Tag Archives: Johnny Gaudreau

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

Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oilers Post Game Report, Lindsay Ryall, NHL

It’s The Battle of Alberta Part Four . . . With Playoff Implications

1 Comment

Edmonton Oiler fans have been waiting for some time for the Battle of Alberta with the Calgary Flames to be a little more interesting, or at least more competitive.  And while we’re a fair distance from the battle royales of the 80’s, the latest edition of the Battle of Alberta promises to be a good one.  Considering the Oilers are currently three points behind the Flames, and both teams are trying to stay in the playoff race, there should be no shortage of motivation on both ends of the ice.

What’s Happened  So Far?

The Flames currently lead the season series by two games to one, but the Oilers have been playing decent hockey of late and are due for a victory.  If that’s going to happen, a number of things need to fall into place, most notably, the Oiler D will need to play way over its head.  Besides the defence, there are a number of other interesting sub-plots to review.

Is Zack Ready To Do Some Damage?

The Oiler’s have needed someone to menace the opposition for sometime, and newly acquired Zack Kassian could fill the role perfectly.  If he played the odd shift on the top line, opposite wee Johnny Gaudreau, and bullied him a bit, the results could lead to some dysfunction with the Flames.  At any rate, Kassian cleary showed in his last outing he can capably keep up, although his cardio is still lagging a touch. Look for Kassian to make an impact, it’s games like these that the Oilers acquired Kassian for.

Time For Yak To Build Some Momentum

Nail Yakupov had a stormer of a game in his return to the line-up Thursday night against the Sharks (1 goal, lots of energy) and needs to follow it up with a repeat performance.  We’ve all seen glimpses of his potential and with a good rest and recovery, he looks re-energized.  If he continues to skate  hard, throw the body, and shoot whenever the puck is on his stick in the O-zone, good things will happen.  Personally I think Yak could add a dimension to his game by re-inventing himself as a modern-day Esa Tikkanen and shadow/check Gaudreau to ineffectiveness.  Just a suggestion.

What To Expect From The Flames

Winger Michael Frolik has had three goals against the Oilers this season, but has missed 12 games due to injury.  He’s a beast on the PK and highly opportunistic.  The Oiler’s should be aware of him.  T.J. Brodie has been an Oiler killer this year with a goal and three assists.  As is standard, the Oilers will need to stay out of the box and block the point shots to limit the effectiveness of Calgary’s D.

Another Edition Of Dr. Drai vs. Sam I Am

For any true hockey people, this debate was put to rest some time ago.  But then Calgary forward Sam Bennet had four goals against the Florida Panthers which has Flames’ fans fired up, thinking they have the best pick from the 2014 entry draft.  Bennet is more physical, but that’s pretty much where his advantage ends.  The Deutschland Dangler has the size to control the game and is a passing wizard.  He’s at a point per game clip and has clearly out-played Bennett in head to head matches so far this season.  There is a concern that Draisaitl is lagging a bit energy-wise going into the second half of the season, but the All-Star break will help with that. The latest installment of the Battle of Alberta will be another opportunity for Leon Draisaitl to continue to silence any critics.

Projected Lines For The Oilers

Taylor Hall                  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins              Iro Parkarinen

Benoit Pouliot             Leon Draisaitl                          Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell             Mark Letestu                            Zack Kassian

Lauri Korpikoski         Anton Lander                           Nail Yakupov

 

D – Pairings

Andrej Sekera          Mark Fayne

Darnell Nurse           Justin Schultz

Brandon Davison      Eric Gryba

Goal – Cam Talbot

On the top-line Iiro the Hero continues to try to make the most of his opportunity on the top line while Zack Kassian looks to provide some agitation on the third line.  Yakupov on the fourth line may provide an interesting dimension if he can continue to compliment Korpikoski and posibly get Lander going.

On the Defense, Schultz paired with Nurse concerns me somewhat.  There is a shortage of right hand D at this time, so perhaps this is the only option.  Schultz paired with anyone but a veteran steady presence is a concern to me.

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Pre-Season G1: Edmonton Oilers Vs. Calgary Flames

Hallsy at center with a black eye? Not anymore Ted!
The time has come folks! We’re a mere few hours away from witnessing the beginning of the Age of McDavid and we couldn’t ask for a better opponent! The dreaded Calgary Flames! Well I for one will tell you right now that there will be a few fans jumping off the Flames bandwagon looking for a spot on the Oilers’ after this game.

If you’re the multi-tasking type the games will be streamed on both the Flames website and the Oilers website.

Probably Squad Playing in Edmonton

For this squad I think the player I’m most curious about is Teddy Purcell. Can he keep up with McDavid and Hall? Or will his lack of a defensive game be a spot of concern. I know he’s played with Steven Stamkos in the past but to be honest but I don’t really give a hoot! He’s a lot slower now and he was damn near waived last season. He’s got a ton to prove that he belongs on that line and not in the pressbox.

Probably Squad Going to Calgary

For squad B I’m going to focus on Griffin Reinhart and Eric Gryba. That sounds like a helluva shut down pairing if everything were to work out for both players. Reinhart has his work cut out for him as he’s looking to earn a spot on the roster ahead of fan favorite Darnell Nurse. Let’s hope he can keep those skilled Flames at bay.

The Calgary Flames announced their rosters for the two games yesterday. The line combinations are slowly trickling out this morning. You can find the lines they were using during training camp scrimmages here and their complete rosters here. Plus I borrowed these line combos from Todd Cordell’s preview from Hockeybuzz:

Playing in Calgary

Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Raymond – Bennett – Hudler
Poirier – Stajan – Frolik
Bollig – Shore – Smith

Giordano – Hamilton
Wotherspoon – Brodie
Kulak/Kanzig – Nakladal/Sieloff

Hillier
Ortio

Playing in Edmonton:

Bouma – Backlund – Jones
Klimchuk – Granlund – Agostino
Mangiapane – Grant – Hathaway
Van Brabant – Elson – Carroll

Russell – Wideman
Wilson – Andersson
Kylington – Engelland

Ramo
McDonald

These are probable line-ups so don’t take my word for it here. The Oilers will announce their rosters for both games later this morning on their website and I imagine the Flames will as well on their website.

On paper I’d say the Oilers are set in Edmonton as they’re going with a bit more offense and older defence but the goaltending could be the weak spot depending on how you feel about Ben Scrivens. We’ll also get to see this new “Euro Line” of Leon Drasaitl-Anton Lander-Nail Yakupov. I’m thinking the entertainment value will be worth the price of admission and the wait to get in to Rexall thanks to the new Metal Detectors (Leave an hour earlier than usual is my advice if you’re going to this game).

In Calgary they’ll go with a more two-way gritty squad, a younger (meaner) defense, and they’ll get to see the debut of Cam Talbot. I fully expect fireworks to be on full display during this game as both teams have some fiery characters in the line-up (Gazdic/Bollig to boot).

For the Flames, I think Oliver Kylington (D) will be one to be on the look out for if you’re at the game in Edmonton or choose to watch it online. He was a scratch at the rookie tournament but he comes with a lot of pedigree and is noteworthy due to his free fall at the draft last June. At one point he was being considered a top ten lock but ended up being selected in the 2nd round.

If you’re in Calgary I’m sure it’ll be hard to watch anyone but Johnny Gaudreau or Mark Giordano but this will be everyone’s first glimpse at Dougie Hamilton in a Flames uniform and he’s being paired with the aforementioned Mark Giordano… Woof! Good luck boys because you’re going to need it against those guys! Dougie Hamilton, apart from using the nickname of a 9 year old, is a damned beast and it’s a bloody shame that Chiarelli didn’t acquire him at the draft.

Predictions:

For the game in Edmonton I’m going to say the Oilers take this one 3-1. The game in Calgary… I’ll go with a Flames win 4-2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lSEl3VTTI

Enjoy the games everyone but if it’s okay I’d like to point you in the direction of our Beer League Heroes Merch Shop. We’ve got tons of shirts for everyone! Hoodies, Long sleeves, V-Necks, Baseball Tees and more in a variety of colors and designs! All for a very reasonable price that you won’t find anywhere!

When you buy a shirt from us it let’s us know that you support what we’re doing here and we take great pride in that. Not only that but your hard earned dollars go towards keeping this boat afloat.

Thank you so much and have fun tonight!

BLH

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

Beer League Heroes 15 -16 Season Primers: The Calgary Flames

1 Comment

Welcome back to the season primer series. The Calgary Flames were the team that everyone expected to come crashing back to earth all year last year and somehow they never did. The analytics crowd was screaming that the teams PDO had to come back to an even level and there was little to no chance that they could sustain their productivity through-out the entire year. Well they did and that just allowed the media and analytics crowd to change their tune to they won’t be able to duplicate that success next year. The Flames had solid defense all season, even when Captain Mark Giordano went down with a season ending injury the rest of the rear guards picked up the slack and soldiered on. Add in up and coming top pairing defender Dougie Hamilton to the mix and Calgary now has one of the best defense cores in the league.

Key Additions: RW Michael Frolik, D Dougie Hamilton

Key Subtractions: D David Schlemko, RW Brian McGrattan, D Corey Potter, D Raphael Diaz

Calgary only added two players this summer but the two that they did add are excellent additions to the team. Dougie Hamilton has the ability to be a top pairing guy in the NHL for a very long time. Michael Frolik brings decent size but more importantly he brings a veteran presence and should be good for between 15 and 20 goals.

Projected Lines (All Players Healthy):

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Sam Bennett – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Mason Raymond – Josh Jooris – Joe Colborne
Michael Ferland – Matt Stajan – David Jones

TJ Brodie – Mark Giordano
Kris Russel – Dougie Hamilton
Deryk Engelland – Dennis Wideman

Jonas Hiller
Karri Ramo

Roster Contenders: D Ladislav Smid, LW Brandon Bollig, C Lance Bouma, C Paul Byron, C Markus Granlund, D Tyler Wotherspoon, and G Joni Ortio.

Calgary seems to have a roster that is pretty much set even before we enter training camp. A player like Ladi Smid will likely end up being the 7th defender but will still see significant time because we all know how hard it is to keep six healthy defensemen all season.

The key concern with Calgary is going to be their forward depth again this year. Outside of the top line there isn’t anyone on the team that can be counted on for a 20-goal season. Frolik is a possibility but since he hasn’t gotten there yet I wouldn’t hold my breath.

The Flames defense is what is going to power them through for the most part this season. We know Monahan is good for 20 plus goals and so is Gaudreau, well as long as he doesn’t hit the dreaded sophomore slump.

People have been expecting a Calgary regression since November of last year and it never happened. Sorry Oilers fans but it isn’t going to happen this year either. Calgary will be in the playoff picture come April. In what slot is anyone’s guess though.

 

If you are a Flames fan or know of one please direct them to our t-shirt shop. We have 16-Bit Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan, Dougie Hamilton, and Mark Giordano all waiting to go to a caring home where they can keep you warm throughout those “miserable” Calgary winters…

Thanks for reading and let us know in the comments below if you think the Flames are due to make the playoffs again this year?

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Beer League Heroes Season Primers series!