WLUHL Fantasy Hockey League WLUHL13 Playoff Round #1 Brother Love Report
WLUHL: Playoffs Round #1 Brother Love Report
BRAMPTON, On - Brother's and Sister's, it's time... it's time... it's time for some
LOVE! Brother Love is back letting each and everyone of you know that... I LOVE
YOU!!! Brother Love has been checking out the WLUHL and has been quiet as of
late... but the people have been cheering for and they have been asking that the
"Real Brother Love... Please Stand Up... Please Stand Up..." and Brother Love has
stood up and he is ready to be heard with his take on the love that is going to be
passed around in the WLUHL.
1) Hull GOAL BUSTERS 64 34 27 3 71 176 161 0.555
VS.
Kitchener TERRIER 64 45 14 5 95 221 136 0.742
- The fans will be out in full force for both of these teams. Many GM's around the
league will be cheering on the Goal Busters in this, for two reasons. The Goal
Busters have been one of the more quiet yet respected teams in the WLUHL. The Goal
Busters never get into the name call, never get into the trash talking and they have
never made fun of Jody's Pink Car! They are a well rounded team and work hard every
season. The other reason why people may be cheering for the Goal Busters is that the
constantly "rebuilding" Terriers are a team constantly complaining that they need to
rebuild and that their better years are behind them, yet, they still are one of the
top teams each and every year... that is neither just coincidence or they are damn
good rebuilders!
The Terriers were led this year by slick winger Ziggy Palffy with 42 goals and 25
assists. Also, just squeezing into the top 25 was power forward Gary Roberts with 27
goals and 31 assists. Plus, we must not forget about All-Star defenceman Chris
Pronger who was in the top 10 in scoring for d-men with 7 goals and 33 assists. With
a combination of those three, it is no wonder the Terriers were on top. But with
O'Neil, "The Russian Rocket", Mike Modano, Adam Foote and Roman Hamrlik playing 2nd
fiddle to these guys, the Terriers have an amazing roster. Not to mention the
mysterious goaltending which they have received from a guy named Cassivi? Can this
Cassivi man be the ticket the Terriers will ride all the way to the final?
The Goal Busters though hold out a roster that is also impressive. Led by the 3
some of Rolston, Guerin and Lehtinen the Goal Busters are a solid defensive team.
Brian Leetch and Eric Desjardins, even though they are aging are still among the
elite in the league back on the blueline. The Busters also received some good solid
work between the pipes with Mike Dunham pulling in 30 wins this season. However, do
the Goal Busters have the depth that the Terriers do? Brind'Amour, Williams and
Leclerc tallied 107 points between them during the regular season, but when he comes
down to the name game, can anyone beat a 2nd batalion of O'Neil, Bure and Modano?
Not too many people can and that is where the Goal Busters may struggle. But just
ask the New Jersey Devils, what wins? Offense or Defense? If you answered Defence,
you are right and that is the key to the Goal Busters success in the playoffs...
will it be again this year?
2. Guelph EDGE 64 35 23 6 76 182 161 0.594
VS.
Mississauga MEATHEADS 64 42 14 8 92 251 135 0.719
- This will be our subway series, with a mere 30 minutes seperating Guelph and
Mississagua. The fans will be out in full force for both of these teams, setting up
what could be a great rivalry. The Guelph Edge made some big moves during the
season, especially near the end and they have a solid roster to look out for. They
have nobody in the top 25 in scoring, but with Mogilny, Yzerman, Carter and Satan,
everyone knows that they definately have the names. Daniil Markov had an amazing
year, an all-star year for the Edge and they will be looking to him to do it again.
As well as some lesser lights like Glen Wesley to put together a post season like
his earlier years. The Edge though will be looking to their goaltending to help them
out. They were 12th in the league in scoring goals, but they are edgy in goal. Who
will be the starter? Lalime or Giguere? Both are good... but are they great? Will
the Lalime who blew it against the Leafs show up? Or will the Mighty Duck get the
start and carry the team to the promise land this year?
The Mississagua Meatheads have never got the respect that they deserve in this
league. The Meatheads have had good teams, but never good enough to go all the way.
Something always get's in their way, and usually it's a Pylon or a Terrier. This
year, they need to get over the Edge to start to make it happen! An early season
deal made it all happen for the Meatheads. After aquiring Andrew Brunette from the
Burners, the Meatheads took off ending the seasons with the League's Leading Goal
Scorer, the number 9 point getter in the WLUHL and the 24th top point getting in the
league. Andrew Brunette (#1), Joe Thornton (#9) and Keith Primeau (#24) are a 3-some
that no goalie in the NHL wants to deal with. They are fast, strong and great goal
scorers and they have dominated the opposition all season long. To round that 3-some
out, Rob Blake pulled in the 10th spot in scoring of d-men, and the Meatheads looks
strong. However, their depth is scaring... playing beheind Brunette, Thornton and
Primeau we have a group of players that could easily match the Terriers. Sami
Kapenan, Fredrik Modin, Petr Nedved, Martin St.Louis and Glen Murray are a pretty
good 4-8 set with Chara and Kasparaitus back on defence for #2 and #3. The only
place the Meatheads may fall is the goaltending. Can Jamie Storr do it? The question
we should all ask is, can the Meatheads be like the Oilers of the 80's? If so, who
cares about how many goals go in because if you let in 5 and can score 8, who cares!
The Meatheads look like Gretzky's Oilers of the 80's... question is, can they win
the cup like them?
3. Waterloo HITMEN 64 36 21 7 79 196 149 0.617
VS.
Quabbin CRUNCH 64 33 23 8 74 178 144 0.578
- The rebuilder vs. the quest... that's what this series looks like. The Crunch all
but threw in the towel this season. Not saying that they aren't trying or don't have
a good roster. But they had made some moves this year to pair down their roster,
giving up some great quality. The flip to that is that the Hitmen did the opposite.
As the trade deadline, the Hitmen loaded up on the talent and this may give the #6
seeded Hitmen, who have the better winning percentage, the designation of the
favourite in this series. Adam Deadmarsh led this team up from from Day #1 with 33
goals and 33 assists, to grab the 11th overall spot in the points standing. Sneaking
into the top 25 was Daniel Briere who did a great job playing on the 2nd line of the
Hitmen roster, taking back seat to an under productive Mario Lemieux and sometimes
checker Mike Peca. Martin Straka and Mike Peca played hard the entire season, but
by seasons end, the new team leader was #88, Eric Lindros. Lindros was a key pickup
at the trade deadline and even though the Hitmen were able to boost their defense
with the pickup of Sandis Ozolinsh and Sheldon Souray, it has been Lindros who has
been the leader the last 20 games. It may also be Lindros who may finally take this
team to the next step... it's been a long time since Waterloo has seen the cup.
The Crunch have been playing good hockey all season long. But can good hockey win
the championship? Francis, Marian Hossa and Kozlov have been leading this team each
and every night, and that leadership is what can win the cup. But behind them, back
on defence, that is where the Crunch are amazing. They boast a defence that has
Sergei Zubov, Chris Phillips, Sami Salo, Derian Hatcher and Hall of Famer Chris
Chelios. Who in the league can put up a top 5 starter defense corps. like that?
NOBODY! The Crunch then finish that off with non other than one of the best all-time
goaltenders in the league, NHL and WLUHL, The Dominator, Dominik Hasek. Hasek has
hoisted the cup before and he is ready to do it again. The Crunch may have let the
"Big E" and a few others go, but they still have a great squad. Goal scoring may be
a problem for them, but the defense and leadership this team has is amazing. Hasek
has raised the cup with the Dragons, Hatcher has raised in in Toledo and Chelios has
raised the cup in Waterloo... that is a lot of experience for a team that can take
it all... even though they may look like the under dog, the Crunch are ready to send
Waterloo packing in the first round once again.
4. Quebec KNIGHTS 64 37 21 6 80 212 159 0.625
VS.
Pinkerton PYLONS 64 40 19 5 85 212 140 0.664
- The Battle of Who's Who? Who are these guys? Who is on these teams? These are two
teams and two GM's that the league usually doesn't hear much of, at least, until it
comes playoff time. When the playoffs hit, these are two new teams. The Knights
are walking into the playoffs not really being the under dog in this series. Being
only 5 points behind the Pylons makes this a very interesting series. Thirty-Six
goal man Petr Bondra grabbed the #12 spot in the league scoring and Martin Biron
held down a 2.32 GOA, a .909 save percentage and got 33 wins. Not too shabby eh!
Back in goal has been a key for the Knights who have been solid the entire year. The
Knights put together a really good opening seasons roster with a couple trades to
boost them up to possibly a real champ. However, as much as we like to brag about
goals, Radek Bonk was the real leader on this team with 20 goals and 50 assists. He
was the leader that GM Marc Hebert looked to each and every night. Following behind
him, Marc Savard, Eric Daze and Sergei Samsonov made the Knights have a deadly 1-2
punch. A great offense and good goaltending can take a team a long way. Can the
Knights go a long way? If they can knock of the Pylons, than they can knock off
anyone!
The Pylons are a good team. Actually, that is an understatement. The Pylons where
a great team this year becoming the 5th best offensive and the 6th best defensive
team in the league. Putting together two top rankings like that could make a team
unstoppable. Pavol Demitra and Brendan Shanahan were in the top 25 in scoring and
Bryan McCabe led the league back on defensive for scoring. But, considering Martin
Havlat, Alex Tanguay and Vincent Damphousse haven't even been mentioned, the Pylons
look pretty mean. Oh yeah, did we forget to mention Jagr? A lot of you may have
forgot about him... after being hidden away on the Edge and Shamrocks and having a
horrible year, everyone forgot about him. However, putting Jagr on the Pylons could
prove deadly. The pickup of one of the leagues most dangerous weapons could bring
the cup to Pinkerton.
BRAMPTON, On - Brother's and Sister's, Welcome... Welcome to the Brother Love Show!
Last night, we had a chance to take a look at the Canadian Conference. A Conference
that has been led by power and controversy. The trash talking has not yet begun, but
oh yes my friend, it soon will!
However, we can't begin the talking until we have looked at the Brother's from the
south... until we have looked at the entire American Conference.
5. Resevoir DOGS 64 22 34 8 52 141 184 0.406
VS
Cap City LAW MAKERS 64 44 14 6 94 225 138 0.734
- Can the Cap City Law Makers finally get the monkey (and a lot of GM's) off of
their back? Maybe yes, maybe no. The Resevoir Dogs would like to say no. The
Resevoir Dogs who have been under some shaky management and coaching as of late are
looking to be the cinderella story of the WLUHL. The Resevoir Dogs have some big
names, but their big names under produced all season long. Their true leader was
Mike Ricci who finished second on the team in scoring. Jason Arnott, Simon Gagne,
Vincent Lecavlier and Ilya Kovalchuk did well, next to nothing. These big names did
not produce, but then again, they were not given a chance every night to show what
they got. The Dogs have a solid hard working, checking team which can, on any given
night take out the biggest and best teams in the WLUHL. However, to do this, they
will need the "Buhlin Wall" to stand tall. If Nikolai can stand tall each and every
night, and Arnott, Vincent, Simon and Illya can play like the stars that they are,
than the Dogs could be looking at a long run.
The Law Makers however are not looking to be upset this year. The Law Makers
have had a top team in the WLUHL the last couple years, and this year they have
better than ever. the Law Makers finished as the top team in the American Conference
and 2nd overall in the WLUHL. The Law Makers are stacked with an amazing roster.
Jerome Iginla finished second in the league in scoring with 42 goals and 33 assists,
Alexei Yashin finished fifth in the league with 29 goals and 41 assists, yeah, did
we forget to mention that Markus Naslund also finished in the top 25 in league
scoring? Outside of those three, who else does the Law Makers boast? They have the
8th scoring defenseman in Eddie Jovanovski, and some other names which you may have
heard of like Brett Hull, Theoren Fleury, Scott Stevens, Tom Poti, Derek Morris,
Daymond Langkow and Adrian Aucoin. That my friends is a powerhouse that nobody in
this league wants to deal with. However, not only do they have the defense and the
scoring, they also have a deadly goaltending combination with backup Eddie Belfour
and starter Tommy Salo. You know you have a great team when you call Eddie Belfour a
backup! The Law Makers have it all and they may be the best team in the entire
league. If I was a betting man, I would put my money of the Law Makers to go all the
way!
6. Indianapolis RACERS 64 25 31 8 58 152 159 0.453
VS
Birmingham ICE BARONS 64 38 17 9 85 211 136 0.664
- Racers vs. the Barons, 58 points vs. 85 points.... this is like Jack climbing the
Beanstalk and meeting the giant. Except, this time, the giant has Joe Nieuwendyk,
Alexie Zhamnov and Martin Lapointe. Actually, I think that makes it 3 giants. Those
three men have carried the Ice Barons for a long time. However, they aren't alone.
GM Richard Lomax has put together a solid roster that includes Cory Stillman, Luc
Robitaille and Mark Recchi. That's two lines that can be deadly and that creates a
power play that can be very effective. However, as much as you want to talk about
scoring, and as much as the fans love to see goals, the Ice Barons are all about the
opposite. The Ice Barons where the 2nd best penalty killing team in the league and
the 4th best team defensively during the regular season. Why is this? All you have
to do is look at their goaltending! Marc Denis carried the team the first half of
the year. However, when the Ice Barons made the deal for St. Patrick, everyone knew
the Ice Barons went from a good team, to a great team! St. Patrick has been amazing
for the Ice Barons and he gives them a #1 goaltender who has hoisted the cup before.
Patrick Roy had the 7th best save percentage in the league and was tied for second
in the league with 8 shutouts. When you look at the numbers, Roy shutout enough
games to wrap up the first two series in the playoffs. Patrick Roy and the defence
are what the Ice Barons are riding and they are hoping to ride it all the way to a
cup victory.
The Racers will be challenged in this series. Paul Kariya will be looked to lead
this team to the promise land. Kariya had a good year producing 26 goals and 21
assists. He has played hard and good, but he will need some help. His supporting
cast of Prospal, Handzus and Gelinas will have to help the speedy sniper. Quint,
Klemm and Brisebois will be expected to shut down Zhamnow, Nieuwendyke and Lapointe.
They are all strong defenceman with experience and it is possible that they will
have the series of their career. The goaltending is where it will all be put
together. Kiprusoff and Vokoun will be the tandem that the Racers will be going to
bat with. They will have to go toe-to-toe with Patrick Roy, giving the Racers a
chance. Considering both teams focus on defensive play, the Racers are looking good.
The stats look a bit off, but in reality, the playoffs are a new series and that is
just what the doctor ordered for the Racers. They may be a long shot, but they will
have a good shot at this.
7. Chicago WINTER HAWKS 64 36 25 3 75 204 172 0.586
VS
California SEA LIONS 64 25 25 14 64 126 131 0.500
- This series will be Chicago vs. California. However, the lower seeded Hawks will
be the team that will have the upper hand in this series. The numbers may be close,
but in the Hawks eyes, they don't even stack up. Mats Sundin and Keith Tkachuk
totalled 63 goals and 71 assists this year, finish both in the top 25 in league
scoring. Both of these players dominated the opposition, but they had a lot of help
as the Hawks have a deep roster. Playing second fiddle are Craig Conroy, Petr
Sykora, Tony Amonte and others. They have 3 solid lines that can score and scare
you, and this team will be ready to fire on all cylinders. Back on the point the
teams has Igor Kravchuk, Darryl Sydor and trade deadline pickup Al MacInnis. This
is a solid crew from top to bottom and GM Ted Wollnik has done a great job with
this. However, Roman Chechmanek will be the man between the pipes. The Hawks will be
looking to him to let them run and gun and if they can do that, the Sea Lions may be
in trouble.
The Sea Lions don't have many stars, they do have the a lot to to scare team
with, but they do have heart, they have soul and they have some great coaching. It
doesn't matter who is on your team, it matters how well they play and GM Farley has
this team playing great hockey! York, Perreault and Drury are the top 3 for this
team. They don't have big numbers, but they have played solid throughout the year.
Even with Perreault being dangled on the trade wire all season long, he played solid
and showed heart and dedication to the team. Langenbrunner and others will be looked
to, to step up and do something big. However, whether they can or not against the
Hawks is another story. But we should not look at the forwards or defence, but at
the goaltending. Jussi Markkanen and Ron Tugnutt are the two big men in California.
Tugger played the majority of the games throughout the season putting up 2.04 GOA
and a .914 SVG, but Markkanen had the better numbers with 1.72 GOA and a .929 SVG.
Who will start? Only Mr. Farley knows, but whoever it is, the Sea Lions are
guarenteed a big time player in net and when it comes playoff time, it's the man
between the pipes that makes the difference and that may be the Sea Lions key!
8. Gordo GOLIATHS 64 35 22 7 77 182 156 0.602
VS
St. George DRAGONS 64 38 17 9 85 220 148 0.664
- The Gordo Goliaths will be in tough against the St. George Dragons. But if it's
skill and toughness you want, the Goliaths have it. With a record of 35-22-7 the
Goliaths proved that this year, they are a top level team. Daniel Alfredsson was 3rd
in the league scoring with 42 goals and 30 assists. Joe Sakic was 2nd in team
scoring with 18 goals and 35 assists and Danius Zubrus was 3rd with 23 goals and 20
assists. In total, the Goliaths had seven 20-Goal scorers on their team, and that is
a lot of fire power. Mr. Nevett didn't stop there. Behind those guys, Mr. Nevett has
Richard Zednik, Doug Gilmour, Dmitri Yushkevich, Mike Fisher and Bates Battaglia.
This team has come a long way and the pickup of Daniel Alfredsson during the
offseason was huge for the Goliaths. He is the key to the Goliaths scoring and he
will be what the Goliaths look to ride throughout the playoffs. However, before we
forget about him, we have to look at 29 game winner Felix "The Cat" Potvin. Can
Potvin be the man? Maybe yes, maybe no... but either way, Mr. Nevett knows that he
will have to be. With a little luck back between the pipes and a full fledge offense
on attack up front, the Goliaths are going to be dangerous!
The Goliaths, Goliaths, Goliaths... I can hear Mr. Burkett going, "What about
us?" The Dragons had the 2nd best winning percentage in the American Conference.
They lost the 2nd seeding in the playoffs by 3 goals, that has to put a bur under
Jud and the Dragons. Being led by power forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Owen Nolan, the
Dragons are a in your face, take no prisoner type of team. They lead by example and
never sit back and play the oppositions game. They lay it all on the line and
Bertuzzi and Nolan are the guys who can take this team to the finals all by
themselves. However, they don't have to do this alone. They have support in the
means of 17 goal man Dave Andreychuk, 23 goal man Huselius and 43 point center
Robert Lang. But, not only do they have a potent offense, a good offense always
starts back on defense. Back on d the Dragons have Scotty Niedermayer, Teppo
Numminen and Mathieu Schneider. A 3-some that anyone would love to have back on
their defense. However, not being mentioned are some forwards like Cliff Ronning and
Doug Weight. This is a team loaded with talent, talent ready and willing to show.
Back between the pipes, the Dragons have themselves a goalie who fell into the top
10 in Goals Against (2.20), Save Percentage (.913) and wins with 31. Those are stats
and numbers that the Goliaths will definately have to worry about. Roberto Luongo is
young and unproven, but Mr. Burkett has had a way of molding these young players
into something special and with a supporting cast of what he's got, Luongo may just
be holding a cup high above his head soon!
Brother's and Sister's, that is it for Brother Love and his look at the playoffs.
There is a lot to read, and a lot may have been missed, but Brother's and Sister's,
nothing can beat seeing it happen live. We can talk the talk, but until we walk the
walk, we really have no right to say anything but speculate. The WLUHL playoffs
should be an interesting as anyone has a chance to bring the cup home. What everyone
needs or what everyone wants comes down to chemistry and luck... he who can get it
right the quickest will win it all. And that my friends, is what everyone wants....
a chance... just one chance....