Sports Talk NHL Entry Draft Pool: Final Results

By Hockey Guru


Welcome to the first annual Sports Talk NHL Entry Draft Pool, brought to you by STP Inc. and our platinum sponsor, Bud Light.

The format will be similar to the Final Exam, in so much as there will not be a live draft. Each entry will be submitted directly to the draft board (cbsbaseball2002@yahoo.com) and all entries will be posted to the draft table, making them official.

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Fantasy Draft Round #1: 25 Points: Who is the first overall pick?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: Tyler Seguin = 0 points
STP: Taylor Hall = 25 points
Hell Lions: Taylor Hall = 25 points
Muff Divers: Taylor Hall = 25 Points

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Fantasy Draft Round #2: 10 Points per correct answer
-5 Points per incorrect answer

Which teams will make trades on draft day (i.e. if you believe Hartford will make 3 trades - that equals three guesses - if they make 1 it is worth 0 points, 2 would be worth 10, 3 worth 20).

Sunnyvale Shithawks: Florida = 10 points, Atlanta = 10 points and Columbus (-5 points)
STP: No trades speculated
Hell Lions: Chicago = 10 points, Toronto = 10 points Minnesota = 10 points Calgary (-5 points), Philadelphia (10 ponts), Florida (1o points)
Muff Divers: Boston (2 trades) = 20 points, Edmonton = 10 points, Toronto = 10 points , Montreal = 10 points, Ottawa = 10 points, Buffalo (-5 points) , New York Rangers = 10 points, New York Islanders = 10 points, New Jersey (-5 points), Washington = 10 points, Pittsburgh = 10 points, Philadelphia = 10 points, Atlanta (2 trades) = 20 points, Carolina = 10 points, Florida = 10 points, Tampa Bay (-5points) Los Angeles = 10 points, Vancouver = 10 points, San Jose = 10 points, Anaheim = 10 points, Minnesota = 10 points, Nashville (-5 points), Colorado = 10 points, Phoenix = 10 points, St. Louis = 10 points, Chicago = 10 points, Columbus (-5 points) Calgary(-5 points), Dallas = 10 points, Detroit (-5 points)

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Fantasy Draft Round #3: 20 points for each exactly correct pick
10 points for each correct pick
-10 points for each incorrect pick

What is your "mock" draft order (teams not required) for picks 2-10?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 2- Taylor Hall (10) 3- Erik Gudbranson (20) 4- Cam Fowler (-10) 5- Brett Connolly (10) Mark Pysyk (-10) Brandon Gormley (-10) Nino Niederreiter (10) Derek Forbort (-10) Alexander Burmistrov (10)
STP: 2nd - Seguin (20) Gormley (-10) Gudbranson (10) Fowler (-10) Connolly (20) Niederreiter (10) Johansen (10) Forbort (-10) Granlund (10)
Hell Lions: Seguin (20), Gormley (-10), Gudbranson (10), Fowler (-10), Johansen (10), Connolly (10), Nieberreiter (10), Skinner (10), Campbell (-10)
Muff Divers: No response provided

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Fantasy Draft Round #4: 25 points: What is the lowest draft position that will be traded?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 27th Overall Pick = 0 points
STP: 210th Overall Pick = 0 points
Hell Lions: 5th Overall Pick = 10 points (closest)
Muff Divers: 1st Overall = 0 Points

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Fantasy Draft Round #5: 25 points: How many goaltenders will be drafted in Round 1?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 1 Goaltender = 0 points
STP: 2 Goaltenders = 25 points
Hell Lions: 2 Goaltenders = 25 points
Muff Divers: 2 Goaltenders = 25 points

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Fantasy Draft Round #6: 25 points: How many defensemen will be drafted in Round 1?
7 Defensemen Were drafted

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 8 Defensemen = 10 points (awarded for being closest)
STP: 10 Defensemen = 0 points
Hell Lions: 9 Defensemen = 0 points
Muff Divers: 10 Defensemen = 0 points

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Fantasy Draft Round #7: 25 points: How many forwards will be drafted in Round 1?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 21 Forwards = 25 points
STP: 18 Forwards = 0 points
Hell Lions: 19 Forwards = 0 points
Muff Divers: 18 Forwards = 0 points

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Fantasy Draft Round #8: 25 points: How many Canadian-born players will be drafted in Round 1?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 12 = 0 points
STP: 12 = 0 points
Hell Lions: 0 points
Muff Divers: 15 = 25 points

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Fantasy Draft Round #9: 25 points: How many American-born players will be drafted in Round 1?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: 0 points
STP: 11 = 0 points
Hell Lions: 7 = 0 points
Muff Divers: 10 = 25 points

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Fantasy Draft Round #10: 25 points for correct answers, -10 for incorrect

Which players ranked in Central Scouting's Final Top 50 NAS Rankings will not be drafted in the first two rounds?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: Curtis Hamilton (-10 points) and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc = 25 points
STP: No players will fall that far
Hell Lions: Biega = 25 points, Melchiori = 25 points, Gauthier-Leduc = 25 points
Muff Divers: No answer provided

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Fantasy Draft Round #11: 10 points: Who gets booed louder - Gary Bettman or the Anaheim Ducks Organization as they take the podium for their first selection?

(Need the answer provided as Guru missed most of the draft)

Sunnyvale Shithawks: Bettman
STP: Bettman
Hell Lions: Anaheim
Muff Divers: Anaheim

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Fantasy Draft Round #12: There are 4 California-born players ranked in the top 100 by Central Scouting. For 10 Points per correct slot (160 total points are available in round 12) - what is the order that they will be drafted (points are doubled if the correct round is provided and doubled again if the correct team is named) (If selecting player will not be drafted = maximum of 40 points). NOT GRADED YET

Sunnyvale Shithawks: Beau Bennett (1st of the Four = 10 points) will go 36th to Florida, Jason Zucker will go 48th to Edmonton, Jacob Fallon will go 72nd to Tampa Bay and Tyler Aronson will go 95th to NY Islanders
STP: I'll go with Etem, then Bennett, then Fallon, then Aronson. For the bonus points, I'll take Etem and Bennett in Round 1, with the other two guys going in Round 3. For further bonus points, I'll say that Etem goes to Anaheim, Bennett goes to the Kings, with Fallon going to Anaheim and Aronson going to the Kings. [Ed. Note: Going off the board, but still correct - STP burns himself as Bennett goes prior to Etem - he can still score points with Fallon (Anaheim) and Aronson (Kings)].
Hell Lions: There are 4 CA born players:draft order – Bennet (Round 2) = 10 points, Zucker (Round 2), Fallon (Round 3), Aronson (Round 4)
Muff Divers: No response provided = 0 points

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Fantasy Draft Round #13: 100 points: Will the Sports Talk Pool Blogsite be able to handle the traffic created by this pool, or will the site crash?

Sunnyvale Shithawks: The Blog will survive the Draft traffic = 25 points
STP: Having access to the actual traffic numbers, it may be unfair for me to score these points, but I gotta say that our server should be able to handle the load - no crashing = 25 points.
Hell Lions: The site will handle all poll traffic as well as any potential traffic driven to site by additional photos of Diaz, Liu, or Barrymore = 25 points
Muff Divers: There's no way with the anticipation of this draft and word circulating throughout not only the hockey community but the world (as this draft transcends sport) = 0 points

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Final Totals - PENDING - THE JUDGES HAVE CALLED FOR A PHOTO:

Sunnyvale Shithawks: points
STP: points
Hell Lions: points
Muff Divers: Points (picking every team to make a trade helps)

Enjoy the rest of the draft and thanks again to our platinum sponsor, Bud Light.

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Miss Match Up Mashup: 2010 MLB Midseason

By Spezzal Teams Playa


This report may be a week late, and a Miggy short, but if our league boasted an All-Star Game at the midway point, it might look a little something like this.

Okay, so not really an All-Star Game per se, but rather the usual Stars-versus-Scrubs format first popularized last season with the Most Offensive Line / Pitchers Worth a Thousand Words versus No Offense Man / Belly Itcher awards.

So check out where your best players rank among the league's best, as well as where your worst mistakes rank among everyone else's biggest flops.

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MLB All-Stars

Lineup	Rank	Player	Pos	Club	Owner	ORank	Owned	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SB	SB%	FPCT	DPT	PO	A	OFA	AVG	OPS
C	144	Victor Martinez	C/1B	Bos	Muff Divers	33	98%	227	34	66	9	37	20	1	1.000	.995	3	341	23	-	.291	.843
1B	14	Albert Pujols	1B	StL	Hell Lions	1	99%	248	39	76	15	50	52	6	.667	.996	62	637	65	-	.306	.974
2B	3	Robinson Cano	2B	NYY	Deadwood	28	98%	270	52	99	14	49	21	2	.500	.997	51	144	216	-	.367	1.023
3B	10	Kevin Youkilis	1B/3B	Bos	Bastards	27	98%	237	58	74	14	47	47	2	.667	.998	51	544	56	-	.312	1.026
SS	34	Hanley Ramirez	SS	Fla	Bastards	2	99%	252	38	72	11	40	33	12	.750	.966	33	90	165	-	.286	.862
LF	6	Carl Crawford	LF	TB	Sunnyvale	20	98%	264	56	81	7	38	26	24	.774	.986	0	139	7	7	.307	.859
CF	4	Josh Hamilton	LF/CF/RF	Tex	Golden Carp	75	95%	270	48	91	16	52	19	5	.833	.985	1	130	4	4	.337	.981
RF	8	Alex Rios	CF/RF	CWS	Bastards	142	92%	240	46	76	13	37	20	20	.769	.994	1	170	1	1	.317	.935
	BN
BN	9	Vladimir Guerrero	RF	Tex	Stittsville	145	93%	251	41	82	15	57	15	4	.571	.900	0	17	1	1	.327	.920
BN	15	Ryan Braun	LF	Mil	Deadwood	5	99%	273	44	83	10	45	26	11	.917	.990	1	99	3	3	304	.861
BN	16	Joey Votto	1B	Cin	Colt 45	23	97%	238	42	74	14	43	37	7	.636	.996	44	497	62	-	.311	.955
BN	17	David Wright	3B	NYM	Dakota Magic	16	98%	251	35	71	12	53	37	12	.706	.960	18	44	148	-	.283	.877
BN	18	Torii Hunter	CF	LAA	Bastards	73	94%	246	42	72	12	50	28	6	.462	1.000	0	159	1	1	.293	.895
BN	28	Martin Prado	1B/2B/3B	Atl	Perrysburg	287	87%	298	51	101	6	30	21	2	.400	.994	42	129	198	-	.339	.850
BN	76	Derek Jeter	SS	NYY	Deadwood	35	98%	293	43	83	8	39	20	7	.700	.983	41	77	155	-	.283	.759
BN	159	Miguel Olivo	C	Cld	Bastards	369	74%	172	29	52	9	30	18	4	.571	.992	2	344	30	-	.302	.897
	DL
DL	39	Troy Tulowitzki	SS	Cld	Perrysburg	12	97%	235	47	72	9	34	25	7	.778	.985	55	124	201	-	.306	.877
DL	149	Kendry Morales	1B	LAA	Golden Carp	38	56%	193	29	56	11	39	12	0	.000	.996	35	435	25	-	.290	.833
DL	151	Nelson Cruz	RF	Tex	Golden Carp	63	96%	107	19	35	10	34	15	7	.778	.985	1	65	1	1	.327	1.134

Lineup	Rank	Player	Pos	Club	Owner	ORank	Owned	IP	QS	W	SV	SVOP	NSV	HLD	K	K/BB	K/9	H/9	BB/9	ERA	WHIP
SP	1	Ubaldo Jimenez	SP	Cld	Isle Wynn	71	98%	101.1	14	13	-	-	-	-	88	2.44	7.82	5.773	3.197	1.15	1.00
RP	29	Billy Wagner	RP	Atl	Lightning Bolts	181	89%	29.1	-	5	14	16	12	-	43	3.58	13.19	5.216	3.682	1.23	0.99
RP	32	Jonathan Broxton	RP	LAD	Fowl Play	82	98%	29.1	-	3	16	18	14	-	42	14.00	12.89	7.670	0.920	0.92	0.95
RP	42	Tyler Clippard	RP	Wsh	Koo Koo Roos	249	68%	43.2	-	8	1	6	-4	14	52	3.06	10.72	5.565	3.504	1.65	1.01
RP	48	Jose Valverde	RP	Det	FatMonkeyButz	119	95%	30.1	-	1	16	17	15	-	27	2.25	8.01	2.967	3.560	0.59	0.73
RP	62	Carlos Marmol	RP	CC	Bastards	118	96%	31.2	-	2	13	16	10	-	58	3.05	16.48	4.263	5.400	1.71	1.07
RP	73	Rafael Soriano	RP	TB	Franconia	147	93%	25.2	-	2	16	17	15	-	24	4.80	8.42	5.260	1.753	1.40	0.78
	BN
BN	78	Brian Wilson	RP	SF	CT Defenders	127	95%	29.2	-	2	19	21	17	-	42	4.20	12.74	7.888	3.034	2.12	1.21
BN	5	Adam Wainwright	SP	StL	CT Defenders	61	98%	109.0	13	10	-	-	-	-	101	3.48	8.34	6.606	2.394	2.23	1.00
BN	7	Josh Johnson	SP	Fla	Chesapeake	69	98%	100.0	13	8	-	-	-	-	98	3.77	8.82	6.480	2.340	1.80	0.98
BN	13	Roy Halladay	SP	Phi	STL Birds	15	99%	115.0	12	8	-	-	-	-	98	6.13	7.67	8.452	1.252	2.43	1.08
BN	19	Matt Cain	SP	SF	El Paso	96	96%	100.0	12	6	-	-	-	-	68	2.27	6.12	6.480	2.700	2.16	1.02
BN	23	Colby Lewis	SP/RP	Tex	Chesapeake	343	71%	93.2	9	7	-	-	-	-	90	2.73	8.65	6.053	3.171	3.07	1.02
BN	25	Jered Weaver	SP	LAA	Bastards	108	95%	94.2	12	7	-	-	-	-	107	4.65	10.17	7.796	2.187	3.04	1.11
	DL
DL	131	Doug Fister	SP	Sea	Deadwood	337	34%	69.2	7	3	-	-	-	-	32	3.20	4.13	7.364	1.292	2.45	0.96
DL	191	Tim Stauffer	SP/RP	SD	El Paso	378	4%	23.1	0	2	-	-	-	0	19	4.75	7.33	6.943	1.543	0.39	0.94

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Bad News Bears

Lineup	Rank	Player	Pos	Club	Owner	ORank	Owned	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SB	SB%	FPCT	DPT	PO	A	OFA	AVG	OPS
C	1234	Kelly Shoppach	C	TB	CT Defenders	1139	1%	27	2	6	0	2	7	-	-	1.000	0	49	4	-	.222	.648
1B	1016	Todd Helton	1B	Cld	Fowl Play	204	29%	214	24	52	2	12	32	-	-	.993	66	493	41	-	.243	.659
2B	1156	Ryan Rayburn	1B/2B/CF/RF	Det	Perrysburg	1053	1%	96	9	18	1	13	8	-	-	.962	8	48	27	1	.188	.589
3B	1482	Dayan Viciedo	3B	CWS	Chesapeake	1474	3%	4	0	1	0	0	0	-	-	1.000	1	0	1	-	.250	.500
SS	1172	Juan Castro	2B/SS	Phi	CT Defenders	1198	0%	108	7	24	0	12	4	-	-	.961	17	33	91	-	.222	.515
LF	1236	Robb Quinlan	1B/LF	LAA	Dakota Magic	1249	0	33	4	4	0	2	2	2	1.000	.986	6	69	1	-	.121	.353
CF	1162	Mike Cameron	CF	Bos	Isle Wynn	230	11%	78	10	20	0	2	8	-	-	.964	0	53	1	1	.256	.654
RF	1155	Jose Tabata	LF/CF/RF	Pit	Colt 45	1265	4%	40	6	9	1	2	4	2	1.000	1.000	0	23	0	0	.225	.670
	BN
BN	1160	Matt Tolbert	2B/3B	Min	Hell Lions	1164	0%	44	4	10	1	8	4	0	.000	.976	5	13	28	-	.227	.627
BN	1180	Ben Francisco	LF/CF/RF	Phi	Bastards	1037	1%	67	5	15	0	6	5	2	1.000	1.000	0	23	2	2	.224	.577
BN	1218	Josh Reddick	LF/CF/RF	Bos	CT Defenders	1338	0%	17	2	3	0	2	0	1	1.000	1.000	0	15	0	0	.176	.529
BN	1380	Jason Castro	C	Hou	Sunnyvale	1440	0%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
BN	1499	Pedro Alvarez	3B	Pit	STL Birds	1505	15%	16	1	1	0	2	2	-	-	.929	1	3	10	-	.063	.283
BN	1500	Brendan Harris	2B/3B/SS	Min	Deadwood	1147	1%	108	11	17	1	4	9	-	-	1.000	9	34	61	-	.157	.446
BN	1504	Chris Davis	1B/3B	Tex	Muff Divers	1095	4%	48	2	9	0	1	5	-	-	.991	12	103	6	-	.188	.556
BN	1508	Bryan Petersen	LF	Fla	El Paso	1514	0%	16	1	1	0	0	1	-	-	1.000	0	1	0	-	.063	.181
	DL
DL	1202	John Baker	C	Fla	CT Defenders	1068	3%	78	7	17	0	6	9	-	-	.988	1	152	9	-	.218	.589
DL	1216	Coco Crisp	CF	Oak	STL Birds	1146	1%	6	0	2	0	3	0	0	.000	1.000	0	6	0	0	.333	.750
DL	1239	Brian Roberts	2B	Bal	FatMonkeyButz	44	70%	14	1	2	0	0	2	2	1.000	1.000	2	6	4	-	.143	.464
DL	1450	Carlos Beltran	CF	NYM	STL Birds	161	62%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Lineup	Rank	Player	Pos	Club	Owner	ORank	Owned	IP	QS	W	SV	SVOP	NSV	HLD	K	K/BB	K/9	H/9	BB/9	ERA	WHIP
SP	1026	Kevin Millwood	SP	Bal	Stittsville	794	11%	96.2	7	1	-	-	-	-	78	2.69	7.26	10.707	2.700	5.12	1.49
RP	968	Tony Sipp	RP	Cle	Bastards	864	0%	23.0	-	0	0	1	-1	6	25	1.39	9.78	9.783	7.043	7.04	1.87
RP	985	Juan Gutierrez	RP	Ari	Deadwood	852	1%	23.2	-	0	1	3	-1	5	21	2.10	7.99	11.408	3.803	8.37	1.69
RP	987	Blake Hawksworth	RP	StL	CT Defenders	803	0%	32.0	-	1	-	-	-	3	22	1.69	6.19	13.219	3.656	5.63	1.88
RP	989	George Sherrill	RP	LAD	Sunnyvale	290	5%	17.2	-	0	0	2	-2	1	10	0.63	5.09	11.208	8.151	6.62	2.15
RP	995	Randy Williams	RP	CWS	Golden Carp	976	0%	24.0	-	0	0	1	-1	1	22	1.05	8.25	12.750	7.875	4.88	2.29
RP	999	Sean White	RP	Sea	Dakota Magic	815	0%	16.2	-	0	0	3	-3	2	5	0.56	2.70	13.500	4.860	7.56	2.04
	BN
BN	1003	Chad Gaudin	SP/RP	NYY	El Paso	984	0%	29.1	-	0	-	-	-	1	30	2.73	9.20	12.273	3.375	7.36	1.74
BN	1073	Nick Blackburn	SP	Min	Franconia	268	18%	76.0	7	6	-	-	-	-	24	1.26	2.84	12.434	2.250	5.80	1.63
BN	1137	Ian Snell	SP	Sea	Lightning Bolts	1109	0%	46.1	1	0	-	-	-	-	26	1.04	5.05	11.655	4.856	6.41	1.83
BN	1141	Wandy Rodriguez	SP	Hou	Colt 45	79	61%	75.3	6	3	-	-	-	-	52	1.53	6.21	11.350	4.062	6.09	1.71
BN	1179	David Huff	SP	Cle	Bastards	1097	1%	70.0	4	2	-	-	-	-	34	1.13	4.37	11.314	3.857	6.04	1.69
BN	1189	Ryan Rowland-Smith	SP	Sea	Dakota Magic	208	19%	61.2	2	1	-	-	-	-	25	0.89	3.65	11.530	4.086	5.98	1.74
BN	1514	John Lannan	SP	Wsh	Koo Koo Roos	1064	1%	75.0	5	2	-	-	-	-	24	0.69	2.88	12.480	4.200	5.76	1.85
	DL
DL	1183	Gil Meche	SP	KC	Lightning Bolts	1075	1%	48.2	2	0	-	-	-	-	30	0.88	5.55	10.356	6.288	6.66	1.85

And the player adjudged to have hurt his owner more than any other, singled out as the Great Goat is:

John Lannan

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Which means the winner of the first half, and your newly crowned Miss Match Up is:

[drum roll ....]

Ubaldo Jimenez

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Hittin Da Lynx: Fat Monkey Butt Is Not Alone

By Spezzal Teams Playa


Having your computer crash isn't the only reason to ask the Commish to fix your lineup. For example, maybe you are planning a vacation. Or maybe you're an old man who can no longer see your monitor. Or maybe something even more unfortunate.

• Some of you may have received this message already, but it appears that our buddy, Franconia Wombats, is about to be incarcerated. [Don't drop the soap]
  
  
• Those of you in the Dynasty League might remember some biotch who preferred whining and nagging, to following baseball. You know, like every other woman on the planet. [Kicked to the curb]
  
  
• If you're like me, and your assless chaps are still at the cleaners, here's hoping that they are open on Sundays. If they aren't, that's gay. [Not that there's anything wrong with that]
  
  
• Whether you are old enough to remember the original A-Team or the original Hawaii 5-0, logic dictates that you are old enough to recall when rappers borrowed liberally from those iconic programs, sucka. For our younger readers, those were TV shows in the 80's, fool, that made Lost look as unpopular as the new Isles GM's old show, Unhappily Ever After. How's that for an awkward segue into Fowl Play's non-fantasy-sports-related leisure activities. [Hurley, we've got to go back to the island]
  
  
• Years ago, while living on Spray Avenue, my typical neighbor spent his time discussing the relative merits of Beer™ brand beer, local hero Ryan Smyth, and the Waldhaus Pub. Certainly nothing even remotely cerebral, like Golden Carp's version of Banff. [How to feel dumb as dirt, in ten easy seconds]
  
  
• Finally, in order to justify using her name as a tag to drive up traffic, here's Samantha Micelli on high school in Minnesota, making Ottawa nerds feel comfortable around hotties, and her brother's uncanny ability to predict the obvious:
  

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Mock Me If You Must: The 2010 NHL Entry Draft

By Will-He-M


1st Overall - Edmonton Oilers - C Tyler Seguin, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
WHY: Not much has changed in the last few days. The Oilers still lack an elite Center and Seguin is an elite prospect. He has the highest potential of anyone in this draft. The Oilers do have some depth at Center with 2 guys who may eventually become top line players(Cogliano and Gagner) but both have seen their development stall for various reasons.

2nd Overall - Boston Bruins (from Toronto) - D Erik Gudbranson, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
WHY: This might seem completely stupid on paper but hear me out. The Bruins just grabbed Nathan Horton, a 25 year old 6'4" winger which now gives the B's 5 wingers capable of being Top 6 players. They don't need Taylor Hall and to be quite honest, I'll be just as shocked as anyone if they pass on him. However, they did deal the 15th pick, which at the moment takes them out of the running on any of the top defensemen available. Gudbranson is your prototypical Bruins defenceman. He's big, he's mean and he's a physical nightmare for opposing forwards. He's the perfect replacement for Chara who is UFA after 2010-11.

3rd Overall - Florida Panthers - LW Taylor Hall, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
WHY: Do I really have to explain? I will anyway. The Panthers just dealt Horton away and grabbed Dennis Weidman in the deal. They don't need defense and Hall could definitely turn this franchise around. If Florida does happen to get Hall, fans will need to expect an adjustment period because Peter DeBoer employs a defensive oriented style of hockey which is a complete 180 from the Spitfires all out offensive attack.

4th Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets - D Cam Fowler, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
WHY: Like the Oilers situation with Seguin, not much has changed for the Jackets, which is why I definitely see them shopping the 4th for a 10-15 pick and more. If they keep this pick, the most logical choice is Fowler, who gives them a huge boost on the blueline.

5th Overall - New York Islanders - RW Brett Connolly, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
WHY: Connolly's stock has taken hit because he was injured for much of last year but his skillset is very good and I see the Isles grabbing him at 5 with no hesitation. Like I said in my first Mock, Connolly offers the Isles something they lack and that's a gritty power winger who they can slot next to Tavares.

6th Overall - Tampa Bay Lightning - D Mark Pysyk, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
WHY: Pysyk has seen his stock sky rocket through the year. He was originally a mid to late round pick to start the year but has jumped all they way up to the Top 5 on some draft boards. Scouts liken him to a Duncan Keith type of defender, meaning he offers good offense, solid defense and is a great leader. He was the lone bright spot on an absolutely terrible Oil Kings team.

7th Overall - Carolina Hurricanes - D Brandon Gormley, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
WHY: So yeah, the Canes prospect pool blows. They honestly can't go wrong here, they need EVERYTHING except a goalie. The only way they can screw this up is if they dealt the pick or reached for someone ranked in the late 20's. By grabbing Gormley, the Canes get some much needed depth on the blueline.

8th Overall - Atlanta Thrashers - C Alexander Burmistrov, Barrie Colts (OHL)
WHY: Burmistrov has seen his stock go up recently and he is arguably the most complete European-borned skater in this draft. He's a little small at 5'11" and only 156 lbs but his skill level is off the charts. He's so good that he could make the jump to the NHL immediately and go between Byfuglien and Kane and never have to worry.

9th Overall - Minnesota Wild - D Derek Forbort, USA U-18
WHY: Forbort's stock has skyrocketed since the combine, jumping all the way to the Top 10 in the CSS Rankings. He's a big, physical stay at home defenceman with a nice offensive touch. The Wild probably shouldn't take a defenceman here since they lack offense but as the old adage goes "you build from the D out".

10th Overall - New York Rangers - RW Nino Niederreiter, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
WHY: I have Nino dropping a few spots from my original Mock but not because he isn't talented. He has some awesome instincts and great speed for a winger his size(6'2", 201 lbs). Nino fits the Rangers mold for a winger in that he isn't afraid to get gritty in the corners and he has a nose for the net.

11th Overall - Dallas Stars - C/W Mikael Granlund, HIFK Helsinki (SM-Liiga)
WHY: Granlund's size already has scouts weary on him but theirs a good chance he may have to shift to the wing which could really hurt his stock tomorrow night. He's definitely the most talented European player in the draft and is a much safer pick then one of the talented Russians. He offers the Stars some solid insurance in the event Brad Richards walks after next year.

12th Overall - Anaheim Ducks - C Ryan Johansen, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
WHY: Johansen makes perfect sense for the Ducks. He offers them another big Western boy from the WHL who is a right handed Center that offers solid playmaking ability. Adding Johansen would give the Ducks the ability to spread their scoring over 2 lines who are both filled with big players.

13th Overall - Phoenix Coyotes (from Calgary) - G Calvin Pickard, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
WHY: I have the Yotes switching up here, electing to take the best goalie in the Draft now. Pickard and Campbell have flip-flopped as the best goalie all year but Pickard's performance on a very bad Seattle team has scouts drooling over how great he'd be with a good to really good team.

14th Overall - St. Louis Blues - RW Emerson Etem, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
WHY: Central Scouting is a lot higher on Etem then I am. They see him as a potential Top 7 pick where as I see him as a mid-1st rounder. He's got the size and skill but he plays smaller then his 6'0" frame. He's got all the tools but he'll need to make some real adjustments on his skating before he does anything.

15th Overall - Florida Panthers (from Boston) - C Nick Bjugstad, Blaine HS (MN)
WHY: The Panthers are openly trying to move this pick so I doubt Bjugstad goes to Florida. However, if they can't find a pakcage they like, the Panthers should grab Bjugstad. He's a big, mobile Center who has the skills and just needs to fill out his frame. If they end up getting Hall 3rd, adding Bjugstad a his future Centerman would make this draft an absolute steal for the Penthers.

16th Overall - Ottawa Senators - LW Vladimir Tarasenko, Novosibirsk (KHL)
WHY: At this point, Tarasenko is the best talent available. He comes with red flags because of his KHL contract however, I believe the Sens will utilize Alex Kovalev to persuade the talented Russian prospect to jump over.

17th Overall - Colorado Avalanche - RW Stanislav Galiev, Saint John Huskies (QMJHL)
WHY: Galiev is a weird prospect to judge. He gets a lesser rap then his fellow Russians because he's already over here however the fear that he'll jump to the KHL will always remain tagged to his name. He's a skilled playmaker playing in an offensive league. He had a slow start to 09-10 but picked it up as the season wore on. Going 17th might be a bit of a stretch but he is that talented.

18th Overall - Nashville Predators - C Tyler Pitlick, Minnesota State (NCAA)
WHY: The Preds need offensive talent, especially of the cheap variety. Pitlick has NHL size and skills but playing in the NCAA may have him taking longer to get to the NHL then normal. The rumors haven't died down yet that have him going to the WHL right after the Draft.

19th Overall - Los Angeles Kings - LW Austin Watson, Peterborough Petes (OHL)
WHY: The Kings essentially have everything in their system except big skilled wingers. They have quality defencemen, centers and goalies but lack the gritty wingers. Watson gives them options. He has the ceiling of a 1st/2nd line power forward with an abosolute bottom of a 3rd line power grinder in the mold of Kris Draper.

20th Overall - Pittsburgh Penguins - LW Quintin Howden, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
WHY: I think the Pens will forego drafting the talented Russian who has some real issues. Especially if Howden falls to 20. Howden is the exact type of winger the Pens have been looking for to put alongside Sid. He's pretty much a young Bill Guerin with more speed and better hands.

21st Overall - Detroit Red Wings - LW John McFarland, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
WHY: At this point McFarland is the best player left. He has everything to be an awesome 1st line player at the NHL level but lacks focus and consistency. If their was an organization who could get him to focus and play consistent hockey, the Red Wings are that organization.

22nd Overall - Phoenix Coyotes - D Jon Merrill, USA U-18
WHY: The Yotes have no need to draft Campbell after taking Pickard 13th, so they'll focus their attention on getting a solid defender in the form of Jon Merrill. Merrill's stock has fluctuated all throughout the latter half of the 1st round and could go as high as 15th or as low as 30th. He didn't help his cause with a lackluster season but all signs point to it being a fluke.

23rd Overall - Buffalo Sabres - D Dylan McIlrath, USA U-18
WHY: After taking Tyler Myers last year, the Sabres should look to grab a future defensive partner in McIlrath. McIlrath is the most feared physical defender in the WHL and has an awesome combination of checking, fighting and defensive ability. He's a less polished Gudbranson and has some puck moving concerns but at this point, he's an awesome pick.

24th Overall - Chicago Blackhawks (from New Jersey via Atlanta) - C Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67's (OHL)
WHY: I doubt the Hawks take a chance on Kabanov and I think they'll go a safer route and take Toffoli. Toffoli gives them a good center option for the future and player they can let simmer in the OHL while they sort out their Cap issues.

25th Overall - Vancouver Canucks - RW Petr Straka, Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
WHY: Straka gives the Nucks some nice depth on the wings. He's a good offensive talent with awesome speed and great vision. It'll be hard to pass up a D-man as talented as Petrovic but Straka has forced himself into the Nucks plans.

26th Overall - Washington Capitals - C/RW Evgeny Kuznetsov, Chelyabinsk (KHL)
WHY: I can't think of a reason why the Caps would pass on Kuznetsov. He has a lot of issues to work out, namely his KHL contract and his temper. However, getting the chance to play alongside the best player in the game is enough to straighten out any angry player.

27th Overall - Montreal Canadiens - RW Kevin Hayes, Nobles & Greenbough HS (MA)
WHY: I really want the Habs to draft Tinordi here but his stock has fallen to the point where he'll probably be a mid-2nd round pick. Instead, I see the Habs grabbing Massachussetts native. Hayes is a 6'2" power forward who possesses strong skating ability and a very hard and accurate wrist shot. He'd fit in well in the Habs organization and would join Benoit Pouliot and Max Pacioretty has the teams strong wing core.

28th Overall - San Jose Sharks - C Brock Nelson, Warrod HS (MN)
WHY: I think the Sharks are going to start looking at the possibility of life after Joe Thornton, especially if they fail to meet expectations next year. Grabbing Brock Nelson here would be a good way to start that. In a lot of ways, Nelson is similar to Thornton in that he is a strong Center with good size, good hands and plays with a bit of an edge. He's a few years from reaching the NHL so even if the Sharks keep Big Joe, he won't hinder Nelson's development.

29th Overall - Anehim Ducks (from Philadelphia) - D Alexander Petrovic, Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
WHY: With Scott Niedermayer retiring, the Ducks are going to need to look at grabbing more depth on the blueline. Petrovic has the potential to be a nice replacement to Nieds and would give the Ducks a solid future D-pair to go along with Luca Sbisa.

30th Overall - Chicago Blackhawks - C/RW Charlie Coyle, South Shore Kings (EJHL)
WHY: Much like Toffoli, Coyle is most definitely a few years from being an NHL regular. He's got good size and strength and has gotten the attention of the US hockey program.

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Awards Show Gala: Hockey Night in Vegas, Baby

By Spezzal Teams Playa

If Jay Mohr wasn't currently getting last-minute touch-ups on his makeup, I'd have time to make this a real post.

As it is, I just got home from a long day of surviving earthquakes and marvelling at the Thrashers ability to turn a UFA into Oduya, Bergfors, Cormier, Byfuglien, Sopel, Eager, and Aliu.

Anyway, since I like hockey more than Mohr, I think I'll just hit the Publish button and fasten my ass to the couch for a few hours of Oscar-calibre award presentations.

If I had had the time, I woulda made my picks for all of tonight's winners, but this list here will have to suffice.

[Update: 7:34 PM - Little, tiny aftershock .... if I lose power and miss one of Pavel Datsyuk's jokes, I will be one sad panda]

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The Guru Report: The Blackhawks Show Some Pride

By Hockey Guru


Why is Drew Barrymore so excited?

She just read this great story on the STP Blog -
(STP - the worldwide leader in sports blogs .... well at least sports blogs co-authored by the Hockey Guru).


The Chicago Gay Hockey Association (the Blackwolves) on a whim sent an invitation to the Chicago Blackhawks requesting the Stanley Cup to be available to march in the Gay Pride Parade in Chicago on Sunday June 27.

With the NHL draft on the 26th - the Stanley Cup will be in Los Angeles - which alone provided the perfect "excuse" to decline the request.

However, the Hawks are making sure the Cup is flown back to Chicago in time to be part of the celebration. Not only will the Cup be present - Brent Sopel volunteered to represent the team and participate in the parade.

Perhaps like the Guru, your reaction was - wow, Brent Sopel has some balls to come out and march in the parade. Well he has balls and he will be marching in the parade - but he's not gay. His story is pretty remarkable - he and his wife adopted 4 children 3 years ago - after those children lost both parents within a 6-month span.

In addition to bringing down barriers and allowing eveyone in the City and community to share in the joy of the Stnaley Cup - Sopel is marching in honor of Brendan Burke, the son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke. Just in case a reminder is necessary - Brendan was killed in a car accident last fall - two months after coming out late last year.

"When Brendan came out, Brian stood by him, and his whole family stood by him, like every family should," said Sopel. "We teach our kids about accepting everybody. Tolerate everybody, to understand where everyone is coming from."

Just a great story and one that the Hockey Guru wanted included in the history of STP Blogs.

Great job by Chicago, Brent Sopel and hockey in general. Once again proving that hockey is the greatest sport in the world.

Drew Barrymore, Sandra Bullock and Taylor Swift all fully support this effort.

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The Top Ten List: Films About Basketball Games

By Chris Barrymore


As I have admittedly been distracted by the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I have been remiss in not posting The Top Ten List for films about basketball. So in an effort to be timely with the Lakers finishing off the Celtics this week, and before people start talking about football again (the kind on the gridiron, not that other kind), I am going to sneak this list in.

This is a rushed list, so there's no time to forecast which of these films will be replaced on the List by the inevitable Hollywood debut of LeBron James. Thanks go out to friend of the blog, Roger Ebert, for his contributions and for those of his colleagues.

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That Championship Season (1982) Starring Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Paul Sorvino

"A brittle but emotional saga of how significant moments in life can have considerable impact later. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, this film showcases Jason Miller's brilliant screenplay about friendship, but it's the incredible performances that make these characters real." - Diana Saenger, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Teen Wolf (1985) Starring Michael J. Fox

"This film is an unexpectedly charming little movie about learning how to get through high school with your self-esteem intact. Fox's teen character is, you know, going through changes, he says, his voice cracking. Hair is growing in places it wasn't before. When his dad reveals that the men in the family tend to get a lot more hair growing in a lot more places than other men, Scott is devastated .... and then elated, when his new feralness makes him the star b-ball player and the hit of the school." - MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

Hoosiers (1986) Starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper

"I was a sportswriter once for a couple of years in downstate Illinois. I covered mostly high school sports, and if I were a sportswriter again, I'd want to cover them again. There is a passion to high school sports that transcends anything that comes afterward; nothing in pro sports equals the intensity of a really important high school basketball game. This film knows that." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

White Men Can't Jump (1992) Starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez

"This film supplies the predictable sports formulas leading up to the big game. But even here it has surprises - and the payoff isn't exactly what we suspected. Here is a comedy of great high spirits, with an undercurrent of sadness and sweetness that makes it a lot better than the plot itself could possibly suggest." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Blue Chips (1994) Starring Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh, Ed O'Neill, Alfre Woodard, Bob Cousy, Anfernee Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal

"The movie contains a certain amount of basketball, but for once here's a sports movie where everything doesn't depend on who wins the big game. It's how they win it. This film is a morality play, that projects a certain cynicism even in the midst of its bedrock morality. The message seems to be that although one man can take a stand, the system has been too corrupt for too long to change. The underlying theme, I think, is that since top-level intercollegiate athletic programs are profit centers for their universities and feeding programs for the pro leagues, maybe the players should be paid, and the pretense of amateurism dropped. Look at the once-amateur Olympics." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Hoop Dreams (1994) Starring William Gates, Arthur Agee

"The sports stories develop headlong suspense, but the real heart of this film involves the scenes filmed in homes, playgrounds and churches in the inner city. There are parallel dramas involving fathers: Arthur's leaves the family after 20 years, gets involved with drugs, spends time in jail, returns, testifies in song at a Sunday service, but does not quite regain his son's trust. William's father has been out of the picture for years; he runs an auto garage, is friendly when he sees his son occasionally. The mothers are the key players in both families--and we also glimpse an extended family network that lends encouragement and support." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

He Got Game (1998) Starring Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, Ned Beatty, Jim Brown

"This is not so much a movie about sports as about capitalism. It doesn't end, as the formula requires, with a big game. In fact, it never creates artificial drama with game sequences. This film is about the real stakes, which involve money more than final scores, and showmanship as much as athletics." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Michael Jordan to the Max (2000) Starring Michael Jordan

"This film documents how Chicago Bulls No. 23 gave his all and then some, whether for the good of the team or for first-time visitors that had never seen him play in person. In Jordan's professional career, he missed 13,156 baskets and, by example, he showed how not to let past failures hinder his future performances. He was the first one to practice and the last one to leave as he struggled to make his weaknesses his strengths. This exploration of Jordan's superhuman focus gives a keen insight into his psyche as he uses discipline, determination, dedication, teamwork, fear, disappointment and failure to make himself and those around him both physically and mentally strong." - Dwayne E. Leslie, Box Office Magazine

Coach Carter (2005) Starring Samuel L. Jackson

"This film gives full weight to public opinion in the communities where they're set - places where the public's interest in secondary education seems entirely focused on sports, where coaches are more important than teachers, where scores are more important than grades. Coach Carter wants to change all that. He walks into a gymnasium ruled by loud, arrogant, disrespectful student jocks, and commands attention with the fierceness of his attitude. He makes rules. He requires the students to sign a contract, promising to maintain a decent grade-point average as the price of being on the team. His most dramatic decision was to lock the gymnasium, forfeit games and endanger the team's title chances after some of his players refused to live up to the terms of the contract. The community of course was outraged that a coach would put grades above winning games; for them, the future for the student athletes lies in the NBA, not education. Given the odds against making it in the NBA (dramatically demonstrated in the great documentary Hoop Dreams), this reasoning is like considering the lottery a better bet than working for a living." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Glory Road (2006) Starring Josh Lucas, Jon Voight

"This film is about racism in American sports, and how coach Don Haskins and his players on the 1965-66 basketball team from Texas Western University made a breakthrough comparable to when Jackie Robinson was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In Texas at that time, we learn, college basketball teams had been integrated, but there was an informal rule that you never played more than one black player at home, two on the road or three if you were behind. After Texas Western won the 1966 NCAA championship with an all-black team on the court, defeating an all-white Kentucky team, the rules were rewritten, and modern college and professional basketball began." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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The Guru Report: Reconsidering the Conn Smythe

By Hockey Guru


Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews was awarded the Conn Smythe Award last night - and there's no arguing how important he was to the Stanley Cup Championship. The key face-off wins, the penalty killing and defensive play just don't show up statistically but how much did reputation come into play as he captures this latest award?

Surely, he really doesn't care too much about the individual award right now - and there's no doubt he deserved consideration - but should the award have been given out to one of the other candidates? The Hockey Guru will attempt to answer that question here - and will start by running through the list of candidates and the arguments for each (listed alphabetically).

Dave Bolland - Maybe a reach for inclusion as a candidate - but on the path to the Stanley Cup - his contributions can not be overlooked. He was responsible for shutting down the league's leading scorer and his twin brother in Vancouver and then the "best line" in the world (the line which went to Vancouver in the Olympics as a unit on the Gold Medal Winning Canadian team). In addition to killing penalties throughout the playoffs - he contributed two huge short-handed goals - the back-breaker in the series finale against Vancouver and the third goal of the game in Game One of the finals.

Final stats for the playoffs: Minutes Played: 410 Goals: 8 (1 Game winner) Assists: 8 Shots: 35 Penalty Minutes: 30

Dustin Byfuglien - The Big Buff had a HUGE playoff run this year. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville noted: "Buff, he seems really to come to the forefront in the playoffs. He was a big presence last year, influenced a couple series. " In 82 games this year he tallied 34 points (about .4 ppg). In the playoffs - he put up 16 points in 22 games - nearly doubling his ppg production.

In the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Big Buff scored 11 times - the most on the team and third behind Daniel Briere and Michael Cammalleri. Of his 11 goals - 5 were game winners. Big Game, Big Goal Big Buff had an amazing playoff run and without players like him stepping up - teams do not win the Stanley Cup.

When not scoring - Big Buff could and did wear out opponents. The Canucks defense fell victim to Big Buff and Mike Richards just didn't seem the same in the finals after trying to run the Buff in game one. Oh, and there's the memorable hit in Game Five on Chris Pronger.

Final stats for the playoffs: Minutes Played: 366 Goals: 11 (5 Game winners) Assists: 5 Shots: 46 Penalty Minutes: 20

Patrick Kane - 10 Goals, 18 Assists, 64 shots on goal and of course there's this.

In watching Patty Kane in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year against Vancouver - it became obvious that he had "it". He has the ability to raise his game when the stakes are highest and simply score big goals. Fulfilling the dream of every player that ever laced 'em up - scoring the Stanley Cup winning OT goal - he proved again he is a BIG-TIME clutch performer. His heroics in game 5 against Nashville may have saved that series and the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run.


Duncan Keith - The love for Chris Pronger had no bounds in the media. There was talk about potentially being the Conn Smythe winner even with Philadelphia losing. Everything Pronger did - Keith did. Keith averaged 52 seconds less ice than Pronger throughout the playoffs and had one less point. However Keith's opponents were slightly more talented offensively than the Bruins and Canadiens. While competing against the "best" in the west of San Jose and Vancouver as well as Nashville and Philadelphia - Keith was able to do all that and only take a mere 5 minor penalties. Pronger was cited for 12 minor - 4 in the Stanley Cup Finals - 3 in the final two games with 2 leading to Hawk goals.

The amazing contribution by Duncan Keith is historic and his Conn Smythe candidacy may have been overlooked.

Final stats for the playoffs: Minutes Played: 620 Goals: 2 Assists: 15 Shots: 61 Penalty Minutes: 10

Antii Niemi - 16 Wins are needed to win the Stanley Cup and Niemi put up that most important stat. In a season where goaltending was the question mark on the Hawks - Niemi proved to be a Stanley Cup Winning Goaltender. In the opening round, Nashville had the Hawks in a bit of trouble (leading the series 1-0 and 2-1) - and both times Niemi responded with shutouts (his only two of the playoffs). Vancouver was left scratching their head more than a few times with Niemi in their series. Against San Jose he was exceptional. And in the finals - while not making all the saves - he has made many timely saves that were significant in the Hawks Stanley Cup run and cannot be overlooked.

Final Stats for the Playoffs: Record 16-6 Save Percentage .910 Goals Against Average 2.63

Jonathan Toews -

The Captain logged the most ice time of any forward on the Hawks. He killed penalties, he finished hits and he scored goals. There's nothing he didn't do and certainly lived up to expectations. Teams don't win the Stanley Cup when their leaders don't lead.

Final Stats for the Playoffs:

Minutes Played: 461
Goals: 7 (3 GWG)
Assists: 22
Shots: 58
Penalty Minutes: 4

Well there are some good arguments for the "leading candidates" from Chicago for the Conn Smythe. After reviewing the case for each - here are the results:

Fifth Runner-up: David Bolland - great contributions throughout but was a couple performances away from really standing out as the most outstanding and most valuable impact on the Stanley Cup run.

Fourth Runner-up: Patrick Kane -the clinching goal deserves to be re-dubbed so the announcers can give it all the excitement and drama that it merits. Maybe there's an added specialness to the shot that just disappeared into the net and the world simply stopped - the moment was frozen in time and didn't need anything added to it - it was simply "unbelieveable." That goal would have moved Kane at least close to the top if only he had a couple other game winners games of shear dominance.

Third Runner-up: Jonathan Toews - A tremendous leader and proved to be a worthy captain to lead his team to become Stanley Cup Champions. His games three and four in Vancouver were awesome. He did it all - scoring, penalty killing, face-offs...

Second Runner-up: Antii Niemi - reviewing the whole body of work - particularly the first round series against Nashville and the key shutouts - he certainly moved up in the Guru's voting. The last thing we saw was a wild Stanley Cup Finals - where goals were going in fast and furious - we cannot forget that he put up the most important of all goaltending stats - the WIN. With 16 career playoff wins (all this year) - he now has more playoff wins than Henrik Lundqvist and is one behind Roberto Luongo. The point being - winning in the playoffs is hard and going 16-6 should not be discounted because of a wide open Stanley Cup Finals.

The two remaining candidates on the Guru's ballot - Duncan Keith and Dustin Byfuglien.
Putting their 2010 Stanley Cup Playoff performances in context:

All-Time, Single Playoff Season Game Winning Goal Leaders
(GWG started being tracked for 1967 Stanley Cup Playoffs)

	Year	GWGs	Goals	Shots	Conn Smythe Winner?
Brad Richards	2004	7	12	88	Yes
Joe Sakic	1996	6	18	98	Yes
Joe Nieuwendyk	1999	6	11	72	Yes
Mario Lemieux	1992	5	16	69	Yes
Mike Bossy*	1983	5	17		No
Jari Kurri**	1987	5	15		No
Fernando Pisani#	2006	5	14	49	No
Johan Franzen##	2008	5	13	70	No
Bobby Smith###	1991	5	8	60	No
Dustin Byfuglien	2010	5	11	45	No

* 1982 - Islanders lost to the Oilers in the Finals and Mark Messier was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
** 1987 - Wayne Gretzky was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
# 2006 - Oilers lost to Carolina in the Finals and Cam Ward was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
## 2008 - Henrk Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy
### 1991 - Minnesota North Stars lost 4 games to 2 in the finals to Pittsburgh- Mario Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy

Conn Smythe Winning Defenseman (Since 1970)

* Did not win Conn Smythe

	Year	G-A=Pt	Avg TOI	PIM
Bobby Orr	1970 1972	9-11=20 5-19=24	NA	14 19
Larry Robinson	1978	4-17=21	NA	6
Al MacInnis	1989	7-24=31	NA	46
Brian Leetch	1994	11-23=34	NA	6
Scott Stevens	2000	3-8=11	25:25	6
Nicklas Lidstrom	2002	5-11=16	31:10	2
Scott Niedermayer	2007	3-8=11	29:50	26
Duncan Keith*	2010	2-15=17	28:11	10

Jarri Kurri is the precedent that scoring 5 GWG for the winning Stanley Cup Champion does not assure the Conn Smythe. Of course, the Conn Smythe was awarded to Wayne Gretzky (his second in 1987) - who happened to lead the league with 34 playoff points in 21 games (9 more than Kurri). Coincidentally the Flyers were the Stanley Cup Finalists in that year.

Johan Franzen is the only other Stanley Cup winner with at least 5 GWGs in the playoffs that didn't receive the Conn Smythe. Henrik Zetterberg, the winner in 2008 had one less (4 GWGs) and tied Franzen for the playoff goal scoring lead with 13. However, Zetterberg had 14 assists to go along with his goals and tied Sidney Crosby for the playoff scoring title. Zetterberg was the deserving Conn Smythe having potted 2 short handed goals as well.

While this year Toews finished second in playoff scoring - he was fourth on the Hawks in goals with 7 compared to Sharp and Byfuglien's 11 and Kane's 10. The 3 GWGs and the all-around play not withstanding - the Guru believes that Dustin Byfuglien's 2010 playoff performance deserves the Conn Smythe over Toews. Without Big Buff's physical presence - the Guru doesn't believe that Chicago wins the Cup. (Even if Byfuglien is an American and only 4 non-Canadians have ever received the award (Brian Leetch '94, Evgeni Malkin '09, Nicklas Lidstrom '02 and Zetterberg '08)).

However, Byfuglien still would not win the 2010 Conn Smythe Award - according the the Guru. The award should have gone to a Canadian yet again (not that nationality matters to anyone outside of the Canadian border) - but not to the Olympic's Best Forward - but to Duncan Keith. Keith's ability to play monster minutes and be so effective not only defensively but in the transition game, jumping into the offense and special teams play should have earned him this year's Conn Smythe. His performance in these playoffs compares favorably (at least in the Guru's mind) to Scott Neidermeyer's, Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Stevens' Conn Smythe campaigns.

There's no need for a recount, re-vote or any further controversy - the individual awards really don't matter much right now - in fact, being a Stanley Cup Champion is the only award anybody on Chicago or any other NHL roster really care about. Remove anybody from that roster - and perhaps they don't win the Cup - it takes a team to win the Cup - and that is what makes it the hardest trophy in sports to win.

Congratulations Chicago Blackhawks - Our 2010 Stanley Cup Champions!

Now what'll happened next - check back after Labor Day for Carnac's 2010-11 season predictions - will Pittsburgh get back on track to being the NHL "dynasty" or is Chicago starting their own "dynasty?"

And for the runner-up - his prize will be the series of History Will be Made Videos...

Post Script: Jonathan Toews is the Conn Smythe Winner - but what are the defining moments, memories and plays from the Stanley Cup run for him specifically and the Blackhawks in general? Clearly Byfuglien and Kane have some key goals and big moments. Marian Hossa had the big game 5 OT winner against Nashville (as well as the big "hit from behind"). Finding highlights for Toews and Keith were not as easy nor do individual specific plays stand out. As always STP is always interested in your comments.

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