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GAMESPEAK – FHL NEWSLETTER

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October 14, 2014 Vol. 5, No. 1

Welcome to the FHL new season! Gamespeak Vol. 5, No. 1 - The FHL Preview Edition is now released. Get

ready to take the ice for the 5th season of the FHL!

Table of Contents: P. 1 – Table of Contents

P. 1 - FHL 3rd Season Preview Analysis Team by Team – Luc (Lucky) Savard

P. 9 - FHL Preseason Preview – Howard Cossell, Jr.

P. 22 - FHL Trade Spreadsheet – Chad Pridemore (Asst. Commissioner)

P. 23 – Commissioner Comments

FHL 2014 Preview Analysis Team by Team – By Luc (Lucky) Savard I hope you all had a great summer. Congratulations to NY Dolphins for winning the Crystal last season. As a reminder, nobody should take this personally, there is no perfect formula. It is only one man analysis. Let’s have fun. I would like to thank the visiting raccoons and deer’s that help put this together. I have placed teams in predicted order of finish in their division. A = Excellent B = Very Good C = Above Average D = Needs Work

East Division Exton GM: Jeff Murray

Offense B Power Play A

Defence A Short Handed A

Goaltenders B Overall A

This team has a lot of good forwards including Evgeny Malkin and recently acquired Patrick Sharp. “Trader” Jeff is always on the move and rumors had James Neal being shop when I wrote this article. I have a feeling him leaving Pittsburgh has something to do with this. On defense, they also have a few very solid two way players such as Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Suter. They are deep there with five full time players rated above 7.8 defensively. In net, they have three very well rated back up goaltenders. I guess goaltending by committee is the strategy here. Three goaltenders that played 29 or less games, GAA under 1.87 and save % above .932. Short term this may work but I can’t see this working over a couple of seasons. This is a really good team and Jeff intends to make it all the way.


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East Division

New York Dolphins GM: Cliff Dolgins

Offense A Power Play A

Defence B Short Handed B

Goaltenders C Overall B+

The two time champions will remain a force in the league even with Steven Stamkos injury. They still can count on a powerful offense led by Corey Perry and Phil Kessel. The only issue is that both are RW’s. This could also be seen as a positive and a chance to spread the offense. They will be well supported offensively by Erik Karlsson. With brooks Orpik and Mark Giordano, the defense is solid, better than at the start of last season. In net, Jaroslav Halak will play over 50 games and he is decent. Antti Niemi will play the reminder of the games. New York will make the playoffs. Cliff does not trade often but when he needs pieces he goes and gets them. As the champions, they will be watched closely.

Boston Whalers

GM: Doug Shirley

Offense B Power Play C


Goaltenders C Overall B

Jamie Benn and Patrick Kane will lead this very good offense. They should complete a nice line with Paul Statsny. The defense is decent, not great, as there is no top offensive support. However, the top three of Hjalmarsson, Vlasic and Spurgeon are all strong defensively. In net, Corey Schneider is the top dog and should do fine when he plays his 45 games but he does not have the backup he had last year and Kari Ramo as the backup is questionable. They should also make it to the playoffs.

Montreal Canadiens GM: Bill Kay

Offense C Power Play B

Defence D Short Handed C

Goaltenders A Overall C

The team has good forwards, led by Jason Spezza, He is very weak defensively but the other forwards such as Brian Little, David Backes and Jeff Carter should cover him. Keith Yandle will provide offense from the backhand while Matt Carle covers him defensively. After that, I am sure management is very concerned. Sergei Varlamov is great in net and they need him. He should see a lot of pucks in his 63 games but he is used to it playing for Colorado Avalanches of the NHL. They will fight for the last playoff spot.


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East Division

Florida GM: Bryan Sakolsky

Offense C Power Play D

Defence C Short Handed D

Goaltenders C Overall C

Welcome Nathan Mackinnon!! Lots of teams tried to get that 1st overall pick but Bryan would not move and rightly so. He will be awesome sooner than later!! He became their top offensive player as soon as he was drafted. He will most probably play with strong defensive forward TJ Oshie. Strong offense support from Eric Johnson, Christian Erhoff and Matt Niskanen will help them. Defensively, well it is average at best but they are building and on the right track. Ryan Miller who is rated 7.1 should play most game as back up Martin Jones plays the reminder of the games.

Mid West Division

Kansas City Ice Twisters GM: Joshua Pohl


Defence B Short Handed C


KC always has a good team and does well in the regular season; they need to translate that in the playoffs. I love John Tavares, their top player. Nicklas Backstrom is the other top center, they have strong building blocks. They will ice two very good lines for sure with Alex Steen and Jaromir Jagr on the wings. On defense, the team has three full time players rated 7.8 or better and two of them, Alex Goligoski and Brian Campbell, who are rated above 4.0 offensively. They may lack depth however at that position. Kari Lethonen will play most games in net with a very decent backup in Philip Grubauer. KC should make the playoffs as coach Joshua always gets the right matchups at home.

Cleveland Barons

GM: Scott Kalman



Goaltenders D Overall C+

Cleveland has three forwards who scored more than 30 goals last year in Patrick Marleau, Chris Kunitz and Jason Pominville, they are the first line. It is to be noted that their 10 top scorers are also rated above 4.0 or better defensively. They have no concern with forwards playing a defensive game. They also have three defense rated above 7.7 including the monster Zdeno Chara. In net, Craig Anderson is the best rated at 6.5 and the starter. I would be concerned. Lucky for them, they are, in my book, in the weaker division and therefore have a chance to make it despite poor goaltending.


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Mid West Division

Rye Seahawks GM: Craig Musselman

Offense D Power Play C

Defence C Short Handed C

Goaltenders B Overall C

Jussi Jokinen is the only forward above 50 points. The defense is interesting; Roman Josi can provide both offense and defense. You also have to like the Jacob Trouba pick and James Wiesniewski transition game. In net, Ben Scrivens will do very well during his 40 games and having MA Fleury as a backup is not bad. This is an expansion team and it will take a while. They, however, did well last year; they are going in the right direction and may surprise. They are going up the ladder.

Cincinnati GM: Francois Lessard

Offense C Power Play B

Defence C Short Handed C


Ryan O’reilly and Clarke MacArthur are the best offensive forwards with Brandon Saad as the third one. Dustin Byfuglien and Mike Green will support the offense but neither are defensive stars. Robyn Regher will be busy covering up. Henrik Lundqvist has been the king of this team for many years. His rating dropped this year. Even when you think that this team won’t be strong enough, they manage to do well. I don’t think that they will make it to the show but Francois team has surprised us before.

Detroit Bandits GM: Chad Pridemore

Offense C Power Play C


Goaltenders D Overall D+

Gabriel Landeskog will be counted on immensely to provide offense. They have no big time players after him. The defense is also in development, they are getting better with Travis Hamonic there but it is still average at best. In net, Jimmy Howard rating just dropped and Justin Peters, the backup, became the best goaltender when drafted. Detroit will struggle this year. They didn’t have luck with some ratings. However, they drafted very well and Aleksander Barkov should join Landeskog and Brendan Gallagher eventually to form a very good first line.


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West Central Division

Indianapolis Checkers GM: Andrew Smith

Offense A Power Play A


Goaltenders A Overall A

Very balanced offense with four players who scored more than 30 goals, Joe Pavelski having the most at 41 (16 on the PP). Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci should center the top two lines. It will be interesting to see if Brent Burns plays forward or defense, if he plays back, that would give the team four defenses with more than 44 points. The best one being Victor Hedman. Andrew never wanted to trade him and it starting to pay off. As for the defensive game, the D are average at best and that is where I guess that forwards like Bergeron and Pavelski will help. Three goaltenders and all above 7.6, Bishop will be the starter. No issue there. They, off course, will make it to the playoffs.

Minnesota North Stars GM: Rob Gallamore



Goaltenders A Overall A

Rob will lead Minnesota to his first full season this year. Alex Ovechkin 51 goals (24 PP goals) will be watched closely so will Max Pacioretty, James Van Riemsdyk and Blake Wheeler. Very strong on the wing, average at best in the middle. Niklas Kronwall was a nice addition last year, he is a complete defenseman, and so are Jay Bouwmeester and Cam Fowler. The team can count on four full times players rated above 7.6. Five of the defensemen accumulated more than 30 points. They also have two more with three star PK ratings. Tuukka Rask as a starter, Alex Montoya as a backup, they are in good hands. They are playoffs bound.

Chicago Blackhawks GM: Tom Sawyer

Offense C+ Power Play D



Welcome new owner Thomas Sawyer! I feel like signing, but won’t. I am sure he heard enough of that but if you feel like it and can get over the commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk. The offense is decent with passer Joe Thornton and scorer Marian Hossa. Similar to what we saw with Cleveland, their top seven forwards are all rated above 4.1. Kimmo Timonen is their top defense, solid offensively, OK defense. The remainder are a concern. Thom will find solutions, it needs work but he has tools to improve. Roberto Luongo will start 56 games and do well. His numbers should go up next year now that he is happy in Florida. The backups are a little weak. Thom just took over and will work on improving the team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk


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West Central Division

McGregor Condors GM: Jesse W. Cheng


Defence C+ Short Handed C+

Goaltenders D- Overall C

You have to like an offense that starts with two excellent two-way center men in Ryan Getzlaf and Anze Kopitar. The next four forwards are either LW or RW and all scored over 20 goals. On defense, they have three who accumulated more than 30 points, and two that are rated over 7.7 defensively. Jack Johnson is the top D. In net, well let’s just say that Pekka Rinne should eventually rebound, if not Jesse will go bald. With the current goaltending, this will be a long season.

Spokane Bombers GM: Ken Perry

Offense D Power Play C

Defence B Short Handed C

Goaltenders D Overall C

Ken is improving his second year team slowly but surely. Scott Hartnell, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Johnson will lead this offense; there are four forwards that scored more than 20 goals. On defense, Brent Seabrook is a complete player and will be supported well by Brandon Coburn and Danny Dekeyser. Frederik Andersen is the best goaltender but game limited. The others are all ok with good future ahead of them. The time has not come yet for this team but it is a matter of time. They are improving.

West Division

Quebec Nordiques GM: Johnny Francoeur


Defence B+ Short Handed B

Goaltenders A Overall B+

The top point forward is Jonathan Toews at 68. Of course, if Zetterberg would have played more games, he may have surpassed him. Their offense has more to do with a team approach than a star approach. Duncan Keith and Shea Weber will provide solid offense and sound defense. After them, Andrei Markov and PK Subban will provide offense but the team may need more defensive support. However, given all the offense the D can provide, I still give them a very good rating. Carey Price, Jonathan Bernier and Corey Crawford, they are loaded. They will compete with California for the first place in the Division.


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West Division California Zephyrs GM: Kent Grey

Offense A Power Play B


Goaltenders B Overall B+

What to say about the offense, Sidney Crosby and Tyler Seguin on the first line, Ryan Johansson and Gustav Nyquist on the second, enough said. California does not have the offensive D like Quebec or even Gatineau but they won’t get burn defensively with players like Jonas Brodin and Justin Braun. Sergei Brobovsky should see the majority of the games and Thomas Greiss is a solid backup. This team will fight with Quebec for the first place.

Gatineau City Bulldogs GM: Luc Savard

Offense B Power Play B

Defence A Short Handed B+


Gatineau does not have a goal scorer over 30 goals but have six over 20. Three of them, Claude Giroux, Taylor Hall and Matt Duchene accumulated over 70 points. On defense, Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo are leading the way. They are both impressive offensively and defensively. Oliver Ekman Larsson is also someone to watch, he accumulated 44 points including 8 PP goals. In net, Brian Elliott is the best at 7.6 but game limited. Brendan Holtby and Jonathan Quick should also see some games. The team will fight for a playoff spot.

Toledo Goaldiggers GM: Stan Skawinski

Offense C Power Play D

Defence C Short Handed D+


Stan “The Man” joins the league this year as he looks to put his signature on the old Calgary team while relocating to Toledo. Four forwards have over 50 points but none are over the 60 mark. Kyle Turris, Brad Marchand and Derek Stepan should form a very decent first line. Kevin Bieksa and TJ Brodie will form a very good first pairing. Mike Smith will start most game in net. Toledo is not the best team and not the worst; they are young and looking forward. In such a strong division they will be hard press to make it to the playoffs. They will fight for a spot.


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West Division

Los Angeles Monarchs GM: David Sayles

Offense D Power Play D


Goaltenders C Overall D

The Monarchs are rebuilding. They only have two forwards over 50 points including Patrick Hornqvist who could see a major point increase with Pittsburgh this year. On defense, Dan Hamhuis is a complete player. After him, great rookie Hampus Lindholm was a nice pick. Steve Mason will play most games in net and while he is ok he may find it hard this year. The team is rebuilding, they have fought hard the last years and the time has come. They are in good hands.

Playoffs Playoffs predictions, especially who will win the cup, are so hard to make given so much can happen during the season. Last season, as an example, New York acquired very key players late in the year to go on and win the cup. For the fun of it here they are:

East West

Exton Indianapolis

New York Minnesota

Boston Chicago

Montreal Quebec

Kansas City California

Cleveland Gatineau

Crystal Final

Exton Vs Indianapolis

Champion

Indianapolis


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FHL 2014-15 Season Preview By Howard Cosell, Jr.

Before starting the preview a few words about changes. This season has seen an important shift in ratings. The average has gone down slightly. This is important for two reasons. First, it means one must look at players slightly differently. More low 6 defenders are going to play regularly, more 5 forwards will see regular ice time. By the same token there are only 2 defenders with an offense of more the 5. A 3.8 or 3.9 offense rating for a defenders is average, so a 4 is above average to good, with high 4s being excellent. Similarly, defense for forwards sees an average in the 3.8 range. The second reason this is important is that it allows star players to stand out more. Having a high offense or defense rating has more meaning than in previous seasons. There is also a change in the format I will use. At the end of each Conference, I will provide a brief summary of the conference and the teams and how things look as we get ready to start the season. Otherwise, much is the same as last season. Teams are graded in various aspects with a C+ being average. The lone exception is the grade regarding the team’s future. B- is looking up, though only slightly, and C+ is slipping down, though again only slightly. This looks out over the next 3 to 5 years and is based on age, particularly the age of primary players. A primary player in his late 20’s can be expected to maintain his abilities over the next 3 to 5 years. However, primary players that are 33 or 34 are expected to see a decline in the coming years. Obviously, primary players in their early to mid-20s are expected to maintain, even possibly improve. Additionally, teams are looked at for prospects, players who have the ability to develop into primary players. After the grades is a brief write up of each team, which can touch on their offense, defense, goaltending, special teams, injuries or other notable aspects for better or for worse. As always, this preview comes with the caveat that one trade can change everything. Additionally, it is merely one person’s reflections. East Division Exton Igloos - 1st (1st) 100% Forwards: Off- A, Def- A- Defense: Def- A, Off- B+ Goaltending: A- Power Play: B+ Penalty Kill: A- Construction: B+ Drafting: B+ Future: B


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Scoring check, defense check, goaltending asterisk. Recently added Patrick Sharp may be the only 30 goal scorer, but Exton has a wealth of 20+ goal scorers and some secondary scoring. On defense Ryan Suter is the highest rated defensman this year and he is for from alone. Ryan McDcDonagh’s breakout year makes him a full on two way threat. Exton is loaded from top to bottom, the teams depth means they have very few holes. There are a few concerns. Three of the top rated goalies are on this team, but none plays more than 29 games. It is goalie by committee and it is as good of a committee as you could hope for, but committees have a way of under performing. Second are some injuries. Letang plays less than half the season. Make no mistake, this defense core is deep and strong, but Letang makes any defense that much better and for half the season he won’t be there. Likewsie, Malkin and Neal each miss a quarter of the season. Again, the team is very deep, but these are important players. The final concern is playmaking. Exton has a lot of goal scorers, but few play makers, fewer now that Stepan is in Toledo. This caused the team some trouble last season, will it again this season?

New York Dolphins - 2nd (2nd) 100% Forwards: Off- A-, Def- B Defense: Def- B+, Off- A Goaltending: B- Power Play: A+ Penalty Kill: B Construction: B Drafting: D Future: B- Scoring has always been the game in New York. And you can’t argue with 2 titles in 4 seasons. Once again New York has some of the top offensive players in the game. Forward Perry and Kessel lead the way. The defense has 4 players with 10 or more goals. Additionally, the defense plays more, well defense, than it has in the past. This is important because while there is still a lot of scoring in New York, there isn’t as much in past seasons. And the Stamkos injury only adds to that let down. Stamkos is absolutely phenomenal offensively this season…for 37 games. New York has always been heavy on wingers and the injury to Stamkos only makes things harder. Brad Richards and a slightly off year of Henrik Sedin will have to carry the load in the middle for more than half the season. Still, with all its weapons, New York isn’t going to be left wanting for goals. Goaltending is a bit of a different situation. Halak is a solid goalie for 50+ seasons and with the teams offense, he will get his share of wins. However, Niemi is below average this season and will need to play nearly 30 games. That added bit of defense is going to have to step up.


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Boston Whalers - 3rd (3rd) 100% Forwards: Off- B+, Def- B- Defense: Def- A-, Off- C- Goaltending: B- Power Play: B- Penalty Kill: A- Construction: C+ Drafting: C+ Future: B- The forwards feature among others the dynamic duo of Jamie Benn and Patrick Kane. A good supporting cast puts together 2 really good lines, but after that it gets thin. And don’t look to the blueline for help. Only one defenseman scores more than 5 goals. In fact, the defense is hard pressed to support the attack, which will also hurt on power plays. What the defense does do is play defense. And they do so very, very well. That might not be much of a threat in the offensive zone, but they will certainly cut down on Boston’s opponents ability to be a threat. The goaltending is average. Schneider is above average, but only for 45 games. Ramo is below average for the remaining games, so they will need that defense. Another challenge is injuries. Their top defensive forward, Sobotka misses a quarter of the season and even Kane misses double digit games. Boston will be forced to juggle their line up throughout most of the season. Montreal Canadiens - 4th (7th) 60% Forwards: Off- B+, Def- B Defense: Def- C-, Off- B- Goaltending: A- Power Play: B Penalty Kill: C Construction: C Drafting: A- Future: B+ Backes, Carter, Spezza and Little lead a strong and balanced attack. Good secondary scoring and offensive support from other forward means the top 3 lines will be legitimate scoring threats. Yandle and a developing Hamilton support the offense and will make for a very good first power play unit, but there is no more support from the blueline after them. To take it one step further, the blue line is also defensively challenged. Carle and Quincy are good and Yandle is respectable, but after that it goes downhill and fast. Savard will be needed to play all 70 of his games and high end prospect Ristolainen will need to take the ice, both are sub 6 defense. This means goalie Semyon Varlamov will have his work cut out for him. He is an excellent goaltender this season, one of the top 3. And with a porous defense in front of him, he will need to be. Hiller is the backup and will need to start 17 games. Hiller had a below average year and with a below average defense in front of him, that could mean a lot of goals given up in those games. Varlamov has the ability to steal some games, and there is good scoring potential in Montreal. Will it be enough to send them back to the playoffs? Only time will tell.


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Florida Everblades - 5th (9th) 0% Forwards: Off- D+, Def- C+ Defense: Def- C, Off- C+ Goaltending: B Power Play: C Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: C Drafting: B+ Future: B+ Three 20 goal scorers including #1 overall pick MacKinnon. No secondary scoring to speak of means the top three forwards are going to have to carry the load where scoring is concerned. They will get a little help from Niskanen on defense, but that is all. Defensively, again there are a few good players, but after that there is no support. If one of the team’s penalty killers is in the box, the team is hard pressed to put a decent second penalty killing unit on the ice. Miller is average, but back up Martin Jones provides 19 excellent games of goaltending, so he may steal a game or two himself. The team is very young and has a lot of potential. However, the hard fact is more talented Florida teams haven’t done well in the past and this team isn’t as good. A lot of up and coming talent, but someday this team has to prove it can win, otherwise they are the Edmonton Oilers. Mid West Division Cleveland Barons - 1st (4th) 80% Forwards: Off- B+, Def- A Defense: Def- B+ Off- B Goaltending: C- Power Play: B Penalty Kill: A Construction: C+ Drafting: D+ Future: D+ Three, count them, three 30 goal scorers (Kunitz, Marleau, & Pominville). While there is only one other 20 goal scorer, there is a good amount of secondary scoring to provide for at least a decent attack when the big 3 aren’t on the ice. Zdeno Chara is one of the premiere defensemen in hockey right now. He adds to the attack and is the leader on defense as well. Chara is joined by Voynov and Mitchell among others to form a strong defensive core this season too. And then there is the goaltending. Anderson and Reimer are both in the below average category this season so that defense will be badly needed. The big 3 combined with depth scoring will score a decent number of goals. The defense is solid and the forward group is also one of the finest defensively. They will need to be to help protect their goaltending.


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Cincinnati- 2nd (5th) 80% Forwards: Off- B-, Def- D+ Defense: Def- C-, Off- B Goaltending: B- Power Play: B Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: B- Drafting: C+ Future: B Cincinnati has 12 forwards who score 15 goals or more. One of those is Hertl, who only has 37 games. That is nearly 4 lines of scoring. The team lacks a true dominant scorer, though Ryan O’Reilly’s 28 goals are nothing to sneeze at, but it is the depth that makes it a hard team to play against. Additionally, their defense contains the like of Dustin Byfuglien and Mike Green to help support the attack. Byfulein is one of 3 defenders with 20 or more goals and one of 2 defenders with an offense rating in the 5s. The defense is a different story. Russell is the only d-man with a 7 rating and who plays more than 20 minute per game; and he misses a dozen games. Regehr is good and even better on the penalty kill. Harrold provides 33 games of good defense too, but after that it falls off and they get almost no help from the forwards, which overall are the lowest rated group in the league. Lundqvist is the netminder. In seasons past, that has been enough to make up for deficiencies in the defense. But this season Lundqvist is an above average to good goalie. Additionally, Budaj is the back up and will need to start 17 games. There’s no way around it, Budaj is well below average. The question becomes how much team scoring can Cincinnati get to offset the troubled defense. Kansas City- 3rd (6th) 80% Forwards: Off- B, Def- C Defense: Def- B, Off- D+ Goaltending: B- Power Play: B- Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: D Drafting: A- Future: B- Alex Steen scored 33, and Jagr and Taveres each added 24. The team also brings 6 good secondary scorers including playmaker Nicklas Backstrom who certainly makes those around him better. However, there is no forward scoring after that and Steen misses a dozen games with Taveres missing a quarter of the season. Gologoski and Campbell help out offensively from the back, but that’s it. Defensively it starts out very well, Beauchemin along with Gologoski and Campbell are excellent. Plus Salvador is just as good defensively for half the season. Scandella holds his own and even Michalek is solid especially in the 3rd pairing. After that is where some trouble starts.

Cincinnati Swords - 2nd (5th) 80% Forwards: Off- B-, Def- D+ Defense: Def- C-, Off- B Goaltending: B- Power Play: B Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: B- Drafting: C+ Future: B Cincinnati has 12 forwards who score 15 goals or more. One of those is Hertl, who only has 37 games. That is nearly 4 lines of scoring. The team lacks a true dominant scorer, though Ryan O’Reilly’s 28 goals are nothing to sneeze at, but it is the depth that makes it a hard team to play against. Additionally, their defense contains the like of Dustin Byfuglien and Mike Green to help support the attack. Byfulein is one of 3 defenders with 20 or more goals and one of 2 defenders with an offense rating in the 5s. The defense is a different story. Russell is the only d-man with a 7 rating and who plays more than 20 minute per game; and he misses a dozen games. Regehr is good and even better on the penalty kill. Harrold provides 33 games of good defense too, but after that it falls off and they get almost no help from the forwards, which overall are the lowest rated group in the league. Lundqvist is the netminder. In seasons past, that has been enough to make up for deficiencies in the defense. But this season Lundqvist is an above average to good goalie. Additionally, Budaj is the back up and will need to start 17 games. There’s no way around it, Budaj is well below average. The question becomes how much team scoring can Cincinnati get to offset the troubled defense. Kansas City- 3rd (6th) 80% Forwards: Off- B, Def- C Defense: Def- B, Off- D+ Goaltending: B- Power Play: B- Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: D Drafting: A- Future: B- Alex Steen scored 33, and Jagr and Taveres each added 24. The team also brings 6 good secondary scorers including playmaker Nicklas Backstrom who certainly makes those around him better. However, there is no forward scoring after that and Steen misses a dozen games with Taveres missing a quarter of the season. Gologoski and Campbell help out offensively from the back, but that’s it. Defensively it starts out very well, Beauchemin along with Gologoski and Campbell are excellent. Plus Salvador is just as good defensively for half the season. Scandella holds his own and even Michalek is solid especially in the 3rd pairing. After that is where some trouble starts. Additionally, only Steen, Daniel Sedin and Dominic Moore have defense ratings of 4 or higher. While the most of the forwards are average, this will adversely affect their penalty kill. What about the goaltending? It is solid. Lehtonen is above average and Grubauer is good for 17 games. The two combine for 82 games, so Kansas City will hope that it doesn’t have more than 2 games where the goalie is pulled (gets the hook), because the remaining goaltending is below average with a defense that lacks depth.


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Detroit Bandits - 4th (8th) 0% Forwards: Off- C-, Def- B- Defense: Def- C, Off- F Goaltending: C Power Play: C- Penalty Kill: B- Construction: D+ Drafting: C+ Future: D+ Four 20 goal scorers is a good start, but there are only a couple of forwards that provide and one of those (Franzen) misses a third of the season. The defense provides no offensive support. Not saying the team will be shutout, but scoring more than 2 goals is going to be a real challenge. Hamonic is an excellent defender, but misses 11 games. Ericsson and Stuart are both good defenders, But Ericsson only played 48 games and Stuart missed almost a quarter of the season. After that things go downhill on the blueline. There are some good defensive forwards in Detroit, so they help, but it’s problematic. Things don’t get any better in net. Peters does provide 21 games of above average goaltending. However, the remaining games are split between Giguere and Howard who are both below average. Combined with a questionable defense and limited scoring and it will be a long season in Detroit. Sadly, the future doesn’t hold a lot of hope. There are a handful of good young players or prospects, but that’s all. Too many primary players are winding down their careers. Detroit is old and not a contender which is a bad combination. Rye Seahawks - 5th (10th) 0% Forwards: Off- F, Def- B+ Defense: Def- B-, Off- B Goaltending: B Power Play: D- Penalty Kill: B Construction: C- Drafting: C Future: C+ In many ways, the second season for an expansion team can be worse than the first season. The first season, the team can pick and choose how it wants to fill its games. But the second year, it is left with whatever happened and it can’t go drafting players off of other teams. Offense, not really. California’s offense was described as anemic in their first season, for Rye that would be an improvement. A single 20 goal scorer (Jussi Jokinen) and their next highest goal scorers are a pair of 15 goal scorers. The defense does provide some help. Josi and Trouba both scored double digit goals and Muzzin and Wisniewski can help generate offense. The defense is solid, with the afore mentioned players joined by Grossman and Petry among others. The goalies remain a high point for Rye. Scrivens provides half a season of excellent goaltending. And Fluery is at least average, which is solid, for the other half. Rye is a young team. They have solid goaltenders and some good young defensemen. They will need to start adding some young forwards in the future to move the team forward.


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Reflections on the Republic Conference: The top 3 teams in the Republic Conference are Exton, New York and Boston, all divisional opponents. The top three teams (Cleveland, Cincinnati & Kansas City) in the Mid West division are in many ways too close to call. Each team has a hole in it. So, the order they were put in was a bit of a guess. Should one of these three address their hole, they would rise to the top of the division and to would battle with Boston for the 3rd best team in the conference. That is how far ahead Exton and New York are in comparison to the rest of the conference. Montreal finished 4th in the East Division last season and went to the playoffs. There is a chance that could happen again. The remaining three teams (Detroit, Florida & Rye) have no shot at the playoffs. In fact, all three were lottery teams this past summer and frankly it is entirely possible all three will be in the lottery in 2015. While the Republic Conference is certainly the weaker conference, don’t allow that to take away from Exton and New York. Both teams are legitimate contenders to win the championship. West Central Indianapolis Checkers - 1st (2nd) 100% Forwards: Off- A-, Def- B+ Defense: Def- B, Off- A Goaltending: A- Power Play: A Penalty Kill: B Construction: B- Drafting: C- Future: C Indianapolis is even stronger this season than in past seasons. The scoring starts with 40+ goal scorer Pavelski. Then three 30 goal scorers (Iginla, St. Louis & Bergeron) follow. The scoring rounds out with two more 20 goal scorers and a couple of secondary scorers including top playmaker Krejci. The top 3 lines are serious threats to score. Out the defense just piles on with four defensemen who are double digit goal scorers. The blueline doesn't have any defensive studs for shutting down opponent’s top scorers. What they do have is a solid group defensively, particularly their top 5 defenders. What Indianapolis also has is a group of good to excellent defensive forwards to help their defensemen out. The goaltending also gets high marks. Khudobin is excellent for 36 games and after that their is Bishop who is nearly as good. Obviously the power play is top notch; however the penalty kill is the closest thing this team has to a weakness. It’s not bad, but without a top defensive defenseman, the team can be vulnerable when short a skater. Indianapolis appears to have taken the step from fighting for a division title to being a contender for the title.


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Minnesota North Stars- 2nd (4th) 100% Forwards: Off- A-, Def- B- Defense: Def- A-, Off- B- Goaltending: A- Power Play: B+ Penalty Kill: A Construction: C+ Drafting: B Future: B The attack starts with Alex Ovechkin, the lone 50 goal scorer. And it doesn’t stop there, Pacioretty and van Riemsdyk are 30 goal scorers and then there are four more 20 goal scorers. This means the 3rd line is going to have a 20 goal scorer on it. However, after that there is only one secondary scorer and then the offense runs out among the forwards. The back line is supportive offensively, but only Schultz and Kronwall are goal scoring threats, that and half a season of Robidas. The top four defensive defensemen are all very good to excellent. The final pairing is solid defensively, though should Schultz be pressed into service for offensive purposes his defense remains below average. Yet as a 3rd pairing specialist, Schultz can be a real weapon. Minnesota has four top defensive forwards, which is good for penalty killing so long as one of the four isn’t in the box. After that most of the other forwards are average, not bad, but not good. What Minnesota does have is the top starting goalie in the league in Rask. For nearly three quarters of the season, this top net minder will patrol the crease. He’s backed up by Montoya who is solid and will benefit from the tough defense. If there is a hole, it is in the middle. Mikko Koivu is a defensive wizard and a good playmaker, but misses 15 games. Hodgson is a strong center, though probably more a #2 and he misses 8 games. After that there is Stoll, a top flight defensive center and penalty killer, but severely lacking in offense. McGregor Condors - 3rd (6th) 50% Forwards: Off- B, Def- B Defense: Def- B Off- B- Goaltending: D- Power Play: B+ Penalty Kill: B+ Construction: C+ Drafting: C+ Future: B+ The offense features a 30 goal scorer and five 20 goal scorers, and that’s about it. Still that fills out the top 6 forward positions. Carlson chips in 10 goals from the back end and Faulk can help set up the attack, but that’s the extent of offensive support from the defense. The defense is strong, but not great. It’s a good top four with Oduya and Jack Johnson joining Carlson and Faulk. After that, McGregor starts to reach to fill out its 3rd pairing, particularly the 6th d-man. There are about half a dozen forwards who are good to great defensively and the group has a good mix of defensive specialists along with top 6 forwards playing good defense. In the end the group really is solid, but not great. It’s when you reach the net that things fall apart. Rinne missed most of the season with a post-op infection and his play suffered for it. Bryzgalov is a bit better, but remains well below average. However, these two only cover two thirds of the games. McGregor will have to call on Kevin Poulin for the remainder and there’s no easy way to say it, he’s bad. The defense is solid, but they can’t protect him from everything.


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Chicago Blackhawks - 4th (8th) 0% Forwards: Off- B-, Def- B+ Defense: Def- D-, Off- C- Goaltending: C+ Power Play: B Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: D+ Drafting: D Future: F Hossa is a 30 goal scorer and is supported by three more 20+ goal scorers and several secondary scorers. In truth, Datsyuk is more than a secondary scorer, but he also only plays 45 games. Offensive support from the blue line is also limited, though Timonen and Gelinas among others can be useful. However, the true problem with the defensive corp is the missed games and some poor defense. Chicago will really be scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill out the 3rd pairing in way too many games. The silver lining is that the forwards provide very good defensive support to try and soften the blow. However, the goaltending situation is nothing to write home about. Luongo does provide 52 games of above average play, but the remaining games are filled by Tim Thomas who is well below average. That combined with a lacking defense is going to see a lot of opposition goals scored this season. Unfortunately, the future is no better. Chicago has only 3 players under the age of 25. The team is old and is not competitive, a very bad combination. And unless changes are made, things are only going to get worse in Chicago. Spokane Bombers - 5th (9th) 0% Forwards: Off- D, Def- C- Defense: Def- B, Off- C+ Goaltending: C Power Play: D+ Penalty Kill: B+ Construction: C+ Drafting: B- Future: B- This season Spokane features four 20 goal scorers, but not much in the way of secondary scoring. Still for a second year expansion team it is a start, especially when they were help to a league low 150 goals last season. Additionally, Spokane will benefit from some offensive support from the rear guard, particularly Krug and Seabrook. Defensively Spokane features three strong defensemen in Seabrook, Coburn and DeKeyser. Tanev holds his own and is a penalty kill specialist. However, both DeKeyser and Tanev miss 15 games. After the top four, things get rough, but again, it is a start. The forwards feature a few top defensive forwards, but after that things slide to below average for most of the forwards. The goaltending is again by committee. It gets off to a good start in Frederik Anderson, who is a good, but limited to 28 games. Enroth and Neuvirth carry another 43 games between them, both both are well below average. Young Mazanec will be pressed into servicee for the remaining games. The pieces are starting to come together here and there is even a pretty good penalty kill this season. But Spokane needs to continue building and looking to the future.


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West Division Quebec Nordiques - 1st (1st) 100% Forwards: Off- A, Def- B Defense: Def- A-, Off- A Goaltending: A Power Play: A+ Penalty Kill: B+ Construction: B+ Drafting: B- Future: B+ This is a well rounded team. One 30 goal scorer with half a dozen 20 goal scorers among the forwards. Quebec only has a couple of secondary scorers, but one of them (Zetterberg) is a point a game player, though only in 45 games. Most of the defense can help to support the attack, but Subban adds 10 goals and super defenseman Shea Weber has the most goals (23) from the blueline this season. Defensively, the new ratings provides a little more separation starting with Keith and Weber who are excellent. Markov is good and Subban & Jordie Been are solid. Only the 6th defender is lacking, but whether that is Myers or Phaneuf, neither will see many minutes. While Toews is the only stand out defensive forward, Quebec has a load of solid checking forwards. However, a few of their top offense threats are below average defensively, so they will have to sort that out. The riches continue into the net. Price is one of the top starting goalies this season and Bernier is a very good back up for the quarter of the games he will need to start. The only thing close to a weakness is injuries, particularly among the forwards. Quebec will not get to play their “top” guys together a lot. That said, it is still a powerful team, which plays very well in all facets of the game.

California- 2nd (3rd) 100% Forwards: Off- A-, Def- B- Defense: Def- B+, Off- B- Goaltending: B+ Power Play: A- Penalty Kill: B+ Construction: B Drafting: B Future: A- Three seasons ago, California’s offense was at the bottom of the FHL. Now, Crosby is back and a lot

of the young forwards have blossomed. There are three 30 goal scorers (Seguin, Crosby &

Johansen), plus four more 20 goal scorers and a couple of secondary scorers to boot. There is no

lack of goal scoring any longer in California. However, the defense is limited in its ability to support

the attack. Brodin has the most goals with 8, but really Edler and Leddy are the only defensemen

who provide substantial support to the attack. While the defense is limited when attacking, they are

strong in defending. The top four are good to very good with Lovejoy and rookie Seth Jones providing

solid defense as well. Only a need to play Leddy for offensive reasons puts a chink in the defensive


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armor. There are a few strong defensive forwards, but after that the group is basically average. Bobrovsky isn’t what he was last season, but he is still a very good goalie. Greiss is a solid back up for the 20+ games he will need to start. While this is a strong team again, it doesn't quite measure up to last year’s squad that made it to the finals. Most notably, the team lacks an offensive threat from the back end and a very good Bobrovsky isn’t the intimidating force in net from last season. Gatineau City Bulldogs - 3rd (5th) 100% Forwards: Off- B+, Def- B Defense: Def- A, Off- B+ Goaltending: B- Power Play: A- Penalty Kill: B+ Construction: B Drafting: A Future: A Gatineau City is loping to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season. The offense features six 20 goal scorers this season, but only one secondary scorer. It’s good, but is not the potent squad of two seasons ago. Ekman-Larsson and Doughty provide double digit goals from the blueline and Pietrangelo provides good offensive support. After those three, the defense is hard pressed to do much in the attacking zone. Defensively, Doughty and Pietrangelo are excellent and the next five defensemen are all good as well. The forwards feature a significant number of very good defensive forwards. However, after that the other forwards are actually below average defensively creating a bit of a feast or famine situation. The weakness is to be found in net. Elliott is very good for 31 games. However, the remaining games are split between Holtby and Quick who are merely average this season. It’s a very good defense in front of them, which will help, but this conference features many high powered offenses.

Toledo Goaldiggers - 4th (7th) 50% Forwards: Off- C+, Def- C+ Defense: Def- B, Off- B Goaltending: C+ Power Play: B- Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: C- Drafting: B Future: B Had this been written two weeks ago, Toledo would have features a very strong attack led by Sharp. However, now there are only three 20 goal scorers and a handful of secondary scorers. The offense is only a shadow of its former self. Daley and Enstrom provide some good support from the back end, but after them, the goals get harder and harder to find. The


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starting six defenders are a very solid group. While they will only need to use their 7th

defender in just over 20 games, the fall off is substantial. The forwards have a good number

of above average checkers, but no one really stands out either. In the end, the overall

defense is solid, but nothing more. Kuemper and Mike Smith will play in the crease with

Smith getting the lion’s share of the games. But both are average goalies this season. In the

end, Toledo is an average defense with a lackluster offense having traded away Sharp and

company.

Los Angeles Monarchs - 5th (10th) 0% Forwards: Off- D, Def- B- Defense: Def- D+, Off- C+ Goaltending: C Power Play: D+ Penalty Kill: C+ Construction: D+ Drafting: B Future: C+ The offense is thin in Los Angeles. There are three 20 goal scorers and a couple of secondary scorers. Martinez and Holden are double digit goal scorers from the back line. Yet playing both comes at a price as both are serious defensive liabilities. Along the lines of the defense, Hamuis is very good and rookie Hampus Lindholm is decent. After that things just slide little by little as one goes down the line up. The forwards feature a couple of outstanding checkers in Zajac and Henrique, but both of them are also called on to provide what offense there may be. There are a number of solid checking forwards after that and a bunch of average ones after them, so the unit is not bad with one exception. There aren’t many penalty killers. Combined with a lack of strong defense from the back end and killing penalties is gong to be tough. Their best penalty kill is going to be staying out of the box. The revival of Stave Mason provides 60+ games of above average goaltending. However, the remaining games will see rookie Raanta in net, which is not good, more so when combined with a poor defense. The good news for Los Angeles is the growing number of younger players. The team is much younger than last season and there are some good prospects on the farm. However, the loss of Parise is going to be hard. Parise is still in his prime and will be for several more years. While there are some good prospects on the farm, they lack a true offensive threat. Perhaps the future will see them add that top prospect.


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Reflections on the National Conference: Quebec and Indianapolis are the class of a tough conference. Additionally, California, Minnesota & Gatineau City are in the neighborhood and with the right moves (or wrong moves depending on the team) could take the Conference title this season. The sixth playoff spot is up for grabs. Toledo would have been the favorite, but traded away the bulk of their offense. McGregor gets the nod for now despite the sad situation in net and because Toledo plays in the same division as Quebec, California & Gatineau City. Chicago is in limbo, not good enough to make the playoffs, but not so bad that they get a lottery pick. This is truly bad news for Chicago as the team is also quite old. Spokane and Los Angeles could find themselves in the lottery in 2015, but for a rebuilding team and a 2nd year expansion team, that is hardly unexpected. The reality of the strength of the National Conference is best shown by the fact that any of the top five teams could emerge to play in the finals, and therefore any of the five are legitimate contenders. Whoever wins their respective divisions gets the important advantage of the first round bye. Though California went all the way to the finals from a wild card spot, the reality is the more you play in the National Conference, the tougher it gets. Playoffs: Now comes the game of “pin the tail on the donkey” because predicting the playoffs at the start of the season is operating with the blindfold of all the trades that will happen between now and then. So, here goes nothing: Republic Conference: Exton-45% New York- 35% Boston- 11% Winner of the Mid-West Division- 6% All Others- 3% National Conference: Quebec- 35% Indianapolis- 30% California- 18% Minnesota-12% Gatineau City- 5% Championship: Quebec- 25% Exton- 22% Indianapolis- 20% New York- 15% California- 8% Minnesota- 5% Boston- 3% Gatineau City- 2%


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Free Agent Claims 2014-15 Season

Taxi Squads 2014-15 Season (partial listing)

FHL Trades, Claims, and Taxi Squads for start of

the 2014-15 Season

By Asst. Commissioner Chad Pridemore


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Welcome to the FHL 5th Season and the start of your quest

for the Crystal. The Crystal has finally come back from

the engraver and this is the first unveiling of it (see

lower left hand corner). Each Crystal winner has a

special story behind it.

The first season saw Cliff Dolgins NY Dolphins square off

against Johnny Francoeur’s Quebec Nordiques. The series

went the full 7 games with the Nordique defense pretty

much shutting down Dolphins Steven Stamkos until game 7

when he notched a goal and an assist to clinch (see

Gamespeak Vol. 1, No. 16 for game 7 recap and stats).

The second season saw the dark horse Ashlee Pridemore’s

Columbus Jaguars come from nowhere as a Wild Card team and

march to the Crystal Championship and win it all! She

accomplished this behind the goaltending of Tim Thomas and

a monster trade she made at the beginning of the season by

dealing Roberto Luongo and Veille Leino for the terrific

trio of Joe Thornton, Teemu Selanne, and Tim Connolly.

Her oldest team in the FHL won it all.

The third season was “Trader” Jeff Murray’s Exton Igloos

time to shine. Behind Monster Malkins MVP regular season

(and post season) no one could stop him. Exton proved you

didn’t need awesome goaltending to win it all as Mike

Smith was actually quite shaky for a lot of the series.

Finally the fourth season saw our first repeat champion as

Cliff Dolgin’s NY Dolphins won again. The key to this

Crystal Championship was the trade deadline block buster

trade with the Montreal Canadiens to land Brad Richards,

Anttii Niemi, Henrik Sedin, Marek Zidlicky, and Michael

Grabner to form a tsunami to win the Crystal.

So there are many ways to win the Crystal. One thing that

has distinguished the FHL is its unpredictability. That

is probably a good thing. Who will win it this season?

You’ve read what the talking heads have said. Whether you

are predicted to win or not we know that on day one

everyone starts equal. Good luck this season and may your

puck find the back of the net!

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