The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #10, Issue #3 - September 26, 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 ************************************************************************** TWO WEEKS UNTIL OPENING NIGHT! Just two more weeks until the puck drops on the NSHL's tenth season! The next two newsletters (October 4 and October 11) will feature a lot of reminders and tips on how to play NSHL league games, since that is something none of us have done in more than a full year. ************************************************************************** CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE After the first day of the 2006 CCCI, the North Calgary Hawks are dominating the competition, blowing out the Seattle Rainiers and the Topeka Tarantulas by a combined margin of 10-3. Rod Brind'Amour and Teemu Selanne each have three goals for the Hawks. Look out for Sid the Kid as a potential Lemieux Trophy candidate! Crosby has five points - all assists - in Vancouver's two games, while teammate Joffrey Lupul has five goals. The best game of the opening night was between Vancouver and the Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs, with Fort Garry winning 4-3 in the first-ever shootout in an NSHL-sanctioned event. The squads went seven shooters deep in this one before Chris Higgins beat Jason LaBarbera to give the Crabs a 3-2 advantage in the event. Second night of games commences this evening, and semifinals commence on Friday. ************************************************************************** WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW by Doug Norris Feel for the owners who happen to be based on the western side of the continent, because the Western Conference is stacked. No fewer than five clubs would be solid favourites to win in the East. Sadly for four of those teams, the Houston Outlaws have no weakness with the acquisition of Tomas Vokoun in net. HOUSTON OUTLAWS (1st Central Division, 1st Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Brendan Shanahan, Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Vokoun, Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, Chris Pronger, Scott Gomez, Rick Nash. OUTLOOK: Wow. Just wow. That's really all there is to say about a club who tallied 123 points in the 2004-05 season before being beaten in the playoffs by Miikka Kiprusoff and the North Calgary Hawks. The Outlaws addressed their primary weakness in picking up Vokoun from Minneapolis, and if they can stay healthy, they may as well start engraving the Farley Cup now. FORT GARRY FIDDLER CRABS (1st Northwest Division, 2nd Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Joe Thornton, Marian Hossa, Sergei Samsonov, Roberto Luongo, Pavel Kubina, Steve Sullivan, Ryan Smyth, Jere Lehtinen. OUTLOOK: The defending divisional champions look even stronger with an older, more mature lineup than the one iced prior to the lockout. The Crabs will go four lines deep with scoring talent, and Luongo is in net to clean up any mistakes. Thornton looks to break out after spending the lockout in Switzerland. NORTH CALGARY HAWKS (2nd Northwest Division, 3rd Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne, Mike Modano, Jason Arnott, Miikka Kiprusoff, Robyn Regehr, Brian Rolston, Rod Brind'Amour. OUTLOOK: It's going to be a return to the Smythe Division from days of yore, as Alberta and Manitoba heat things up in 2006-07. Selanne joins a cast including ten-year Hawk Paul Kariya, but it's All-World netminder Kiprusoff who gets things going in North Calgary. With so many top forwards, the Hawks' only lament is that they're only allowed to play with one puck at a time. SEATTLE RAINIERS (3rd Northwest Division, 4th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Dany Heatley, Chris Drury, Patrick Marleau, Alex Tanguay, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Ed Jovanovski, Ladislav Nagy, Mark Parrish. OUTLOOK: It's all offense all the time in the Emerald City, with Heatley and Tanguay leading the way. Giguere and Vesa Toskala will once again battle for the number-one spot in goal, and if Jonathan Cheechoo can continue his development, the Rainiers should have four offensive lines. Chris Chelios and Antti Laaksonen join the team to help balance things defensively, but can the 44-year old blueliner still contribute? CAPITAL CITY COUGARS (2nd Central Division, 5th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Daniel Alfredsson, Joe Sakic, Marian Gaborik, Alexei Yashin, Mathieu Schneider, Ed Belfour, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Jason Blake. OUTLOOK: The Cougars made a lot of big transactions since the end of last season, most notably the additions of Alfredsson and Sakic from division rival Topeka. The Cougars will score goals, and newcomer Marty Turco combines with Belfour and Manny Legace for a three-headed monster in goal. Overtaking the Outlaws will be tough, but stranger things have happened. SEATTLE SASQUATCH (4th Northwest Division, 6th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Jason Spezza, Milan Hejduk, Dan Boyle, Joni Pitkanen, Rick DiPietro, Peter Bondra, Mike Sillinger, Kristian Huselius. OUTLOOK: This is Spezza's team, and it's time for him to prove it. The fifth-overall selection in 2003's entry draft, Spezza posted better than one point per game in 2004-05, but it was not enough to get the team to spring hockey. He has additional help this year in Hejduk, and a talented two-way defense lead by Boyle and Pitkanen. Rick DiPietro needs to start justifying the trade which sent Kiprusoff the other way. HAMPTON ROADS HOUNDS (3rd Central Division, 7th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Glen Murray, Pierre Turgeon, Mike Rathje, Martin Gerber, Jozef Stumpel, Bryan Smolinski, Sergei Gonchar, Keith Carney. OUTLOOK: The Hounds have a very young corps on their roster - thanks to a strong 2004 draft class - and their maturity level will have a huge impact in their overall finish. Can newcomer Martin Gerber play the role of number-one goaltender? If he cannot, there's really no one ready to step up. NEVADA THUNDER (5th Northwest Division, 8th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Jaromir Jagr, Manny Fernandez, Joe Nieuwendyk, Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch, Mike Peca, Shawn Bates, Todd Marchant. OUTLOOK: The only new owner to join the league's ranks in 2006-07, Dan Irvine inherits an aging veteran squad headed by the league's all-time leading scorer in Jagr. Do they have one more year in them? The bottom line is that this team always makes the playoffs, so they'll find a way this year. Fernandez will be pushed in camp by Cristobal Huet, who must show that he can perform over a full campaign. PITTSBURGH SOUND CHASERS (4th Central Division, 9th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Martin Brodeur, Jarome Iginla, Scott Niedermayer, Cory Stillman, Saku Koivu, Keith Tkachuk, Mattias Norstrom, Craig Conroy. OUTLOOK: John Santore's squad is the only defense-first roster in the West, and it starts with two Hall-worthy goaltenders in Brodeur and Curtis Joseph. Jarome Iginla is the team's gamebreaker, but Norstrom and Niedermayer headline an effective underrated blueline. The team may be disadvantaged in the "new NSHL", particularly the shootout, but the club has every reason to believe they'll be there come playoff time. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (6th Northwest Division, 10th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, Patrice Bergeron, Sami Salo, Patrick Lalime, Jay Bouwmeester, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Mike Cammalleri. OUTLOOK: Put a wild card up next to Vancouver's name this season. The reason? Sidney Crosby finally makes his long-awaited debut in the NSHL, and it will be in Vancouver alongside a cast of young talent not seen in years. After three years of suffering, the Whitecaps finally have the firepower to compete with the other Northwest powers. Expect Patrick Lalime to bounce back from a subpar 2004-05. TOPEKA TARANTULAS (5th Central Division, 11th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Brad Richards, Chris Phillips, Andrew Ference, Evgeni Nabokov, Aaron Ward, Andrei Zyuzin, Niklas Hagman, Nick Schultz. OUTLOOK: Topeka fans may want to get prepared for a season unlike any since the club left Fresno, as a concerted rebuilding effort saw a mass exodus of stars this offseason. It will be up to Richards and the solid young defense to hold the fort while the new class of forwards gets ready for prime time. Can Evgeni Nabokov stand up to the pressure? MINNEAPOLIS MASSASAUGA (6th Central Division, 12th Western Conference) KEY PLAYERS: Petr Sykora, Oleg Saprykin, Tuomo Ruutu, Toni Lydman, Sean Burke, Mariusz Czerkawski, Bob Boughner, Andy Sutton. OUTLOOK: The Massasauga have finished last in their division in each of their first three NSHL campaigns, but this could be the first year in which they have a shot at climbing from the basement. Sean Burke takes over in net, but the play of the youngsters - Ruutu, Thomas Vanek, Rene Bourque, Francois Beauchemin, and Alexander Perezhogin - will have the biggest impact on a club who scored just 92 goals in 2004-05. ************************************************************************** INTERESTING FACTS ON THE 2006-07 NSHL SCHEDULE As you might expect, the further away your franchise is from other teams, the longer you're going to be spending on charter flights this winter (sorry, Robert!) The Green Calves do have more off-days than many teams to help with their cumbersome travel schedule, however. TRAVEL MILEAGE / DAYS OFF: Pittsburgh Sound Chasers 50,492 miles 71 off days Hampton Roads Hounds 56,134 70 Topeka Tarantulas 57,072 70 Manayunk Bullies 58,985 69 Minneapolis Massasauga 59,704 71 Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs 61,054 67 St. Michael's Privateers 63,320 69 Montreal Wanderers 63,408 68 New York Lancers 64,752 70 Buffalo Bulldogs 65,909 70 Stone Harbor Sound 66,393 71 Houston Outlaws 66,862 71 Brooklyn Fourteenth 66,947 71 Long Island Berserkers 67,172 71 Quebec City Patriotes 67,583 70 Capital City Cougars 71,887 70 Lyndonville Blades 72,208 70 North Calgary Hawks 72,404 71 Seattle Sasquatch 75,683 70 Seattle Rainiers 77,029 68 Florida Hellcats 78,772 69 Vancouver Whitecaps 80,640 69 Nevada Thunder 81,701 67 Corner Creek Green Calves 151,132 71 All twenty-four NSHL teams will play on opening night, starting the league's tenth campaign and coming out of the lockout in full force. The last team to open at home? The Long Island Berserkers, who return home from a four-game road trip on October 18, where they host the Lancers. HOME OPENERS: Brooklyn Fourteenth October 11 vs. Long Island Buffalo Bulldogs October 11 vs. Corner Creek Capital City Cougars October 12 vs. St. Michael's Corner Creek Green Calves October 12 vs. Long Island Florida Hellcats October 11 vs. Quebec City Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs October 16 vs. Seattle Sasquatch Hampton Roads Hounds October 11 vs. Topeka Houston Outlaws October 11 vs. Capital City Long Island Berserkers October 18 vs. New York Lyndonville Blades October 16 vs. Buffalo Manayunk Bullies October 15 vs. Stone Harbor Minneapolis Massasauga October 11 vs. Pittsburgh Montreal Wanderers October 12 vs. Quebec City Nevada Thunder October 11 vs. North Calgary New York Lancers October 11 vs. Lyndonville North Calgary Hawks October 13 vs. Fort Garry Pittsburgh Sound Chasers October 13 vs. Hampton Roads Quebec City Patriotes October 13 vs. Manayunk St. Michael's Privateers October 11 vs. Manayunk Seattle Rainiers October 11 vs. Fort Garry Seattle Sasquatch October 11 vs. Vancouver Stone Harbor Sound October 11 vs. Montreal Topeka Tarantulas October 14 vs. Houston Vancouver Whitecaps October 12 vs. Nevada 2006-07 NSHL ALL-STAR GAME: February 20, 2007, location to be announced PLAYOFFS BEGIN: March 14, 2007, locations to be announced, although the city of Houston can probably start to make plans. ************************************************************************** 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. ************************************************************************** YAHOO! FANTASY HOCKEY As you've seen on the mailing list, I've started a Yahoo! fantasy hockey league for owners, associates and friends of the NSHL. Everyone is welcome! To join, go to the Yahoo! fantasy hockey home (link follows this paragraph), Join League, and then Join Custom. The league ID number is 61187 and the password is NSHLhockey. http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/ Teams are drafted via list, and I'm going to set the draft to "Ready" on Monday evening (October 2). So please join, and have your lists in your preferred order, by Monday. Thanks! This should be a lot of fun, and a way to pass the time in between Strat games. ************************************************************************** 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: 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 - TRADE Andrew Ference and Niklas Hagman to TPK for Marek Malik. - TRADE Andrei Zyuzin to TPK for Stephane Yelle. BUF - TRADE Jamie Rivers to MIN for Matt Walker. CCC - TRADE Erik Rasmussen to MIN for Jeff Hoggan. CGC - TRADE Aaron Ward to TPK for Niko Dimitrakos. MIN - TRADE Jeff Hoggan to CCC for Erik Rasmussen. - TRADE Matt Walker to BUF for Jamie Rivers. TPK - TRADE Marek Malik to BRK for Andrew Ference and Niklas Hagman. - TRADE Stephane Yelle to BRK for Andrei Zyuzin. - TRADE Niko Dimitrakos to CGC for Aaron Ward. ************************************************************************** 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) **************************************************************************