Great To Be Back

NEW SEASON UNDERWAY, YUKON BEGINS TITLE DEFENSE AGAINST STIFF COMPETITION

We made it guys! Our pride and joy is finally back. Here's a look at each combatant as we dive into this three-month Battle Royale!

Altoona Angry Beavers 
Joe Dahms returns with high hopes for an improved sophomore season. Rinne, Ryan, P.Kane, Phaneuf, and Skinner are the known quantities in Altoona, however, rebound performances from Bryzgalov and Duchene would be critical in taking "Beaver Fever" to the next level. Another key for success will be the continued ascension of 23-year-old Lars Eller. Dahms was incredibly active on the trade market last year, but time will tell if wheeling and dealing was a means to an end, or an ongoing strategy.

Beantown Ball Busters
Since finishing 3rd in 2008-09, Nate Asdourian's Ball Busters have dipped in each successive season. This year, Beantown looks to leverage a strong draft and a robust nucleus of talent into a return to the upper echelon. Getzlaf and Perry remain one of the NHL's most prolific duos, and Lucic and Ott will provide a valuable mix of goals n' grit. Asdourian's season could swing on two things: whether or not Jimmy Howard can thrive in a post-Lidstrom world, and whether or not Braden Holtby has truly arrived.

Boston Beernuts
Like his Beantown rival, the Beernuts are entering their 5th WHL campaign. Joe Mastrangelo made an ultra-aggressive run last year, but fell just short in the Final against Lokomotiv Yukon. This year appears to be mostly about regrouping for the future, unless Joe gets bored and decides to get trade happy again. DiPietro and Mason in net leave much to be desired (as in, a goalie), but Boston is overflowing with young talent. Pietrangelo, Schenn, Smith and Hamilton will patrol the blue line this season, while blue chippers Filip Forsberg, Ryan Strome and others wait in the wings.

Brooklyn Cyclones
Mike Zecca's gang has been an important part of the WHL since the beginning. In fact, MVB, WTF, WPB, and TTR would not be in the league today if Mike hadn't decided to wander into our quirky club back in 2007. On the ice, Brooklyn has averaged a 13th place finish since nabbing 3rd in our inaugural season, but the future is looking brighter. Tavares, Ryan O'Reilly (when he returns), Goligoski, and Fowler remain at the core, joined by a strong supporting cast that includes Weiss, Ribeiro, Michalek, and Jeff Carter. Brooklyn appears to have it's goalie of the future in Anders Lindback, with old schoolers Brodeur and Nabokov as insurance.

California Kwijibos
This will be season number 4 for Paul Zeman and the Kwijibos, who figure to once again challenge for the crown. Miikka Kiprusoff returns for a fourth consecutive season and Jaroslav Halak for his third, continuing California's tradition of elite goaltending. As for skaters, each baby Kwijibo seems to have a veteran counterpart. Tarasenko-Cole. Hanzal-Lecavalier. Nikitin-Markov. Speaking of Tarasenko....what a debut effort from the rook. Two (beautiful) goals, five shots, and a hit!

Canadiens de Montreal
Tyler Ladd's Montreal franchise (Maine Habs, Montreal 100's, now the fully Frenchified "Canadiens de Montreal") has averaged a 10th place finish since 2007, but now looks ready to rise to the top half of the league where they belong. This "Original Six" team has all the makings of a winning WHL formula: elite snipers (Neal, D.Sedin), consistent supporting cast (Elias, Stastny, Erat, Stafford, Streit), budding youngsters (Carlson, Anisimov, S.Kostitsyn), solid goaltending (Anderson, Varlmaov), and to top it off, buckets of cap space for the future. Patience should pay off soon for Ladd. Ole!

CSKA Moscow
Another Original Six team on the rise. Moscow placed in the top 5 in each of its first three seasons before going into rebuild mode in 2010. After two years in the basement, Nathan Fournier appears ready to rebound. Datsyuk-Couture-RNH is easily one of the top center trios in the league, and Karlsson, Suter, and AHL sensation Justin Schultz anchor the back end. Add Pavelec, Brian Elliott and top Finnish prospect Mikael Granlund to the mix, and it's plain to see that Fournier has much to be excited about.

Lokomotiv Yukon
With Malkin, Parise, Letang, Miller and Hiller all returning, there is little reason to suspect a regression from the defending champs. Entering his 4th season, Darryl Schnarr did well to surround his foundation via draft and trade with the likes of Dennis Seidenberg, Viktor Stalberg, Jarome Iginla, and Devan Dubnyk. As if that isn't enough firepower, Peter Mueller and Joni Pitkanen look poised to chip in that extra production which so often gives great teams that X-factor.

Mount Vernon Blades
There probably isn't a team that is hungrier for redemption than Chet Merola's Mount Vernon Blades. The #1 seed heading into last season's playoffs, Merola endured a particularly untimely injury to his starting goalie at the time (Lundqvist), and went on to lose to the #8 seed Beernuts. MVB certainly has the goods to make another run this season. Fleury and Theodore take over in net, and Backes, Callahan, and newcomer Marty St. Louis will pace the attack. Merola also has some intriguing youngsters on board, most notably Chris Kreider and Ryan Ellis.

NJ Wall Flowers
Mario Zecca's Wall Flowers have struggled since entering the league in 2009, but Zecca has also steadily built up a respectable collection of players. A realistic chance is there for Jersey to best their club-record 10th place finish (09-10). For that to happen though, Zecca will need Sergei Bobrovsky and JVR to exceed expectations, in addition to nothing less than elite production from Claude Giroux, Zdeno Chara, and Keith Yandle.

Porter Pirates
Newcomer Bill Fyler takes over for the former Rhode Island Redcoats franchise which couldn't finish higher than 11th over the past three seasons. Fyler has his work cut out for him to fully right the ship, but a group of defenseman that includes keeper gold like Tyler Myers, Michael Del Zotto, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tobias Enstrom, and Ryan McDonagh is one hell of a start. Niklas Backstrom should be serviceable in net, and Eric Staal, Spezza, Vanek, Vrbata and Ennis are expected to drive the lion's share of Porter's offense.

Portland Pints
The Pints have been on Lord Stanley's doorstep in each of the last five seasons. Colin Smith's crew has finished as high as 2nd (2009-10) and never lower than 8th. This year, Smith is gunning for 1st, and it's hard to bet against any team with a healthy Sidney Crosby at its heart. Sid will be backed up by an impressive bouquet of talent on the wings that includes Kovalchuk, Eriksson, Brown, and Pavelski, and a band of brawny defenders anchored by Wisniewski, Giordano, Hedman and Hamonic. Oh, and Kari Lehtonen is in net. Not bad.

Saginaw Spirit
Tom Lusty and the Spirit have been on a roller coaster ride since winning it all in 2009, finishing 11th, 4th, and 12th in subsequent years. If that pattern is to continue, then it's time for an upward swing! The most compelling reason to believe in a Saginaw resurgence is in goal, where Cam Ward, Tuukka Rask, and Roberto Luongo will handle puck stopping duties. One of Lusty's calling cards has always seemed to be choosing a full slate of good-to-very good players in lieu of a small number of "stars." This year is no different, with Bergeron, Stepan, Steen, Lupul, Semin, Stewart, Clutterbuck, Shattenkirk, and Byfuglien all set to do their part.

Stuttgart Scorpions
Unlike other teams that have faltered a bit since beginning their WHL careers on a promising note, Josh Deitell's Stuttgart Scorpions posted a franchise-best 6th place finish last season after spending two years in the teens. A modest regression may be in the cards as Stuttgart continues to stockpile young talent and position itself for a cup run in the near future, but the skill is there to surprise. Veterans Rick Nash and Mike Richards join a promising nucleus that already boasts Seguin, Hall, Wilson, and Doughty.

Tayutic Team Rasta
Rich Abbondante's team looks much improved on paper compared to his debut ensemble in 2012. With Antti Niemi in net, Shea Weber on the point, and Marian Gaborik, Jonathan Toews, Brad Richards, and Patrick Marleau up front, a top 10 finish looks doable for TTR. The key for Rasta will be whether or not Olli Jokinen, Derek Roy, and Ray Whitney can capitalize on their new NHL surroundings and provide a crucial second wave of fantasy output.

West Palm Beach Rangers
After locking up key players Max Pacioretty and Alex Edler last season, and claiming the 1st overall pick in the 2012 draft, Bob Guarascio has put together a solid team for 2013. It's no secret what Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa and Henrik Sedin can do, but Carl Hagelin and Teddy Purcell look ready to turn some heads. There are obviously worse problems to have, but I still don't envy Bob for having to pick one of Lundqvist, Smith or Price to sit when all three starters are rolling.

Wolfsburg Vipers
Mike Greeley, the other new kid on the block for 2013, begins his tenure as a WHL GM with no pressure, and plenty to look forward to. Alex Ovechkin, Scott Hartnell, David Krejci and Mike Green can produce now, but it remains unclear which of them (if any) will fit into Wolfsburg's long-term plans. One guy who likely won't be going anywhere: rookie sensation Nail Yakupov.

Pay The Man

Thomas, Ovechkin, Lundqvist expected to seek big paydays

By Colin Smith

PORTLAND, Maine—With one month in the books, the World Hockey League released its first player value report of the 2010-2011 season on Sunday, and to no one’s surprise, Alex Ovechkin of the Stuttgart Scorpions was projected to be the league’s most expensive player next season.

Ovechkin came in at $88 in the early-season ranking and there is still plenty of time for him to increase that cost as he seeks to regain the status he held in 2008 and 2009 as the WHL’s top overall player.

Not far behind the roughhousing Russian, though, were the surprising Tim Thomas (Arctic Eskies) at $86 and the stalwart Henrik Lundqvist (Sparta Praha) at $85. Thomas is off to a blistering 7-0 start with three shutouts and a sterling .967 save percentage. His 69.4 points are best in the league. Lundqvist, meanwhile, came into the year with a hefty price tag and hasn’t done anything to reduce his value, putting up 52.3 points to rank 5th in the league.

The players who have boosted their value the most in the early going are the NJ Wall Flowers’ Sergei Bobrovsky and the Russia Bearhuggers’ Brent Johnson. Both entered the season with price tags of $2, but have climbed to $40 with excellent play between the pipes. Other goalies who could be due for big raises are Michal Neuvirth, Jaroslav Halak, Kari Lehtonen and Mathieu Garon, while among skaters, Mount Vernon’s Justin Williams and Traverse City’s Clark MacArthur have seen the biggest jump in value so far.

Players whose values have taken a big hit so far this season include Marc-Andre Fleury (poor play), Ryan Miller (poor teammates) and Marian Gaborik (poor body).

Beginning this season, WHL owners will have the option of locking up their players in multi-year deals. In addition to costs for 2011-2012, the player value report released by the league on Sunday shows the projected costs for years two and three of any such deals, based on league-mandated salary increases.

Owners for the first time will also have the opportunity to re-sign their players during the season, rather than having to wait until the offseason. Current WHL rules allow any player with 40 games played or 25 goalie starts to be signed during the season. However, sources have reported rumblings that due to the complex nature of tracking games played by individual players, the league may look to change that structure. The most likely option, according to these sources, would be a Jan. 1 open season on signings, allowing teams to sign players any time from January to September. A league-wide vote may even be in the works already.

Merola Gambles Early

Rumor has it that Mt. Vernon Blades GM Chet Merola has an audition lined up with the hit CBS daytime Soap, The Bold and The Beautiful.

Okay, he doesn't, but one thing is for sure - Merola isn't shy about making a bold move if he thinks it will help his team. Earlier this month, Chet was involved in each of the first two trades of the season. One move saw Mount Vernon deal the highly-touted David Perron and veteran Fedor Tyutin to the Brooklyn Cyclones for Kimmo Timonen and grinder Colby Armstrong.

"Timonen was a no brainer", said Merola at a recent press confrence. "He gives me six solid two-way d-men. Armstrong gives a little grit that I may have been missing."

With a D corps of Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, Kimmo Timonen, Alex Goligoski, Paul Martin, and Joe Corvo, it comes as no surprise that the Blades are in the top percentile for point production from the back end.

The second swap was a bit of a jaw-dropper. Merola sent Wojtek Wolski and Fernando Pisani packing to West Palm Beach in exchange for Bowling Green Alum, Dan Sexton. A mere five days after the trade, Sexton suffered a broken nose when WHL free agent Ruslan Salei reportedly hurled a puck from the stands that struck Sexton right on the button. Sexton was dropped two days a later, a surprising move considering that Sexton is only expected to miss two weeks.

"Sometimes deals that look odd at the time turn out to be great, and other times just don't work out the way you would like", continued Merola.

In a separate, yet equally startling situation, West Palm Beach GM, Bob Guarasciso decided to part ways with left wing Rene Bourque on October 16th. Bourque, who was dealing with a head injury at the time, returned via waivers to Beantown, where he spent the 2009-2010 season, and has amassed over 16 fantasy points through three games as of Oct. 26.

At least Guarasciso has Wolski to fall back on. As for Merola, he surely has another trick or ten up his sleeve.

"I like to keep two or three steps ahead when it comes to roster mangement. I have a few Ideas in mind, we'll see, it's all part of the fun."

New Heights for WHL

Members of North American and International media outlets recently caught up with WHL Co-commissioner Colin Smith at an IIHF/WHL Global Summit, and collaborated on the following interview.

What feels different this year compared to the previous three seasons? It's a long road ahead, but do you get a sense that it's going to be a much tougher fight involving more than a handful of teams?

Oh, I think it's clear already that there a number of well-constructed teams who will be in it until the end. At this point of the season last year, there was only one team within 30 points of the first; this year we have seven. There are another six teams who are within 60. So, I'm not expecting a 2009 Saginaw-like runaway or even a 2010esque two-team battle. So far, I'd say the keeper salary cap has done a great job of leveling the playing field.

Talk a bit about the evolution of the WHL draft. This year was the WHL's first ever offline draft. Do you feel that it went well? Did it also present an opportunity for improvement? I've heard that certain measures have already been implemented to ensure a smoother and more efficient experience next October...any truth to this?

Considering some of the trials and tribulations we encountered in the draft testing phase, I thought it went swimmingly. The obvious flaw was that it just took too long. For next year, it's already written into the rules that the draft will only be 16 rounds, so that will cut some time right off the bat. One thing that made it take longer was attempts to draft players who were already gone. I think we can help abate that problem by making the list of available players automatically update after someone is drafted. We have the technology. In addition, we're going to have to be more stringent with the timer.

Continuous improvement seems to be the mantra for fantasy commissioners and GM's alike. Thinking back on the inaugural 2007-08 Yahoo! points league...what have been, in your mind, the most significant upgrades/changes? In other words, what is it that sets the WHL apart from standard leagues?

There's so much packed into the WHL that it's hard to pick just one thing. I would probably go with the addition of keepers and their associated salaries. I think the predetermined salaries helps keep the teams more even and makes things more interesting than just keeping your five top players. It's also nice to be able to use salaries without the grueling length of an auction draft (can you imagine that with 430 players?).

In a lot of leagues, if you're out of the running by Christmas, it's time to pack it in. Not true in the WHL. Why?

Well, obviously in a keeper league there's always next year to build for. If you tune out, you might miss that big breakout player or call-up. But we've also got the most improved race to try to keep teams invested, awarding the top pick to the team that performs the best turnaround in addition to a $50 bonus.

Two weeks in, have any individual player performances surprised you..either positively or negatively?

Well, I don't think anybody expected what we've seen from Clarke MacArthur, for one. As a Vokoun owner, the thing that's stood out to me most is the improvement of the Florida Panthers. They're consistently outshooting their opponents for a change, and have had the better of the play in every game, although they lack finishers. On the whole, though, I try not to put too much weight into five-game samples.

Draft Test

2010-11 Rulebook
2010 Keeper Cost Document
2010 Draft Pick Trade Chart

This is Praha! Sparta wins 2nd Cup in 3 years

PRAGUE—Led by the phenomenal goaltending of Ryan Miller, Sparta Praha continued its World Hockey League dominance by securing its second title in three years on Sunday.

After winning the championship in 2008, the Spartans temporarily relocated to Colorado in 2009, only to find themselves a distant second to the runaway Saginaw Spirit. Having returned to the comfort of Prague this year, the Spartans came roaring back, showing remarkable resilience throughout the season in a fierce battle with the upstart Portland Pints, who were seeking their first championship after sixth- and seventh-place finishes the last two seasons.

While Miller was unquestionably the team and league MVP after posting a league-leading 326 points, it was fellow goaltender Evgeni Nabokov who led the charge in the final week, accruing 22 points in three starts as Praha turned a 3-point lead into a comfortable 53-point advantage entering the last day of the season. Miller and right wing David Backes each chipped in over a dozen points in the final push.

“This is truly an amazing moment,” said Miller at the conclusion of Sunday’s action. “I’m so proud to be a part of the great Praha franchise.”

Asked if this helps alleviate the sting of losing to Canada at this year’s Olympics, Miller responded, “While there’s no substitute for a gold medal, there isn’t a hockey player in the world who hasn’t dreamt of raising the World Hockey League trophy since he was a kid.”

While the Spartan goalies prospered, garnering a combined 28 points in crucial matchups on Tuesday and Saturday, Portland’s tandem of Tomas Vokoun and Jonathan Quick foundered. The duo produced only 17.5 points in 20 starts over the last month of the season, including a devastating -5 in the final week.

Praha’s championship team was most notably marked by two things: a seeming revolving door of player personnel and an unwillingness to back down in the face of adversity.

The Spartans signed and dressed more players than any other team in the WHL and were one of only two teams to reach the 60-acquisition limit. This has been a hallmark of Praha’s success: its 2008 championship team led the league with 117 acquisitions and even the imposition of movement limits hasn’t deterred General Manager Mark Edwards’ penchant for wheeling and dealing.

Though Praha had a strong draft, bringing in such season-long stalwarts as Miller, centers Anze Kopitar and Ryan Kesler and defenseman Drew Doughty, it was the talent Edwards brought in midseason that made the difference. The December acquisitions of Alex Ovechkin, who gave the Spartans 119 points in 29 games before being dealt to Stuttgart, and Nabokov, who stabilized the second goaltending spot after Steve Mason’s struggles, were especially critical for Praha, which faced a 92-point deficit on December 18.

Other key trades for Praha included bringing in Nicklas Lidstrom, who looked lost in Montreal but blossomed with 80 points in 42 games in Prague, and Bobby Ryan, who had 95 points in 44 games. Ryan, in turn, helped Edwards bring in goaltender Chris Mason, who struggled early, but finished strong, providing a crucial 51 points in just 13 starts while in Prague.

After slowly chipping away at Portland’s 92-point cushion, bringing it down to 46 on Feb. 7, the Spartans had perhaps their most important stretch of the season, posting 116 points in four days to take a 22-point lead. Though the Pints came back to take a slim lead into the Olympic break, it was back and forth from that point on. Even when Portland went up by 40 with three weeks to go, it took only four days for Praha to come back.

“On behalf of the entire Pints organization, I would like to extend my congratulations to Mark Edwards and the Spartans,” said Portland General Manager Colin Smith. “Mark has shown once again why he is the premier front office man in the league, even if he is a rat bastard. Clearly we still have some work to do to bring a championship to Portland, but Pints fans can take some solace in knowing that Edwards is still a lousy chess player.”

Though Praha’s championship came at a price—Edwards had to relinquish his first-round pick in this year’s draft to bring in Nabokov—the Spartans have a bevy of exceptional keeper options and extra picks in the second and third rounds. Vegas will be hard-pressed not to have them as the early favorites for the 2011 title as well.

Trade Deadline Round up

The dust has finally settled from the furious activity leading up the WHL trade deadline which passed on Wednesday. Here is a recap of the transactions from deadline day and eve.

West Palm <-------> Portland
Jarome Iginla---------Alex Burrows
Stephane Robidas----Roman Hamrlik
10th (MVB), 15th ----6th (WTF), 14th

New Jersey <----> Montreal
Troy Brouwer-----Carey Price
4th----------------18th

California <----> Portland
Simon Gagne-------Matt Cooke
11th, 13th----------8th, 15th

W. Edmonton <----> California
Brian Rolston------Kris Letang
Nick Schultz-------Alex Steen
5th, 7th-----------7th, 10th

Beantown <-------> Stuttgart
Niclas Bergfors----Guillaume Latendresse

New Jersey <-------> Stuttgart
Craig Anderson-------Erik Johnson
16th (PINT)----------12th

New Jersey <------------> Sparta
Henrik Zetterberg, 13th---2nd (CSKA)

California <-----> Sparta
Marek Zidlicky-----Christoph Schubert
16th---------------8th

A quick review of some key rules pertaining to keepers and trades:

* To be keeper-eligible, a player must be on a (not necessarily your) WHL roster by the trade deadline and remain on that roster for the rest of the season. This means that a player who is dropped after the trading deadline will lose keeper eligibility.

* There are two reasons for the keeper eligibility deadline: 1) to prevent a run on young, cheap players at the end of the season or in the offseason, which would circumvent the draft; 2) to make owners show at least a modest (one-month) commitment to a player before keeping him.

* Just like the NHL, trading is open during the offseason. Trades may be made from the day after the end of the regular season up until the keeper selection deadline (Sept. 8). Any player who is keeper eligible (see requirements above) will retain that eligibility if traded.