Monday, December 27, 2010

Team/Players of the week

Last one of the year, Week of 12/20-12/26

Team of the week:

377 points

Players of the week:

3. Tomas Vokoun - BOS - 49 points

2. Dan Ellis - FLA - 51 points

1. Tobias Enstrom - SJ - 55 points

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays

Have a safe and happy holiday and eat lots of food... be safe everyone!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Players of the week

Players of the week 12/13-12/19

I realized I wasn't posting them correctly so the week's will now change. This will be posted every month in fairness.


Team of the week:


396 points


Players of the week:

3. Drew Doughty - NYI - 51

2. Tomas Fleischmann - CHI - 61

1. Craig Anderson - NYR - 63

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Team./Players of the week:

Week of 12/5 - 12/11

Team of the week:

.
356 Points

Players of the week:

3. Sidney Crosby - NYI - 46

2. Tomas Kablerle - BUF - 48

1. Ryane Clowe - SJ - 52

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Players/Team of the week

Week of 11/29 - 12/4

Team of the week:



334.5 points

Players of the week:

3. Roman Hamrlik - Phoenix - 49

2. Tim Thomas - Phoenix - 53

1. Sidney Crosby - NY Islanders - 53

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

November - Top 5 players of the month

**Since this new system does it different, I am unable to get team of the month.. If I figure it out, it will be posted **


Top 5:

5. Steven Stamkos - TOR - 149
4. Eric Staal - BUF - 150
3. Dustin Byfuglien - VAN - 153
2. Alexander Semin - OTT - 162
1. Sidney Crosby - NYI - 182

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Players/team of the week

Nov 21 - Nov 27

Team of the week:


333 Points

Players of the week:

3. Marc-Andre Fleury - WSH - 48 Pts

2. Sidney Crosby - NYI - 59 Pts

1. Johan Hedberg - CAR - 63 Pts

Tues/Wed will have the top 5 players of the month as well as the team of the month.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Team/Player of the week

Week of 11/14-20

Team of the week:


430 points


Players of the week:

3. Mike Richards - WSH - 55

2. Steven Stamkos - TOR - 55

1. John-Michael Liles - CAR - 62

Friday, November 19, 2010

Top 10 defensemen/Top 20 Forwards

as of 11/19/2010

Defensemen:

1. Kris Legang - EDM - 201
2. Dustin Byfuglien - VAN - 191
3. John-Michael Liles - CAR - 186
4. Lubomir Vishnovsky - LAK - 173
5. Mike Green - CHI - 165
6. Niklas Lidstrom - BOS - 163
7. Dan Boyle - BOS - 159
8. Jordan Leopold - CHI - 151
9. Tobias Enstrom - SJ - 150
10. Ryan Whitney - CAR - 159

Top 15 forwards
*decided to do 15 because we have so many forwards compared to other positions.

1. Steven Stamkos - TOR - 264
2. Alex Semin - OTT - 200
3. Sidney Crosby - NYI - 192
4. Chris Stewart - CHI - 185
5. Corey Perry - ANA - 178
6. Alex Ovechkin - BUF - 177
7. Brad Richards - BOS - 173
8. Claude Giroux - SJ - 170
9. Eric Staal - BUF - 169
10. Martin St. Louis - BOS - 166
11. Mike Richards - WSH - 163
12. Scott Hartnell - WSH - 162
13. Daniel Sedin - NYI - 160
14. Henrik Sedin - PHI - 156
15. Derek Roy - NYR - 151

Thursday, November 18, 2010

UFHL Top 10 goaltenders

As of 11/18/2010:

1. Carey Price - Calgary - 206
2. Michael Neuvirth - Minnesota - 188
3. Jaroslav Halak - Montreal - 179
4. Tim Thomas - Phoenix - 177
5. Marty Turco - Boston - 167
6. Sergei Bobrovsky - Boston - 165
7. Henrik Lundqvist - Tampa - 155
8. Jonothan Quick - Minnesota - 155
9. Cam Ward - Montreal - 152
10. Jimmy Howard - Washington - 150

Tomorrow: Defensemen

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Your UFHL top 10 rookies

As of 11/17/2010:
*Based on their rookie eligibility.

1. Michal Neuvirth - Minnesota - 188
2. Sergei Bobrovski - Boston - 165
3. John Carlsson - Florida - 133
4. PK Subban - Ottawa - 120
5. Jeff Skinner - Buffalo - 92
6. Dertk Engelland - Colorado - 92
7. Logan Couture - Edmonton - 91
8. Tyler Ennis - New Jersey - 87
9. Mark Letestu - Colorado - 78
10. Jordan Eberle - Dallas - 76

Tomorrow: Top 10 goaltenders

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Team and Players of the week

November 7 - November 13

Team of the week:
398.5 Points


Players of the week:

3. Sidney Crosby - NYI/Ray Whitney - EDM - 48 pts

2. Evgeni Malkin - BUF - 51

1. Alexander Semin - OTT - 56 pts

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Players + Team of the week (11/7/10)

Team of the week:


455 points

Players of the week:

3. Matheiu Garon - SJ - 49

2. Raffi Torres - PIT - 56

1. Roberto Luongo - BUF - 59

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Team + Players of the month - October


Team of the month:




Players of the month:

3. Kris Letang - Edmonton - 130
2. Chris Stewart - Chicago - 139
1. Steven Stamkos - 144

Impressive month! Congrats to teams!

Team + Players of the week, 10/.31

Team of the week:

.
395.5 points

Players of the week:

3. Chris Stewart - Chicago - 55
2. Joe Thornton - Los Angeles - 62
1. Duncan Keith - Montreal - 65

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Players of the week

Players:

3. Rene Bourque - Chicago - 52
2. John Tavares - Dallas - 54
1. Steven Stamkos - Toronto - 68

Team of the week:



448.5 Points

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wild Prospect Report Goalies - (Oct 20)

The Minnesota Wild Goaltender Prospect Report - October 20, 2010

Igor Bobkov - London (OHL) - Bobkov has been off to a slow start this year only appearing in one game for the Knights, in which he gave up four goals in a loss.  Some could attribute his slow start to visa and permissions issues from Russia.  Bobkov needed to have his transfer card signed before he could play in any OHL exhibition games and this did not happen until he was allowed to attend the Anaheim Ducks rookie camp.  The season is still young and hopefully he will get into more games before the 2011 WJC in Canada where he is likely to backstop Team Russia again.


Joacim Eriksson - SkellefteÃ¥ (Elitserien) - Eriksson like Bobkov has been off to a slow start this year.  After a record setting year in Leksand (Allsvenskan) he is currently the back up to Andreas Hadelöv.  Eriksson's numbers are average for the Elitserien, hopefully he will get used to the speed of the Elitserien game and his numbers will improve.

Zane Gothberg - Fargo (USHL) - Gothberg is platooning with the Fargo Force in the USHL, this project goaltender has had decent numbers so far this year in Fargo and is one of three goalies that could be chosen for Team USA in the 2011 WJC.

Jonathan Iilahti - Blues U20 (Finland) - Recently signed Jonathan Iilahti platoons with fellow Wild prospect Lars Volden.  Iilathi has played great in the games he has played so far with the under 20 team for the Espoo Blues club in Finland.  He could see some SM-Liiga time this year as a back up.

Timo Pielmeier - Syracuse (AHL) - The Wild's only goaltending prospects eligible to be recalled to play in the NHL this year.  Pielmeier is currently splitting duties with JP Levasseur until one of them can take over as a full time starter.

Lars Volden - Blues U20 (Finland) - Arguably one of the, if not the, best U20 Norwegian players, Volden is currently perfecting his craft with the Espoo Blues U20 club.  Along with the Iilahti the two are leading the U20 Blues club to the best record in the U20 circuit. 

With the rumors that the Wild are actively looking to trade a goaltender, they seem to have the pipeline stocked for a few more years.

Next Wild Prospect Report - Defense (coming soon).

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Players of the week 10/10-10/16

Team of the week:



Players of the week:

3. John-Michael Liles - Carolina / Alex Goligoski - Pittsburgh = 47 points
2. Tomas Vokoun - Boston = 49
1. Kris Letang - Edmonton = 51

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Two things briefly....

Great to see everyone's enjoying the NHL season.. two things to touch base...

1. If your team's are not correct or what not, please contact Ben as he's the main man at the moment with officepools and the new format.

2. Team and player of the week will start back up this next weekend. I didn't want to do it on a week when only a few games were played.

best of luck this week..

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Roster finalization date

Please have your rosters finalized by Midnight on Sunday October 3. We want to get everything in Officepools within the next few days after that.

Thanks, Best of luck this coming season!

-UFHL Execs

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Summer ranking 19-27, Final..

19th - Phoenix Coyotes - GM: Paul
Top 5 farm players: Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan Stoa, Carter Ashton, Robin Lehner,Harri Sateri
Strength: The Coyotes seem solid in all 3 areas. Shattenkirk,Weber and Cohen lead the Defense. Stoa, Ashton and Coyle lead the offense. Sateri and Lehner lead in net.
Weakness: Only thing that Phoenix is lacking is high end talent, especially at Forward.
Analysis: The Coyotes have a well balanced group of prospects. However, are they going to be a huge improvement over their active roster? Also, with Thomas and Roloson aging, are Sateri and Lehner ready to take over?

20 – Carolina Hurricanes – GM: Jon
Top 5 prospects:
Derek Stepan, Ryan Ellis, Cody Goloubef, Justin Faulk, and Dylan McIlrath
Strengths: Offensively talented defensive prospects
Weaknesses: Lack of organizational goaltending depth
Analysis: With 4 of their 5 top prospects being on the back end, the Hurricanes will continue to rebuild through the draft and may focus on acquiring young forwards and goaltenders. Derek Stepan looks to one day be captain material and has finished a solid college career. He will most likely spend 2010-2011 developing his pro game in the minors unless he absolutely wows management in training camp.
Offensively gifted forward, Kirill Kabanov, will look to establish himself as a top prospect in the ufhl after a disappointing 2009-10 season. On the back end, Carolina is stacked with 3 very good offensive D-men, but all will have to become defensively responsible in order to crack the pro line-up. The wildcard on defense is Dylan McIlrath, a big body that loves the physical parts of the game and is not shy when it comes to throwing haymakers. His offensive game got better in the second part of last season and if he continues to develop in the next two seasons, he could become a force as a pro.
Goaltending is currently the biggest concern in the organization as there are currently no viable future starters unless one of Justin Pogge or Russian, Vasily Koshechkin surprises. This position may be a focal point for the coming draft as an organization needs a solid goaltending pipeline to compete in the UFHL.It seems the rebuild will continue for a couple of year in Carolina, but management is slowly, but surely, building a powerful future for the Hurricanes with its focus being building from within through the draft.

21st Tampa - GM: Dave
Top 5 farm players: Nicklas Bergfors, Dustin Tokarski, Tyler Cuma, Pat Wiercioch, Mike Santorelli
Strength: Bergfors surprised with quality ice time, some depth prospects have good potential.
Weakness: Few sure NHL top line prospects.
Analysis: Current Starters strong and well rounded but the long term future could be challenging for Tampa!

22 – Detroit Red Wings – GM: Shaun
Top 5 farm:
Calvin De haan (D), Gustav Nyquist (F), Austin Watson (F), Jared Knight (F), Ryan Spooner (F)
Strength: Strong forward crop that should help dramatically improve some older players. A potential stud defenseman in De haan.
Weakness: After De haan the defensive part of the system looks weak, no pure potential franchise player.
Analysis: Shaun has a great knack for finding OHL talents as seen by his top 5 list. His drafting of Spooner and Knight could provide some offensive spark to his team as soon as next season. With De haan, he could instantly help his defensive crop and remove some wasted space. Quality goaltending prospects but nothing looks as prized as Mason, but they got potential to be solid. Adding more defensive prospects with an offensive ability is needed.

23rd Ottawa- GM: Donavan
Top 5 farm players: Peter Regin, PK Subban, Derek Forbert, Michael Grabner, Angelo Esposito
Strength: Speed and Skill in abundance.
Weakness: Wonder about off ice issues with Subban; defensive depth is weak
Analysis: Ottawa has a potential stud defenseman in PK Subban if he can come into this season and thrive like he did in the playoffs. Regin is a star in the making if he can keep putting it all together. Questions arise with whether or not Grabner will become that scoring winger he was once destined to be and whether or not Esposito will ever turn the page. Sky is the limit.


24 – Pittsburgh Penguins – GM: Mitch
Top 5 prospects:
Brett Connolly, Eric Tangradi, Blake Kessel, Kent Simpson, Nate Prosser
Strengths: Each position has at least 1 good prospect
Weaknesses: A lot of draft picks from previous years have been traded away
Analysis: The top 2 prospects in the organization are Brett Connolly and Eric Tangradi, both of whom could be impact players in the UFHL within a couple of years. Blake Kessel has shown some promise as of late scoring a point per game at the NCAA level. At the goaltending position, 2010 draftee, Kent Simpson, makes the Penguins top 5. Simpson is a big goalie who has struggled in international play, but really found his game in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips.
The Penguins should now focus on drafting and developing their own players instead of drafting well then trading away for current pro players in order to make a push for the playoffs. Time will tell whether management can change the way his prospects seem to be shipped out before making any sort of impact.

25th – Boston Bruins - GM: Jon
Top 5 farm players: Ville Leino, Drayson Bowman, Jussi Rynnas, Dan Sexton, Jonathan Matsumoto
Strength: Most of Boston’s prospects are guys who have had considerable success in the leagues they have been playing in. Whether or not they can translate that success to the NHL as Leino and Sexton have remains to be seen.
Weakness: Many of Boston’s prospects are 4th, 5th, and 6th round draft choices – if not free agents signed out of college. GM Jon has an eye for talent, so there could be diamonds in the rough to be mined from the farm – fantastic if they turn out – but fact is, later draft picks and college free agents are more likely to never realize their potential due to the attention that higher draft picks usually get from their NHL teams.
Analysis: Boston’s farm team represents one option for team management. The Bruins focus is always on their pro-roster, and this often costs the team high draft picks and blue-chip prospects. Instead of investing resources in acquiring players through the draft and waiting for years for them to arrive, the Bruins rely much more heavily on free agents. The result of this is the roster is filled with low-cost, no-risk, long-shot prospects that many people might not be familiar with.

26 – New York Rangers – GM: Jas
Top 5 prospects: Marcus Kruger (F), Landon Ferraro (F), Kevin Marshall (D), Maxim Noreau (D), Tyler Beskorowany (G)
Strength: Solid forward and defensive prospects who could make the jump to solid NHL careers.
Weakness: No pure top prospect, a lot of quantity but not high end quality.
Analysis: Kruger could instantly make the NHL and make the team better. Ferraro’s drive to become better then his dad makes him a hungry kid who wants to thrive in the NHL. It would be hard to beat his dad’s statistics but he wants to do it, very competitive. Marshall has an NHL frame and could be a good defenseman for 15 years, a pro’s pro. Lack of quality goaltending prospects also is scary not to mention no bonafied franchise stars in the system.

27 – New York Islanders – GM: Dave
Top 5 prospects:
Fabian Brunnstrom, Alex Stalock, Ryan Stone, Zach Smith, and Bud Holloway
Strengths: Drew Doughty and Sidney Crosby
Weaknesses: Lack of organizational prospect depth
Analysis: When it comes to prospects there isn’t much to smile about on the Island. There are, though, lots of potential NHL players, but none of the top end variety. Fabian Brunnstrom was signed as a free agent in 2007, but has yet to emerge as the dynamic, Daniel Alfredsson, type of player some were comparing him to.
Alex Stalock, also signed as a free agent in 2008, seems to one day have what it takes to be a NHL goaltender, but is yet to be determined whether it will be as a starter.
Having his top 2 prospects being free agents signings shows how little of draft picks Dave has used. He has traded away lots of picks in order to build a young team with the future in mind. He did draft Drew Doughty, who may very well be the best defensemen in the NHL as a 20 year old, 3rd overall in 2008. A move that paid off dividends from the get-go.
The New York Islanders’ pro team is starting to take form and now may be a time to start building on the prospect depth through the draft in order to achieve a competitive future.


Editors note: I Would like to thank everyone for helping me. Sorry this couldnt get posted sooner. I would like to make this an annual event and I appreciate help on the first offical year of doing these lists.

Friday, August 13, 2010

2010 UFHL Farm Ranking: #10-18

10. Los Angeles – GM: Eugene
Top 5 farm players:
Jonathan Bernier (G), Mattias Tedenby (F), Joe Colborne (F), Simon Despres (D), Bobby Sanguinetti (D)
Strengths: Bernier really helps solidify the goaltending position while Despres, Sanguinetti and Gilroy stabilize an aging blueline. Forwards have a lot of potential with Tedenby, Colborne and Bennett being top 6 potential NHLers in the future.
Weakness: Eugene has a good blend of talent but no pure first line forward or a pure first line defenseman. The depth also starts to tail off after the top 12.
Analysis: Eugene has a strong farm with a good blend of talent. Outside of Bernier there might not be anything who has franchise potential. Tedenby’s lack of size makes him a risk since he’s either top 6 or bust. Colborne is big enough to play all four lines and has size and skating to be an effective NHLer but his offensive game is in question on a deep Boston team. Surprise pick is also Rajala, who is a Tedenby-lite. Bennett and Despres, being on Pittsburgh’s team also basically boosts their value due to Pittsburgh’s lack of quality wingers in their system and defensemen of Despres’ potential.

11. Philadelphia Flyers - GM Paul
Top 5 Prospects:
Jon Blum, Erk, Gudbranson, Cory Schneider, Karl Alzner, Stefan Elliott
Strengths: The blueline in, all of the top prospects in the Flyers organization primary position is inside the blueline. Endras and McCollum are probably 1-2 years out of the NHL.
Weakness: High end forward prospects, the Flyers have some decent forward prospects but they do not have a high end forward. A few prospects are still at least 2-3 years out which could force the Flyers to fill their rosters with Free Agents until their prospects are ready.
Analysis: With the development of a few prospects the Flyers will hopefully continue to climb in the UFHL standings, however with the lack of two starting goaltenders the Flyers might have to wait a few years to make the playoffs.

12th – Calgary Flames - GM: Adam
Top 5 farm players:
Matt Duchene, Zach Boychuk, David Rundblad, Joey Hishon, Carl Gunnarson,
Strength: The Flames have 5 guys that every team in the league would make an inquiry call on if they were known to be available. Duchene may be franchise-eligible in the near future. The forwards on the farm like McRae, Weal, and Beleskey are worth waiting on to find out if they can make the pros, but they are nothing that the Flames can plan their future around. Gunnarson and Rundblad on the other hand, are two slick Swede defensemen who should soon fill two of Calgary’s defense spots.
Weakness: Calgary seems to think that having Bryzgalov and Price on their pro roster means they don’t need to have any legitimate goaltending prospects. While they may be right, it does hurt their farm ranking to not have a promising goaltender (sorry Jeremy Smith, but you don’t even have a lock on an AHL job). It would be nice however, for the organization to have a third goalie turtle-heading his way into the pro roster. Recently the Flames dealt one such goaltending prospect in Alexander Salak to the Leafs and watched Anaheim draft Calvin Pickard with their first round draft choice. To give the Flames some credit, Joni Ortio did well in a prospect development camp in late July, and he has a decent chance of taking over one of the spots in Turku to continue his development.
Analysis: The Flames are successfully converting farm players into pro players. Their pro roster is young at every position so the need to bring in farm players is not as extreme as most other UFHL clubs. One significant concern for the Flames is that they have no draft picks for next season and as a result should see a significant drop in next season’s farm ranking unless they are extremely productive in the free agency market.

13th - New Jersey Devils - GM: Jay
Top 5 farm players:
Nino Niederreiter (F), Tyler Ennis (F), John Moore (D), Kyle Beach (F), Jason Demers (D)
Strength: The Devils made a bold splash leading into the 2010 Draft by dealing the 2nd overall pick in return for Ennis, Moore, and Beach. Even after dealing that pick, New Jersey was able to land highly touted Swiss forward Nino Niederreiter. After a 52 goal and 186 PIM season in the WHL, Kyle Beach will be taking his talents to the professional level. It wouldn't be shocking
to see Beach crack the NHL by Opening Night. The dimunitive Ennis continued to produce even after jumping a level to the AHL last season. He even had a cup of coffee in the NHL and impressively notched 9 points in 10 games. Despite being a surprise cut from the 2009 US WJC squad, the swift skating John Moore had an impressive campaign for the Kitchener
Rangers. Like Beach, Moore will be looking to earn a spot in the NHL in the coming months. In addition, 2009 draft choices Kyle Palmieri and Jordan Caron remain
on track to contribute in a few years.

Weakness: The Devils were likely one of several teams disappointed to see Jack Campbell selected fifth overall by the Avalanche. With veteran #1 Nikolai Khabibulin likely in the twilight of his career, the Devils will undoubtedly be on the lookout for a successor. Currently the Devils have four farm eligible goaltending prospects led by 21 year old Braden Holtby showing some potential after making his pro debut in 2009-2010.
Analysis: With its NHL core in flux, the Devils have begun to retool their farm system. The forward depth is impressive and their defense has some under the radar blueliners.

14th - Montreal - GM: Joe
Top 5 farm players:
Chet Pickard, J.Schwartz, J.Enroth, M. Pacioretty, R. O'Reilly
Strength: two future NHL goalies; Schwartz could be elite fantasy forward.
Weakness: Defence and Forwards
Analysis: Set in goal for years, Montreal can entertain offers for a goalie to strengthen other positions. Joe has a lot of potentially strong defensive depth but needs to think more offensively and get players to help compensate the top 6 and make them stronger.

15th – Chicago Blackhawks - GM: Jerome
Top 5 farm players:
Artem Anisimov, Zack Kassian, Nathan Gerbe, Louis Leblanc, Brock Nelson,
Strength: The Hawks have some promising blue-chip forwards in Anisimov, Kassian, Gerbe, Leblanc, and Nelson as well as some other intriguing players drafted in early rounds like McMillan, Deschamps, and Shore. While these guys may not project to be first line all-stars, many of them have to be similar in production and value to the Umberger-, Stewart-, Malone-, and Bourque-type players they have on the pro team.
Weakness: While the Hawks have depth at pro-goaltending, they do not have an heir-apparent for Kiprusoff. Pasquale, Hutchinson, and Wentzel are all a long way off. Pasquale and Hutchinson have a shot at the AHL or ECHL this year but are most likely to return to their respective CHL teams. Wentzel may be a sleeper, but this will depend on how well he transitions into the SEL. On defense, Vishnevskiy should continue to evolve into a legitimate pro player this season, but beyond him there is not a lot of promise for offensive production from the blueline beyond Alexander Sulzer.
Analysis: Chicago is one of the stronger teams in the UFHL. The only thing they lack is a star forward. If Artem Anisimov can become an all-star, this problem will be solved, but it is likely that Anisimov is at least two seasons away from being able to flirt with point-per-game numbers. The Hawks farm has some valuable pieces, but the team must continue to explore free-agency and trades to fill some of the holes in the organization.

16th - Colorado Avalanche - GM: Paul
Top 5 farm players:
Hickey, Campbell, Robak, Repik, Vatanen
Strength: Defense is probably the strength of this group. Hickey, Robak and Vatanen are in the top 5 for Colorado and all 3 have good potential. The Avs
definitely need to improve their Defense so this focus on Defense is deserving.
Weakness: The forwards have some question marks. While Repik is a solid prospect, it is hard to gauge the exact potential of prospects like Sonne,
Wahl, Ross, etc. Goaltenders Campbell and Cheverie are good but this team could use another solid goalie prospect with only Elliot playing in the NHL.
Analysis: Colorado has some decent prospects but probably lacks another one or two high end prospects, especially at Forward.

17th - St.Louis Blues - GM: Ryan
Top 5 farm players:
Glennie,Boedker,Bjugstad,Hackett,Abdelkader
Strength: Forwards seem to be the strenght for the Blues. Glennie,Boedker,Bjugstad all have intriguing potential. Abdelkader is already in the NHL.
Weakness: The Blues do not have any Defense prospects that really stand out. Also, aside from Hackett, the goalie prospects are just ok.
Analysis: The Blues have a solid group of prospects but could use help on Defense and in net(especially with Nabokov going to the KHL).

18th-Vancouver GM: Kyle
Top 5 farm players:
Brandon Gormley, Cody Franson, J. Blacker, C. Kreider, S. Shirokov
Strength: strong D prospects, Shirokov could make an impact this year. Gormley and Fransson might not be high NHL point producers but their games will make them solid NHLers for years upon years.
Weakness: Needs help at forward. Outside of Kreider, not many others look to be top 6 NHL forwards, but may surprise.
Analysis: With Ryan Miller and Lehtonen, set in goal for years so there is not much need for a goalie. Kreider leads the group offensively but outside of that Kyle could use more talent upfront. Defense looks set with the acquisition of Hamhuis and the drafting of Gormley. Just focusing on forwards for a few years should most definitely replenish his crop.

Friday, August 06, 2010

2010 UFHL Farm Ranking: #1 - #9

UFHL Summer 2010 1-9 Farm Ranking

1st - Dallas Stars - GM: John
Top 5 farm players: Taylor Hall (F), John Tavares (F), Tyler Seguin (F), Jordan Eberle (F), Jacob Markstrom (G)

Strength: Dallas possessing Hall, Tavares, and Seguin, Yikes. While most teams would be happy to have just one of those bluechip forwards, Dallas also boasts arguably the top goalie prospect in the world in Jacob Markstrom. To top that, the Stars have several more highly regarded forwards in the pipeline. Jordan Eberle's heroic in the last two WJC’s, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, put up good numbers in Sweden and will be playing in North America this year. Lars Eller also had a successful AHL debut in 2009-10 and will be looking to become a full time NHLer this fall.

Weakness: If it is possible to have a downside to having all of those tremendous forwards, Dallas doesn't quite have a bluechip defenseman by comparison. Jared Cowen may crack the NHL as soon as this year, but projects to be a solid stay at home defenseman which might not translate to a ton of points. Brian Lee has been on the cusp for a couple seasons but might actually get leapfrogged by Cowen for a permanent spot. After completing four years at the University of Michigan, Chris Summers turned pro late last season. While he put up modest numbers as a Wolverine, Summers has some long-term offensive
upside.

Analysis: It might not take long before many of these prospects graduate and Dallas becomes a formidable force in the league. 2010-11 will maybe be the last rebuilding year for the Stars, but they could find themselves in a calculated draft position next year to add yet another promising prospect.

2nd - San Jose Sharks - GM: Shveik
Top 5 farm players: Tyler Myers (D), Nazem Kadri (F), Vlad Tarasenko(F), Cody Hodgson(F), Brendan Smith (D)
Strength: The forwards are a definite strength of this team. What makes this Forward group really strong is that most are close to the NHL and all of them have a very realistic shot at making it. Kadri, Tarasenko and Hodgson are the high end Forwards. However, MZA and Rensfeldt could surprise!
Weakness: The clear weakness is Goaltending. San Jose only has 1 goalie prospect in the top 15(Greiss). If Greiss does not pan out as a #1, the team will have to depend solely on Rask. Adding another top goalie prospect would be wise.
Analysis: San Jose has a very deep pool of prospects. We did not even mention the prospects on Defense, who are led by rookie sensation Tyler Myers and one of the best young D prospects out there, Brendan Smith. All San Jose needs is maybe another solid goalie prospect to really make this group shine!

3rd - Florida Panthers - GM: Don
Top 5 farm players: John Carlson (D), James van Riemsdyk (F), Michael Del Zotto (D), Brayden Schenn (F), Alexander Burmistrov (F)

Strength: While lacking a true bluechip prospect, the Panthers have accumulated some depth in their prospect pool. With a defense in shambles entering the 2008 Draft, Florida added two much needed cornerstones in Carlson and Del Zotto. James van Riemsdyk had a moderately successful rookie campaign in 2009-10 and Brayden Schenn may follow suit in 2010-11. The Panthers might have landed a 1st line caliber center in Alexander Burmistrov in this year's Draft as teams were likely scared off by the Russian factor. Florida boasts some secondary forward prospects. Luke Adam, Patrice Cormier, and Tyler Pitlick look like they'll be NHL players, but may be relegated to checking line roles in the big show.

Weakness: Certainly lacking a top tier goalie prospect. Jake Allen will enter the AHL this year but appears as though he'll need at least two full seasons of seasoning. Kevin Poulin was added as a free agent and will also be an AHL rookie this fall. The team added a pair of goalies from the 2010 Draft, but both Scott Wedgewood and Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault are longterm projects.

Analysis: After committing to a rebuild in 2007, the Panthers are gradually reaping the benefits from recent drafts.

4th – Toronto Maple Leafs - GM: Rick
Top 5 farm players: Jamie Benn (F), Colin Wilson (F), Luca Sbisa (D), Tyler Bozak (F), Evgeny Grachev (F)
Strength: A strength of the Leafs current collection of prospects is that there are a number of forwards among them that have a high probability of being NHLers. Benn, Wilson, Bozak, and Stalberg should all graduate. After they are gone, the team should be able to depend on Grachev, Etem, Sheahan, Hayes and Petrov to provide the next wave of prospect depth at forward. At defense, only Sbisa looking like a guaranteed blueliner, though Teubert and Voinov are worth watching.
Weakness: The Leafs are currently carrying five unproven goaltending prospects (Janus, Koskinen, Salak, Scrivens, and Curry). While each has some promise, the Leafs need to gain some clarity on their goaltending situation this year. They are desperate for a goaltender to step forward out of this pack to join Jonas Gustavsson, however none of the goalie prospects on the team are the heir-apparents of their NHL clubs. The team could also use another prominent defense prospect.
Analysis: Overall, the Leafs have a well-balanced farm team that includes players of a number of positions who are respectably ranked on their respective NHL teams’ depth charts.

5th – Anaheim Ducks- GM: Gino
Top 5 farm players: Alex Pietrangelo (D), Dmitry Kulikov (D), Cam Fowler (D), Jakub Kindl (D), Brett Mclean (F).
Strength: Defense is clearly the organizational strength for the Ducks. In addition to having Pietrangelo, Kulikov, Fowler, and Kindl, the team has already graduated Victor Hedman to the pro ranks alongside Braydon Coburn and Marc-Edouard Vlasic who are both on the upsides of their careers.
Weakness: There are no sure-fire NHL forwards in the system. Cody Almond had good junior numbers, and Brett Mclean has been developing in a positive manner, but outside of them there is little to get excited about. The goaltending may be in better shape than the forwards, as Olivier Roy, Cedrick Desjardins and Calvin Pickard offer up some hope. However, are any of these guys close enough to provide relief for the lack of established starters that the team is currently faced with.
Analysis: Anaheim’s relatively high position in this ranking is due entirely upon their strength at defense. Pietrangelo, Kulikov, and Fowler may be stars. The Ducks actually need them to be so that they can think about moving the likes of Coburn, Vlasic, Meszaros, Gorges, or Hainsey to rescue their forward corps which is precariously built on the fragile Patrice Bergeron, the enigmatic Guillame Latendresse, and Corey Perry – the only bonafide star forward on the team.

6 - Minnesota Wild - GM - Ben
Top 5 Prospects: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D), Nikita Filatov (F), Kyle Turris (F), Michal Neuvirth (G), Zach Budish (F)
Strengths: Depth, the Wild have a decent assortment of forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders in their farm that will allow them to continue to climb the UFHL standings, hopefully for years to come. Their top four prospects should see time in the NHL this year, and each one of them should make an impact with the team they play for. Outside of Ekman-Larsson, Filatov, Turris, and Neuvirth there could be up to a half dozen "farm" players that will see time in the NHL this year.
Weakness: Youth, to some people youth shouldn't be a weakness but with seven players that have played more than 400 NHL games the Wild team has a fair amount of players that have yet to establish themselves in the NHL, i.e. Patrick Berglund, and until those players have established themselves the Wild could be in for a rocky time.
Analysis: With continued development of the players on the Wild the team should continue to be a UFHL playoff team, and decent scouting and good drafting and free agent signings the Wild hopefully will continue to have a top 10 farm team in the league.

7th - Buffalo - GM: Randy
Top 5 farm players: Mikael Granlund (F), Jeffrey Skinner (F), Evgeny Kuznetsov (F), Jordan Schroeder (F), Jamie McBain (D)
Strength: elite scoring potential, several probable first line players.
Weakness: goaltending, some D prospects are high risk; size is a concern.
Analysis: Buffalo has invested in small to mid size prospects with elite talent; goaltending and Defence need attention.

8. Washington – GM: Ken
Top 5 farm: Erik Karlsson (D), Ryan Johansen (F), Oscar Moller (F), Mathieu Perreault (F), Andrei Loktionov (F)
Strength: Washington has a plethora of forward prospects that should help round-out up some of the bottom line concerns in the up-coming season. Adding in Karlsson and Johansen to the mix adds potential franchise players to an already deep roster. Majority of the farm is also NHL ready, as more than half play in the AHL.
Weakness: With Fleury and Howard there might not be a need to draft or pick up a goaltender but that would probably be the only pure weakness in Washington’s farm. Adding another stud defensive prospect wouldn’t hurt either.
Analysis: Deep forward pool, very NHL ready defensemen and a lot of grinders and power forwards to compensate the skilled ones, Washington has built a very solid blend of prospects in the farm, while remaining very diverse.

9. Edmonton – GM: Joey
Top 5 Farm: Evander Kane (F), Logan Couture (F), Leland Irving (G), Peter Holland (F), Jacob Josefson (F)
Strength: Plenty of potential top end forwards in Kane, Couture and Holland makes Joe’s farm a very strong one to watch out for. Not to mention adding in the likes of highly skilled Josefson, Tatar and Straka, Joey has decided to build from the forwards back so to speak.
Weakness: Not much to look at in terms of defensive prospects with high end potential. Another potential weakness is that if Irving doesn’t develop as expected, it could pose another deep threat/hole for Joe between the pipes.
Analysis: Joe has solidified a very strong forward crop that could rival anyone in the near future and already does rival everyone based on pure potential. The defense outside of McDonagh needs some tinkering and potentially even a goaltender spot. But with all the strong pieces upfront, he could juggle some forwards around for a prized defenseman.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

2010 Summer Farm Rankings

Soon as they come in, I will keep you all intregued and only submit them 9 at a time (9 since there are 27 teams, times 3 times I can do it.)

I would like to thank those who helped!

Hope to have 1-9 or 19-27 posted this weekend.

Friday, June 11, 2010

BPA or Biggest Need to Fill?

As teams step to the podium in the UFHL draft, GMs inevitably have to answer one fundamental question: Do I draft the best player available despite the fact that I already have some promising players in this position, or do I pass on the projected best player available in favor for drafting a player that fills my teams biggest needs.

I've taken a quick glimpse at each team to determine what their biggest need appears to be. I don't know each team's prospects as well as each GM does, so take this as entertainment reading only I looked at each team's current F, D, and G, and then looked at the players on the farm who are most likely to become prominent players

In a best case scenario, each GM finds themselves in the fortunate position of drafting the best player available who also happens to be a guy the team needs... At the same time, who ever had too many good players at any position???

ANAHEIM - BIGGEST NEED: Goaltender
BOSTON - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
BUFFALO - BIGGEST NEED: Goaltender
CALGARY - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
CAROLINA - BIGGEST NEED: Goaltender
CHICAGO - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
COLORADO - BIGGEST NEED: Goaltender
DALLAS - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
DETROIT - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
EDMONTON - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
FLORIDA - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
LOS ANGELES - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
MINNESOTA - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
MONTREAL - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
NEW JERSEY - BIGGEST NEED: Goaltending
NEW YORK ISLANDERS - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
NEW YORK RANGERS - BIGGEST NEED: Goaltending
OTTAWA - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
PHILADELPHIA - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
PHOENIX - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
PITTSBURGH - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
ST. LOUIS - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
SAN JOSE - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
TAMPA - BIGGEST NEED: Defenseman
TORONTO - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
VANCOUVER - BIGGEST NEED: Forward
WASHINGTON - BIGGEST NEED: Forward


Should be a fun day!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

2010 Mock first round

Hey all. Seeing that our draft takes place in a little over a week, I thought I'd enlighten you with a mock draft of the first round. This is not indicative of who I think the best prospects are, or the order I expect these players to be drafted in our league, but rather a prediction of what I think could plausibly happen in the NHL draft that will take place a week after ours. I've included a couple of trades between teams moving up and moving down to get players that I think they'd be interested. All I ask is that you don't pester me for lottery numbers after the draft plays out exactly as I've predicted.

1 – Boston Bruins – Taylor Hall, F, Windsor (OHL)

The Oilers convince the Bruins that they might take Hall, and the Bruins promptly make a trade to select the dynamic winger as the first pick in the draft.

2 – Edmonton Oilers (from BOS, from TOR) – Tyler Seguin, F, Plymouth (OHL)

The Oilers wanted Seguin all along, and happily take him at #2.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Draft Date


The draft date has been set:


Friday June 18th, 5 PM PST


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Final Season Player Rankings

Here we go:

Forwards:

1. Alex Ovechkin - Buffalo - 803
2. Sidney Crosby - NY Islanders - 794
3. Henrik Sedin - Philadelphia - 757
4. Nicklas Backstrom - Minnesota - 708
5. Steven Stamkos - Toronto - 657
6. Dany Heatley - Minnesota - 638
7. Daniel Sedin - NY Islanders - 637
8. Alex Semin - Ottawa - 635
9. Evgeni Malkin - Buffalo - 614
10. Joe Thornton - Los Angeles - 609

Defense:

1. Mike Green - Chicago - 805
2. Duncan Keith - Montreal - 729
3. Drew Doughty - NY Islanders - 681
4. Chris Pronger - NY Rangers - 664
5. Dan Boyle - Boston - 654
6. Zdeno Chara - Boston - 586
7. Mark Streit - NY Rangers - 574
8. Christian Ehrhoff - San Jose - 586
9. Nik Lidstrom - Los Angeles - 565
10. Tyler Myers - San Jose - 555


Goaltending:

1. Martin Brodeur - Buffalo - 878
2. Ilya Bryzgalov - Calgary - 813
3. Craig Anderson - NY Rangers - 793
4. Evgeni Nabokov - Pittsburgh - 754
5. Ryan Miller - Vancouver - 746
6. Jonathan Quick - Minnesota - 743
7. Henrik Lundqvist - Tampa Bay - 700
8. Jimmy Howard - Washington - 697
9. Miikka Kiprusoff - Toronto - 689
10. Roberto Luongo - Buffalo 687

Congrats to all on another stellar season!

Sunday, April 04, 2010

3/29 - 4/4 Players of the week

Team of the Week:

Chicago Blackhawks - 353 Pts


Players of the week:

3. Saku Koivu - 55 pts Phoenix

2. Henrik Lundqvist - 56 - Tampa Bay

1. Tuukka Rask - 64 - San Jose

Friday, April 02, 2010

Go West!! WHL Round 2 Playoffs, Top 10 Draft Eligible.

Well, almost had the 100% prediction rate save for betting against my home team (Kelowna) and Spokane blowing a 3-0 lead in game 7. Quick round 2 predictions and Ill give you my opinions for the top 10 WHL players in the 2010 NHL entry draft.

Eastern Conference:
#1 Calgary vs. #5 Medicine Hat
Prediction: Calgary in 5
#2 Brandon vs. #3 Saskatoon
Prediction: Brandon in 6

Western Conference:
#1 Tri-City vs. #6 Kelowna
Prediction: Tri-City in 6
#2 Vancouver vs. #5 Portland
Prediction: Portland in 7

Top 10 WHL Draft Eligible:

10: Craig Cunningham - LW, Vancouver Giants, 5'9 180lbs
72gp - 37G - 60A - 97pts - (+6)

9: Calvin Pickard - G, Seattle Thunderbirds, 6'0 200lbs
62gp - 16W - 34L - 3.09GAA - .914SV%

8: Mark Stone - RW, Brandon Wheat Kings, 6'2 189lbs
39gp - 11G - 17A - 28pts - (+13)

7: Mark Pysyk, - D, Edmonton Oil Kings, 6'1 179lbs
48gp - 7G - 17A - 24pts - (-19)

6: Quinton Howden - C, Moose Jaw Warriors, 6'0 183lbs
65gp - 28G - 37A - 65pts - (+14)

5: Troy Rutkowski - D, Portland Winterhawks, 6'1 208lbs
71gp - 12G - 31A - 43pts - (+13)

4: Ryan Johansen - C, Portland Winterhawks, 6'2 194lbs
71gp - 25G - 44A - 69pts - (+17)

3: Brett Connoly - RW, Prince George Cougars, 6'2 181lbs
16gp - 10G - 9A - 19pts - (-3)

2: Emerson Etem - RW, Medicine Hat Tigers, 5'11 190lbs
72gp -37G - 28A - 65pts - (+8)

1: Nino Niederreiter -RW, Portland Winterhawks, 6'1 205lbs
65gp - 36G - 24A - 60pts - (+4)

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Player and Team of the Month - March

Players of the Month:

3. Henrik Sedin - Philadelphia - 156 pts

2. Pekka Rinne - Minnesota - 193 pts

1. Jimmy Howard - Washington - 201


Team of the Month:

New York Rangers - 1819 pts

Sunday, March 28, 2010

3/21 - 3/27 Players of the Week

Players of the week:

3. Rob Blake - Phoenix - 55 pts

2. Brian Elliott - Colorado - 68 pts

1. Jimmy Howard - Washington - 78 pts



Team of the week:

Washington Capitals - 402 Points

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Leafs going to skool

Leafs GM Johnson got schooled recently when asked by a reporter how many of the team's 28 roster spots for farm and reserve players are currently held by NCAA athletes.  Johnson guessed eight.

The right answer? Fourteen.

While Prosser and Newton are no longer NCAA athletes having recently signed NHL contracts, the Leafs have 12 other prospects - most of whom were free agent signings, on the team roster.

With the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Tournament schedule released, the Leafs find seven of their prospects in the mix.  Miami's Palmer, Bemidji's Read, Boston College's Hayes and Samuellson, Denver's Rakhshani, and Cornell's Greening and Scrivens are all Maple Leaf property. 

NCAA seasons are over for Colorado College's Sweatt and Prosser, BU's Warsofsky, Northeastern University's Newton, Ferris' Riley, UMD's Bordson, and U. N-O's Del Grosso.  For some, all that remains to be seen is whether or not they will make the jump to the professional level this season.

While most of the fourteen prospects are longshots, Leafs GM Johnson likes what Colin Wilson, Tyler Bozak, Viktor Stalberg, Chris Butler, and even Christian Hanson are doing in the NHL. Former collegiates Higgins and Komisarek enjoy the opportunity to have more NCAA grads on the roster - provided they don't wear their school colours in the dressing room. 

As the UFHL has become more competitive with numerous GMs closely scouting Europe and the CHL, there is no doubt the Leafs have put more attention in the NCAA hoping to find another pro. As far as the team is concerned, it doesn't matter what colours players wore in college or university as long as they look good in blue and white.

Players of the Week: 3/14 - 3/20

Players of the Week:

3. Nik Antropov - LAK - 46

2. Ilya Bryzgalov - CGY - 46

1. Pekka Rinne - MIN - 69


Team of the Week: (again)

New York Rangers: 333 Points

Friday, March 19, 2010

Go West ! 2010 WHL Playoffs Round 1.

GO WEST!! - March 19, 2010

As a resident of B.C. I have an insight into the WHL specifically with the Kelowna Rockets as the reigning league champions. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the UFHL and appreciate all the updates from GMs who have inside knowledge on other leagues. My goal is to help the GMs who are not in the realm of the WHL to understand the teams, drafted players and upcoming prospects. In future blogs I will be helping GMs with their drafted players and lending a hand, while diminishing my inside knowledge mind you, with players to look for in the upcoming drafts.
However, with the 2010 WHL playoffs starting this week I will open my new blog by analyzing the 1st round matchups, predictions and who to watch if they are already drafted etc.

Eastern Conference:
(1)Calgary Hitmen vs. (8) Moose Jaw Warriors.
Prediction: Hitmen in 5
Who to watch: Calgary: Brandon Kozun (FLA), Joel Broda (WAS), Martin Jones (NYR)

Moose Jaw: Quinton Howden (2010), Ryan Stanton (UFA)


(2) Brandon Wheat Kings vs. (7) Swift Current Broncos.
Prediction: Wheat Kings in 4
Who to watch: Brandon: Brayden Schenn (FLA), Toni Rajala (LA)
Swift Current: Cody Eakin (SJ), Stepan Novotny (2010)

(3) Saskatoon Blades vs. (6) Red Deer Rebels
Prediction: Saskatoon in 6

Who to watch: Saskatoon: Stefan Elliott (PHI), Derek Hulak (UFA)
Red Deer: Landon Ferraro (NYR), Willie Coetzee (WAS)


(4) Kootenay Ice vs. (5) Medicine Hat Tigers
Prediction: Medicine Hat in 6
Who to watch: Kootenay: Steele Boomer (2010), Joey Leach (2010)

Medicine Hat: Wacey Hamilton (2010), Emerson Etem (2010)



Western Conference:
(1)Tri-City Americans vs. (8) Chilliwack Bruins
Prediction: Tri-City in 4
Who to watch: Tri City: Alexander Pechurski (BUF), Justin Feser (2010)

Chilliwack: Ryan Howse(SJ), Roman Horak (UFA)


(2)Vancouver Giants vs. (7) Kamloops Blazers
Prediction: Vancouver in 6
Who to watch: Vancouver: Craig Cunningham (2010), Kevin Connaughton (LA)

Kamloops: Linden Saip (2010), C.J. Stretch (UFA)


(3)Everett Silvertips vs. (6) Kelowna Rockets
Prediction: Everett in 5
Who to watch: Everett: Kellan Tochkin (UFA), Thomas Heemskerk (TB)

Kelowna: Shane McColgan (2011), Tyson Barrie (TB)


(4)Spokane Chiefs vs. (5) Portland Winterhawks
Prediction: Spokane in 7
Who to watch: Spokane: Mitch Wahl (COL), Jared Cowen (
DAL)
Portland: Nino Niederreiter (2010), Ryan Johansen (2010)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Players of the Week - 3/7 - 3/13

Players of the week:

3. Tyler Myers - San Jose - 46 pts

2. Andrei Markov - NY Rangers - 59 pts

1. Mikeal Samuelsson - Detroit - 69 pts

*Note: If players had strong weeks and were traded I was unable to calculate them, too many player movements.

Team of the week:

New York Rangers - 368 points



Editors note: I'd like to thank everyone for a strong deadline week. Best of luck down the final stretch. The smell of playoff hockey is in the air!

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

End of an era in Toronto

September 16, 2002
- The Toronto Maple Leafs trade Patrik Elias (F) and Adam Deadmarsh (F) to the New York Rangers for Chris Pronger (D) and Petr Sykora (F). 


Pronger missed all but five games in his first year as a Maple Leaf, but the organization knew that what they were acquiring was worth almost a full season of waiting.

Over the next seven and a half years, Chris Pronger delivered.

449 games played (898points)
71 goals (497 points) 41 were powerplay goals (82 points), 15 were game winners (30 points)
240 assists (1,680 points)
524 pim (524 points)
+49 (49 points)
Without record of game-tying or overtime goals, that is 3,760 UFHL points over 7 full seasons.  That is an average of 537 points a year.

Two regular season championships.
Two Stanley Cup championships.
He was a member of the record-setting 11,000+ point season.
He gift-wrapped Johnson's GM of the year award in 2006/2007 when he contributed 661 points to a blueline that also boasted Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Gonchar, McCabe, and a kid named Weber.
He played in three Olympics and came home with gold twice.


He also endured a lock-out which all but certainly denied the Leafs a regular season championship. They cruised to 11,121 points the season after the lockout.

This season Pronger has 558 UFHL points this year bettering his lifetime Leaf average - baffling the critics who point at his age and wonder when the bottom will fall out.


March 8, 2010
- The Toronto Maple Leafs trade Chris Pronger (D) to the New York Rangers for Evgeny Grachev (F) and Luca Sbisa (D).

Pronger, with years left to play, was willing to stay with the rebuilding Leafs, but was moved due to the great respect GM Johnson has for his desire to be the best.  Said Johnson, "He is a thoroughbred racehorse.  He'd have been a great mentor for Schenn, but he is a champion, not a babysitter. I didn't want to have to look him in the eye in the event we don't make the playoffs or get knocked out in the first round. He isn't wired to handle losing."


Asked whether he felt that Grachev and Sbisa were fair return for Pronger Johnson quipped "Maybe, but if not, we still got our money's worth from Chris. Anything these two kids might do is a total bonus."

Sunday, March 07, 2010

2/28 - 3/6 Players of the Week

This Week's top players:

3. Sergei Gonchar - Tampa Bay Lightning - 44

2. Chris Stewart - Chicago Black Hawks - 67

1. Bryan McCabe - New York Islanders - 67


Team of the week

New York Rangers - 419 pts


Trade Deadline is this week... Finalize deal ASAP. Read the board for more details....

Sunday, February 14, 2010

2/7-2/13 Players of the Week

Washington Post - (2/14/2010)


Players of the Week


3. Martin St. Louis - Forward - Boston - 54 Pts



2. Colton Orr - Forward - Tampa Bay - 58 Pts




1. Chris Mason - Goaltender - Anaheim - 61 Pts





Team of the week:


New York Rangers - 402 pts





Sunday, February 07, 2010

New Leaf Turning

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not once they once were.
After seasons in which the Leafs became the first back to back regular season champions, the first (and only) team to top 11,000 points, the first team to win back to back Stanley Cups, and the first team to put together a regular season championship and a Stanley Cup victory in the same year (an accomplishment that was matched by R.Johnson Sr. and the Buffalo Sabres last season), the Leafs now find themselves 2000 points out of top spot.

Gone is the defense that boasted Pronger, Lidstrom, Niedermayer, McCabe, Gonchar, and Weber and racked up over 3000 points a year.

Gone is the goaltending tandem of Luongo and Turco that could post 1400 points a year.

Hope however is not gone, and this last week proves it.

In the past week the Maple Leafs gave fans an indication that while the ship has slowed, it was only to raise new sails.  Outside of Kipusoff, who routinely leads the team in weekly point scoring, the next nine players on the weekly scoring chart are all under 25 years of age.  Stamkos, Sekera, Schenn, Benn, Callahan, Bozak, Stortini, Weber, and Butler all contributed in a positive way to a 324 point week. 

The Leafs had high expectations for Stamkos, Benn, and Wilson this year, and outside of Wilson, who suffered a serious injury in camp, the young forwards have not failed to deliver.  Colin Wilson has returned from injury in the AHL and has become one of the dominant players in the league suggesting his NHL payload could arrive this spring.

Looking ahead, the defense with Schenn, Sekera, Butler, and Weber may not ever meet the levels set by their Hall of Fame predecessors, but they have the potential to be an above average unit. 

With Nathan Horton's arrival it is clear that the focus continues to be on rebuilding on the fly.    One has to wonder how Pronger and Kiprusoff fit in, though no team has ever been successful without key veteran leadership.

1/31 - 2/6 Players of the week

Washington Post - 2/7/2010


3. Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Goaltender - Edmonton - 44 pts




2. Dany Heatley - Forward - Minnesota - 46 pts





1. Niklas Backstrom - Forward - Minnesota - 55 pts




Team of the week:
Buffalo - 385 pts



Monday, February 01, 2010

Pittsburgh Penguins Pressures

The Pittsburgh Penguins organization has had an up and down season. Currently sitting in 18th place, 60 points out of the playoffs, they may have to look to the trade front to sure up their forwards and make a push to the playoffs.

A pleasant surprise this season has been the amount of playing time given to Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, but he has been slumping as of late and his playing time has diminished. With his lack of playing time, it has put a lot more pressure on the Pens forwards to produce and keep the team in the playoffs race. They have been able to stay close so far, but they lack a top forward to compliment Brandon Dubinsky and Antti Miettinen. It's quite hard to make a trade without including top prospect, Eric Tangradi and the Penguins will not trade him no matter what the offer may be.

The pleasant surprise of the season has to be the play of the Penguins defense as a collective unit. Marc Staal is having a good season and seems to get better every year. The emergence of Victor Hedman shows that this team has a great future ahead of them. Finally, back from a serious leg injury, Kurtis Foster has shown he still has the great potential that prompted Penguins GM, Mitch Robichaud to take a gamble on him trading away Roman Hamrlik for Foster and forward prospect Josh Brittain. "With his strong play, we expect Kurtis to sign long term with us this off season and be a huge part of our defense in the future", explained Mr. Robichaud.

It could be an interesting few weeks ahead as the Penguins make a bid to make the playoffs for the first time in 2 years. Stay tuned!

mild mannered reporter,
Dick Strapon

Sunday, January 31, 2010

1/24-1/30 Players of the Week

This week's players of the week are:

3. Jonathan Quick - Minneota Wild - 41 pts









2. Jarome Iginla - Vancouver Canucks - 52 pts



1. Niklas Lidstrom - LA Kings - 56 pts




Saturday, January 30, 2010

UFHL Looking for Blog Contributors

Want to be able to make contributions to the front page?

Let Rick know and you will receive an invitation to be an author of this UFHL blog.

Wild making moves

The Minnesota Wild have made two deals over the past two weeks in an attempt to make a playoff push.

The Wild traded Tampa Bay's 1st Round pick in 2010 to the first place Buffalo Sabres for Buffalo's 1st Round pick in 2010 and future Hall of Fame Defensemen Scott Neidermayer.

The Wild traded their own 3rd Round pick in 2010 to Edmonton for Vernon Fiddler.

There are rumor swirling around the league that the Wild are shopping Pekka Rinne and Michal Neuvirth. GM Willgress quoted "We are interested in bringing Michal to the UFHL full time, it's just a matter if he will be with the Wild or another UFHL organization. We have not had any serious negociations we are looking all the possibilities. With the potential of our goaltenders we have in our farm system we feel that we can make a trade to better our organization."

The Wild currently sit in 17th place in the UFHL, twenty-six point out of the playoffs.

-Felix Potvin - Beat writer for Wright County Examiner covering the Minnesota Wild

Leafs and Stars swap franchise forwards

The Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs swapped franchise forwards Thursday. The deal was made official after the necessary league review.

"I was confident it would pass," commented Johnson Saturday morning, "Cammalleri has performed well since earning his franchise status, and we were confident that given their (Horton and Cammelleri's) similar UFHL stats this year that they would be seen as equivalent players."

Horton, who currently sits on the injured reserve, will join Stamkos on the top line once he returns to the ice following the Olympic break.