The Shark Blog
by chewy
14. September 2010 13:28
Last night, we held the 2nd annual Landshark Hockey "Fan"-tasy draft, where I invited readers of the site to go head-to-head against each other and against me. Turns out we have some pretty knowledgeable readers out there, as I left the draft with mixed feelings on my roster (an odd feeling for me.) Here is a recap of what went down. Hopefully, if you're preparing for your own draft, you can learn a thing or too (like grab that star defenseman early).
Notes:
- This was a standard, head-to-head league on CBS.
- My team was the Landsharks, drafting in 11th spot (not to be confused with the overly enthusiastic fan who chose the honorable name of "landshark hockey" for his own team name, drafting 1st overall).
Here's how it went down by round:
|
Round 1
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
Notes
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Ovechkin, Alex LW WAS
|
Predictable
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Crosby, Sidney C PIT
|
No surprise here
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Green, Mike D WAS
|
Brak lands who would have been my first chioice
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Malkin, Evgeni C PIT
|
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Backstrom, Nicklas C WAS
|
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Heatley, Dany RW SJ
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Luongo, Roberto G VAN
|
First bold choice of the draft.
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Miller, Ryan G BUF
|
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Lundqvist, Henrik G NYR
|
Goalie run continues early.
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Doughty, Drew D LA
|
Sharked me on Doughty.
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Brodeur, Martin G NJ
|
"Settled" for Brodeur as my #1 goalie.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Parise, Zach LW NJ
|
Gutsy first pick
|
|
Round 2
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
Stamkos, Steven C TB
|
Stanks18 loads up on offense early
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Kovalchuk, Ilya LW NJ
|
Wanted to spring for Defense early, but couldn't pass up Kovalchuk in round 2
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Sedin, Daniel LW VAN
|
Off the board pick for round 2
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Boyle, Dan D SJ
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Keith, Duncan D CHI
|
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Chara, Zdeno D BOS
|
Run on defense underway, leaving me out to dry
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Howard, Jimmy G DET
|
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Kiprusoff, Miikka G CGY
|
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Weber, Shea D NSH
|
I hoped Weber would make it back around. Argggghhh.
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Bryzgalov, Ilya G PHO
|
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Pronger, Chris D PHI
|
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
Kane, Patrick RW CHI
|
|
|
Round 3
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Sedin, Henrik C VAN
|
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Rask, Tuukka G BOS
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Gaborik, Marian RW NYR
|
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive*
|
Duchene, Matt C COL
|
Can't fault him here, his browser locked up…
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Phaneuf, Dion D TOR
|
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Halak, Jaroslav G STL
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Fleury, Marc-Andre G PIT
|
2 goalies in first 3 rounds. Bold, but solid strategy.
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Perry, Corey RW ANA
|
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Datsyuk, Pavel C DET
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Rinne, Pekka G NSH
|
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Semin, Alexander LW WAS
|
Pleasantly surprised to find Semin still around this late.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Gonchar, Sergei D OTT
|
Thought I could nab him on the rebound…
|
|
Round 4
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
Ward, Cam G CAR
|
Last team to claim their #1 goalie. This could hurt.
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Myers, Tyler D BUF
|
Finally land a defenseman. Not happy.
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Streit, Mark D NYI
|
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Visnovsky, Lubomir D ANA
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Richards, Mike C PHI
|
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Hossa, Marian RW CHI
|
Hossa goes a little earlier than expected
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Iginla, Jarome RW CGY
|
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Kopitar, Anze C LA
|
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Marleau, Patrick LW SJ
|
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Thornton, Joe C SJ
|
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Zetterberg, Henrik LW DET
|
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
Getzlaf, Ryan C ANA
|
4 rounds. All offense. No balance here.
|
|
Round 5
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Hiller, Jonas G ANA
|
A bit early for Hiller. Better names still on the table.
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Varlamov, Semyon G WAS
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Ehrhoff, Christian D VAN
|
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Rafalski, Brian D DET
|
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Johnson, Erik D STL
|
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Ryan, Bobby LW ANA
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Carter, Jeff C PHI
|
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Hartnell, Scott LW PHI
|
Hartnell? What? Obviously a Flyer fan in the room.
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Backstrom, Niklas G MIN
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Anderson, Craig G COL
|
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Lidstrom, Nicklas D DET
|
Lidstrom late in the 5th round? Times are changing.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Kubina, Pavel D TB
|
Could've done better than Kubina.
|
|
Round 6
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
St. Louis, Martin RW TB
|
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Vokoun, Tomas G FLA
|
Shocked that Vokoun slipped this far.
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Staal, Eric C CAR
|
Staal in the 6th round is a steal.
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Nash, Rick LW CLB
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Turco, Marty G CHI
|
Could pay off big time. Miller/Turco is top tandem here.
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Gagne, Simon LW TB
|
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Burrows, Alex RW VAN
|
Did he know about the injury?
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Tavares, John C NYI
|
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Niemi, Antti G SJ
|
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Quick, Jonathan G LA
|
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Stastny, Paul C COL
|
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
Toews, Jonathan C CHI
|
|
|
Round 7
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Vanek, Thomas LW BUF
|
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Franzen, Johan RW DET
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Richards, Brad C DAL
|
Lots of groaning at this point.
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Cammalleri, Mike LW MON
|
Another solid 7th round selection.
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Kessel, Phil RW TOR
|
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Savard, Marc C BOS
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Zajac, Travis C NJ
|
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Eriksson, Loui LW DAL
|
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Spezza, Jason C OTT
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Kaberle, Tomas D TOR
|
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Subban, P.K. D MON
|
I start to make up for not drafting D early.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Lecavalier, Vincent C TB
|
|
|
Round 8
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
Price, Carey G MON
|
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Horton, Nathan RW BOS
|
Hoping for a bounceback year in Boston for Horton
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Yandle, Keith D PHO
|
Could be a big-time steal for round 8.
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Koivu, Mikko C MIN
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Kesler, Ryan C VAN
|
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Campbell, Brian D CHI
|
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Enstrom, Tobias D ATL
|
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Bogosian, Zach D ATL
|
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Goligoski, Alex D PIT
|
Defense is going fast.
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Alfredsson, Daniel RW OTT
|
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Seabrook, Brent D CHI
|
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
McCabe, Bryan D FLA
|
|
|
Round 9
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Edler, Alexander D VAN
|
7 of last 8 picks were defense. I start to cry.
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Bourque, Rene LW CGY
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Karlsson, Erik D OTT
|
Another steal for Brak.
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Ellis, Dan G TB
|
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Giroux, Claude RW PHI
|
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Morrow, Brenden LW DAL
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Knuble, Mike RW WAS
|
Not seeing the reason for this selection at all.
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Letang, Kris D PIT
|
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Sharp, Patrick LW CHI
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Roy, Derek C BUF
|
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Pavelski, Joe C SJ
|
I (finally) get a Center.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Pitkanen, Joni D CAR
|
|
|
Round 10
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
Johnson, Jack D LA
|
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Bouwmeester, Jay D CGY
|
Still playing catch-up on the blueline.
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Hemsky, Ales RW EDM
|
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Markov, Andrei D MON
|
Right time for the injured Markov to be claimed
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Briere, Danny C PHI
|
Solid pick. Still not a Briere fan though.
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Hudler, Jiri LW DET
|
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Kronwall, Niklas D DET
|
Big Tank continues to show no regard for injury status. Oh yeah, that's what happens when you forget to show up for the draft.
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Downie, Steve RW TB
|
I'm not a believer here.
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Neal, James LW DAL
|
Like this pick
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Mason, Steve G CLB
|
Brak goes for goalie #3 already. Good idea.
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Clowe, Ryane RW SJ
|
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
Zidlicky, Marek D MIN
|
|
|
Round 11
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Corvo, Joe D CAR
|
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Fisher, Mike C OTT
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Martin, Paul D PIT
|
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Leino, Ville LW PHI
|
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Bieksa, Kevin D VAN
|
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
McBain, Jamie D CAR
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Plekanec, Tomas C MON
|
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Carle, Matt D PHI
|
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Del Zotto, Michael D NYR
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Stewart, Chris RW COL
|
Snaked again by C21Gun. Had Stewart queued for selection.
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Staal, Jordan C PIT
|
Settle for Staal as my 2nd Center. Shows how deep the position is, and why you can wait on it.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Havlat, Martin RW MIN
|
|
|
Round 12
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
Langenbrunner, Jamie RW NJ
|
Puzzling. Langenbrunner has little fantasy value at this point.
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Okposo, Kyle RW NYI
|
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Wolski, Wojtek LW PHO
|
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Doan, Shane RW PHO
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Leighton, Michael G PHI
|
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Samuelsson, Mikael RW VAN
|
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Morrisonn, Shaone D BUF
|
Who? Oh yeah, you didn't show up.
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Neuvirth, Michal G WAS
|
Nice. Was hoping to nab him off waiver early in the season.
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Robidas, Stephane D DAL
|
Over-rated.
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Voracek, Jakub RW CLB
|
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Souray, Sheldon D EDM
|
I like minor league defensemen, too…
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
Lehtonen, Kari G DAL
|
|
|
Round 13
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Penner, Dustin LW EDM
|
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Thomas, Tim G BOS
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Babchuk, Anton D CAR
|
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Boyes, Brad C STL
|
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Setoguchi, Devin RW SJ
|
Potential sleeper here.
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Laich, Brooks C WAS
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings
|
Boychuk, Johnny D BOS
|
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Giordano, Mark D CGY
|
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Timonen, Kimmo D PHI
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Elliott, Brian G OTT
|
Solid backup option.
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Niittymaki, Antero G SJ
|
Could pan out for my backup. No risk, as I'm already sitting on Brodeur and Vokoun - 2 work horses.
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Giguere, Jean-Sebastien G TOR
|
|
|
Round 14
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18
|
Elias, Patrik LW NJ
|
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Suter, Ryan D NSH
|
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Whitney, Ryan D EDM
|
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Selanne, Teemu RW ANA
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Jovanovski, Ed D PHO
|
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings
|
Coburn, Braydon D PHI
|
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Wideman, Dennis D FLA
|
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Ott, Steve LW DAL
|
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive
|
Hornqvist, Patric RW NSH
|
30 goal scorer drops to round 14.
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Hall, Taylor LW EDM
|
Brak rolls the dice with the Hall selection late.
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck
|
Lucic, Milan LW BOS
|
|
|
12
|
landshark hockey*
|
Huselius, Kristian LW CLB
|
|
|
Round 15
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
landshark hockey*
|
Demers, Jason D SJ
|
|
|
2
|
Midnight Train Wreck*
|
Burns, Brent D MIN
|
|
|
3
|
Brak
|
Eberle, Jordan C EDM
|
Another risk/reward option.
|
|
4
|
Vanek Depressive*
|
Foster, Kurtis D EDM
|
|
|
5
|
intenttoinjure
|
Barker, Cam D MIN
|
Solid.
|
|
6
|
Big Tank*
|
Antropov, Nik C ATL
|
|
|
7
|
The Sky Kings*
|
Liles, John-Michael D COL
|
|
|
8
|
Fool's Gold
|
Mueller, Peter RW COL
|
Sleeper.
|
|
9
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Frolov, Alexander RW NYR
|
|
|
10
|
C21Gun
|
Ribeiro, Mike C DAL
|
Diver!
|
|
11
|
Landsharks
|
Stempniak, Lee RW PHO
|
|
|
12
|
Stanks18
|
Greene, Andy D NJ
|
|
|
Round 16
|
|
|
|
|
Pick
|
Team
|
Player
|
|
|
1
|
Stanks18*
|
Weiss, Stephen C FLA
|
|
|
2
|
Landsharks
|
Krejci, David C BOS
|
Last pick of the draft for me. Probably won't keep him long.
|
|
3
|
C21Gun
|
Pominville, Jason RW BUF
|
|
|
4
|
Mighty Mullets IV
|
Mason, Chris G ATL
|
|
|
5
|
Fool's Gold
|
Holmstrom, Tomas LW DET
|
|
|
6
|
The Sky Kings*
|
Khabibulin, Nikolai G EDM
|
Obviously went to bed and let the system pick this one.
|
|
7
|
Big Tank*
|
Gustavsson, Jonas G TOR
|
|
|
8
|
intenttoinjure
|
Harding, Josh G MIN
|
|
|
9
|
Vanek Depressive*
|
Leclaire, Pascal G OTT
|
|
|
10
|
Brak
|
Latendresse, Guillaume LW MIN
|
|
|
11
|
Midnight Train Wreck*
|
Hamhuis, Dan D VAN
|
|
|
12
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landshark hockey*
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Pavelec, Ondrej G ATL
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As for my team, I'm more than satisfied with my goaltending. I uncharacteristically went after some top-end forwards in rounds 2 & 3, but couldn't pass on either one. I preach the importance of landing a premier defenseman, but found myself without one come round 4. Either the competition was on to me, or I need to adjust my thinking for next draft. Perhaps Duncan Keith in Round 2 or Sergei Gonchar in Round 3 would have played better for me. Overall, I like my chances, but it won't be an easy road for the host team.
Here's how our rosters look post-draft:
Here's how I score the teams by position. I ranked them from best overall draft to worst (in my humble opinion) by Division. Looking forward to having these guys make me look dumb…
EAST
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Rank
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Team
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Offense
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Defense
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Goalies
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Comment
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1
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Landsharks (me)
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B
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B
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A
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Well balanced roster.
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2
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Fool's Gold
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C
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B
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A
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Built from the crease out. Should contend.
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3
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Stanks18
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A
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C
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C
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Heavy up front, light in the back
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4
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Big Tank
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C
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D
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B
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Next time, show up for the draft.
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Should be an interesting battle between Landsharks and Fool's Gold. Stanks has a shot if he can upgrade his goaltending.
CENTRAL
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Rank
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Team
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Offense
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Defense
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Goalies
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Comment
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1
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Sky Kings
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C
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C
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A
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Strong where he needs to be. Adequate elsewhere.
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2
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Intent To Injure
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B
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B
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D
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If Neuvirth wins the job in D.C., this team is good.
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3
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Midnight Train Wreck
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B
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C
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C
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After Crosby and Pronger, not much sizzle.
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4
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Brak
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D
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A
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C
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Needs help up front to compete.
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Sky Kings have to be a favorite to win this group.
WEST
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Rank
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Team
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Offense
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Defense
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Goalies
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Comment
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1
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C21Gun
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B
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A
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C
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Took forever to draft, but it paid off
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2
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Vanek Depressive
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B
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A
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C
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Hard to find a serious weakness here
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3
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Mighty Mullets IV
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C
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B
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B
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Strong on defense, could contend.
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4
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Landshark hockey
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A
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C
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D
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Stacked on offense. Sad otherwise.
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Tough division to call. Wildcard spot likely to come from this crew. Edge to C21Gun, but any of these squads could pull it off.
I'll report back once a month during the season to see how these predictions hold out. Thanks to the guys for playing along, and good luck.
Tip o' the hat to BlogEngine.NET --- 1.4.5.0
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