GWMHL

Archive for December, 2011|Monthly archive page

Final Passing of the Torch: Meet the “Original 5”

In Special Features on December 28, 2011 at 2:40 pm

Thousands of players have come and gone from the GWMHL ranks over the two decades of the league’s existence.

Some were difference makers. Others were Juha Ylonen.

But only a select few have been in the league since the very beginning, and that number is dwindling fast. In fact, the GWMHL is approaching a major milestone in its history: the start of an era in which no original players remain.

Fifteen players – and no goalies – played in both the GWMHL’s inaugural season in 1993 and the most recent season in 2010-2011:

Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Bill Guerin, Roman Hamrlik, Alexei Kovalev, Niklas Lidstrom, Mike Modano, Scott Niedermayer, Owen Nolan, Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne, Darryl Sydor, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Ray Whitney

Three of those 15 – Owen Nolan, Adam Foote, and Rob Blake – missed at least one season during their careers to free agency or injury:

Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Bill Guerin, Roman Hamrlik, Alexei Kovalev, Niklas Lidstrom, Mike Modano, Scott Niedermayer, Owen Nolan, Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne, Darryl Sydor, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Ray Whitney

That leaves 12 players who saw action in all 17 seasons to date. But four of those 12 retired at the end of this past season:

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Rookie Race: Backlund, Grabner Among the Best So Far

In BAL, GLP, IHS, NAS, Special Features on December 27, 2011 at 10:31 am

We might be just 20 games into the 2011-2012 rookie race, but there’ve already been some flat-out stunners. With several marquee freshmen handed plum jobs in their teams’ top-sixes, it’s boom-or-bust time. Here are four of the biggest surprises – good and bad – so far.

Mikael Backlund, Ice Harbor Storm

Backlund is a 2009 draftee who saw 23 games last year (0 goals, 4 assists). This season, with a young Ice Harbor team that’s thin up the middle, he’s had a chance to play a big role. And while the Storm have struggled (6-13-1), Backlund’s played well with second-line minutes, notching 8 goals and 6 assists on the quarter.

Taylor Hall, Great Lakes Pilots

First overall Jeff Skinner has had a decent start for 8-11-1 Nashville, with 12 points in his first 20 games. But where’s second overall Taylor Hall? He’s playing big minutes for the Great Lakes Pilots but has managed just 3 goals and 3 assists so far, is being outscored by teammates like Darren Helm, and sits at a team-worst -11.

Michael Grabner, Baltimore Crab

The fleet Austrian was drafted in 2010 by Vancouver and immediately dealt for a second rounder in 2011, who would become winger Kyle Palmieri. After spending all of last season on reserve, Grabner has started this season well with the Baltimore Crab, with 11 goals in his first 20 games.

Sergei Bobrovsky, Nashville Knights

Bobrovsky was taken 21st overall in 2011 and the expectation was that he’d step in and backstop a young but very talented Nashville team to playoff contention. But no one’s going anywhere with numbers like his: a 4.30 GAA and .887 save percentage. Bobrovsky has been soundly outplayed by Cory Schneider (4 games, 1.76, .927).

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First Quarter MVP: Vote Now!

In Special Features on December 23, 2011 at 2:13 pm

Who’s made the biggest mark so far in this young GWMHL season? Check out our list of nominees below and vote now!

The Nominees:

LW Patrick Marleau, Salem Wannabees
20gp, 17g, 9a, 26pts
Picking up where he left off from his astounding 77-goal season, Marleau is leading the GWMHL with 17 goals in the first 20 games.

D Tyler Myers, Ice Harbor Storm
20gp, 6g, 13a, 19pts
Myers is leading his rebuilding team in scoring and is one of the reasons the Storm managed to take a few teams by surprise this quarter.

LW Daniel Sedin, Baltimore Crab
20gp, 15g, 19a, 34pts
Despite a tough start 6-12-2 for the Crab, Sedin leads the entire league in points with 34 in 20 games – and continues to turn Alex Burrows into a legit scoring threat.

D Tomas Kaberle, Salem Wannabees
20gp, 1g, 17a, 18pts
Kaberle is among the scoring leaders for defensemen, but it’s his +22 that’s an eye-opener: far and away the best in the league.

G Michael Neuvirth, Boston Banshees
10gp, 9-0-1, 1.98, .941
Although he only started half of Boston’s games, Neuvirth was sensational, going 9-0-1 with a league-leading .941 save percentage.

Surprises Abound After Q1

In BOS, DEL, DEN, News, PWH, SAL, STE, WVR on December 23, 2011 at 2:12 pm

The first quarter of 2011-2012 is in the books, and what a wild one it was. Consensus contenders Salem and Portland had strong starts (13-5-2 and 10-7-3 respectively) but they’ve both been overshadowed in the early-going by some surprising competition.

Banshees, Eagles Fly

The Sterling Eagles and Boston Banshees, neither of whom managed to top .500 last season, share the lead in the standings with 14-5-1 records. The secret? Goaltending. Boston’s tandem of Henrik Lundqvist and newly-acquired Michal Neuvirth and Sterling’s Tim Thomas and Johan Hedberg are simply getting the job done.

Wannabees Can Still Score at Will

The Wannabees (13-5-2) are just a point off the pace and, incredibly, are averaging a whopping 4.5 goals per game and outshooting their opponents by 15. Last year’s Gump Cup runners-up might be ready to take another shot.

River Rats Tread Water

But maybe the biggest surprise is the poor record of Crosby-less defending champs West Virginia (9-8-3), putting them fourth in the Sawchuk East. With the offensive depth on this team, it’s a dismal start. Will Crosby’s eventual return get the Rats back in the running?

Power Outage in Denver

The Denver Spurs wrapped a disastrous 7-12-1 quarter, and it’s easy to see why: Matt Duchene leads the team in scoring with just 13 points in 20 games. Vincent Lecavalier has just 3 points in 10 and Mike Richards just 11 in 20.

Advantage… Sturgeon?

The Delta Sturgeon are off to a league-worst start (5-15-0), but would anyone have guessed this team would start the season with the league’s second-best powerplay? The unit, featuring the likes of Jarret Stoll and Andrew Ladd, is clicking at 27.1%, just .2% behind first-place Portland.

Time Machine: Between The Pipes Issue #2

In Special Features on December 11, 2011 at 10:41 am

Czechoslovakia dissolves! NASA tries to fix the Hubble! 1993 was a heady time.

This second issue of the original GWMHL newsletter, Between The Pipes – published over 18 years ago – features:

A profile of our very own long-serving (long-suffering?) Joe Burton!
The introduction of the GAMEFILE.DAT!
The very first trade in league history!
Details on an insane telephone draft system that sounds like the most stressful thing ever devised!

Check it out, courtesy of the Dave Atkinson Archives:

So, Turns Out We’re in Love with Stay-at-Home Defensemen

In BOS, SAL, SCA, SFS, Special Features, VAN on December 4, 2011 at 10:54 am

Gaaah!

You wouldn’t think we’d love our solid-yet-unspectacular defensemen, but the numbers don’t lie.

We’re head over heels. We’d marry those guys and their good positioning and their low point totals if we could.

They’re our unsung heroes, our stay-at-home defensemen. And they have to do all the laundry, darn it.

Take a spin through the franchise games played leaders throughout the league and you’ll see: in many franchises, real longevity comes not from being a high-end sniper or silky setup man but a stay-at-home blueliner toiling away in the muck.

5. Mattias Norstrom

Norstrom never managed more than 17 points in a single season during his GWMHL career. In his day, he was one of the league’s best defensive defensemen, and after 12 seasons he’s the South Carolina Fire Ants franchise leader in GP with 832. (But not for long: Milan Hejduk and Marian Hossa are both poised to surpass him early this season.)

4. Darryl Sydor

Calling Sydor a “stay-at-home” defenseman is a bit misleading, considering he holds the league’s all-time worst career plus-minus. He put in several solid offensive seasons early in his career, but as time wore on his role became – allegedly – more defensive. The fact that he racked up nearly 1000 games (944, to be exact) with the San Francisco franchise is a testament to… something. We’re not sure what, actually.

3. Scott Hannan

Hannan’s the only player left from expansion Vancouver‘s inaugural year. He was drafted in 1999 and has been a steady – and mostly invisible – fixture on the blueline ever since. Hannan has a commanding lead as the Night Train’s all-time GP leader (694 to second place Filip Kuba’s 629). He’s also the only active Gump player on this list.

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