Tag Archives: Aaron Ekblad

Edmonton Oilers, International, Michael Sifeldeen, NHL

McJesus and the World Cup Promised Land

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(I’ve got a copy of The Hockey News’ World Cup preview magazine in front of me as I write this, so if you’ve got a problem with any of the stats I’m quoting, take it up with them.) Ok, perfect. While the hockey world tries to figure out if they give a shit or not about the World Cup of Hockey, I’m sitting here looking at the rosters and immediately coming to the conclusion that Team North America is the team to beat, and then also seeing quickly after that no one who matters agrees with me. So, now, I’m going to go over a few key World Cup facts and figures here, and inject a healthy dose of bias and starry-eyed opinionated commentary to try and pull you firmly onto the Team NA bandwagon with me. Many of our more naysaying readers may be saying nay right now to Team North America’s chances of winning this tournament, and I’m going tell them, in as many words, why they’re dead wrong. Ready? Let’s do it.

Team NA is not significantly smaller or lighter than the other teams

Here are the average heights and weights of all the teams competing in this tournament:

Canada: 6’2″, 207lbs
Sweden: 6’1″, 200lbs
Finland: 6’1″, 199lbs
USA: 6’2″, 210lbs (Jesus Christ, get out of here, Byfuglien, you’re screwing up the metrics)
Russia: 6’1″, 200lbs
Czech Republic: 6’1″, 205lbs
Europe: 6’1″, 204lbs

And finally, Team North America coming in at a very respectable average height and weight of 6’2″, 200lbs. The NA boys have an inch on 5/8 teams, and weigh the same as or more than three others. This is a non-issue at these averages.

Team NA is significantly younger than any other team

The average ages of the World Cup teams:

Canada: 28.7
Sweden: 28.7
Finland: 25.9
USA: 29.0
Russia: 27.0
Europe: 29.9
Czech Republic: 27.3

And again, we have Team North America coming in at a young, but respectable, 21.7 years old on average. This is an age range where most of the players have about two-to-three years in the NHL under their belts, so they’re not green rookies, and they are at the age where their speed and reflexes will almost certainly be at or near their career high.

Team NA is Faster Than Any Other Team, and It’s Not Close

McDavid, Eichel, Larkin, Gaudreau, Droin, MacKinnon… this team is obscenely fast. Tell me how the defensive monsters on the Canadian squad like Doughty and Weber, or the Americans’
Johnson or Byfuglien are supposed to exert their power over these kids if they’re too big and slow to even keep up with them? Which leads me to the next point…

Defensive Size and Grit Won’t Matter*

It’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t a typical NHL playoff series grind, and won’t even really be reminiscent of regular season games. This is a short tournament. There won’t be significant contact, certainly no dirty plays with an NHL season about to start and a KHL season already underway, and fighting is out of the question. So where exactly do the big, intimidating bodies of the other national teams have a significant advantage over the quickness and skill of the North Americans?

*(09/10 Post-pre-tourney CAN vs USA games update: … *Except* for the CAN/USA games, apparently. Jesus.)

Plus, the Team NA Defensive Lineup is Amazing in Its Own Right

Ekblad, Ghost Bear, Jones, Murray, Parayko, Rielly, and Trouba? Are you kidding me? You’re looking at the future of NHL defence right now, and these guys haven’t even entered the prime of their careers yet. They’re dynamic and intelligent, and they can eat minutes along with the best of ’em. I’m not even kind of worried about this aspect of the team.

Don’t Worry about Team NA’s Goaltending

I laugh really, really hard and obnoxiously every time someone says the goaltending of Team North America is going to be their achilles heel. Yes, I too am super concerned about rookie-playoff-record-15-game-winning-Stanley-Cup-champion Matt Murray and All-Star Game player and Ducks’ 23-year-old bona fide starter John Gibson.

Puh-lease. These guys are killer. Obviously they’re not a Carey Price or a Henrik Lundqvist yet (I spelled The King’s name right the first time, just so you know), but what does that matter in a tiny preseason tournament? We aren’t testing these guys over the course of a 60-start season.

That’s the root of the problem with most criticism levied at this squad: it presumes the need for a bigger sample size than is necessary or warranted for the format and length of the tournament. Is anyone arguing that, historically, experience and grit wins championships? Of course not. But for the glorified preseason exhibition series the World Cup is poised to be, traditional evaluative factors don’t apply. Team North America is going to skate circles around the competition. They’re going to score ridiculous goals and come up with whacky, inventive shit that will wins them games because they’re young and fast and skilled, and that’s what’s going to matter.

In Conclusion

I wrote the bulk of this piece before the first pre-tournament games had taken place, so let me just acknowledge how wrong I was about the whole “no dirty plays, etc” bit. Clearly I underestimated the classlessness of some of the American squad (*cough*Kesler you still suck*cough*). So let me amend part of my statements to say that, for the majority of the teams, this isn’t going to be an all-out war of who can play the most boneheaded and outmoded brand of hockey.

I stand by my overall assessment that the North Americans are going to win it all based on their skill and speed, because they’re never going to have to play the Americans, because the Canadians will dispatch them before the group final round.

Where North America will win.

Because McJeez/Johnny Hockey/Eich is the most ridiculous first line I’ve ever heard of in my life and I refuse to stop fanboying. Goodnight, and may god have mercy on the rest of the world’s souls.

Our tribute to the Team Canada of ’87! Click the pic to get yours!
Edmonton Oilers, Kosmic Burrito, NHL

Kosmic’s World Cup of Hockey Team North America Roster Prediction

March 1st 2016
Post Deadline

Well….here I am…I must have done something right, because I’m back to trip with the BLH Universe again! How’d you like Chia Pete’s first go as an Oiler at the ol’ deadline? Do you think that the Oilers made out alright? Me, I don’t really have any complaints, plus, that’s not what my post is about, haha…

As promised, this is my 2016 World Cup of Hockey Team McDavid, errr, I mean Team North America roster predictions/report. Let’s face it folks, this team belongs to the McWizard!

But first, I have to get something of my chest. I don’t even like the inclusion of the 23 and under North American and European teams. Do you really think that Mcdavid wants to be the one who scores the goal that eliminates Team Canada (hypothetically speaking)? Of course he doesn’t!! He wants to score the huge goals for Canada, and party with the big boys!! But….here we are, and that train has left the station.

Too be honest though, as an Oilers fan this team does possess a lot of Edmonton connections. First off, the GM is Peter Chiarelli, and the Head Coach is Todd Mclellan. Plus some key members of the team I might add.

So, just like my last report, we’ll start with the Goaltenders. Speaking of which, I think this is going to be the team’s weakest position. Only due to the lack of experienced ’tenders. There is USA’s John Gibson, who has won both gold and bronze at the World Juniors. Also, Jets prospect Connor Hellebuyck won bronze at the World Championships. So there is some experience there, that can’t be discounted. I do honestly believe that Gibson is on the verge of breaking out huge, and what a scene that would be if he could do it on the world stage.

Potential Goalies: John Gibson, Connor Hellebuyck, Malcolm Subban, Matt Murray, and Zach Fucale

Again, this is just my personal opinion, but you can’t ignore Gibson and Hellebuyck’s international resumes. So I see Chiarelli going with (in this order):

John Gibson – Connor Hellebuyck – Malcolm Subban

The defence is a different story….this is seriously a stacked backend ladies and gentlemen! We’re talking about names like Ekblad, Reilly, Jones, and Hanifin. That’s heavy duty. Baby’s got back! I didn’t realize just how stacked they are until I started to research this story. So let’s get on with it.

Potential Defencemen: Aaron Ekblad, Noah Hanifin, Matt Dumba, Morgan Reilly, Colton Parayko, Seth Jones, Dougie Hamilton, Connor Murphy, Jacob Trouba, Cody Ceci, Colin Miller, and Ryan Murray

Making my prediction for the defence was actually tougher than originally thought, but if I was GM, the defence would like something like this:

Seth Jones – Aaron Ekblad
Morgan Reilly – Jacob Trouba
Ryan Murray – Dougie Hamilton
Extra Skater: Matt Dumba

Ah yes, now the Mcdavid’s, I mean the McJesus’, Errg…Now for the forwards. You thought that the defence was stellar? Shit dude, you haven’t seen anything yet! We’re talking about names like 2 time Cup winner Brendan Saad, Johnny Hockey himself, and that other fellow, what”s his name, oh yeah…CONNOR MCDAVID! Honestly, this team should not be taken lightly at all. There is A LOT of potential firepower on this squad. So let’s get cracking at it.

Potential Forwards: Connor McDavid, Brendan Saad, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nathan McKinnon, Curtis Lazar, Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Sean Couturier, Ryan Strome, Sean Monahan, Alex Galchenyuk, Jonathon Huberdeau, Mark Scheifele, Jonathon Drouin, Sam Reinhart, Max Domi, Dylan Larkin, Boone Jenner, Sam Bennett, Robby Fabbri, Anthony Duclair, and Bo Horvat

See, I told you that they’re doing pretty well for themselves….so take this with a grain of salt, but here are my line predictions:

Johnny Gaudreau – Connor McDavid – Nathan McKinnon
Brandon Saad – Sean Monahan – Jack Eichel
Alex Galchenyuk – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Ryan Strome
Max Domi – Sean Couturier – Curtis Lazar
Extra Skater: Auston Matthews

As awesome as it will be for all of these kids to play together, you can’t tell me that they wouldn’t have preferred to play for their respected countries? So hopefully the next inception of the World Cup only includes countries. But regardless, the North American team is an incredibly talented squad and they’re my sleeper pick to win it all. They definitely shouldn’t be underestimated just due to their age, they have a lot of international hardware between them, plus…..McDavid.

Well folks, once again, thanks for tripping with me!! Stay tuned for my next article……an introduction to the future, the man known as Laurent Brossoit….

Follow me on the Twitter @kosmicburrito

Beer League Hero, NHL

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: Florida Panthers

Who will fall out in the East so the Panthers can make the playoffs?

I’m telling you right now the Florida Panthers are a team on the rise. They’ll join the likes of the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers as NHL powerhouses in the next few years no doubt. Will they do it with this group of players, I’m not so sure about that. The veterans they do have at the moment are exactly the ones you’d want to have on a burgeoning team like this. Jaromir Jagr, Brian Campbell, Willie Mitchell and Roberto Luongo are the perfect mentors for the young Panthers. I can only imagine where the Oilers would be if they had those players on their team. Funny thing is I’m pretty sure each one of those veterans have been linked to Edmonton at one point or another in their careers.

Key Addition: F Reilly Smith, F Corban Knight, F Greg McKegg, D Cameron Gaunce, G Mike McKenna

Key Departures: F Brad Boyes, F Jimmy Hayes, D Shane O’Brien, D Jesse Blacker, G Dan Ellis

Roster Contenders: F Lawson Crouse, F Rocco Grimaldi, F Quinton Howden, D Alex Petrovic, D Mike Matheson

Last season the Florida Panthers jumped 25 points in the standings from the 66 points to 91!! That’s what you call progress. Maybe that is something we can optimistically expect out of the Oilers this year… Anyways, the roster didn’t go through a lot of turnover that I would call “Earth Shattering”. The team is more or less the same as last year and that is including the coaching staff as well. The difference this season? Everyone’s a year older and hungrier than ever after coming within a few wins of a playoff spot last year.

I think we’ll see Jonathan Huberdeau continue his rise alongside Jaromir Jagr and Sasha Barkov. Nick Bjugstad is also trending upwards and turning into one of the league’s best two-way centermen. And how can we get through this preview without mentioning the man-child Aaron Ekblad? Is it embarrassing to other NHLers that come playoff time Ekblad, who is 19 years old, has had a better beard than them since he was probably 14 years old? Bloody Awesome it is… And not awesome like, “Hey, the new NHL game is awesome!” I mean it inspires Awe like, “How the hell does that even happen?”

Potential Lineups

Huberdeau – Barkov – Jagr
Jokinen – Bjugstad – Smith
Pirri – Bolland – Trocheck
Howden – MacKenzie – Grimaldi

Campebell – Ekblad
Kulikov – Gudbranson
Mitchell – Petrovic

Luongo
Montoya

Jaromir Jagr… I guess this guy is our generation’s version of Gordie Howe. An ageless hockey player that could still play with effectiveness well into his retirement years.

Florida was only 8 points off a playoff spot last season and I reckon the biggest threats to their playoff chances are the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings. If either of those teams fail to recreate last year’s performances I think we could see the Panthers sneak in there sort of how the Sens snuck in last year but with less luck in the net as Luongo is still a great NHL goalie.

Keep an eye on Lawson Crouse as he’ll be looking to crack the team as an 18 yr old. He’s already known for his two-way game and he’s got a man’s body already. Let’s hope he’s a bit closer to Eric Lindros than Ben Eager though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b_7S-sGBo

Thanks for reading! I hope you’re enjoying our Season Primers series because we’re having a blast bringing them to you! Let us know in the comments below if you agree with our assessments.

I’ve heard you can wear shorts and sandals all year long in Miami even in the winter, so why not head on over to the Beer League Heroes Merch Shop and pick up a nice t-shirt or tank top with a 16-bit Jaromir Jagr or Aaron Ekblad on it?

Don’t forget to follow us on all the major social media platforms!

Take Care!

BLH

Beer League Hero, NHL

2016 World Cup of Hockey: Team North America

I love the idea of having a team comprised of U-23s to compete against the older players. Putting together the greatest emerging hockey players in North America is so appealing to me and I imagine to countless others because I’m a huge fan of the younger players in the NHL these days. They bring so much creativity and athleticism to the game that has been lacking for some time.

I seen that TSN’s Craig Button has taken a stab at Team North America’s roster for the upcoming World Cup in 2016. If you’d like to check that out it is here.

I’d like to throw my projections out there too! So here goes nothing!

Goaltending:

This was the hardest to pick and most likely will be the team’s achilles heel due to a lack of experience and the fact that there are no Carey Prices out there right now. The closest thing we have to a sure bet between the pipes is probably playing in Lethbridge right now for the Hurricanes. A guy named Stuart Skinner.

Anyways, I went with the following trio: John Gibson (ANH), Connor Hellebuyck (WPG), and Laurent Brossoit (EDM).

I tossed around the idea of adding Malcolm Subban (BOS), Matt Murray/Tristan Jarry (PIT), and there’s also Thatcher Demko (VAN) to consider but I felt in the end that what little performances I’ve witnessed at the NHL level were what I had to go on and reputation of course.

Gibson and Hellebucyk are locks leaving Brossoit as the third man in. Its probably a bit of a homer pick because I’m exposed to him more than the other players and I’m well aware of what Matt Murray did in Wilkes-Barre this past season and it was hard not to pick him but where’s the fun in copying Button’s team player for player? Brossoit is a stellar netminder and we seen a flash of that last season when he stonewalled the San Jose Sharks stopping 52 shots in a loss. That’s a hell of a lot better than Subban’s introduction to the pros…

Defense:

On defence I’ve got Aaron Ekblad (FLA), Darnell Nurse (EDM), Seth Jones (NSH), Doug Hamilton (CGY), Morgan Reilly (TOR), and Jacob Trouba (WPG) as the starting 6 with Noah Hanifin (CAR) and Cody Ceci (OTT) on the taxi squad.

Pairing these guys up was a bit of a chore but I like them as such:

Reilly/Ekblad
Jones/Hamilton
Nurse/Trouba

With these pairings we’ve got skill, we’ve got meat and potatoes, and we’ve got down guys who’ll lay the smack down on some candy asses. These are the new era of defencemen. The blueliner that can skate and think the game like a forward but are big and strong enough to handle to toughest assignments. They move the puck well and are or will be top pairing defenders on their respective NHL clubs.

I struggled with Darnell Nurse being on this squad. He hasn’t played even a half season of professional hockey to date but he’s teeming with talent and in my opinion has a ceiling that would match the other 4 players above him. Remember the WWF tag team “Demolition” or “The Road Warriors”? That’s what I think about when I think about a Nurse/Trouba pairing… They’ve got an… Appetite for Destruction.

The Forwards:

As it always is with these teams, there are far too many talented forwards and some notable names will be left off. Here are my forwards for Team North America:

Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, Johnny Gaudreau (CGY), Brandon Saad, Boone Jenner (CLB), Mark Scheifele (WPG), Nathan MacKinnon (COL), Jack Eichel (BUF), Curtis Lazar (OTT), and Auston Matthews (USA).

On the taxi squad I’ve got Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA), Sean Couturier (PHI), and Alex Galchenyuk (MTL).

I like the bigger forwards to go on the smaller ice surface and the NHL officiating. Also a number of the players are actually natural centers giving the team more options on the faceoff dot when going up against some of the best in the game.

I really couldn’t see Sam Reinhart on the team. I think he’ll play in the NHL this year but he’s a couple years from becoming what everyone is expecting of him. The Strome brothers were on my mind as well and surprisingly it was Dylan who I was considering more than Ryan. I rate the younger Strome’s size and faceoff ability over the elder. Mitch Marner was also bugging me a bit. I think he’s going to be an amazing hockey player for Canada/North America someday but not at this World Cup. There was Jonathan Drouin but he’s got a ways to go before any GMs give him a look at an international roster spot. Bo Horvat and Warren Rychel were also on my short list. Did I miss anyone?

Oh and you’re probably wondering about Auston Matthews. Look, this guy was only a few days from being drafted this year and the pundits had him giving Eichel and McDavid a run for no.1. That tells us something. It tells us he’s ready to go now and by the time next summer roles round and he’s got a year of professional hockey under his belt, that he’ll fit right in with the rest of these guys.

I’ve re-written the lines over and over and it’s been hard to come to a conclusion but I’ll let you in on my final lineup.

Saad – Nugent-Hopkins – MacKinnon
Gaudreau – Monahan – Matthews
Bennett – McDavid – Scheifele
Jenner – Eichel – Lazar

I reckon the offense is pretty spread out here and as I said earlier there are multiple centers on each line. I tried to include a two-way player and a bigger body on each line. Slotting Matthews above McDavid and Eichel is probably something I’d consider changing. Perhaps swapping him with Bennett or Jenner. I don’t want to take him out because I think he’s that good. A pure sniper in every sense of the word. Maybe the American Stamkos would be a good way to describe him.

I don’t know if this squad could come out of the group stages but I can see them giving the other teams in Group B (Finland, Sweden, and Russia) a helluva time and if there’s one team that could surprise anyone, it’d be this band of rowdies.

I found some jersey mock-ups online courtesy of HockeyJerseyConcepts.com and Icethetics.com. Check ’em out below.


I’m thinking the ones that are actually used will be better and possibly influenced by a major sponsor of the tournament. Think back to the All-Star game last year which was sponsored by Draft Kings… The color scheme of the sponsor’s website and the jerseys looked awfully similar…

If you’re heading out to the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto next summer you should do it in style. The Beer League Heroes Merch Shop has all your favorite players in 16-bit and on a t-shirt. But not only that, they come in a plethora of color and sizes! Men’s, women’s, and kid’s styles are all available!

Get yours now for 30% off!

Don’t forget to follow us on all the major social media platforms!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the piece. Let me know in the comments section who you’d put on your U23 Team North America!

Take Care!

BLH