The National Hockey League kicked All-Star Weekend off right with last night’s Fantasy Player Draft here in Raleigh, North Carolina. The fans were very much into it, the players seemed to be enjoying themselves and the streets were buzzing afterward (mostly Caniacs).
Going in, I think there was some concern as to how this would go considering it is the first year following a new format. So far so good, though, as the draft was a definite success.
So now it’s time to get down to business and pick apart these rosters (
view team rosters here). Everyone seems to be picking Team Lidstrom as the early favorites, but I wouldn’t necessarily count Team Staal out just yet. However, I do believe Captain Eric put himself at a disadvantage by selecting goaltender Cam Ward with the first overall pick, and we go deeper into that below.
Team StaalI will start by analyzing Team Staal, which will be the obvious hometown team with three Hurricanes on the roster. As far as their forwards go, I think they are somewhat weaker. Beyond Staal (CAR), Ovechkin (WAS), Sedin (VAN) and Nash (CBJ), I am not too sure you would consider the remainder of the offensive squad ‘superstars’. Don’t get me wrong, they are a highly talented group of individuals, but they fail in comparison to Team Lidstrom’s offense.
Eric did do a good job on drafting a solid defense, so I will give him credit for that. In addition to snagging his brother Marc (NYR), the captain also selected Zdeno Chara (BOS), Dan Boyle (SJS), Kris Letang (PIT), Erik Karlsson (OTT), and Mike Green (WAS) was already on the team as an alternate captain. That is quite an impressive list of blue-liners, and a good mix between puck moving and stay-at-home D as well.
I may be biased here, but I love the goaltending trio that will be between the pipes for Team Staal. Obviously my boy Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers is a part of that, and will be accompanied by Cam Ward of the ‘Canes and Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. Those three are going to have their work cut out for them when going against the stacked offense of Team Lidstrom, so we shall see how they hold up.
Team LidstromSpeaking of that offense for the “away” team, the boys did a spectacular job in picking the higher-end talent out of the pool of forwards. It appeared that alternate captains Patrick Kane and Martin St. Louis had a lot of say in who was chosen, and clearly they knew what they were doing up there.
Right off the bat, you have the hottest tandem in hockey right now with St. Louis and Stamkos (TBL) together. They will not be the only source of scoring, though, because the list continues with Patrick Kane (CHI), Jonathan Toews (CHI), Danny Briere (PHI), Henrik Sedin (VAN), Brad Richards (DAL), Anze Kopitar (LAK) and many more. Now you see why so many people have already went out and predicted Team Lidstrom as the winners of Sunday’s game.
In the back-end, Team Lidstrom carries much experience among their drafted players. Obviously you have Nik back there, but also Duncan Keith (CHI), Shea Weber (NSH) and Dustin Byfuglien (ATL), who have all played in their fair share of big games. And then of course you have Brent Burns (MIN) and Keith Yandle (PHX), who are both having great seasons.
I was happy to see big Byfuglien reunited with his former Hawk teammates, as that will make the experience a much more enjoyable one for him. It must be hard departing from a Stanley Cup team with so many tight friends on it like Dustin was forced to do over the summer, but now they have all been brought together again to participate in this great event. I find that pretty cool.
Lidstrom was smart to go with Timmy Thomas as his first goaltender in the draft, as the Boston Bruin goalie has been the best player to man the net in the NHL this season. Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) and Jonas Hiller (ANA) aren’t too shabby as back-ups, either. Needless to say, the goaltending for both clubs is top-notch.
Head-to-HeadOffensively I have to give the advantage to Team Lidstrom. As I said above, they are loaded with skill up front and are significantly deeper than Team Staal. I know this has the early makings of a blowout, but I think it will be a closer game than most expect, despite the drastic difference on offense.
A lot of one on one questions going into this… Who will have a larger impact: Ovechkin or Stamkos? Who will be the better Sedin: Henrik or Daniel? Who will be the better youngster: Duchene or Skinner?
Defensively I like Team Staal better. They have a good mix of blue-liners that will blend well together. They will be forced to play at their top of their game in order to contain that Lidstrom offense, but I believe they will be up for the challenge.
Goaltending can really go either way, as there are valid arguments for both teams. However, if I had to pick, I think I give the edge to Team Lidstrom (Sorry Hank). Not much should get by Thomas, Fleury and Hiller.
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I will be out and about on the streets of Raleigh this morning. There is a lot to check out, including the NHL All-Star FanFair. Will be taking lots of pictures, which you will be able to find here on the blog and on
Twitter.
And then at 4:30 p.m. it will be the red carpet arrival followed by Commissioner Bettman’s press conference. I will be among the media for both and will bring you live coverage right here on The Rangers Tribune.
Don’t go away!
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