Opening Night is Here!

The 2021 draft is in the books, we've already had our first trade, and the puck drops tonight! As transactions start to come in fast and furious, remember you can customize notifications by clicking the bell icon in the top-right, then the little notifications slider icon.

Here's a breakdown of the draft and where teams stand heading into what we all hope will be a return to full fantasy glory.

Baltimore Skipjacks ⁠- It was a wholesale change on the backend for Baltimore, as GM Alex Dahms opted to not keep a single defenseman from his 2020-21 roster. The Skipjacks' new d-corps will be anchored by Colton Parayko and Jared Spurgeon. Late picks Braden Holtby and Mikko Koskinen have a lot to prove, and will both line up in supporting roles alongside Darcy Kuemper and Kaapo Kahkonen.

Beantown Ball Busters - Joe Pavelski is 37, but is fresh off a resurgent 25-goal, Backes Cup-winning campaign.  Some technical difficulties aside, GM Nate Asdourian ended up with a tough, veteran roster aiming to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 when Beantown was the #1 seed. Key situations to monitor will be if and when Evander Kane is allowed to rejoin his team, and if Ben Bishop's body will allow him to play at his usual level. 

Boston Beernuts - The post-Connor McDavid era begins for Joe Mastrangelo and the Beernuts! The pieces are there for a competitive year - Hellebyuck in net (perhaps joined by freshly acquired Tuukka Rask at some point), Doughty/Hamilton/Petry on D, and Barkov/Backstrom (when healthy) at center. X-factors will be Lucas Raymond (part of the McDavid trade) and Nick Ritchie, who could end up being a steal of a 4th round pick if he makes good on his plum opportunity.

Buxton Flyers - It was a well-rounded audition for new GM Andrew Goodwin, who nabbed an elite two-way center (Sean Couturier) with his 1st round pick, a solid offensive defenseman (Justin Faulk) in the 3rd round, and then complimented his lineup with some sandpaper by taking Barclay Goodrow in the 5th. Down the middle is where Buxton figures to shine this season, boasting Couturier, Kopitar, Stamkos, and Kadri. The rebuild is underway for Goodwin after inheriting a neglected roster, but this was a promising start.

California Kwijibos - California has finished lower than second place just once over the last five seasons, a span that also included two Cups. GM Paul Zeman did some expected things at the draft podium, like taking David Perron and Blake Coleman early, but he also ventured from his usual all-in-now approach and used two of his three 3rd round picks on prospects who will not play in the NHL this year--Owen Power and Matthew Beniers. Life is good in California when you can restock the cupboard and still compete because your lineup already features Leon Draisaitl, Victor Hedman, Matthew Tkachuk, and Andrei Svechnikov.

Canadiens de Montreal - This felt like one of the stronger drafts in recent memory for veteran GM Tyler Ladd and the Francophone Express. Ladd reeled in two #1 centers (Couture, Stephenson), a top d-man not long removed from beast status (Burns), and a starting goalie (at least to start the season--Jake Allen) with his first four picks, an impressive feat considering Ladd didn't have a 1st rounder. Mike Hoffman, Nick Foligno, and Kevin Labanc in rounds 5, 6, and 7 should provide excellent value as well, especially Hoffman if he can get back to his elite sniping ways after a down year.

CSKA Moscow - One of the premier eyes for young talent in the league, Nate Fournier stayed true to his colors on draft day by targeting Filip Chytil, Yegor Chinakhov, Hendrix Lapierre, and Tobias Bjornfot. To be fair, Fournier did use three of his first four picks on established talents (Fleury, Kreider, and Slavin), but Moscow fans, pundits, and let's be real, Russian Government officials, are all wondering if CSKA has the depth to be a serious contender in 2021-22.  A Fleury-Hart-Vanecek triad in net is oozing with potential, even if each of them has some individual hurdles to clear in real life, and time will tell if Evgeni Malkin becomes a key ingredient to playoff contention, or a trade chip.

Honolulu Tropics - As of this writing, the defending champion Tropics have four 1st round picks and three 2nd round picks in 2022, and one active goalie. In the industry, we call this "Kyle-ing". GM Josh Deitell said himself that he has four cracks at Shayne Wright, so it's no secret that his Eye of Sauron is fixed on 2022. But hold up a sec - does Honolulu have enough firepower to contend, even without goalies? Take a second to appreciate this potential opening night lineup:

Kaprisov-Aho-Caufield

Gaudreau-Barzal-Necas

Zegras-Point-Boeser

Lafreniere-Norris-Batherson/Hoglander

Provorov-Theodore

Fox-Q.Hughes

Werenski-Miller/Seider

Jotunheim Giants - New rule about 1st rounders costing more be damned - GM Brian Mazzucco eschewed more immediate talent and plucked William Eklund 2nd overall. This was completely on-brand for a rebuilding team that took Lafreniere 1st overall last year, and more recently traded the 2021 5th overall pick for Cole Perfetti. The Giants drafted a few quality veterans (Alec Martinez and Dustin Brown) but proved they are focused on the future by collecting Sillinger, Clarke, Lysell, and other youngsters between picks 5 and 11. 

North Shore Netminders - Derek Maxfield's club looks poised to build off of three straight top-10 seasons and battle for a playoff spot. The Netminders are fittingly competent between the pipes, and absolutely stacked at right-wing and center --1st round pick Blake Wheeler joins Mitch Marner and Jakub Voracek on the right side, and Pavel Zacha (5th round) slots in behind Pierre-Luc Dubois, J-G Pageau, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. 

Northern CHEEFS - It wouldn't be the start of a new fantasy season without a big trade from Kyle Hamel, and the CHEEFS GM did not disappoint, shipping its 9th round pick, Tuukka Rask, to the Boston Beernuts for Jakub Vrana before the dust had settled. Selecting Ovechkin 1st overall along with Torey Krug and T.J. Oshie in the 2nd round will certainly help the CHEEFS return to their contending ways after a planned detour in the basement last season. 

Portland Pints - Ho-hum, another year, another masterful draft from the perennial Cup favorite Pints. GM Colin Smith used four of his first five picks to add Kris Letang, Jake Muzzin, Radko Gudas, and Erik Cernak to his blueline. Letang was chosen 5th overall -- Portland's highest pick ever (previous high was 8th overall in both 2009 and 2007, when Smith took Sidney Crosby and Jaromir Jagr, respectively). Early picks are all well and good, but Portland's penchant for finding value in the middle rounds (see: Rickard Rakell in the 5th round) is part of what's kept them in the upper echelon for so long.

Quispamsis Puckers - Despite some spreadsheet issues in the Puckers war room, GM Joel Hatfield acquitted himself quite well. Jonathan Marchessault 18th overall was solid. Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp in the second and third rounds might've been a tad ambitious with the likes of Burns, Carter, Martinez, Gudas, etc. still out there, but they will still put up points. Snagging James van Riemsdyk in the 6th round (95th overall) was a tidy piece of work to give his club a veteran presence on the left wing. All signs point to a competitive season as Quispamsis battles for its first playoff appearance. 

Saginaw Spirit - Tom Lusty and the Saginaw Spirit have been searching for answers since winning it all twelve years ago in 2009. It may be a year or two before Steagle Cobeagle soars again. Then again, Saginaw's first half of the draft (Alex Pietrangelo, Jamie Benn, Kyle Palmieri, Anthony Duclair, Erik Karlsson, and Tyler Johnson) just might be enough to make some noise this year, especially if the Jack Eichel saga resolves sooner than later. The Spirit also has one of the most promising trios in net between Thatcher Demko, Cal Petersen, and Spencer Knight. 

Sparta Praha - A decade removed from its last championship, Sparta has pinned all of its hopes on McDavid, Mackinnon, Landeskog, and Vegas and Islanders goalies. Outside of that nucleus, Prague will need several players to overachieve in order to compete.

Stockholm Vipers - GM Mike Greeley drafted like an owner who wants to dance now, not later, and with Ryan O'Reilly and Patrice Bergeron manning the dots and Carlson-Josi-Barrie patrolling the back end, why not? That's not to say the Vipers aren't building for the future, as evidenced by investing a 5th round pick in Matthew Coronato and an 8th in Simon Edvinsson. Dance on, Mike.

Tayutic Team Rasta - The down side? Rich Abbondante was one of the few owners who had to rely on auto drafting. The upside -- Tayutic is definitely one of the deepest teams at center as a result after netting Jonathan Toews, Phillip Danault, Jeff Carter, Scott Laughton, and Adam Henrique with its first five selections. And that's already with Austin Matthews, Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, and Paul Stastny in the mix. Hey, this is what trades are for! 

Whitby Wildcats - This was James Yamada's first WHL draft, but you might not have been able to tell by the results. The Wildcats gathered a blend of proven talent (Anders Lee, Vince Dunn), wildcards who could pay off big in their new real-life surroundings (Dadonov, Gostisbehere), and a cadre of young defenders (Calen Addison, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and Scott Perunovich). There's work to be done, but the future is looking brighter for a franchise that didn't get the love it deserved for far too long.

The Return of Pasta, and a Moose is Loose in Quispamsis

New Hampshire AP — The Northern CHEEFS are known for three things: winning, devouring the waiver wire, and never shying away from a big trade. In his rookie season, General Manager Kyle Hamel traded two first-round picks for David Krejci and Chris Kunitz. A few weeks later, he recouped a 1st and then-rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy in exchange for the Sedin twins, only to trade that 1st at the trade deadline with Brendan Gallagher for Alex Ovechkin. It didn't pan out that year, but Hamel made it abundantly clear that he would do whatever it takes to make a run.

"We’ve been chasing Cups from day one since taking over the franchise," said Hamel in a recent interview. "Now, it’s time to reset in a year that we feel should be tagged with an asterisk. No playoff grind, no real champion! We feel the same way about last year as well. We’ll use all our moves by the trade deadline. Hopefully, we see something from enough of these young guys to build around and get back to where we want to be."

Almost three weeks into the 2020-21 season, the CHEEFS are staying true to their ethos despite finding themselves in unfamiliar territory -- the cellar -- despite never finishing below 8th since bursting onto the scene in 2014. Aside from a handful of building blocks, their roster is made up almost entirely of young players and a shooter tutor guarding the net.

One thing hasn't changed amid the turmoil, though, and that's Hamel's appetite for wheeling and dealing. The CHEEFS have already made four deals in the young season - first shipping out stalwarts Evgeni Malkin and Roman Josi for Quinton Byfield and Cody Glass, followed shortly by another blockbuster that saw recent RFA acquisition Mikko Rantanen and long-time CHEEF defender Aaron Ekblad head to Quispamsis for David Pastrnak and 2021 1st and 2nd round picks.

All of a sudden, David Pastrnak has come home.

"Pasta was drafted by us and we traded him back in 2015 to chase the cup. He’s home now and we couldn’t be happier as his personality and skills represent our team," continued Hamel.

Indeed, that Pastrnak trade in 2015 remains one of the most fascinating deals in league history. CHF moved Pasta, Nathan Beaulieu, Vasilevskiy, and Andrew Hammond to the Wolfsburg Vipers for Ryan Johansen and Tyler Toffoli. The deal certainly looks more appealing to CHEEFS fans now that Pasta is back on the menu.

"We were also lucky to land Mikko as an RFA, but he understands this is a business and he’s happy to land on a contender."

About 6.5 hours up 95-N, nestled against the Bay of Fundy, is where you'll find that contender - Joel Hatfield and the Quispamsis Puckers. Hatfield, whose rookie and sophomore WHL seasons have both been shortened by the pandemic, is over the moon to land Mikko "The Moose" even with the big price tag.

"It all started in the morning when my Director of Analytics had let me know that since the third day of the season (Jan 15) we were the third-best team in the league," said Hatfield, taking a brief break from counting beaver pelts to recount his feelings about what will surely go down in Quispamsis hockey history as "The Trade".

"We had initially inquired about Ekblad because he seemed like a great value to grab from a selling team and would be a big upgrade to some of our underperforming players. [...] After some lengthy internal discussions with the entire Front Office, we agreed that this would be a great deal for both sides. Ultimately it is the injury concerns to Pasta that allowed us to entertain this deal."

Less than an hour after pulling the trigger, Quispamsis traded Anthony Mantha and an 8th round pick to another contender, the North Short Netminders, for a 4th rounder. The modest return surprised some fellow GMs and surely upset more than a few Mantha jersey owners, but Hatfield had his reasons.

"We wish nothing but the best for Mantha, but in full transparency, this was a player and contract that we absorbed from a different administration and we have definitely noticed the drop in play since his big payda. His lack of hustle, toughness, and grit are characteristics we can not ignore. It looks like he gave up big checks for a big check."

Meanwhile, back south of the Canadian border, the CHEEFS completed yet another trade right before this went to press - reacquiring its own 2021 1st round pick from the Jotunheim Giants for Mikhail Sergachev. Under the guidance of new GM Brian Mazzucco, the reinvigorated Giants are in the hunt for prize money and now welcome Sergachev to a promising defensive corps that already includes Cale Makar and Alexander Romanov.

With no shortage of newness this season and mixed feelings about the lack of WHL playoffs, 

the old school total points grind is very much underway and the standings are tightly packed. At a glance, 7th place is within 30 points of 1st, and 12th is just 50 points away from the prize podium. Game on!

Youth Movement in Scandinavia

 

Jotunheim uses top pick on Alexis Lafreniere, Stockholm adds Qunton Byfield and Tim Stuetzle

 

Much like the past year, the 2020-21 WHL draft was replete with a spectrum of emotion. "Great to be back", "when will this end?", and "Go fuck yourself" were all uttered more than a few times throughout the two-hour and 38-minute marathon on Sunday afternoon.

 

Click here for full draft results.

 

Due to the shortened season and the NHL's decision to forge ahead with a mid-January reboot, WHL general managers had less than 48 hours to finalize draft preparations after submitting keepers late on Friday night.

 

It didn't take long for the first surprise of the day. Alex Ovechkin dropped to his lowest WHL draft position (4th overall) in recent memory, maybe ever, after going 1st in four of the last five drafts. Why? Three reasons - Jotunehim GM Brian Mazzucco used his first-ever WHL pick on Alexis Lafreniere, a controversial auto-pick, and Stockholm GM Mike Greeley drafted with a view to the future.

 

More than a few GMs have reported to league offices that today's draft felt deeper than years past, suggesting an influx of more immediate and expensive talent if owners are starting to use more cap dollars on prospects.

 

Draft Strategies were as varied as the number of picks at each owner's disposal. The Northern CHEEFS used its 12 picks almost exclusively on youth. By contrast, after keeping a league-high 26 players, the Honolulu Tropics approached the podium just six times but are surely delighted to have walked way with Alex Ovechkin, Brad Marchand, Zach Werenski, and Torey Krug.

 

On top of the 177 draft choices made, owners were busy on the phones as well. 21 picks were moved across six trades. Click here for the full trades, but let's take a look at how some of them shook out on paper:

 

Josh Deitell's Honolulu Tropics, involved in four of the day's six swaps, opened and closed the trade proceedings- first moving the 17th and 25th overall picks to CSKA Moscow for the 9th OA. That turned into Zach Werenski for Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

 

Defending champ Paul Zeman and the California Kwijibos were busy as well, making two moves on the day. In one, Zeman sent the 12th overall pick to Stockholm for picks 21 and 39. The Vipers confirmed their youth movement by taking towering center, Quinton Byfield, while the Kwijibos plucked Jamie Benn and Jake Muzzin. A separate trade with Honolulu netted California a pair of 3rd round picks in the 2021 draft in exchange for the 23rd overall selection this year, Torey Krug.

 

The Quispamsis Puckers and Sparta Praha got in on the action in the 3rd round, completing a six-pick trade which some speculate is what temporarily broke the draft room. When the dust settled, Drew Doughty (3-12), Jakob Silfverberg (5-15), and Brendan Lemieux (8-5) had made their way to Prague, while Barclay Goodrow (3-15) and Zack Kassian (5-7) packed for Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

 

The penultimate trade de jour was another high-volume deal. Sensing limited roster spots, Josh Deitell astutely bundled three picks (6-4, 6-7, 7-10) to Joe Mastrangelo's Boston Beernuts for pick 61, turning into offensive defenseman Jared Spurgeon for a trio of brutes in Ben Chiarot, Radko Gudas, and Brandon Tanev. Those three combined for a whopping 560 hits last season.

 

Fittingly, the last trade of the day included the final pick in the draft. Honolulu moved said pick (10-18) and a 2021 10th rounder to Tom Lusty's Saginaw Spirit for the 157th overall choice (9-13). The Tropics scooped up Cal Foote, while Saginaw ended the proceedings with longtime WHL darling, Cal Clutterbuck. 

 

Barring any delays, the World Hockey League's 13th season and California's title defense begins on Wednesday, January 13th. Initial waivers will run at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday the 12th to allow teams to make moves before opening night and will return to the usual Monday/Thursday format the following week.

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. 
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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. 
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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!