The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #10, Issue #2 - September 19, 2006 ************************************************************************** Current League Officers: Commissioner: Doug Norris Vice-Commissioner: Eric Goodman Email the whole league: mailto:nshl at yahoogroups dot com NSHL Chat List: mailto:nshlchat at yahoogroups dot com Web Page Administrator: Brian Leahy League Web Site: http://www.geocities.com/nshlweb Files Adminstrator: Brian Leahy / Tom Vinacci League Files Site: http://www.highrantdistrict.com/SOM/NSHL Team Websites: Capital City Cougars: http://members.tripod.com/~CapCity/ Seattle Rainiers: http://math.colorado.edu/~norrisdt/rainiers/rainiers.html ************************************************************************** JAM-PACKED NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK! We're down to less than one month until the start of the NSHL's tenth regular season (October 11)! Already, teams have begun their preseason slates, evaluating which players will make their final opening-day rosters. Excellent articles from Doug North and Chris Malitsky in this issue, as well as the preview of the Eastern Conference. Also, some notes on the upcoming CCCI invitational. Finally, I'm adding a list of NSHL team websites to the banner (top) of the newsletter. If you have a team website, please let me know! ************************************************************************** CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE The Capital City Cougars are once again hosting the annual 2006 Capital City Classic Invitational, in Lincoln, Nebraska beginning the 25th of September. The eight-team field will consist of the North Calgary Hawks, the Seattle Rainiers, the Topeka Tarantulas, the Buffalo Bulldogs, the Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs, the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Quebec City Patriotes, and the St. Michael's Privateers. Fans of each team have high hopes, as the winner of the CCCI traditionally does well in the following NSHL regular season. PAST CCCI TOURNAMENT WINNERS: 1999 Seattle Rainiers 2002 Toms River Lightning 2003 Buffalo Bulldogs 2004 Quebec City Patriotes CCCI rosters are official as of this newsletter. Good luck to all of the competitors! ************************************************************************** TOP PLAYERS CHANGE HANDS IN POST-DRAFT FRENZY The St. Michael's Privateers were quite active in the trading market following the entry draft, looking to move into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. Two blockbusters may have cemented the Privateers in that category. First, the Privateers sent a package faeturing Pavel Datsyuk to the Stone Harbor Sound in exchange for defenseman Wade Redden and minor-league goaltender Tim Thomas. Datsyuk, picked up from Vancouver earlier in the offseason, registered career highs in goals (29) and points (79) with the Whitecaps in the season prior to the lockout. Redden, who last played with the Capital City Cougars after a long career with Chicago/Cabbagetown/Hampton Roads, needs six points to reach the 300-point plateau in his NSHL career. Moreover, the defensive stalwart notched 82 takeaways and sixty hits while logging more than 27 minutes per game. Then, St. Michael's picked up the big catch - right wing Martin St. Louis from the Nevada Thunder. St. Louis, a member of the league's all-star second team last year, battled his way to 56 goals and 103 points while pacing the San Francisco Hedgehogs to the Farley Cup playoffs. Comfortable with Martin Biron as their number-one netminder, the Privateers felt comfortable to send Cristobal Huet to Las Vegas, where he will compete with Manny Fernandez and Kevin Weekes for the Thunder's top spot. Another big name to change hands is defenseman Toni Lydman, now headed to Minneapolis where he will serve as the Massasauga's number-one blueliner. ************************************************************************** EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW by Doug Norris This is the first of three previews that will appear in newsletters 10.2 through 10.4. This isn't particularly scientific, but is meant to be fun. It's also not based on anything that wouldn't be realistically available at this point (like who will exceed expectations, et cetera). LONG ISLAND BERSERKERS (1st Northeast Division, 1st Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Markus Naslund, Vincent Lecavalier, Sergei Fedorov, Jeremy Roenick, Jose Theodore, Zdeno Chara, Teppo Numminen, Kyle McLaren. OUTLOOK: The defending-champion Berserkers seem to be loaded for bear once again, icing an all-star laden lineup in Nassau. Long Island is twelve deep with scoring forwards, also boasting a solid six-pack of blueliners and Jose Theodore between the pipes. It's certainly a good bet that the only two-time winner in NSHL history will be adding another trophy to their mantle. MANAYUNK BULLIES (1st Atlantic Division, 2nd Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Dominik Hasek, Anson Carter, Michael Nylander, Roman Hamrlik, Geoff Sanderson, Mike Knuble, Darryl Sydor, Patrice Brisebois. OUTLOOK: If Manayunk is to succeed, they will need Dominik Hasek to return to the form he displayed before his first retirement. The Bullies do not possess a gamebreaking player, but have solid scoring across the board with a good defensive system. Manayunk has never won their division, or a playoff series. In a weakened Eastern Conference, the Bullies just may win both this year. CORNER CREEK GREEN CALVES (2nd Northeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Daniel Sedin, Nils Ekman, Nikolai Khabibulin, Bryan Berard, Ray Whitney, Kris Draper, Gary Roberts, Kim Johnsson. OUTLOOK: The Green Calves rely on their quick native Swedes to pace their offense, but defense is the name of the game. Nikolai Khabibulin comes over from Buffalo, and the two-time Farley Cup champion should be just what Corner Creek needs to get over the hump. Can Daniel Sedin continue his development? LYNDONVILLE BLADES (3rd Northeast Division, 4th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Miroslav Satan, Fredrik Modin, Marc Savard, Alexei Kovalev, Maxim Afinogenov, Dwayne Roloson, David Legwand, Derian Hatcher. OUTLOOK: Lyndonville certainly has the scorers to compete in the Northeast Division this season. If either Dwayne Roloson or Robert Esche can carry the load in goal, the Blades should be able to outscore enough opponents to go deep into the playoffs. ST. MICHAEL'S PRIVATEERS (2nd Atlantic Division, 5th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Martin St. Louis, Daymond Langkow, Doug Weight, Wade Redden, Martin Biron, Tony Amonte, Jean-Pierre Dumont, Dainius Zubrus. OUTLOOK: The blockbuster deal to acquire St. Louis and Redden pushes the Privateers to a Cup-contending position in the East. St. Michael's has the same questions as the aforementioned Blades; can Martin Biron prove himself as a number-one netminder on a top team? The Privateers will certainly keep him in games. BUFFALO BULLDOGS (4th Northeast Division, 6th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Ilya Kovalchuk, Mario Lemieux, Paul Mara, Henrik Sedin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Darius Kasparaitis, Mike Ribeiro, Richard Zednik. OUTLOOK: Kovalchuk and Lemieux return in an effort to give opposing netminders fits; behind them, look for many Lemieux Trophy candidates to make the Bulldog roster. Dion Phaneuf and Marek Svatos bolster the roster, while the most interesting camp battle will be between Marc-Andre Fleury and Kari Lehtonen for the starting goal position, replacing the departed Khabibulin. STONE HARBOR SOUND (3rd Atlantic Division, 7th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Pavel Datsyuk, Bryan McCabe, Brendan Morrison, Marc Denis, Steve Konowalchuk, Mike Comrie, Jason Allison, Brad Stuart. OUTLOOK: Pavel Datsyuk joins an impressive cast of solid players in Stone Harbor; expect an impact from whomever is lucky enough to join him on the wings. Rookie Ryan Miller has challenged Denis thus far in training camp; it's possible that the two will alternate appearances throughout the year. Jason Allison looks to return to the league scoring leaders after missing the past season-plus. FLORIDA HELLCATS (4th Atlantic Division, 8th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Todd Bertuzzi, Shane Doan, Chris Gratton, Vaclav Prospal, Jochen Hecht, Henrik Lundqvist, Hal Gill, Lubomir Visnovsky. OUTLOOK: Florida's streak of seven consecutive playoff appearances ended with a "thud" last spring, but the team has reloaded nicely. Todd Bertuzzi joins Shane Doan up front for the Hellcats, and young Swede Henrik Lundqvist looks to translate his success to the NSHL. No one should run away with the Atlantic this year, so if the young players acclimate well, Florida could contend. NEW YORK LANCERS (5th Northeast Division, 9th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Erik Cole, Tomas Holmstrom, Dan Cloutier, Derek Armstrong, Radim Vrbata, Alyn McCauley, Cory Sarich, Karlis Skrastins. OUTLOOK: Steve Beren's squad looks to sneak into the playoffs after a massive offseason rebuild. Beren swapped the first-overall selection into a cadre of support to supplement Cole. Goaltender Cloutier has performed yeoman's work as the Lancers have grown; perhaps the biggest question is can he carry a team to the postseason? If he falters, Ilya Bryzgalov, Brent Johnson and Hannu Toivonen will be battling for the backup spot. QUEBEC CITY PATRIOTES (5th Atlantic Division, 10th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Olli Jokinen, Robert Lang, Daniel Briere, Martin Havlat, Andrew Raycroft, Tomas Kaberle, Bill Guerin, Sean Hill. OUTLOOK: A lot of scoring here, backed up by second-year phenom Andrew Raycroft in goal. The problem for the Patriotes could be depth, as a run of injuries will be trouble for a young lineup. If everyone stays healthy, J-F Boutet's squad could scare people and exceed last season's 324 goal total. MONTREAL WANDERERS (6th Atlantic Division, 11th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Alexander Mogilny, Nikolai Zherdev, David Aebischer, Keith Primeau, Steve Reinprecht, Marek Zidlicky. OUTLOOK: The Wanderers have advanced to the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons, and are hoping that their aging cast can give them one more year of success. Can Recchi, LeClair, Mogilny and Primeau continue? Picking up Zherdev from Brooklyn should help things a lot, and Aebischer in net should provide the Wanderers with confidence on the back end. BROOKLYN FOURTEENTH (6th Northeast Division, 12th Eastern Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Alexander Ovechkin, Olaf Kolzig, Marco Sturm, John Madden, Tom Poti, Andrew Ference, Chris Simon, Andrei Zyuzin. OUTLOOK: Is "Alexander the Great" as good as they say? The Fourteenth certainly hope so, after trading a lot of roster-ready players and draft choices in order to trade up and select him. If Kolzig can steal some games, and Ovechkin challenges for the Lemieux Trophy, there could be playoffs in Brooklyn this coming spring. ************************************************************************** OUT WITH THE OLD - IN WITH THE YOUTH by Doug North, Topeka owner Out with the old and in with the new was never more true than to the Topeka Tarantulas hockey club as it readied for the 2006 NSHL draft. Gone were franchise favorites (Sakic, Leetch, and Alfredsson). Also leaving were aging veterans in Chelios, Nieuwendyk, Rucinsky and Yzerman. These trades netted the talented Antoine Vermette and three promising defensemen in Nick Schultz, Steve Eminger and Brent Burns. Also coming to the Spiders were many draft choices. This draft loomed large as the front office decided who would be the future of this proud franchise. With three picks in the first round and nine picks in the first 98, there were bound to be difficult decisions to make. The plan sounded simple...draft forwards early in the draft to replenish the depleted forward lines. Spider management was happy to see two goalies and a dman go 3 through 5 in the draft. "We really liked Vanek and Steen but we weren't very confident we could get either of them," said GM Doug North. "When Toivonen went fifth overall I thought there might be a chance Steen could fall to us. We are glad he did." At number 10, a huge decision had to be made. "We liked both Parise and Brule. We went with Zach as we think he'll help us more this year. Brule is going to be great but his injury history did concern us." At 23, the thought was there to take Cam Ward to be the goalie of the future since neither Nabokov or Grahame seem to be panning out between the pipes. "We had three forwards on our list that we wanted at 23, said North. "Wolski and Getzlaf went 19 and 20. We wanted Perry but would have been happy to take Ward at 23. We desperately need forward depth. When Armstrong went at 22 we knew we had our man in Corey Perry." Cam Ward fell into the second round as did other highly regarded prospects. "When Mike Richards went 31st, I noticed that there were still some very talented forwards left on our board," said North. The Spiders added Rostislav Olesz at 35 and Andrew Ladd at 39. "To get these two talented forwards in the second round was a bonus. They should fit nicely with the trio we drafted earlier." In fact the average age of 8 of the top 9 forwards is just 22 years of age. The run on forwards continued in the third round as Topeka nabbed Robert Nilsson with pick #61. Nilsson had something in common with the first two players drafted in the first round. Steen, Parise and Nilsson all had fathers who enjoyed great careers in the NHL. "There's no guarantee how good the players we drafted will be," said North, "but we feel good about our draft and the direction of our franchise. We may struggle but I know we'll kick butt in the NSHL during any father/son games this season." ************************************************************************** VIEW FROM THE CLIFF: SOUND PREPARE FOR 06-07 CAMPAIGN by Chris Malitsky, Sound Harbor owner After a year off due to the NSHL labor strike caused by tight reigned Commissioner Doug Norris' 'Bust their Nuts' stance, the league's Stone Harbor Sound is ready to take to the ice again after the union membership agreed to the new CBA. After moving to Stone Harbor for the 04-05 season, the team suffered through a long season. Losing a year of revenue after just one year in their new arena, the team has not properly recovered from the strike. The team is looking up on its road to recovery. It has taken the route of trying to put a formidable team on the ice to lure the fan base and memorabilia sales. To make an attempt at taking the next step, the team chose the trade route over patience and the draft. Sound GM, Chris Malitsky, has been known to be a willing draft pick trader in the past and this year was no different. Having secured the 5th draft position in the first round after compiling the fourth worst record in the league, Malitsky parlayed that pick to acquire star defenseman Wade Redden in a move to shore up the solid defense he has been building (to go with Bryan McCabe and Brad Stuart). He figured the retooling would have to come from the goal out. Having dealt away his picks in the 1st and 2nd rounds, Malitsky played the best available strategy in the 3rd round and landed older but productive goalie Tim Thomas. Then, following the draft, he dealt Redden and Thomas to St. Michael's for Pavel Datsyuk, Richard Matvichuk, Lee Stempniak, and St. Michael's 1st round pick in the 2007 draft. Malitsky essentially filled two holes with this deal by adding quantity, and Datsyuk who fills in the #1 center position. The team now slowly is representing a little depth. In goal, they still feature fan favorites Ryan Miller and Marc Denis. Both are hard working netminders who complement each other nicely. Protecting them at the defensive position are the previously mentioned McCabe, Stuart, and Matvichuk, along with Barret Jackman, and Daniel Tkarnqvist and others. The team awaits the hopeful return of Stanislav Neckar and Karel Pilar. The Sound may now score a few goals. Not enough to make a lot of playoff noise, but enough to be respectable in the league. Complimenting Datsyuk are centers Brendan Morrison, Jason Allison, and Jamie Lundmark. One of the latter two may be shifted to the wing. Also at forward are 30-goal scorer Mike Comrie, grinder Kyle Calder and Jan Bulis. Injuries to Steve Konowalchuk and Josef Vasicek have hurt the Sound depth. Hopefully, rookies Stempniak, Jaroslav Balastik, Grant Stephenson, and wily vet Rob DiMaio can pick up some of the slack. Malitsky added, "We ain't the Houston Outlaws", who have studs at every postion. ************************************************************************** CUTDOWN DAY IS OCTOBER 9 With opening day planned for Wednesday, October 11, all teams must be at 36 players (or less) by the end of October 9. ************************************************************************** 2006-07 REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE STANDINGS: NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L OL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Brooklyn Fourteenth 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Buffalo Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Corner Creek Green Calves 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Long Island Berserkers 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Lyndonville Blades 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 New York Lancers 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L OL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Florida Hellcats 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Manayunk Bullies 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Montreal Wanderers 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Quebec City Patriotes 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 St. Michael's Privateers 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Stone Harbor Sound 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 NORTHWEST DIVISION GP W L OL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Nevada Thunder 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 North Calgary Hawks 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Seattle Rainiers 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Seattle Sasquatch 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OL Pts Pct GF GA Home Road Capital City Cougars 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Hampton Roads Hounds 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Houston Outlaws 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Minneapolis Massasauga 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Pittsburgh Sound Chasrs 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 Topeka Tarantulas 0 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0- 0- 0 0- 0- 0 ************************************************************************** INCENTIVE POINTS: SHS: -1 IP, newsletter article TPK: -1 IP, newsletter article Incentive points are not discretionary, and are assigned strictly per formula, without respect to extenuating circumstances. Incentive points may be appealed through the Review Board. CUMULATIVE INCENTIVE POINTS: SHS -1 IP TPK -1 IP ************************************************************************** ASSOCIATE LIST: SINCE GP Larry Spencer April 27, 2004 0 Ryan Barckert May 17, 2003 0 Steve Kramer December 13, 2004 0 Greg Ralls December 14, 2004 0 Andrew Smith November 19, 2005 0 J.J. Schrems May 1, 2006 0 Mike Kuduk August 1, 2006 0 If you're still an active associate at and aren't on this list at please get in contact with me. Thanks! Doug ************************************************************************** TRANSACTIONS: BRK - RELEASE Jared Aulin, Eric Nickulas. CGC - RELEASE Dan LaCouture, Michael Green, Kent McDonell. LIB - TRADE Noah Clarke and LIB#5 to VAW for Sebastien Caron. MIN - TRADE Mike Weaver to VAW for VAW#9. - TRADE Mikael Tellqvist, Mathieu Dandenault and MIN#4 to MON for Oleg Saprykin, Andy Sutton, Dmitri Afanasenkov and Matt Walker. - TRADE Adam Munro and Andrej Meszaros to STM for Petteri Nokelainen, Stefan Ruzicka and Toni Lydman. - RELEASE Raitis Ivanans, Byron Ritchie, Andre Roy, Jaroslav Svoboda, Ian Moran. MON - SIGN Mike Green (at cost of CCC#2, per auction). - TRADE Oleg Saprykin, Andy Sutton, Dmitri Afanasenkov and Matt Walker to MIN for Mikael Tellqvist, Mathieu Dandenault and MIN#4. NEV - TRADE Martin St. Louis to STM for Cristobal Huet. STM - TRADE Pavel Datsyuk, Richard Matvichuk, Lee Stempniak and STM#1 to SHS for Wade Redden and Tim Thomas. - TRADE Petteri Nokelainen, Stefan Ruzicka and Toni Lydman to MIN for Adam Munro and Andrej Meszaros. - TRADE Cristobal Huet to NEV for Martin St. Louis. SES - RELEASE Kyle Quincey. SHS - TRADE Wade Redden and Tim Thomas to STM for Pavel Datsyuk, Richard Matvichuk, Lee Stempniak and STM#1. - RELEASE Eric Boulton, Eric Godard, Darcy Hordichuk, Tommy Albelin. VAW - TRADE Sebastien Caron to LIB for Noah Clarke and LIB#5. - TRADE VAW#9 to MIN for Mike Weaver. - RELEASE Jozef Balej. ************************************************************************** League Governing Boards Responsibilities of the following governing boards are outlined in the Constitution. Review Board Tom Vinacci, Buffalo Bulldogs Patrick Shea, Long Island Berserkers Mark McNeil, Lyndonville Blades Constitutional Council Head: Patrick Shea (patrickjshea at verizon dot net) Doug Norris, Commissioner Eric Goodman, Vice-Commissioner Andy Bartalone, St. Michael's owner (vacant) **************************************************************************