CHL playoffs start tonight

[juliansteed]

Huberdeau scored 15 goals last year which is good for a rookie. How good is he? Would he be putting up anywhere near the numbers he's put up this year with a less talented team?

He's pretty good. No doubt his numbers benefit from him playing with some talented players, but I'd say the other players benefit even more from playing with him. Every game he makes a few moves that amaze. The video I posted earlier in the thread doesn't quite do him justice.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

He's pretty good. No doubt his numbers benefit from him playing with some talented players, but I'd say the other players benefit even more from playing with him. Every game he makes a few moves that amaze. The video I posted earlier in the thread doesn't quite do him justice.

As the draft gets closer Huberdeau is probably going to climb up the draft charts. I won't be surprised if he goes in the top 3 & he's probably a lock for the top 5.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Huberdeau scored 15 goals last year which is good for a rookie. How good is he? Would he be putting up anywhere near the numbers he's put up this year with a less talented team?

15 goals for a rookie in the CHL is very presentable indeed. To put it into perspective, this year Nail Yakupov put up 49 goals and 101 points this year as a rookie who was 16 to start the year.

Hopefully the Sens can tank it up next year.:wof:

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

15 goals for a rookie in the CHL is very presentable indeed. To put it into perspective, this year Nail Yakupov put up 49 goals and 101 points this year as a rookie who was 16 to start the year.

Hopefully the Sens can tank it up next year.:wof:

My team doesn't have to tank. With all the games lost to injury every year the Isles have been a lock for the lottery the past 3 years. I'm just hoping for a healthy roster next year. If it happens I honestly believe they can battle for a playoff spot.

Next years draft is supposed to be better than this years. D Nick Ebert & F Cristoval "Boo" Nieves are possible top picks as well.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Just looked at the Q playoff bracket and.....

One whole half of the bracket was sweeps. Either a bunch of piss poor teams made the postseason or there are going to be some great match-ups in the second round. Maybe a bit of both?

 

[juliansteed]

15 goals for a rookie in the CHL is very presentable indeed. To put it into perspective, this year Nail Yakupov put up 49 goals and 101 points this year as a rookie who was 16 to start the year.

Hopefully the Sens can tank it up next year.:wof:

And he did it on a team that was extremely deep at forward last year as well. Playing mostly on the 4th line and was in and out of the lineup, seeing very little PP time except maybe in blowouts. He was always a shootout specialist however. His shootout stats from last year were close to perfect, if not perfect. Last year the Sea Dogs had Sens prospect and QMJHL MVP Mike Hoffman leading the offense as a 20 year old. They also lost another key 20 year old in Pens prospect Nick Peterson. Everyne was expecting the team to take a step back this year as they never thought they'd be able to make up for that offense. Well at 17, Huberdeau has surpassed what Mike Hoffman did last year at 20. And another 2011 top draft prospect, Zack Phillips, has been riding shotgun on his line and has basically replaced Peterson.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Just looked at the Q playoff bracket and.....

One whole half of the bracket was sweeps. Either a bunch of piss poor teams made the postseason or there are going to be some great match-ups in the second round. Maybe a bit of both?

Nino with 10 points in the Winterhawks 4 game sweep of Everett.

 

[juliansteed]

Just looked at the Q playoff bracket and.....

One whole half of the bracket was sweeps. Either a bunch of piss poor teams made the postseason or there are going to be some great match-ups in the second round. Maybe a bit of both?

Probably a bit of both, and I believe it was actually 5 of the 8 series. I'm not sure if its the same in the OHL and WHL but during the Christmas trade period, a lot of teams usually decide to go for it that year or sell to build for the next year. So the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker. 16 of 18 teams make the playoffs too, which lets some really weak teams get in and sets up some huge mismatches like the #1 Sea Dogs playing the #16 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Just to put it in perspective, if you add the #9 team's point total to the #16 team's point total, it wouldn't add upto the Sea Dogs point total for the season.

1 of those sweeps you mention however was actually the lower seed Victoriaville Tigres sweeping the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. So there is still room for surprises. I imagine there will be a few decent series' in the 2nd round.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

And he did it on a team that was extremely deep at forward last year as well. Playing mostly on the 4th line and was in and out of the lineup, seeing very little PP time except maybe in blowouts. He was always a shootout specialist however. His shootout stats from last year were close to perfect, if not perfect. Last year the Sea Dogs had Sens prospect and QMJHL MVP Mike Hoffman leading the offense as a 20 year old. They also lost another key 20 year old in Pens prospect Nick Peterson. Everyne was expecting the team to take a step back this year as they never thought they'd be able to make up for that offense. Well at 17, Huberdeau has surpassed what Mike Hoffman did last year at 20. And another 2011 top draft prospect, Zack Phillips, has been riding shotgun on his line and has basically replaced Peterson.

The Sens are probably looking at the 4th, ~20th and 34th overall picks. I'd be happy to see both Huberdeau and Phillips taken with the 4th and 34th. Lecavalier and Richards 2.0?

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

In the Dub there have been 4 sweeps. Portland swept Everett. Kelowna swept Prince George. Tri City swept Vancouver & Red Deer swept Edmonton.

In the second round Portland will play Kelowna. It looks like Tri City will play Spokane who has a 3-1 lead in their series against Chilliwack.

Red Deer has to wait & see what happens because the other 3 series on their side of the bracket are all tied at 2.

 

[juliansteed]

My team doesn't have to tank. With all the games lost to injury every year the Isles have been a lock for the lottery the past 3 years. I'm just hoping for a healthy roster next year. If it happens I honestly believe they can battle for a playoff spot.

Next years draft is supposed to be better than this years. D Nick Ebert & F Cristoval "Boo" Nieves are possible top picks as well.

Martin Frk is another guy who I believe is an early favourite to go quite high in that draft.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The Sens are probably looking at the 4th, ~20th and 34th overall picks. I'd be happy to see both Huberdeau and Phillips taken with the 4th and 34th. Lecavalier and Richards 2.0?

I actually wouldn't be surprised if Ottawa passed the Islanders in the standings. The Isles schedule for the final week is tough.

 

[juliansteed]

The Sens are probably looking at the 4th, ~20th and 34th overall picks. I'd be happy to see both Huberdeau and Phillips taken with the 4th and 34th. Lecavalier and Richards 2.0?

That would be cool. Tomas Jurco is another guy who has been off and on that line who could go late 1st or early 2nd, so he could also be a possibility for 34th.

 

[dash]

Martin Frk is another guy who I believe is an early favourite to go quite high in that draft.

I remember that name from the recent WJHC tourney, he had a questionable hit on a Canadian player (I remember referring to him as a little Frker)

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

That would be cool. Tomas Jurco is another guy who has been off and on that line who could go late 1st or early 2nd, so he could also be a possibility for 34th.

Does Jurco have any Oilers jerseys? He reminds me of Rob Schremp.

 

[juliansteed]

Does Jurco have any Oilers jerseys? He reminds me of Rob Schremp.

Ha! Yeah he's definitely a shootout specialist. He has some cray hand-eye skills and can do some pretty amazing things with a stick and a puck. Not all of which can be a direct benefit in an actual game. But anyone who can pull off these moves no doubt has some skills that can be used in a game.

The 2nd shootout attempt never ceases to amaze me despite the fact he didn't put the puck in the net:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp8EK2Vg5CU&feature=related

YouTube - Tomas Jurco Shows Some Mad Skills - MUST WATCH

Here's some of his actual hockey skills. I apologize for the music. The video must have been made by 1 of his European friends. Also he switched from #91 last season to #13 this season in case there is any confusion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp8EK2Vg5CU&feature=related

 

[juliansteed]

I remember that name from the recent WJHC tourney, he had a questionable hit on a Canadian player (I remember referring to him as a little Frker)

Haha yup. I remember that hit. I think he'll have a few nicknames that follow him throughout his career.

 

[dash]

WHL scores tonight:

Saskatoon 8, Prince Albert 0
Medicine Hat 9, Brandon 5 (woot!)

 

[juliansteed]

The opening round in the Q league playoffs saw a grand total of 35 games played between the 16 teams. Not a single series went beyond 5 games.

Round 2 matchups will be:

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Victoriaville Tigres
Montreal Junior vs Lewiston Maineiacs
Quebec Remparts vs Shawinigan Cataractes
Drummondville Voltigeurs vs Gatineau Olympiques

The top 2 series shouldn't be very close but the other 2 could be interesting.

 

[dash]

Spokane 6, Chilliwack 4 (game just ended).