Tag Archives: Sean Monahan

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

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

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

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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!