 27 of which were wins there is little to no chance that this would have been a playoff contender last spring. Not that the team is bad or anything but they are not a powerhouse by any stretch. They are solid if not spectacular offensively, top third defensively, very bad on the power-play and the number one ranked team on the PK.

Key Additions: LW Ruslan Fedetenko, C Zac Dalpe, D Mike Rielly, and D Tyson Strachan

Key Departures: C Kyle Brodziak, LW Matt Cooke, RW Chris Stewart, G Josh Harding

Roster Contenders: LW Brett Sutter, C Tyler Graovac, RW Michael Keranen, D Jonathon Blum

Last season the Wild finished with a 46-28-8 record, good enough for sixth in the Western conference and 11th overall in the league. As I already stated before though Devan Dubnyk and his herculean efforts are responsible for 27 of those wins. Just goes to show what kind of season the team was having prior to acquiring Duby from Arizona.

This is a team that could go either way this season. If Dubnyk can replicate his performance from this past season the team should be sitting pretty but should his numbers regress back closer to his career averages the WIld could be in for a long season.

The only real positives that I can see from the off-season additions is Mike Rielly. Granted I can’t help but think we could be looking at Justin Schultz 2.0. He sounds eerily similar to what we heard the summer that Justin was so highly sought after. I guess time will tell if there is more to Rielly’s game than there was Schultz’s because every Oilers fan knows how unhappy we are with his performance to date. Personally I am much happier with the Wild signing Tyson Strachan but that is for purely selfish reasons. Tyson is my first cousin so his return to the Western conference means I get to see him play more than twice this season!

Potential Lineup:

Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pomenville

Thomas Vanek – Mikko Koivu – Nino Niederreiter

Jason Zucker – Charlie Coyle – Justin Fontaine

Ryan Carter – Erik Haula – Jordan Schroeder

Ryan Suter – Jonas Brodin

Jared Spurgeon – Mathew Dumba

Marco Scandella – Christian Folin

Devan Dubnyk

Niklas  Backstrom

The Wild were fourth in the ultra tough Central division and will be looking to duplicate that finish or better. Their main competition this season is St. Louis, Chicago and Nashville. My money is on the Wild making the post-season but as a Wild Card team this year.

The player to watch, aside from Dubnyk is Mike Rielly. He will have to be lights out good to crack the opening night roster. I predict a season in the AHL with the farm team is his likely destination. Wild fans better hope he is closer to Karlsson than Schultz.

NHL, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: San Jose Sharks

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Last season the San Jose Sharks missed the playoff for the first time since 2003. In the aftermath we seen the mutual parting of ways between the team and long-time head coach Todd McLellan. Was last season an anomaly or is the long playoff run over for the one mighty Sharks? The core group of players is aging but there should still be a little left in the tank of Jumbo Joe Thornton and Patty Marleau. Enough to get them back to the playoffs? We will see I guess.

Key Additions: RW Joel Ward, D Paul Martin, D Mark Cundari, G Martin Jones

Key Departures: G Antti Niemi, D Matt Irwin, D Taylor Fedun

Roster Hopefuls: RW Timo Meier, RW Nikolay Goldobin, D Jeremy Roy

Last season was a bit of free fall for the once powerful Sharks. They went from 111 points and a second place finish in the Pacific division to 89 points and a fifth place end. The unfortunate part for Sharks fans is that while they did bring in a few nice players this summer they also lost a couple good ones too. Joel Ward is a great addition to the team as is defenseman Paul Martin but I can’t seem to figure out why they walked away from goaltender Antti Niemi. In my opinion opting for a very much unproven Martin Jones as the new starter when you had a more than capable starter already in the fold is beyond me but that is something you would have to ask GM Doug Wilson.

Timo Meier should bring the team some hope. He has a big frame and has excellent instincts in the offensive zone. He is a very capable player when he has the puck on his stick. He is going to head back to the QMJHL this season but should be in the NHL full-time by next season. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching this kid play I urge you to do so! You won’t be disappointed. Another player on this team that I absolutely love is big defender/ winger Brent Burns. The guy is a stud defenseman and can really supply the offense from the backend. Last season he finished fourth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 43 assists. That’s pretty damn special for a defenseman!

Potential Lineup:

Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski

Melker  Karlsson – Logan Couture – Tomas Hertl

Matt Neito – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward

Raffi Torres – Ben Smith – Tommy Wingels

Brent Burns – Paul Martin

M.E. Vlasic – Justin Braun

Brendon Dillon – Mirco Mueller

Martin Jones

Alex Stalock

The Sharks finished an astounding 11 points out of the playoffs, I know that isn’t “Oilers” astounding but that is pretty huge a change for a perennial playoff team like San Jose. I don’t think last season was an anomaly by any stretch. I think it was a bigger than expected regression but not an unexpected regression. With little in the way of changes from last season I expect the team will regress even further this season and will be in the fifth slot come the end of the season.

Martin Jones is the guy to keep an eye on for this team. He is largely unproven and will be needed to play a hell of a lot more than the fifteen games he played last season. It will be interesting to see if the Sharks guessed right and Jones is in fact ready. Situation sounds very similar to that of the Oilers.

 

Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, Rob Cooke

Oilers sign Klefbom long-term

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Oilers fans have a long history of watching this team develop real NHL defensemen only to let them walk as free agents or traded prior to UFA status taking effect. Today, more than any other day so far I have seen the changing of the tide. Proof that someone other than MacT and Lowe are in charge and making the decisions. Let’s face it, previous management had a proven track record of developing solid defenders that while they may not have been top pairing guys were still legitimate NHL defensemen and then trading them away.

The first three that come to mind for me are Tom Gilbert, Jeff Petry and Marty Marincin. Three quality players, well Marty had some issues but was still a damn sight better than Nikitin or Ference in my opinion. That brings us to today and the joyous occasion that has us reminiscing of players gone too soon. Today Peter Chiarelli made the smart decision and locked up one of the best up and coming defensemen in the league. Oscar Klefbom in my eyes is a huge part of the Oilers defense moving forward and today the Oilers proved they think the same way as I do.

The number I have heard is 4.167 per season. That is a pretty decent number but there are a lot of folks on twitter that are trashing this team for signing Oscar long-term. Well really there are those bitching about the term and there are those bitching about the dollar value. Of course all the hate that I have seen comes from those outside the organization and fan base. I haven’t really seen anyone from the MSM or fans say anything remotely negative about the deal.

Really, I don’t see how anyone can say anything negative about it now. He is a lock to be in our top four for the next eight years. He is still only 22 years old and has a ton of developing left to do so he is only going to get better! He may never be a top guy like Doughty or Keith but he will be a top pairing defenseman, likely by the end of this season. Visions of a top pairing of Darnell Nurse and Oscar make me giddy with anticipation. We are not that far away from that happening folks!

What do you think? Is this a good signing? Too long of a term? Too much money? Let us know what you think. Leave a comment below or follow me on twitter and we can converse there, @justoil78. Thanks for reading.

 

Cheers

Rob

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, Merch, NHL, Prospects, Rob Cooke

Neon Leon Draisaitl and The Move to The Wing

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By now everyone has heard the Chiarelli interview that was conducted by TSN insider Bob MacKenzie. If you have been in a coma for the last week or just haven’t gotten around to watching it yet you really should. There is some really great stuff in there. It will give a small insight into the mind of the general manager and hints at the direction that he plans to take this team.

The part of the interview that pertains to what we are discussing today is when Bobby Mac asks about Leon and Darnell making the team this fall. This is what he replied.

  • Chiarelli: “We have to see how they do. They are two fine prospects, with size and skill you just don’t find anywhere. I still really believe size matters in this league. We’ll see. We’re going to try Leon on the wing and we’re going to try him, he protects the puck so well, we’ll try him at both (wing and center). Darnell is so strong, he defends so well. He’s an energetic player, we have to teach him you don’t have to do six things, if you do three very well, you can do the other three later. He’s got some stuff to learn but there’s a lot to like there.”

From that we can infer that the boys are going to have a legitimate shot to make the team and they will not be sent to Bakersfield just for the sake of “development”. Prospects of their caliber have the capability of learning on the fly a lot quicker than a lesser player. I’ve already made my arguments for which way I think things will go with Darnell Nurse and that piece is available at Just Oil, a website of my own creation, but what will the team do with Leon Draisaitl?

There was a ton of talk about why Draisaitl was getting to play all three games at the recently finished Young Stars tournament out in Penticton. I seen some comments that the team didn’t Leon had shown enough in his two previous outings and others still that assumed it was because of the teams intent to let him shift to the wing for at least part of training camp. Obviously neither theory proved to be right when it was confirmed that Leon was in fact playing in the third game because of an injury Mitch Moroz suffered to his hand in the first game against the Canucks.

As close as we are now to training camp, we can expect the chatter to heat up about any player that isn’t a guaranteed lock for the NHL roster. The story for Leon will play out in its own good time and eventually we will see what the Oilers staff has decided to do with them. With that being said, who wants to wait to see what the Oilers will do? I sure as hell don’t! I want to pull on my armchair GM cap and make the decision for them.

What would I do if I was the man leading the Oilers charge back to the playoffs? Well son, pull up a chair, slap a Canucks fan and sit your ass down and listen and I’ll tel you exactly what I will do! I freely admit I am not the smartest man in the world but I can guarantee that I am very far from the dumbest as well. It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to know that there are relatively few spots that are open to competition amongst the forwards group. Hall, Eberle, McDavid, Nuge and Pouliot are virtual locks for top six work with the final candidate probably being one of Teddy Purcell and Nail Yakupov.

So where does Leon fit into the picture then? If he is to make this team it will have to be in the bottom six. The only scenario that I see Leon making the team is if Todd McLellan would prefer to put Yakupov in the top six and move Purcell to the left of Anton Lander. This would allow Draisaitl to take the third line right wing position and move recently acquired Lauri Korpikoski down to the fourth line with Matt Hendricks and Mark Letestu.

This combination of forwards would give us two lines that an absolutely tear it up and a third that while not as offensively gifted as the first two lines will be a more defensively responsible trio. Add to that the fourth line that can take on the heavy work and tougher defensive zone starts and there might actually be the beginnings of a real NHL forward group.

I have no illusions of any players that are eligible for UFA status next summer being retained. Purcell, Nikitin and Scrivens among others, will all either be moved at the deadline or allowed to walk for nothing in July. This is why I say we have the beginnings of a NHL quality forward group. We all know there will be turnover between now and then but it will be minimal.

What would everyone think if the lines for opening night in St. Louis was Pouliot/Nuge/ Eberle, Hall/McDavid/Yakupov, Purcell/Lander/Draisaitl and Hendricks/Letestu/Korpikoski? Any other combination of players involved and I don’t see how Leon can possibly be on the team. If McLellan prefers to put Purcell on third line right wing then there really isn’t any room for the big German.

What do you all think? Leon on the team for October 8th or will he be leading the charge in Bakersfield to start? I want to hear from you! Leave me a comment here or get at me on Twitter, @justoil78. If you liked what you read please visit Cooke Designs and buy one of our beautiful shirts! Thanks for reading!

 

Cheers

Rob

Armchair GM, NHL, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: Los Angeles Kings

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Fans of the Los Angeles Kings have had plenty to cheer for over the past few seasons. They’ve seen two Stanley Cup winning teams and a third season that ended in the conference finals. There were five consecutive seasons of playoff hockey in Hollywood.

Last season the Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2008/09 season. It was quite the shock at the end of the season to see the reigning Stanley Cup champions on the outside looking in. But having an atrocious shootout record (2-7) and going sub .500 on the road (15-18-8) will kill any postseason hopes there are.

There have been some massive changes to this team in the off-season and I wouldn’t expect the same results as last year.

Key Additions: F Milan Lucic, D Christian Ehrhoff, G Jhonas Enroth

Key Departures: F Mike Richards, F Justin Williams, F Jarret Stoll, D Andrej Sekera, D Slava Voynov, D Robin Regehr, G Martin Jones

Roster Contenders: G Peter Budaj, F Andy Andreoff, F Jordan Weal, D Damir Sharipzyanov, D Derek Forbort

Projected Lineup:

Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Marion Gaborik
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Nick Shore – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Trevor Lewis – Jordan Nolan

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Christian Ehrhoff
Brayden MacNabb – Matt Greene

Jonathon Quick
Jhonas Enroth

The addition of Lucic brings some functional toughness to the top six. He is a capable scorer, netting twenty plus goals three times in his eight year career. Adding him to the Kings offensive lines will mean just another tool in Darryl Sutters tool box to deploy as he sees fit.

How Christian Ehrhoff got inked for one year at $1.5M is beyond me. Surely he got shares in the team for signing for that cheap. Check out his HERO chart… You know he could’ve gotten upwards of $4 million if he wanted to.

In the 2015/16 season I think the Kings are a much more competitive team from start to finish. They removed a locker room issue when Mike Richards had his contract terminated in late June. Depending on how the immigration hearing goes for Voynov, Kings fans might have seen the Russian blueliner for the last time. Will Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson continue their rise possibly making Marian Gaborik obsolete?

If I have to pick one area that I would be concerned with it would still be the goaltending. I am not at all convinced that Jonathon Quick is as good as his previous play in the Kings Stanley Cup runs. He is a much more average player than most media seem to make him out to be and his save percentage on the road attests to that.

There isn’t really any one player on this team that I look forward to watching, although I really do enjoy seeing Doughty play as I think he is the best defenseman in the entire league. The Norris trophies might not be there but he is at the top of his game and there is no one in the league that is a more complete defender than Drew. Part of me is looking forward to watching McDavid and Hall blow past him at some point this season.

Thanks for reading!