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Free agent frenzy has begun, check the message board for instructions and links.
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Posted by bthladmin on Thursday, September 02 @ 18:50:00 MST (236 reads)
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When rookie GM, Jeff Toussaint, took the Wildcats' helm a few seasons ago, he publicly stated the direction in which the team would be going; youth would be served, as building through the draft would be the main focus. He was able to trade a couple veterans along the way and bring in a few picks, but not enough was done to quicken the rebuilding process. We recently caught up with Toussaint, who gladly gave us his take on his first seasons with the team and this offseason.
"When I look back on things, I came in (as GM) at the perfect time. I had a much weaker grasp on how the league worked, but it allowed me to learn from my mistakes when it wasn't costly to the team. We weren't scouting picks very well, and a few poor choices were made...luckily, it was deeper in the draft."
The number of picks inherited from the old regime was minimal during Toussaint's first drafts. Only one pick was higher than the third round. Then the unexpected happened: a massive, record-setting trade reversal.
"It was monumental to our rebuilding process. I'll let the league explain the specifics, but I will say that it drastically improved our chances of competing within a few years."
The same could be said for Toussaint's selections in his third draft. He grabbed two players that helped immediately in Hedman and Polak-(voted Wildcats' best defenseman last season). Four others were picked and each of those took major steps in their developement since being selected.
"Our scouting department had a plan, and executed it to perfection. We had our eyes on some guys in the middle rounds, and capitalized on every one of them. Our scouts deserve some recognition for a great draft, but they know their job is far from finished."
However, scouts can't draft without picks, so Toussaint recently made a few deals to address that issue.
"Out, are Alex Steen and Jeff Schultz. They were both quality players and people. They weren't old by any means, but they weren't part of our plans going forward. It helped that their value was higher than when I came aboard, and that both desired to get a taste of playoff action. It was tough to deal them away, but it gave us more picks, which now include three in the top thirty for the upcoming draft."
Preparations for the new season are already underway. A number of roster spots are yet to be filled, but nobody in Wildcat land is panicking: Toussaint has things well under control, and a return to the playoffs is becoming more of a short-term goal more than a long one.
John Wiltshire, Mississauga Post
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Meteors writes "
Following a very successful first full season at the helm of the Meteors that saw the club finish 2nd in the East before being eliminated in the conference final, it's time for GM Eric Daoust to get back to work.
First thing is to deal with the losses that severely hurt the team's forward depth. The most significant immediate loss is Ray Whitney, who played stellar last season but finished his 1-year deal and returns to the UFA market. Also gone is Jiri Hudler, who decided to head back to Europe for more playing time but he and the team mutually agreed that the door was open for him to return when he's ready for a more promonent role with the Meteors.
Less significant losses include Steven Reinprecht, Karri Ramo and Yan Stastny. Reinprecht's bloated contract was impossible to renew, let along with any kind of pay raise, so he was let go and due to his age is an unrestricted free agent. Ramo is a solid young goaltender with a lot of upside but like Hudler decided to head overseas for more ice time. Stastny is a solid depth player who can play multiple roles but was allowed to sign a contract overseas to provide cap relief. The door was left open for a return should the club fall short in depth down the road.
Restricted free agents Francois Beauchemin, Paul Stastny, Johan Franzen and Alex Burrows were each signed to new R5 contracts. Meanwhile, Derek Morris was told he may seek offer sheets. His contract demands were deemed to be too high by Meteors management and both sides felt they would let the market decide his value. Daoust had this to say:
"We like Derek Morris. He's a very valuable guy because he can do it all. We're hoping the market decides his value is a bit lower than the figure he threw at us, but if people bid high and we get burned, then we get burned. In any event we want to keep him even if it ultimately costs more than we want."
In continuing with the team's transition, two trades were completed recently. The first sent two brothers, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn to the Storm in exchange for young forward Andrew Cogliano and a 2nd round pick in this year's entry draft. Daoust feels this was a nice return for a pair of talented young forwards that are quickly gaining the “boom or bust” label.
“We’re very happy with this trade. Andrei and Sergei are excellent young players but are still learning consistency and how to fit in within a team concept. Andrei especially is on the verge of becoming a solid BTHL player and perhaps if the Storm give him a larger role he could put it all together. Cogliano is a player that one of our scouts is very high on. He made the recommendation that he is a better player than what we see in the stat sheet. We trust his judgment. Cogs is a high character kid who fits perfectly in this lineup, and of course the 2nd round pick is nice” said Daoust.
The second trade is still in the process of completing its paperwork at the league office, but reports say that up-and-coming forward Alex Steen has been sent to the Meteors in exchange for a 1st round pick in this year’s entry draft.
It’s the second straight year that Daoust uses a top draft pick to acquire a young player capable of contributing now (Alex Goligoski was acquired last year for a 1st round pick). The move makes sense as it fills a hole at LW created by Whitney’s departure. And it’s a player that definitely will be here for a long time. Again, Daoust was asked to comment:
“Alex is just coming into his own. He’s not at his peak yet but he’s already able to play a role on a scoring line. His understanding of the game will make him contribute more than whatever we would’ve picked up at around 20 in the draft. We’re very happy to have Alex Steen in our lineup.”
Finally, the Meteors introduced a pair of forwards that were signed to entry-level deals, namely Tom Wandell and Rickard Wallin. Wandell was a 3rd round choice in last year’s draft and is already polished at both ends of the rink. He is not expected to play many games for the Meteors this season but should injuries strike at the center position he’ll be the first call-up. Wallin, also a centerman, is more of a filler and is not expected to see much ice time other than farm games.
As a final outlook on next season, Daoust had this to say:
“We were division champs and we expect to win it again. Some boys might not like it but if they expect to pass us in the standings we’re going to leave them disappointed.”
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10. Storm - 32 (points)
Even with the recent seasons of success for the Storm, keeping most of their draft picks and drafting well has seen Kelowna stockpile a very nice group of young players. Two of the highlights from that list are former Ice Hawk's property Michael Grabner and big defenseman Ian Cole. Though Grabner's game has been frustrating at times for coaching staff and fans alike, his potential cannot be ignored. Blinding speed, great stick handling and a good scoring touch could make him either a fantastic top 6 forward for the Storm or sadly a complete bust if he can't maintain some level of consistency. With Ian Cole the Storm get size and strength, which are never bad attributes for a blue liner. With good passing, and a nice strong shot from the point, he has the potential to boost Kelowna's power play and quite simply be a great all around talent.
Ryan Ellis (7.5D-07-Predators), Danny Richmond (AHL), Jakub Sindel (7.0F-NR-Blackhawks), Michael Grabner (7.5C-03-Canucks), Alexei Kaigorodov (Europe), Sergei Shirokov (7.0C-06-Canucks), Jesse Winchester (Pro Roster), Tyler Bozak (7.0B-03-Maple Leafs), Lauri Korpikoski (Pro Roster), Anton Khudobin (6.0C-11-Wild), Roman Tesliuk (Not Playing), Jeff Glass (Europe), Ben Shutron (Not Playing), Michael Wall (Not Playing), Evan Mcgrath (6.5C-NR-Red Wings), Ian Cole (7.5C-03-Blues), Ruslan Bashkirov (Europe), Christopher DiDomenico (7.0D-13-Maple Leafs), Brett Sonne (7.5C-06-Blues), Keith Aulie (7.0C-06-Maple Leafs), Michael Stone (6.0C-15-Coyotes), Jori Lehtera (Europe), Tim Stapleton (AHL), Nicolas Deschamps (7.0C-10-Ducks), Alexander Avtsin (7.0D-17Canadiens), Ryan Howse (6.5C-06-Flames), Sergei Brylin (Europe), Branislav Mezei (Europe)
9. Mustangs - 33 (points)
With the 'Stangs in a mini rebuild over the past several seasons, they have managed to build up a fairly impressive crop of prospects including Kyle Beach, Charles Oliver Roussel and long shot Angelo Esposito. In Beach the Mustangs possess a potential bruising power forward who will get physical and find his way to the front of the net, making him invaluable on the power play. Roussel has the ability to fill any need on the blue line, be it shutting down the oppositions top line or quarter backing a power play, making him a tremendous asset to have on the back end. Though his age makes it more likely he'll be a long term project with the club, his size and skill make it much easier for the Mustangs to be patient with the young man.
Niklas Hjalmarsson (Pro roster), Mathieu Carle (7.0C-09-Canadiens), Joe Callahan (AHL), Angelo Esposito (8.0F-09-Thrashers), Travis Hamonic (7.0C-03-Islanders), Michael Blunden (6.0B-17-Blue Jackets), Nick Spaling (6.0B-15-Predators), Dan Ryder (Not Playing), Jimmy Hayes (7.0C-07-Maple Leafs), Akim Aliu (7.5D-04-Blackhawks), Torrey Mitchell (Pro Roster), Danny Kristo (7.5C-02-Canadiens), Josh Godfrey (6.0D-NR-Capitals), Kyle Beach (7.5C-02-Blackhawks), Charles Oliver Roussel (7.5C-05-Predators), Matt Clark (7.0C-12-Ducks), Philip Samuelsson (6.5C-15-Penguins), Anders Nilsson (7.0D-12-Islanders)
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12. Mercenarie - 30 (points)
The Mercs boast several key prospects with a high likelihood of making the step to the big leagues, most notable with Nazem Kadri and Keaton Ellerby. In Kadri, they have a skilled center who is bound to put up points in bunches and has proven to be a clutch playoff performer. Perhaps one of the nicest upsides with Kadri though, is the high probability of him being ready for the big club sooner rather than later. With Ellerby the Mercs have a project of sorts, as he will probably take some time to develop into the player most scouts project him to be. Though not a skilled defenseman, at 6'4" he has the body type to fill out into an opposing force on the blue line and turn into a solid shut down defender. On top of these 2 nice prospects, they also have the offensively gifted Drayson Bowman and a potential top 4 defender in Tyler *****a among several other young skaters with nice upside.
Doug Lynch (Europe), Keaton Ellerby (7.5C-03-Panthers), Nazem Kadri (8.0C-01-Maple Leafs), Antoine Lafleur (Not playing), Tim Erixon (7.0C-03-Flames), Will Weber (6.5C-13-Blue Jackets), Bryan Bickell (6.0C-16-Blackhawks), Mark Katic (6.5D-NR-Islanders), Shawn Belle (AHL), Drew Schiestel (7.0C-11-Sabres), Gerard Dicaire (Not Playing), Petr Vrana (Europe), Yann Sauve (7.0C-08-Canucks), Michael Hutchinson (7.0D-14-Bruins), Kyle Palmieri (7.0C-04-Ducks), Roman Voloshenko (Europe), Kenny Ryan (6.5C-15-Maple Leafs), Tyler *****a (7.0C-01-Wild), Drayson Bowman (7.5C-03-Hurricanes), Matt Pelech (6.0B-08-Flames), Brendan Mikkelson (6.5B-07-Ducks)
11. Decepticons - 31 (points)
Drafting being an area the Deceps have always seemed to excel at, even with the last several years of not possessing the top picks in the draft, they have still managed to keep a nice crop of young talent waiting for that slim chance to play on this stacked pro roster. Though there are quite a number of players with potential to make their mark in the pros, the Deceps prospect list is highlighted by Victor Stalberg and Nick Leddy. Leddy's relatively small stature of 5'11" could pose some difficulties for a blue liner on a pro club, but he appears to more than make up for it with his incredible skating and offensive skills. He is being scouted as a possible two way defender, as his play in the defensive zone has greatly improved, and his good hockey sense makes things harder on the opposing offense. Stalberg appears to be quite the opposite to Leddy with a big 6'3" frame and a good scoring touch. Add to that some nice speed and the Deceps could have a potential power forward on their hands.
Philip McRae (7.0C-07-Blues), Matt Niskanen (Pro Roster), Fabian Brunnstrom (Pro Roster), Cal Clutterbuck (Pro Roster), Benoit Pouliot (Pro Roster), Vladimir Mihalik (7.0C-07-Lightning), Jim O'Brien (6.5C-04-Senators), Blake Wheeler (Pro Roster), Matt D'Agostini (Pro Roster), Johan Harju (7.0C-10-Lightning), Viktor Stalberg (7.5C-05-Maple Leafs), Philipp Gogulla (7.0C-09-Sabres), Greg Zanon (Pro Roster), Oskar Osala (6.5B-NR-Hurricanes), Tyler Eckford (7.0C-07-Devils), Brock Trotter (6.0C-NR-Canadiens), Brian Salcido (AHL), Cory Emmerton (7.0C-10-Red Wings), Ville Leino (7.0C-02-Flyers), Kevin Quick (7.0D-NR-Lightning), Maxim Goncharov (7.0D-08-Coyotes), Evan Oberg (6.5C-16-Canucks), Nick Leddy (7.5D-03-Blackhawks), Riley Holzapfel (7.0D-11-Thrashers), Mike Santorelli (7.0D-09-Predators), Erik Johnson (Pro Roster)
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Welcome to with me is my assistant, Eric Isadouche
First off I would like to congratulate the Mercenaries on their cup win, the Decepticons on an amazing playoffs, and the Bthl for another great year.
Today we will look back at the Stings season, which was full off ups and downs.
Regular season. This season went bad from day one. They had a real slow start to the season, and were in last place for a while. The goals weren’t coming, the goaltending wasn’t there, and just everything overall was a mess. With a trade for heatley, and some time they finally pulled out of the nosedive.
The Sting’s star players just weren’t their star players. With 64 points Pavelski outscored Malkin, Thornton, Gonchar, and Koivu. Now I’m not trying to put Pavelski down but to be a top team you need Thornton and malkin firing on all cylinders.
Playoffs.
Round one was a very close round. There were 4 one goal games, showing how hard these teams battled. The phantoms put up an amazing fight but were eliminated in 6. Round two was even closer going right down to the wire. After a 5-3 win to extend the series you would think the sting would be ready to battle in game 7, but it was clear their tanks were empty loosing 5-1. This may lead to many questions about the team, also question the pronger trade.
Heatley trade explained –
Treading for heatley was all about bringing ina dynamic scorer for Thornton. Joe loves to pass, he doesn’t shoot the puck much so he needs to play with someone that does. Sure we gave up a lot to get it done but that’s the business of trading for a Star player
Pronger explained. The entire reasoning for this deal was Age. Our blueline is getting older by the second. We cant expect Sutter and Wisnewski to single handedly run this team from the back end. So with getting Kubina and Boedker we restocked some youth. Kubina is a very capable defencman and can handle taking some of prongers workload, and Boedker gives us another young forward and a trade chip to maybe bring in a defenseman eventually. Not to mention our cap is strained annually with the top contract we have.
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Season 18: Icehawks Relinquish Control of Next Draft
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For a lot of retail consumers, when sales hit, or certain special flyers are released, the mentality is to “Buy now, pay later”. But, recognizing where market conditions are it is often just as important, and for the Vancouver Icehawks organization, it would appear they rewrote the mantra for the BTHL market. “Trade now, buy later” would seem to be an accurate description of how things have played out for GM Larenzo Jensen.
If an individual were to head to the prospects section for the Icehawks’ futures page, it would appear that they are very, very much in control of the upcoming draft. Three first round draft picks, and just as many second round picks… For many GM’s, it’s a dream come true. But, just as with many dreams, sometimes something happens, usually unforeseeable, and the dream quickly becomes … reality. In this instance, the one to prick this dream bubble was Marauders GM, Jason Rebelato. The following is a phone conversation with the extremely busy Chicago frontman.
(R)eporter: Mr. Rebelato, our sources tell us that you’ve just completed a deal with the Bonevista Bandits. Is this true?
JR: “Yes. Mr. Roberts and I have concluded business… amongst others.”
(R) Oh… So there have been other deals worked out? -May I ask what they are, and with whom?
JR: “You may, but one of the other deals is not official yet. Essentially, we’ve packaged Chris Kreider, one of our fastest winger prospects in Marauder history, along with two 2nd round draft picks for the Comets 1st round pick in the next draft. As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with the Icehawks GM, and we’ve actually secured two deals, which put the Marauders in absolute control of the upcoming draft. We returned original Icehawk draftee Michael Del Zotto and the Bandit 4th in 2011 for the Phantom 1st, along with the Storm 3rd in oh-Ten.”
(R) Wow.. with the standings the way they are, it appears the Comets pick should be a lottery pick, not to overshadow what should be an extremely strong Marauders 1st round pick. Adding the Phantoms first should also, by quick math, fall somewhere around 18th or 19th overall. You mentioned another deal…
JR: “Mmm-hmm. This one will knock your socks off. Again, a few days after speaking with Larenzo Jensen, we decided to try and smack this draft right outta the rink. It might have cost us the Marauders 1st in 2011, but we’ve brought in the Crushers 1st, as well as the Phantoms 2nd round pick in this draft. We’re hoping that, with a little luck, the Crushers pick will turn itself into a lottery pick by the time the season is over, which is a definite possibility. But regardless, no matter what happens, we will enjoy having 4 of the first 18 picks, which should be extremely encouraging for fans here in Chicago.”
(R) That’s … incredible. It sounds like you’ve really been doing the number crunching and working the phones over there in Chicago.”
JR: “That’s what they pay me to do. At any rate, I’ve got a couple more GM proposals that I have to meet with the President about. Just a last request, please don’t print anything again that says I’m “Pleased as punch”…
With all of our facts confirmed, I quickly contacted GM Jensen about the recent moves with the Marauders organization.
(R) Good afternoon, Mr. Jensen, do you have a minute to talk about your recent transactions with the Marauders?
LJ: “Sure thing. Fire away.”
(R) Last time we checked the Icehawks had 3 first round picks, and three second round picks. But with the new math based on what GM Rebelato told us, you now only have 1 first rounder, and two seconds. Have we missed anything?
LJ: “Heh heh, well sort of. It’s not common knowledge yet, but we are in talks with the Mississauga Wildcats, and it appears that we will probably have to part ways with the Cru 2nd, and possibly one other small piece to obtain defenseman Jeff Schultz. We were almost disastrously low on defenseman last season, and as you can see from our drafting patterns, we’ve been trying to compensate for that in our prospect pool.
(R) My oh my, I’m really glad I contacted the Marauders… The two of you combined have been very active this offseason.
LJ: “You don’t know the half of it.”
(R) ….. There’s more…?
v
LJ: “Indeed. Kyle Reisen of the Knights is in a position to serve notice in the Western conference, - all he needed was a starting goaltender. We’ve given him that, and we certainly wish Jaroslav Halak every success imaginable in Poughkeepsie. We felt badly that we haven’t provided an environment for Jaro where he can fully blossom, which is what our intentions were when we brought him over from Moscow a couple of seasons ago. We’re not ready…. Yet. Later today at a press conference at the Sheraton Wall Centre we’ll be introducing the new man behind the mask, Jonas Gustavsson, who will get the majority of starts this season. We’ll also be adding defensive prospect Dylan Olsen to our farm club, which will be another encouraging sign for our defensive coaches, who earlier complained about a lack of depth there. Oh, and we also received a third round pick in the deal.”
(R) Thank you so much for all of the information, -good luck with your new goaltender, and it looks like you’ll be controlling the 2011 draft!
For the Vancouver Post, I’m Dirk Diggler
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Fouad writes "
(Beirut) Rob Blake has decided to retire as a Hammer following the defeat in the first round. The staff and management of the team were not shocked to hear that considering his decline in scoring over the last couple of seasons. The club would like to wish him the best of luck in his new career. I am Jake Bullet from Beirut
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Season 18 was full of excitement that saw a new player win the Hart and Art Ross Trophy's and some new faces raising hardware. Congrats to the Mercenaries for winning their second cup in their history. Rumour has it they have already replaced the hole in their defence with another stud. Las Vegas was alive with stars and fans for the 18th awards ceremony, here are this season's winners.
Hart Trophy Vote Henrik Sedin – Meteors
Selke Trophy Mike Richards – Jackals
Norris Trophy Mike Green – Jackals
Lady Byng Trophy Loui Eriksson – Synthesis
Vezina Trophy Ryan Miller – Storm
Calder Trophy Phil Kessel – Mustangs
Jack Adam's Trophy Dan O'Flaherty – Decepticons
Art Ross Trophy Henrik Sedin - Meteors
Rocket Richard Trophy Marian Gaborik – Storm and Jarome Iginla - Arsenal
William Jennings Trophy Evgeny Nabokov and Kari Lehtonen - Decepticons
Conn Smyth Trophy Jeff Carter - Mercenaries
Presidents Trophy - Decepticons
BTHL Cup - Mercenaries
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Season 18: Treviso Mercenaries bring back the BTHL Cup!
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frank writes "Few weeks after the hiring of new GM Frank Malo, The Mercs made an impressive run to the final and defeat the powerhouse of Utopia. No need to say that the city is on fire and the team present the cup to their fans in the main road today. To win this Cup is the most important achievement a team can made. It shows the hard work and to great team build. A lot of credit goes to previous GM who made this team so well balanced and ready to win. The only thing remaining was to get the guys ready to play together and put effort at the good place. Lets review one of the most successful playoff run in the BTHL history.
First Round
This round was our most difficult one. Facing Arsenal would seem at first to be not so much concern for us but on the ice it was something else. We lost our two first game at home and then cameback and wins it in 7 games. Edler has been injured during this round so we had to ask a bit more to our leader on defense.
Second Round
After getting to the limits in first round nothing was more sure for this round against the Aces. We may have won the first game this time but in game #2 and #3 it was very close. The most important win of the playoff for us is probably the Game 3 where we won in 2nd OT. Cammalleri was injured in that round so Kovalchuk and Carter were giving more responsibilities.
Third Round
I was pretty excited when I’ve learn that we would go against our conference rival, The Meteors. It was with a lots of respect for the management team and the team itself that we handle this one. We knows that we won before against them, that we finished just over them in regular season. With that in mind our guys works their best. Tied 1-1 after two games, we allowed only one goal to every other game after that. When your team allow only one goal per game it gives you a lot more chances to pull a win. Very happy with the outcome of this one.
Final
BOOM! The facing we were asking about for years! When your team makes it to the final, the only thing that will make you win is :Willingness! We saw that our guys were willing to raise the BTHL cup by once again allowing very few goals. 7 Goals against in 5 games. When you face guys like Crosby and Ovechkin you know your gonna have to be perfect and they were stop pretty often. I have lots of respect for this team management and its something special to defeat such an organization that we love to hate.
This BTHL cup is a Bonus for me since I were not thinking of it at first when I joined The Mercs. I was picking up a great team with good build and I was starting to think about ways I could continu this build and I felt like this team may have a chance this year .The announcement of the retirement of our team captain Scott Niedermayer was a shock to everyone but it has indeed inspire everyone. Rumors said Scott has step up in the dressing room to announce it to the guys and everyone work together to get things done.
We are thanking Scott for his dedication for our team and what he has done for hockey.
For now every guys with have the chance to bring the cup to their home and after it will follow another season for your Mercenaries that are gonna be ready to defend their title.
Thank you Scott!
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