WILD, WILD WEST PALM

WEST PALM EYEING FIRST CUP, COLTON PARAYKO, DYLAN LARKIN LEADING DEEP ROOKIE CROP

BOSTON, MA----After nearly two months of evaluating players and acclimating to our new digs, the World Hockey League's 9th season is taking shape. Some early growing pains are subsiding, while others only seem to grow stronger. And yet, as wild as the undulations have been, most of the WHL's 18 clubs remain very much alive. As of this writing, 8th place is roughly 120 points out of of 1st---a sizable chunk to be sure---but things look much closer when considering that 3rd and 8th place are separated by less than 70 points, or that, despite there being a 60-ish point gap between 8th and 9th place, 9th and 17th are roughly 50 points apart. Some early anomalies were not meant to last, like it taking several weeks for both Sidney Crosby to collect more assists than the Dallas Stars goalies, and for Tuukka Rask and Sergei Bobrovsky--two of the last three seasons' Vezina trophy winners--to cross over into positive points. Other puzzling cases and pleasant surprises have carried on into late November, like Ryan Getzlaf only recently joining the top 100 fantasy centers, or the top eight fantasy-scoring rookies over the first month of play not being named Eichel or McDavid. 

 

Early Calder Standouts

Normally, this is the time of year when we’re talking about which highly touted rookies were banished back to junior. Instead, most of the discussion has been about what’s shaping up to be one of the best Calder races in years. Among the early Calder hopefuls, Dylan Larkin trails only Henrik Zetterberg in points among all Red Wings skaters, Nikolaj Ehlers continues to prove that he is just fine without Junior teammate Jonathan Drouin and 25-year-old goalie Mike Condon won six of his first seven NHL starts after sensational back-to-back seasons in the ECHL and AHL. On the blue line, defenseman Colton Parayko is looking right at home on hockey's biggest stage after three years at University of Alaska-Fairbanks and just a handful of games in the American League. These performances and many more have made for a fun first month and change, even if history tells us that some of these guys will fade as the season goes on.

Eyes On The PrizeWhile the defending Champion Portland Pints have been surging lately and certainly have the chops to repeat, the West Palm Beach Rangers have been consistently dominant. Since finishing 7th in their innaugural 2009 season, West Palm has finished outside the top ten four times, and has never finished higher than 5th. So far this season, none of that seems to be a cause for concern for GM Bob Guarasciso, whose Rangers currently have ammassed the 2nd-most fantasy points from skaters and the 4th most from goalies. Beyond raking in the points from obvious sources like Henrik Lundqvist (arguably the league MVP to this point) and Top-10 forward Max Paciorety, West Palm has positioned itself at the head of the pack by earning valuable points in less glamouros areas of the game--namely, blocking shots and winning faceoffs--two categories where the Rangers rank in the top three. 

 

New Blood

Four new owners joined the WHL ranks during the offseason, bringing with them a boost of energy and a refreshed sense of competition. Boston-based Casey Barnacle and Nick Buote of the Brooklyn Brawlers (formerly the Brooklyn Cyclones) took a page out of the Dahms Brother playbook, forming the league's second GM duo. Fellow Bostonians, Derek Maxfield and T.J. Smith have taken the helm of the Porter Pirates and New Jersey WallFlowers, renaming their respective clubs to the North Shore Netminders and the Philly Cheesesteaks. Barnacle, Buote, Maxfield and Smith all joined the league at the recommendation of existing owners, continuing the WHL's trend of attracting quality owners and keen hockey minds. 

 

Trade Roundup

Traditional wisdom preaches patience in the early going as owners figure out exactly what they've got, but that hasn't stopped a few GM's from working the phones and making some big trades. The Northshore Netminders and Northern Cheefs got things going a mere two days after the draft when GM Derek Maxfield patched a glaring hole in nets by acquiring Brian Elliott and a 2016 4th round pick from Kyle Hamel's Cheefs for Jordan Eberle and Ryan McDonagh. For Hamel, letting go of Elliott demonstrated a high degree of trust that at least one of Martin Jones, Petr Mrazek, Andrei Vasilevskiy, or one of the other hundred goalies he owns is the real McCoy. So far, Jones has shattered expectations, settling in as a top ten goalie through the first month and a half of play. Not to be outdone, Cheesesteaks GM, T.J. Smith made a splash of his own, dealing Mike Smith to Tayutic Team Rasta for elite center Claude Giroux and journeyman tender, Al Montoya.

 

2015 Draft In Review

Despite being one of the shorter, if not the shortest draft in league history, the 2015 draft wasn't wanting for action. Les Canadiens de Montreal had themselves a feast in the early going--before the midway point in the draft, veteran GM Tyler Ladd already had Ovechkin, Blake Wheeler, Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf wearing the bleu, blanc et rouge. Mike Greeley and the Wolfsburg Vipers only had six picks at their disposal, but they made them count, taking Patrick Sharp, Eric Staal, Marian Gaborik, David Perron, Mike Cammalleri, and Dylan Strome. After selecting both McDavid and Eichel with the 1st and 4th overall picks, respectively, Boston Beernuts GM Joe Mastrangelo did a bang up job surrounding his prize rookies with veteran leadership, including Thomas Vanek, Patrick Marleau and Andrei Markov. 

 

It's early yet, but any conversation about early standouts for the top value pick of the draft should include the aforementioned Colton Parayko, taken in the 7th round (129th overall) by the California Kwijibos, Leo Komarov, drafted by the white-hot Portland Pints in the 8th round (130th overall), and--homer alert--Tobias Rieder, nabbed 129th overall by Sparta Praha. Parayko trails only Mount Vernon defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk in total TOI among rookies, leads all rookie defenders by a wide margin in shots on goal, and to this point has racked up more points (goals and assists) than Eichel, Ehlers, and Kwijibos teammate Sam Bennett. Even the historically-predictable opening rounds of the draft included a few surprising gambles. For instance, Tayutic Team Rasta GM Rich Abbondante  used the 12th overall selection on Cam Fowler, who finished as just the 77th ranked WHL defenseman last season. Rounds 2 and 3 featured a tale of two Russian imports. The first, Artemi Panarin, drafted 37th overall by the Stuttgart Scorpions, trails only Larkin and Parayko in total fantasy points among rookies. The other, Sergei Plotnikov, taken ten spots before Panarin by Mount Vernon, is currently on waivers. This is a perfect example of how difficult it can be to predict a player's transition to the NHL.

 

The Saginaw Spirit scored themselves a few sweet under-the-radar picks--mainly, Matt Niskanen at 80th overall and  the ageless Jaromir Jagr five spots later at 85th. Jagr, in case you didn't know, is the last active player from the 1990 NHL season. When Jagr scored his first goal in the NHL, Berlin has just started tearing down some wall, and this thing called the World Wide Web was in its infancy. A quarter of a century later, Jagr is still relevant on the ice, and in this virtual pastime we call fantasy hockey, leaving us to wonder how much party the Mullet has left.

THE WAITING IS OVER!

STONE, BOBROVSKY, PINTS DRINK FROM CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME, BEERNUTS WIN McEICHEL PICK 

PORTLAND, ME—The year 2007 was an impetus for much change in the hockey universe. The NHL appeared in Europe and outdoors in the United States for the first time, Carey Price entered the league as Dominik Hasek played his final game, Reebok changed hockey jerseys forever, and a trio of passionate hockey nerds set out to create a virtual conduit for the world's greatest game. After eight bittersweet seasons of leaving fans wanting more despite consistently ranking among the World Hockey League's finest, the waiting is finally over for one of those ambitious nerds, and the Portland Pints. 

And the waiting has surely been worth it for General Manager and Co-Commissioner, Colin Smith, whose resilient Pints dispatched Tayutic Team Rasta, Sparta Praha, and the Altoona Angry Beavers en route to their first ever championship victory. Since the WHL opened its doors, Smith's Pints have never finished lower than 7th place, securing second in 2010 and 2013, and averaging a 5th place finish over the past eight seasons. 

Balanced Attack 
This year, the Pints looked poised for a deep run from the onset, and really hit their stride in mid January. For the final two and half months of the season, Portland methodically chipped away at a 200-point deficit before finally usurping the Beantown Ball Busters as total points champion just two days before the season finale. Portland far and away accumulated the most fantasy points derived from skaters--343 more points than the next highest total and 620 ahead of the league average. It naturally follows that the Pints netted the most fantasy points from goals and assists--and did they ever--but Portland's proficiency extended beyond the score sheet, evidenced by posting the fourth most "grit points" from hits and blocks, as well as the second most points from net face-off wins. 

Meanwhile, the Pints finished with the 9th most fantasy points from goalies on the season, further illustrating just how dominant Smith's skaters were. While Kari Lehtonen was not his usual self over the final month (.896 save percentage) Sergei Bobrovsky was unequivocally Portland's playoff MVP, and should easily be a finalist for WHL Conn Smythe honors. Bobrovsky channeled his Vezina-winning ways down the stretch, cruising to an 11-1-1 record and a .927 save percentage over his final 13 starts. 

Anatomy of a Champion 
Portland entered the draft last September with a formidable core to build on. Several picks worked out swimmingly--Jonathan Toews, for instance, delivered like the 1st round stud that he is. Troy Brouwer and Johnny Boychuk, also came through as expected, or better. Others fell short of expectations, namely Martin Hanzal (3rd round) who appeared in just 36 games due to injury, or Slava Voynov, whom Smith drafted in 5th round without knowledge of off ice issues which limited the Russian defender to just six games. Portland's best value pick of the draft was easily Dennis Wideman, taken 178th overall in the 10th round. Wideman finishes the season as Portland's third most valuable skater, and with the 7th most fantasy points among all WHL defensemen. 

To get the full view of what separated Portland from the pack this year, however, we need to look beyond both the keepers and draft. Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, and David Savard--three of Portland's top eleven fantasy skaters this season--didn't don a Pints sweater until being claimed off of waivers or added via free agency during October and November. Stone, most notably, led all Pints skaters in fantasy points over the final 30 days, and wrapped up 2014-15 tied with Stuttgart's Johnny Gaudreau for most goals and assists among WHL rookies. Mike Hoffman and John Klingberg--yet another free agent find for the Pints--finished 4th and 7th in that same group. 

Playoff Wrap Up 
The battle for 3rd place between California and Sparta was over before the second week began. Kwijibos goalies went a combined 8-3-2 during the series, compared to 0-8-1 for the Spartans, who are already plotting a championship run for 2016. Paul Zeman's Kwijibos boast an average standing of 2.33 in the WHL's three playoff seasons (3rd, 1st, 3rd), with an overall average standing of 6.17 dating back to 2009. 

In the consolation bracket, Joe Mastrangelo's Boston Beernuts won out over Ty Ladd's Canadiens de Montreal to clinch the first overall pick in September. Boston presently owns the 1st and 4th overall picks, which could conceivably land McDavid and Eichel if Mastrangelo opts to follow the Josh Deitell model of 2010, when Stuttgart used two of its top three picks to draft Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. Boston's 143 points during the consolation final was second only to Portland's 152. 

Congratulations to the Portland Pints on their impressive championship run, to Altoona for fighting valiantly in their first playoff appearance, and thank you to everyone for making this a season to remember. 

Official Draft Order for 2015-16 
1. Boston Beernuts 
2. Canadiens de Montreal 
3. CSKA Moscow 
4. Wolfsburg Vipers 
5. Porter Pirates 
6. NJ Wall Flowers 
7. West Palm Beach Rangers 
8. Saginaw Spirit 
9. Mount Vernon Blades 
10. Brooklyn Cyclones 
11. Northern CHEEFS 
12. Tayutic Team Rasta 
13. Stuttgart Scorpions 
14. Beantown Ball Busters 
15. Sparta Praha 
16. California Kwijibos 
17. Altoona Angry Beavers 
18. Portland Pints 

STOPPAGE TIME

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL, CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS UNDERWAY, DUBNYK PUTTING NUTS ON THE TABLE 

BOSTON, MA—​There won't be any more underdog upsets this year, as two of the top three seeds have punched their tickets to the 2015 WHL Championship. This is the first championship appearance for both the Portland Pints and Altoona Angry Beavers, who emerged triumphant in their respective semifinal showdowns against Sparta Praha and the defending champion California Kwijibos. 

Altoona and California entered the final day of last week's match up separated by less than eight points. The Pints, meanwhile, ​began​ the final day of their semifinal series with a 30-point edge and didn't look back.​ ​After seeking back-to-back titles for the first time since Lokomotiv Yukon (now the CHEEFS) in 2012 and 2013, California will have to settle for a third-place thrown down with the Spartans. 

​​On the total points front, Portland started the final day of the playoff quarterfinals just 36 points behind top-ranked Beantown. The Pints have been steadily closing the gap since trailing Beantown by roughly 270 points in late January. While the ​sting of an early exist is still fresh for Ball Busters GM Nathan Asdourian, there is still a $200 prize up for grabs if his team can rekindle some of its mojo from December and January when they looked downright untouchable. 
​ 
Three of the four Consolation quarterfinal match ups entered Sunday with teams separated by less than ten points​, but experience won out in the end. Les Canadiens de Montreal and CSKA Moscow--two of the WHL's Original Six franchises--​dispatched the West Palm Beach Ranges and New Jersey Wall Flowers en route to berths in the consolation semifinals. 

The black sheep of last week was a spirited affair against Saginaw and the suddenly hopped-up Boston Beernuts. Save for Portland, Boston outscored every other team across both playoff brackets, ​thanks in large part to the superb play of Devan Dubnyk. Through four starts last week, Dubnyk allowed just five goals and racked up 31.2 fantasy points, which just so happens to mirror Boston's margin of victory over the Spirit. 

​In case that wasn't enough good ju-ju for Boston, the Beernuts will be in great shape come September. In addition to its own first rounder, Boston also owns ​the top pick of their semifinal opponent, the Wolfsburg Vipers. ​Boston is guaranteed at least the 2nd overall pick regardless of how the remaining two rounds shake out, and barring any offseason trades, Mastrangelo will approach the podium with two of the top four picks​. 

Both playoff brackets conclude on Saturday, April 11th. The Championship and 3rd place series will both run for the final two weeks of the season, ​while ​the consolation ​​semifinal and ​f​inal will ​go one week apiece. 
​ 
Game on, and good luck!

BALL BUSTED

BEANTOWN BOUNCED, KWIJIBOS EYEING REPEAT, SEMIFINALS/CONSOL QUARTERFINALS UNDERWAY 

BOSTON, MA—After a wild and tense opening round, the 2015 WHL semifinals and consolation quarterfinals are off and running. Last week saw the #1 seed suffer a first-round upset for the second time in the WHL's three playoff seasons. The inaugural WHL playoff bracket debuted in 2012 and then resumed in 2014 following a hiatus brought about by the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign. While this is just the first pair of back-to-back playoffs in league history, several rivalries are already alive and well. 

Make it two straight years that the Beantown Ball Busters have met, and lost, to Sparta Praha in the quarterfinals. After last season's defeat as the lower seed, Nathan Asdourian's crew built themselves the largest home ice advantage in WHL history (22.9 points), but still fell short of their goal after mustering just two goals in 51 skater games. Beantown remains very much in the mix for the total points prize, although, second-seeded Portland has been steadily chipping away at the Ball Busters once insurmountable lead over the last month and change. 

Portland and Sparta's semifinal showdown marks the third consecutive postseason meeting between the two commissioners. The benevolent dictators previously duked it out in the 2012 quarterfinals, and again in the 2014 semis. Both match ups were decided by less than 20 points, so it stands to reason that we're in for another war of attrition. 

Rich Abbondante's Tayutic Team Rasta bowed out to Portland last week despite racking up the most assists among all playoff teams. Sixth-seeded Stuttgart actually outscored Altoona by two fantasy points, but lost out due to the Beaver's home ice advantage. A curious series of events unfolded last week involving Brian Elliott and the Northern CHEEFS. Two nights after Elliott posted a 25-save shutout, GM Kyle Hamel rolled the dice by benching Elliott in favor of Petr Mrazek. Elliott allowed just one goal in a solid 6.5 point start to Mrazek's 0.5. Two nights later during a pivotal Saturday night slate, Elliott returned to the Northern lineup, only to surrender four goals on 12 shots. 

Two of the WHL's Original Six clubs--the Saginaw Spirit and Brooklyn Cyclones--met in the first round of the consolation playoffs. Saginaw was able to sneak through with 10 points to spare, but will need to elevate their game against a well-rested Boston Beernuts team. The Wolfsburg Vipers, meanwhile, now take aim at knocking off the Porter Pirates after dispatching the Mount Vernon Blades last week. This is the third lackluster finish in a row for Chet Merola and the Blades after placing 3rd and 5th, respectively, in 2011 and 2012. After a week's reprieve to heal some bumps and bruises, Porter, Boston, Montreal, West Palm, NJ, and Moscow have rejoined the consolation fray. 

The defending champion California Kwijibos are looking to become the third team in league history to win back-to-back titles. Lokomotiv Yukon (now the Northern CHEEFS) most recently accomplished that feat in 2012 and 2013. Sparta Praha--vying for its fourth league championship in eight years--also repeated in 2010 and 2011. The Pints and Altoona Angry Beavers are in the hunt for their first championship victories. 

Game on, and good luck!

AND THEY'RE OFF!

WHL PLAYOFFS, CONSOLATION BRACKETS UNDERWAY, OVECHKIN HEADS TO THE GREAT WHITE NORTH 

BOSTON, MA—You knew it was bound to shake out this way. The World Hockey League's 2014-15 regular season--widely regarded as the most tense and fiercely competitive season in its storied eight-year existence--fittingly took until the final day to lock down playoff seeding for its top eight franchises. As the gates open on the "second season" of twenty-fifteen, all 18 owners are left with a host of burning questions that only time can answer. Can California defend its crown with so many worthy competitors poised to steal it away? Who will win the right to draft Connor McDavid in September? Will Sparta pull off the biggest upset in league history? All riddles whose solutions lie a month beyond our grasp. The WHL playoff and consolation bracket run through the end of the NHL's regular season on Saturday, April 11th. 

#1 Beantown Ball Busters vs. #8 Sparta Praha 
Tale of the tape: I genuinely wish there was something new to report about Beantown. All they've done since October is compile the most fantasy points from goalies (thats wins, saves, OTL, the works), as well as the second most points from skaters. That's a formidable combination at no mistake, and a daunting mountain for 8th-seeded Sparta Praha to attempt to scale. The Spartans have plenty of pep talk fodder in the form of three league championships, but it will take one hell of a sling shot to spell this giant. 

Beantown will win if: Their marquee players show up to play. Some injuries and platoon action have toned things down a shade in the Ball Busters net, but none of that will matter if ironman Braden Holtby can build off his most recent shutout. Sparta will win if: They get some major league help from the schedule, and hey, maybe a win from Mike Smith. Sparta will look to channel some Yukon-esque fortune, thinking back to 2009 when the flu suddenly struck top-seeded Mount Vernon's Henrik Lundqvist during the opening round, allowing 8th place Lokomotiv Yukon to sneak through en route to a league championship. 

Keep an eye on: For Beantown--Milan Lucic, Henrik Zetterbeg and Kris Russell. Russell in particular leads the entire league in blocked shots, which could be a difference-maker if this series somehow gets close. For Prague, their hottest skaters, Stamkos and Gabe Landeskog, only play two games apiece this week, so they will have to make every shift count. Subban, Schneider and Hamonic will need to exceed their averages and then some to have a prayer. 

#2 Portland Pints vs. #7 Tayutic Team Rasta 
Tale of the tape: There isn't a hotter team so far in the month of March than the Portland Pints. Over the last two weeks, 12 Pints skaters have been averaging two points per game or better, compared to seven for Rasta. Portland far and away leads the league in fantasy points generated by skaters (+500 above league average), while Tayutic has posted a respectable 4th-most points from the same skater categories. In addition, Tayutic and Portland are the top two teams in the faceoff circle in terms of net fantasy points won on the dots. 

Portland will win if: Nicklas Backstrom keeps doing Backstrom things and Craig Anderson joins the party. Do I really need to mention Crosby, Toews, Bobrovsky and Lehtonen? Guess I just did, but a less obvious key to success for the Pints will be the continued second wave of offensive production from Curtis Glencross, Matt Hoffman, and Mark Stone. Tayutic will win if: Cam Talbot keeps pumping out wins while keeping Lundqvist's throne warm, and Zidlicky, Trouba & Co. elevate their games in the absence of leader Mark Giordano. 

Keep an eye on: Dennis Wideman, who "quietly" has been Portland's fourth most valuable skater this season, and Justin Abdelkader, who has been on a nice run since being acquired from Sparta. For Tayutic, look out for Jiri Hudler--easily his team's hottest skater over the past two weeks (averaging a robust 3.4 points per game over that span), and a top four producer on the season. 

#3 Altoona Angry Beavers vs. #6 Stuttgart Scorpions 
Tale of the tape: Apparently "Beaver Fever" can lead to prolonged fits of aggression and a muted sense of self preservation, as Altoona has racked up the most fantasy points from hits and blocked shots this season. The Scorpions, meanwhile, were the league's most productive team for the week ending March 15th. 

Altoona will win if: Rinne and Fleury rebound from a lacklustre end to the WHL regular season (at least, by their standards). The Beavers score their share of goals, and leading in hits and blocks is certainly impressive, but the key to Altoona's success is between the pipes. It's been that way since October and should true even more in the playoffs. Stuttgart will win if: Jonathan Quick, Blake Wheeler and Marian Hossa stay scorching hot. Scorpions fans know that their club doesn't pack the same punch in net as Altoona (hey, Jon Quick is just one man), so GM Josh Deitell will need to lean heavily on his club's depth beyond the blue. 

Keep an eye on: Scott Hartnell, who leads all Altoona skaters in goals over the last two weeks, and the Beavers defensive corps as a whole. They don't have one stand out guy--in fact, over the last 14 days, four of their key defenders have all tallied between 11-13 fantasy points. Also, with Patrick Kane sidelined with a fractured clavicle, Wayne Simmonds has become the pulse of this Altoona club. Stuttgart is dealing with some major injuries of its own. With Nathan MacKinnon done for the year and Tyler Seguin effectively playing on one leg, the spotlight grows even larger on Johnny Gaudreau, Only Blake Wheeler has scored more fantasy points for the Scorpions over the last two weeks than Johnny Hockey. 

#4 California Kwijibos vs. #5 Northern CHEEFS 
Tale of the tape: The defending champion Kwijbos goe toe-to-toe with the Northern CHEEFS--alternatively known as the Chefs because rookie sensation GM Kyle Hamel is always cooking up new trade ideas. Front and center in this one we have Carey Price, a logical (see: obvious) choice for league MVP at this point, pitted against Brian Elliott and Andrew Hammond, who has Hamburglar-ed his way to a 10-1 record at the most opportune time of the season. This series could swing either way, given that both clubs have averaged 140 fantasy points in each of the last two weeks. 

California will win if: They score more points than Northern. Heyoo! In all seriousness, the Kwiji King shall emerge victorious if Logan Couture can regain his usual dominant form, and if Brayden Schenn has actually woken up from his long nap. Northern will win if: they can capitalize on Patric Hornqvist's untimely injury, as he's been California's top skater over the last month. Even more pivotal for the Cheefs will be the health of Evgeni Malkin, and continued Norris-caliber production from Kris Letang. 

Keep and eye on: Marko Dano, the second most productive Kwijibo skater over the last 14 days. For Northern, watch out for Adam Henrique and Ryan Spooner, who quietly kept pace with the superior Jamie Benn and Ryan Kesler last week. 

Meanwhile, in the magical land of consolation, the Porter Pirates, Boston Beernuts, Canadiens de Montreal, NJ Wall Flowers, CSKA Moscow, and West Palm Beach Rangers have earned first round byes after finishing the regular season as the WHL’s six most improved non-playoff teams. All six teams will slot into next week's quarterfinal round, but not before the following four clubs duke it out: 

#7 Saginaw Spirit vs. #10 Brooklyn Cyclones 
Tale of the tape: This opening round affair has the scale tipped in Saginaw's favor, which can mean a lot or absolutely nothing this time of year (yay, broadcaster speak!). The Spirit have topped 100 points in three of the last four weeks, while the Cyclones have hit that mark just once over the last six weeks. Bigger upsets have happened, but this one is GM Tom Lusty's to lose. 

Saginaw will win if: Tuukka Time keeps on ticking for another week. In true money goalie fashion, Rask is strutting his best stuff at the most crucial time of the year, which is why he's one of the greats. Brooklyn will win if: Roberto Luongo fails to return to his opponents lineup and Antti Niemi and Steve Mason can capitalize. Both of Brooklyn's starters have posted a shutout in March, so the potential is there. 

Keep an eye on: Saginaw forward Joffrey Lupul, who is searching in earnest for his first goal in the month of March. For Mike Zecca and the Cyclones, keep tabs on Kyle Okposo--a 2+ fantasy point-per-game player fresh who is fresh off the IR just in time for the main event. 

#8 Mount Vernon Blades vs. #9 Wolfsburg Vipers 

Tale of the tape: The only other consolation meeting this week appears to be a bit closer on paper, Looking at the season as a whole thus far, the Blades have a slight edge over the Vipers in total fantasy points derived from skaters, while the Vipers hold a similar advantage in point generated from goalies. More recently, though, Mount Vernon has scored fewer points in each successive week since netting a team-high 152.4 points in mid February. Mike Greeley's Vipers, on the other hand, have turned things around in a big way since a rough first half of February. As they say, timing is everything in the playoffs. 

Mount Vernon will win if: Rick Nash and Vladimir Tarasenko can maintain their elite production into the postseason and if Cam Ward can steal at least two wins over a tough slate of games. Wolfsburg will win if: the stars align and his four backup goalies draw a few starts. Niklas Svedberg and Keith Kinkaid, in particular, look poised to see time against the lowly Sabres, which could pay off handsomely. 

Keep an eye on: Bo Horvat, who has produced on par with Wolfsburg teammate Ryan Johansen over the last two weeks. For the Blades, this series could come down to GM Chet Merola and whether or not he continues to play with a short bench or make a few maneuvers on the wire. 

Trade Deadline Roundup 
Much like the NHL trade deadline, the WHL saw more action leading up to its deadline than on the actual day. Still, the one deal that did go down was monster. In the eleventh hour, les Canadiens de Montreal shipped All-Star Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Kronwall, and a 6th round pick in 2015 to the Northern CHEEFS for up-and-comers Tyler Myers, Brendan Gallagher, a 3rd round selection in 2015, and a 1st round pick in 2016. The move clearly gives Northern some extra teeth in its first round playoff battle, while Montreal is content to slide into the consolation bracket and fight for improved draft position. Northern GM Kyle Hamel continues to turn heads in his debut season. Mere weeks prior to landing Ovie, the Cheefs moved Henrik and Daniel Sedin to the Boston Beernuts for Andrei Vasilevskiy and the 1st rounder that was eventually used to fetch the Great 8. And a handful of weeks before the Sedin trade, Hamel doled out it’s own first round picks in the next two drafts to acquire Chris Kunitz and David Krejci. It’s cup or bust for the New Hampshire greenhorn. 

The Boston Beernuts were busy themselves leading up to hour zero. Across four separate transactions between February 27th and Match 2nd, GM Joe Mastrangelo moved Sam Bennett, Brandon Gormley, Sven Baertschi, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Boone Jenner, Nikita Zadorov, as well as 1st, 3rd and 6th round picks for Brett Connolly (oops), Michael Frolik, Cal Clutterbuck, the Sedin Brothers, Tommy Wingels, and Antoine Vermette. Boston had plenty of young assets to trade, and many of their veteran acquisitions should receive keeper consideration in addition to the short-term boost for the consol bracket. Somewhat overshadowed by the monster Ovie deal and the Boston overhaul, Stuttgart and Saginaw pulled off an interesting trade of their own. Josh Deitell sent blue chip prospects Teuvo Teravainen and Adam Larsson plus a 4th round pick in 2015 for Alex Steen, Brent Burns, and a luxury beard grooming kit. 

The Road Ahead 
This year's playoff and consolation brackets are sure to keep us glued to our computers for the next month, but the action won't stop there. Once a league champion is crowned, owners will enter an important two week stretch before settling into the comforts of the offseason. The first week following playoffs will provide owners with a window to sign their RFA players that did not qualify for in-season signing. After that week is up, all unsigned RFAs will enter a week-long auction where owners will be able to submit offer sheets. Contract signing will be frozen during the auction, and original owners will always receive a chance to match the high bid. Full details are available in the official league rule book below. 

Game on, and good luck! 

CRUNCH TIME

WHL GMS WORKING PHONES, CHECKBOOKS DOWN THE HOME STRETCH, TRADE DEADLINE APPROACHES

PORTLAND, ME—As the final three weeks count down on the WHL regular season, more than half of the league's 18 clubs have at least a puncher's chance at cracking the postseason. No one is catching the runaway Beantown Ball Busters at this point. If the playoffs began today and Beantown's league-leading 520 fantasy points from goalies were cut in half, they would still be the #4 seed. If those points disappeared entirely, Beantown would only be ~20 points out of the final playoff spot. The other seven playoffs seeds, meanwhile, are very much in flux. The Portland Pints, Altoona Angry Beavers, and California Kwijibos appear destined to finish in the top four, but actual seeding remains fungible. 5th seeded Stuttgart and 8th ranked Montreal are separated by 70 points while 8th and 12th sit roughly 70 points removed as well, promising much leap-frogging and tough sledding down the stretch. 

Vipers Loosen Coils 
While most GM’s are playing things close to the chest, third year Wolfsburg GM Mike Greeley has made a conscious decision to sell, sell, sell his team's way into the consolation ranks. The Vipers shifted into full rebuild mode with a flurry of trades in mid February, reeling in three 1st round picks, a 2nd round pick and four promising young players--Morgan Rielly, Micheal Dal Colle, Matt Dumba, and goalie Alex Stalock--across four separate transactions. This infusion of futures came at a price, though. Gone are fantasy regulars Craig Anderson, David Krejci and Chris Kunitz, along with Jonathan Bernier and his highly favorable $19 contract for next season. 

"I'm selling high because a lot of my players have been on the decline all year,” said Greeley. “I was in this same spot last year and I did the opposite to barely squeak in and get eliminated anyways, which kinda screwed me for this year. So I'm trying this approach. I have a lot of young guys now as well as 2 first rounders and 2 seconds as well. So next year probably won’t be a huge year but the year after that I should be in good shape for years to come!”

On the other side of these trades, the Pints and Scorpions shored up their goaltending by bringing in Anderson and Bernier, respectively. Once Anderson and Sergei Bobrovsky awake from their IR slumber and join Kari Lehtonen, Portland figures to have itself a stout trio of tenders for the playoff push. For Stuttgart, Bernier will provide a much-welcomed 1B complement to workhorse Jonathan Quick for the duration of the season and beyond. Meanwhile, the Northern CHEEFS, perhaps fueled by a desire to impress fans in their inaugural campaign, doled out its top draft choices for the next two seasons to make a run now. Steady production from Kunitz and Krejci will certainly help in that regard, but time will tell if Brian Elliott and an army of backups will be able to get the job done in net for rookie GM Kyle Hamel. 

Signed, Sealed, Pending Delivery 
In addition to owners swapping players and picks, we’ve also seen an influx of owners putting pen to paper. Six teams have signed a combined 27 contracts since in-season eligibility conditions were met (40GP for skates, 30 GS for goalies), with the Wolfsburg Vipers and Saginaw Spirit combining for half of those deals. Most recently, the Altoona Angry Beavers protected their future in net by committing a combined $229 to proven All Stars Pekka Rinne and Marc-Andre Fleury. The Boston Beernuts, meanwhile, threw big money at a red-hot, but ultimately less-proven commodity, Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk will earn a combined $188 over the next four seasons, just $10 less than what Portland's Sidney Crosby will collect over that same span. Speaking of The Kid, Crosby was the recipient of the WHL's first four-year contract back in January. 

The most valuable contract as of 2/15 belongs to Frederik Andersen of the Beantown Ball Busters. Andersen will earn $17 next year, a $30 savings over his current price tag. In a similar vein, Mount Vernon Blades forward Valdimir Tarasenko and Cory Schnieder of Sparta Praha are currently delivering a $21 savings to their respective owners. In all, 104 players are under contract for the 2015-16 season, with an average savings of $1. 47 of the 104 deals (45%) are saving owners money, including 10 deals saving $10 or more. 18 contracts (17%) are neither saving nor losing, while the remaining 39 deals are losing money on next season due to on-ice performance, injuries, and the flat rate contract structure, which is designed to swap a short term loss for longer term savings. 

Second Half Turnaround 
The suddenly awake Porter Pirates are leading the way in the Most Improve Race, clicking at over 77% improvement since January 1st. Porter is followed by a pack of four teams—Montreal, New Jersey, Sparta, and Northern—which are rolling between 65 and 68% improvement in the New Year as of February 22nd. The Beernuts and West Palm Rangers are sitting right there as well in the 62% range, and could move up in a hurry. M.I. standing will be used to seed teams in the consolation bracket and to resolve draft order tiebreaker scenarios when teams are eliminated simultaneously. 

Around the Rink 
The Mount Vernon Blades currently own the most productive day of the 2014-15 season with +58.6 on 11/28/14*** This sounds about right: Beantown holds the top two most productive months of the season, plus three of the top five weeks. *** No goalie has more fantasy points than Boston's Devan Dubnyk over the last 30 days ***Vezina Alert--we all know Pekka Rinne is good, but 34-8-3 through 45 starts? I'm struggling to remember a more dominant regular season performance *** I thought it would be noteworthy to point out Alex Ovechkin's average of five shots per game over the last month, but turns out he's been doing that since October. *** Only three skaters have been hotter than the Great Eight over the last two weeks: Max Pacioretty, John Tavares, and blossoming Saginaw star, Anders Lee. 

WHL playoffs begin Sunday, March 15th and run through Saturday, April 11th. 

OPEN SEASON

SECOND HALF, MOST IMPROVED RACE UNDERWAY, PINTS SIGN KARI LEHTONEN FOR TWO YEARS 

PORTLAND, ME—With 2014 in the books, World Hockey League owners are geared up for an action-packed second half. On January 1st the league kicked off its annual Most Improved Race, a mechanic that will determine seeding for the consolation bracket based on percentage of improvement in the new year. In-season contract season is also underway. Skaters and goalies become eligible for signing once they reach 40 games played or 30 games started, respectively, and new for this season--owners have the option to sign players for up to four years. The Portland Pints struck the first deal of the season over the weekend, penning Kari Lehtonen to a $117 contract ($58/$59) through 2016-17. There's certainly a lot to look forward to, but lets take a moment to review what went down in the final months of twenty-fourteen. 

The Beantown Ball Busters refuse to mellow, and it doesn't take a forensics team to figure out why things are going so well for Mr. Asdourian. For starters, he currently has three starting goalies under his employ, plus another in Michael Hutchinson who could soon make it four. Beantown has racked up a league-high 56 wins along with just 17 losses, and leads the league in total fantasy points from both goalies and skaters. 

Less obvious yet perhaps more impressive is Beantown's formidable depth up front and on the blue line. For every Getzlaf, Byfuglien, and Zetterberg doing their thing, players like Nikita Kucherov and Erik Johnson are exceeding their draft day expectations by a country mile. Kucherov is actually out-producing Zetterberg on five fewer minutes per night, challenging teammate and Calder favorite Filip Forsberg for breakout performance of the year. Meanwhile, Erik Johnson has been one of the hottest defenseman in the league over the past two weeks, a top ten option over the last month, and is on pace to eclipse his career best marks for goals and assists. 

While the Ball Busters are off in a world of its own, the Portland Pints and Altoona Angry Beavers are locking horns in the 2nd and 3rd positions. Nicklas Backstrom, Martin Hanzal and Kari Lehtonen have been driving the boat for Portland lately, bolstered by an uptick in production from Marian Gaborik, Matt Calvert, and Marco Scandella. Meanwhile in Altoona, headlines continue to be dominated by Pekka Rinne and Marc-Andre Fleury. The Angry Beavers trail only Beantown in fantasy points earned by goalies. 

A mere 50 points behind third place is where the race really opens up. Defending champion California (4th) and 8th-ranked Wolfsburg are separated by 100 points, with Stuttgart, Mount Vernon, and Tayutic all sandwiched between them, hungry for more. And it hardly stops there. Beyond the playoff barrier, five teams sit less than 120 points away from a playoff berth. The Saginaw Spirit and the Northern CHEEFS, in particular, are less than 30 points out. In all, 13 (arguably 14) of the 18 WHL clubs have a shot at making the playoffs, which feels unprecedented at the mid-way mark of the season. 

No one is shooting the puck more than the Stuttgart Scorpions, thanks in large part to Tyler Seguin who trails only the incomparable Alex Ovechkin in total shots on net. ** Altoona has amassed the most "grit" points from hits and blocked shots, led by Brooks Orpik, Micheal Stone, and Dion Phaneuf. ** Beaver goalies have also posted a league-high nine shutouts, six of which belong to Marc-Andre Fleury. ** Portland leads the WHL in face-off differential by more than +50, which may have something to do with rolling out Toews, Backstrom and Crosby every week. ** Despite sitting in limbo between playoff hopefuls and teams destined to do battle in the consolation ranks, CSKA Moscow has generated the most fantasy points in the league from goals and assists by defensemen (DEF). 

As you may have read, CapGeek.com has ceased operations due to the personal health of its founder and director. Horrible news all around--obviously on a human level, but also on the hockey information front. NHLNumbers.comseems to be an adequate resource for NHL cap and contract info, but CapGeek will be sorely missed. 

GAME ON!