The National Strat-O-Matic Hockey League Newsletter League Established May 1, 1997 Volume #13, Issue #2 - September 27, 2009 ********************************************************************* Current League Officers: Commissioner: Doug Norris Vice-Commissioner: Brian Leahy (7/15/07 to present) Email the whole league: mailto:nshl at yahoogroups dot com NSHL Chat List: mailto:nshlchat at yahoogroups dot com Web Page Administrator: Guy Caron League Web Site: http://nshl.org 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 ********************************************************************* TWENTY-FOUR DAYS! The year will start on Wednesday, October 21st! Get your motors running, because the exhibition schedule is in full swing - take plenty of chances to play with your new toys. The big league tournament, the 2009 Capital City Classic Invitational, will commense this week - more on the tourney from Brian Leahy, whose article appears in this edition. Thank you to Brian for his two articles, and thank you to Chris Malitsky for his article as well. And thank you to Junu for going through the waiver draft multiple times to ensure that all of the details were correct. Get excited! ********************************************************************* FULL WAIVER DRAFT RESULTS Thank you to Junu and Brian for their help with the 2009 waiver draft! Round 1 (1/1) Stone Harbor Sound Yann Danis, G, NY Islanders (1/2) Minneapolis Massassauga Marcel Goc, C, San Jose (1/3) North Calgary Hawks Mark Giordano, D, Calgary (1/4) Lyndonville Blades Jamie Lundmark, F, Calgary (1/5) Kansas City Scouts Jeremy Williams, RW, Toronto (1/6) Buffalo Bulldogs Mike Grier, W, San Jose (1/7) Manayunk Bulllies Maxim Afinogenov, W, Buffalo (1/8) Seattle Rainiers Dmitri Kalinin, D, Phoenix (1/9) Florida Hellcats Boyd Devereaux, D, Toronto (1/10) Corner Creek Green Calves Chris Holt, G, St. Louis (1/11) Long Island Bersekers Jack Hillen, D, NY Islanders (1/12) Capital City Cougars Evgeni Artyukhin, W, Tampa Bay (1/13) Brooklyn Fourteenth Steve Downie, F, Tampa Bay (1/14) Quebec City Patriotes Chris Conner, W, Dallas (1/15) Houston Aeros Scott Walker, RW/D, Carolina (1/16) Montreal Wanderers Benoit Pouliot, F, Minnesota (1/17) Pittsburgh Sound Chasers Phillippe Boucher, D, Pittsburgh (1/18) Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs Andrew Raycroft, G, Colorado (1/19) Seattle Sasquatch Shane Hnidy, D, Boston (1/20) Nevada Thunder Kurtis Foster, D, Minnesota (1/21) Topeka Tarantulas Bryce Salvador, D, New Jersey (1/22) Pittsburgh Hornets Andy Sutton, D, NY Islanders (1/23) St. Michael's Privateers Colin Fraser, C, Chicago (1/24) Vancouver Whitecaps Brett McLean, F, Florida Round 2 (2/25) Stone Harbor Sound Jason Strudwick, D, Edmonton (2/26) Minneapolis Massassauga Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D, Columbus (2/27) North Calgary Hawks Adam Hall, F, Tampa Bay (2/28) Lyndonville Blades Casey Borer, D, Carolina (2/29) Kansas City Scouts Brian Pothier, D, Washington (2/30) Buffalo Bulldogs Johan Hedberg, G, Atlanta (2/31) Manayunk Bulllies Richard Petiot, D, Tampa Bay (2/32) Seattle Rainiers Ryan Bayda, W, Carolina (2/33) Florida Hellcats Joel Lundqvist, F, Dallas (2/34) Corner Creek Green Calves Brad Richardson, F, Los Angeles (2/35) Long Island Bersekers Jeremy Roenick, F, San Jose (2/36) Capital City Cougars David Hale, D, Phoenix (2/37) Brooklyn Fourteenth Chris Neil, W, Ottawa (2/38) Quebec City Patriotes Matt Ellis, C, Buffalo (2/39) Houston Aeros Jon Sim, W, NY Islanders (2/40) Montreal Wanderers Jacob Dowell, C, Chicago (2/41) Pittsburgh Sound Chasers Dan Hinote, F, St. Louis (2/42) Fort Garry Fiddler Crabs Lukas Kaspar, RW, San Jose (2/43) Seattle Sasquatch Mike Weaver, D, St. Louis (2/44) Nevada Thunder VACATED (2/44) Topeka Tarantulas Sergei Zubov, D, Dallas (2/45) Pittsburgh Hornets Mark Parrish, RW, Minnesota (2/46) St. Michael's Privateers Mike Zigomanis, C, Pittsburgh (2/47) Vancouver Whitecaps Brent Sopel, D, Chicago Round 3 (3/48) Minneapolis Massassauga Bobby Holik, F, New Jersey (3/49) North Calgary Hawks Shawn Thornton, W, Boston (3/50) Lyndonville Blades Noah Welch, D, Florida (3/51) Kansas City Scouts Rick Rypien, RW, Vancouver (3/52) Buffalo Bulldogs Colton Orr, RW, NY Rangers (3/53) Manayunk Bulllies Krystofer Kolanos, C, Minnesota (3/54) Seattle Rainiers Shean Donovan, F, Ottawa (3/55) Florida Hellcats Sami Lepisto, D, Washington (3/56) Corner Creek Green Calves VACATED (3/56) Long Island Bersekers Vladimir Sobotka, LW, Boston (3/57) Capital City Cougars Andrew Hutchinson, D, Dallas (3/58) Brooklyn Fourteenth Nathan Paetsch, W/D, Buffalo (3/59) Quebec City Patriotes Patrick Rissmiller, LW, NY Rangers (3/60) Houston Aeros Jiri Novotny, F, Columbus (3/61) Montreal Wanderers Marek Schwarz, G, St. Louis (3/62) Pittsburgh Sound Chasers VACATED (3/62) Seattle Sasquatch Sheldon Brookbank, W/D, Anaheim (3/63) Nevada Thunder Garth Murray, C, Phoenix (3/64) Topeka Tarantulas Ryan Craig, F, Tampa Bay (3/65) Pittsburgh Hornets Ryan Stone, C, Pittsburgh (3/66) St. Michael's Privateers Steven Goertzen, RW, Phoenix (3/67) Vancouver Whitecaps Bill Thomas, C, Phoenix Round 4 (4/68) Minneapolis Massassauga Aaron Voros, W, NY Rangers (4/69) North Calgary Hawks Antti Pihlstrom, LW, Nashville (4/70) Lyndonville Blades Kyle Greentree, LW, Calgary (4/71) Buffalo Bulldogs VACATED (4/71) Manayunk Bulllies Keith Aucoin, C, Washington (4/72) Seattle Rainiers Ossi Vaananen, D, Vancouver (4/73) Florida Hellcats Aaron Johnson, D, Chicago (4/74) Corner Creek Green Calves Derek Meech, D/W, Detroit (4/75) Capital City Cougars Frantisek Kaberle, D, Carolina (4/76) Brooklyn Fourteenth Derek Armstrong, F, Los Angeles (4/77) Quebec City Patriotes VACATED (4/77) Houston Aeros Jeff Hamilton, RW, Toronto (4/78) Montreal Wanderers Josh Hennessy, C, Ottawa (4/79) Pittsburgh Sound Chasers Josef Melichar, D, Tampa Bay (4/80) Seattle Sasquatch Eric Boulton, W, Atlanta (4/81) Nevada Thunder Wayne Primeau, C, Calgary (4/82) Topeka Tarantulas Yan Stastny, F, St. Louis (4/83) Pittsburgh Hornets Craig Adams, W, Pittsburgh (4/84) St. Michael's Privateers Derek MacKenzie, C, Columbus (4/85) Vancouver Whitecaps Cody Bass, C, Ottawa Round 5 (5/86) North Calgary Hawks Wade Belak, W, Nashville (5/87) Buffalo Bulldogs Raitis Ivanans, W, Los Angeles (5/88) Manayunk Bulllies Jordan Hendry, D, Chicago (5/89) Capital City Cougars Daniel Tjarnqvist, D, Colorado (5/90) Brooklyn Fourteenth Erik Reitz, D, NY Rangers (5/91) Quebec City Patriotes Benoit Walter, C, NY Islanders (5/92) Houston Aeros Martin St. Pierre, C, Boston (5/93) Montreal Wanderers Jeremy Colliton, C, NY Islanders (5/94) Pittsburgh Sound Chasers Olaf Kolzig, G, Tampa Bay (5/95) Seattle Sasquatch George Parros, W, Anaheim (5/96) Topeka Tarantulas Wade Brookbank, LW, Carolina (5/97) Pittsburgh Hornets Mike Rupp, F, New Jersey (5/98) Vancouver Whitecaps Tobias Stephan, G, Dallas Round 6 (6/99) North Calgary Hawks Bret Hedican, D, Anaheim (6/100) Buffalo Bulldogs Darcy Hordichuk, LW, Vancouver (6/101) Manayunk Bulllies Joel Perrault, C, Phoenix (6/102) Brooklyn Fourteenth Ryan Potulny, LW, Edmonton (6/103) Quebec City Patriotes Nate Guenin, D, Phoenix (6/104) Houston Aeros Mike Iggulden, C, NY Islanders (6/105) Montreal Wanderers Nick Tarnasky, W, Florida (6/106) Seattle Sasquatch Krys Barch, W, Dallas (6/107) Topeka Tarantulas Chris Chelios, D, Detroit (6/108) Pittsburgh Hornets Lawrence Nycholat, D, Colorado Round 7 (7/109) North Calgary Hawks Marek Malik, D, Tampa Bay (7/110) Buffalo Bulldogs Todd Fedoruk, W, Phoenix (7/111) Manayunk Bulllies Mark Mancari, RW, Buffalo (7/112) Brooklyn Fourteenth Andy Wozniewksi, D, St. Louis (7/113) Quebec City Patriotes Graham Mink, RW, Washington (7/114) Houston Aeros Danny Syvret, D, Philadelphia (7/115) Montreal Wanderers Barry Prust, W, Phoenix (7/116) Topeka Tarantulas Tim Conboy, W/D, Carolina Round 8 (8/117) North Calgary Hawks Craig Weller, RW, Minnesota (8/118) Buffalo Bulldogs Eric Godard, W, Pittsburgh (8/119) Manayunk Bulllies Landon Wilson, RW, Dallas (8/120) Houston Aeros Jody Shelley, W, San Jose (8/121) Topeka Tarantulas Rob Davison, D/W, Vancouver Round 9 (9/122) Topeka Tarantulas Chris Gratton, C, Columbus ********************************************************************* 2009-10 NSHL CAPTAINS: Thanks to Chris for starting this off - we have just about everyone, and I would like to publish this in the next newsletter (October 7th). If you have not sent them out yet, please do so. Thanks! (Seattle Rainiers - Drury C, Marleau A, Jovanovski A - just like it's been for years) ********************************************************************* WHAT HAPPENS NOW! Expect the 2009-10 NSHL season to begin on Wednesday, October 21st. Working backwards from this date: All teams must be down to (no more than) 36 players by the end of Monday, October 19th. I would like to have the schedule out no later than Wednesday, October 7th. October 7th will also be the next newsletter date! ********************************************************************* CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC INVITATITONAL 2009 PREVIEW by Brian Leahy, Capital City owner (AP) LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.....Teams of the NSHL have been in training camp for a short while now and have also included their rookie and waiver player selections. Pre-season games have been going on for some time now as well. But, in what has become an annual tradition, the Capital City Classic Invitational Tournament is just days away. Always a good measuring stick for teams, the CCCI is holding its eighth annual event this week and should provide an exciting segue to the start of the regular season. Last season, though, was the first time that the team winning the CCCI went on to then win the Farley Cup the following Spring. As the defending tournament champion, the St. Michael's Privateers are looking to set another first time mark and become the first two-time winner of the event. The field is stacked, though, and ready to challenge the Privateers for it. Newly relocated Kansas City, Long Island, MOntreal, Pittsburgh (Hornets), Topeka and previous CCCI champions Seattle (1999) and Vancouver (2007) round out the entrants. Monday features the tournament opening ceremony, introduction of teams and team practices open to the public. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will have each team playing in two games per day in round-robin format. Friday will be the semi-finals and Saturday will be the championship and third-place games. Trophy presentations and the closing ceremony to follow shortly after the championship finale has concluded. The official web site for the tourney is located at http://capcity.tripod.com/CCCI/index09.html. Those wishing to follow the tournament will find participating team rosters, tournament schedule and the tournament file available to look over at this time. Other sections will become available once the tournament begins. ********************************************************************* VIEW FROM THE CLIFF: SOUND DRAFT/TRADE ANALYSIS by Chris Malitsky, Sound Harbor owner The Stone Harbor Sound have coupled the trading of Henrik Lundqvist and others for Sam Gagner, Ilya Bryzgalov, Derek Morris, Brian Campbell, and a 2nd round pick. The team then dealt fan favorite Morris to get a third 1st round pick. Approaching the draft, the team stockpiled a nice selection of front-end picks; three 1st's, three 2nd's, and two 3rd's. They used these picks and others to select Patrik Berglund, Mikkel Boedker, Max Pacioretty, Chris Stewart, Peter Regin, Michal Repik, Petr Vrana, Michal Neuvirth, and Ty Wishart. The team now is extremenly young centered around franchise forward Tomas Vanek. Martin Havlat, Milan Michalek, and David Legwand round out the notable veteran forwards on the team with upcomers Gagner, Kyle Turris, Martin Hanzal, Jiri Tlusty, Enver Lisin, Jannik Hansen, and the aforementioned 2009 draftees providing a lot of depth and promise. On defense, the team has a strong core to build from, including Nick Schultz, Campbell, Jeff Schultz, Brooks Orpik, and Jay McKee. Moving Lundqvist creates a huge void in goal, but Bryzgalov is capable of a strong season amd is expected to tow the line until the team can establish a new Lundqvist to be the franchise goalie. At that point, the depth the team has assembled just may be ready to turn the tide pushing the team to credibility. The future finally looks bright for this team; one that has seen a mere single playoff season (their only winning season) in their 10 years of existence in the NSHL. More importantly, the team has not won more than 31 games in any of the four seasons since moving to Stone Harbor from Drayton Valley. This team needs a facelift, and the recent flurry of trades and uncharacteristic number of draft picks may be the impetus to getting them their second-ever winning season in teh next few years. ********************************************************************* WINTER DROUGHT FOR NEBRASKA HOCKEY FANS? by Brian Leahy, Capital City owner (AP) LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.....The Cougars turned over their roster some a few months back, hoping to get a bit younger but try and stay competitive at the same time. After a bevy of pre-season games between mostly NSHL and some NHL opponents, this season might be a long one. With just three wins in seventeen exhibition games, the common word in training camp has been 'frustration'. While a number of the losses have been close results, the team lacks consistency. With coaching staff trying to infuse the newcomers via the rookie and waiver drafts, the chemistry has been far from there. The Cougars have spent the past week at their minor league affiliate's rink in Bridgeport, CT, but are now returning to Lincoln to get settled in and focus more with the new season right around the corner. While they are hosting the Capital City Classic Invitational Tournament, they declined to enter their squad this year. It was a consideration, but with the results of the pre-season thus far, they felt their time would be better spent in practice this week instead of in game play. A full detail of the training camp roster and other related info can be found at http://capcity.tripod.com/News/CN-092309.html ROOKIE DRAFT RECAP Capital City had the 12th pick overall in the draft and, with three other picks through seven rounds, could be described as having an average rating for the draft. The draftees were: Ville Leino (1st round, 12th overall), Joel Ward (2nd round, 41st overall), Sean Collins (6th round, 128th overall) and David Koci (7th round, 140th overall). So far, Ward seems to figure to be a regularly playing winger this season. Leino will see some limited playing time, while Collins and Koci are more slated to spend most of the season in the minors. Leino has a lot of upside and the team is hoping he becomes a fixture on the Cougars roster for years to come. Ward has had great play during the pre-season, most likely as a 3rd or 4th line winger. The Cougars didn't make any trades prior to the draft hoping to either move up or gain extra picks and, due to their record last season, they had a mid-round pick. By then, the players who would have the most impact in this upcoming season were already long gone. WAIVER DRAFT RECAP Just like the rookie draft, the waiver draft was a snoozer for the Cougars. They picked up five players, but they will primarily be role or depth players in the upcoming season. Those chosen by Capital City are: Evgeny Artyukhin (1st round, 12th overall), David Hale (2nd round, 36th overall), Andrew Hutchinson (3rd round, 57th overall), Frantisek Kaberle (4th round, 75th overall) and Daniel Tjarnqvist (5th round, 89th overall). Because the team only drafted to 35 players between both drafts, it will be the first time the Cougars will not have to make any cuts prior to the start of the regular season. While management hasn't rule out any trades between now and then, the task at hand is to finalize the team's positional depth chart. NEWS & NOTES For the fourth straight season, Joe Sakic was named team captain. Paul Martin is an alternate for the fourth straight season, while Daniel Alfredsson is an alternate for the 3rd straight season. While he wouldn't confirm the rumors that he would retire following the 2009-10 NSHL season, Joe Sakic said that he would be contemplating his future over the summer. ********************************************************************* HOPING FOR AN EMERALD CITY LONG SEASON IN 2010 by Doug Norris, Seattle Rainiers owner SEATTLE (AP) - Having made the playoffs in ten of their twelve season, Seattle Rainier fans are used to having long seasons. Last year, however, was a long season of a different sort at Key Arena. Ten overtime losses left the 2008-09 Rainiers just two points behind Capital City for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference brackets. Moreover, in the team's push to make the field, they dealt their 2009 first-rounder to find Alexei Kovalev for their right side. Thanks to a fortuitous lottery ball, that pick turned out to be the fifth overall - which Lyndonville used to select future star, and Puget Sound native, T.J. Oshie. Looking to get back quickly, the Rainiers dealt Kovalev and incumbent goaltender Vesa Toskala, ending up with four second-rounders in the entry draft. The club took four young forwards with those picks - Nikolai Kulemin, Zach Boychuk, Colton Gillies and T.J. Galiardi - whom they hope will be the core of their offense for years to come. Entering training camp, the club looks like this: Patrick Marleau - Dave Bolland - Dany Heatley Andy McDonald - Mike Fisher - Chris Drury Alex Tanguay - Stephen Weiss - Tomas Holmstrom Andrew Brunette - Derick Brassard - Jonathan Cheechoo Ed Jovanovski - Brian Rafalski Jaroslav Spacek - Nick Boynton Brendan Witt - Dmitri Kalinin Mike Smith Dwayne Roloson Rumours persist that several forwards - including Tomas Holmstrom, Mike Fisher, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Andrew Brunette - are on the block in an effort to both give the youngsters some ice time as well as to bolster the blue line. The club has thus far denied all reports. ********************************************************************* INCENTIVE POINTS SHS, -1 (newsletter article) 2009-10 CUMULATIVE INCENTIVE POINTS SHS -1 ********************************************************************* ASSOCIATE LIST: SINCE GP Dale Ripley September 11, 2007 28 Francois Lessard December 10, 2006 8 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 Scott Bruner June 18, 2007 0 Steve Beren February 2, 2008 0 If you're still an active associate, and aren't on this list, please get in contact with me. Thanks! Doug ********************************************************************* TRANSACTIONS: BUF - TRADE Scott Nichol to STM for Matt Smaby. - TRADE Colton Orr to TPK for Chris Chelios. FLO - TRADE Kevin Klein to KCS for KCS#4. KCS - TRADE KCS#4 to FLO for Kevin Klein. - RELEASE Brent Krahn. LIB - SIGN Matt Moulson. NCH - TRADE Ethan Moreau to TPK for Wade Redden. STM - TRADE Matt Smaby to BUF for Scott Nichol. TPK - TRADE Wade Redden to NCH for Ethan Moreau. - TRADE Chris Chelios to BUF for Colton Orr. ********************************************************************* 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 Brian Leahy, Vice-Commissioner Andy Bartalone, St. Michael's owner (vacant) *********************************************************************