KBF
09-16-2006, 01:46 PM
Thanks guys for your feedback, I'll definetly try and cut out the extra nonsense.
Portland WinterHawks
Key Returnees:Balan, Sauer, Golin, Gordichuk, Mucha, McLaren, Frazee, Bailey, Gabriel, Cepek, Sceviour, Nargang, Fike.
Key losses:Woolger, Hansen, Dubinsky, Bubnick, Funk
Newcomers:F Lewadniuk, F Singleton, F Fraser, F Reddin, F Conboy, F Betker, F Francis, F King, F Sjodin, D Mah, D Ariss, D Alexiuk,
As it stands right now the Hawks look to have the youngest crew in the entire WHL. Losing talented veterans like Bubnick, Woolger, Funk, Hansen and Dubinsky is definetly going to sting. So it'll be up to guys like Golin, McLaren, Frazee, Bailey and Fike to pick up and carry the load because it could very well be a loooong season in Portland.
The Defence looks to be their best position and will be as good as any with Funk, Fike, Gordichuk and Cepek as the teams top 4 D-men. It could be alot of long nights for those 4.
In goal they have a very talented youngster by the name of Kyle Mucha, he was sensational last season when called upon and will be looked upon to carry the load this season. Just like the defence, he could have some very long nights but the positive thing is that it will help him develop into a more solid goaltender.
Spokane Chiefs
Key returnees:Hobson, Ryan, Grabner, Blackwater, Zimmerman, Spurgeon, Haw, Armstrong.
Key losses:Stoesz, Salmonsson, Engman, Lynch.
The Newcomers:F Wahl, D Reddington, F Roman, F Thomas, F Esposito
Not a whole lot of room for youngsters this season, but overall the Chiefs got a solid group up front and will look on Ryan, Hobson, Grabner, and Roman to carry the Chiefs offense.
Defense seems to be their strongest point with Haw, Zimmermanm, Spurgeon all returning and provide the Chiefs with a strong mixture of solid D and offense with those 3 and will be counted on to lead the Chiefs defensive unit.
Goaltending will be solid in Armstrong who was traded to the Chiefs at the deadline, and while he is young has shown alot of promise and will only get better with the more games he plays.
Tri-City
Key Returnees:Aldred, Boogard, Vey, Price, Pickard.
Key losses:Schneider, McDonald, Beeman, Gracik, Stephenson, Emmerson, Stoner.
The Newcomers:F Yellow Horn, F Kaye, F Reddick, F Gorman, F Felde, F Wutzke, F Bartek, F Derickson, F Scurko, D Valach
With the acquisitions of Yellow Horn, Scurko and Kaye the Americans added a significant amount of offense and fills the holes left by McDonald and Beeman. Before these additions they were a team rebuilding and destined for battling for the last playoff spot. But that all changed with the addition of these 3 and the Americans drastically changed and turned into a potential contender in the Western Conference. These 3 will be looked at to carry the offense and they have proven they can handle it. Yellow Horn was a huge addition and should have a big year as well as Scurko.
Defence is ok but not great, will need to add a vet or 2 on the backend to be taken seriously as a threat in the West. Knudsen, Butterfield, and new euro Valach will have to step it up and do their part to make sure the Ams reach their potential and keep pucks out of their end.
Then you have quite possibly the top puckstopper in the dub in Price who was being rumoured to be apart of a deal sending him to the Giants but that looks to have been put on hold and make the Ams to be potentially a scary team. He should have a huge season but only time will tell.
Seattle Thunderbirds
Key returnees:Gagnon, Klinkhammer, Holloway, Durand, Hickey, Jackson. Holloway
Key losses:Bridges, Tomanek, Gibbons, Johnson, Scurko, Barthel, Opshal
The Newcomers:Yeomans, F Quackenbush, F Meidl, F Eberele, F Boyer, D Acolatse, D Scherger.
The Birds will hurt from losing the likes of Gibbons, Barthel and Tomanek but will still be tough to deal with with the likes of Durand, Gagnon and Holloway. the unknowns right now are the euros like Eberele who may or may not pan out but if he can live up to Euro expectations he could add a very nice scoring punch to go along with those returning snipers mentioned above. So the forwad position seems to be their strongest point right now.
Their defence lost Barthel but still return a nice corps with Jackson, Hickey and Schappert. Also watch out for other solid youngsters like Grossman and Stamler as the Birds won't be battling for 1st place, but more than likely a middle of the pack kind of team.
Everett Silvertips
Key returnees:Mueller, Calla, Hamill, Dailey, Fiala, Thoring, Fransoo, Irving, Espositio.
Key losses:Lammers, Wheat, Heshka. Kress
The newcomers:F Guttierez, D Eisenkirch, F Beach, D Hlookoff, D Strong,
The Tips boast one of the most talented teams in the entire WHL and are solid all round. But perhaps their best assest is their offense with guys like Mueller, Calla, Hamill leading the way. They got alot of speed with guys like Dailey, Sonne, Beach, Calla, Mueller and Hamill. Definetly one of the deadliest team in the league this season and once again are a team to look out for as they should dominate the Western Conference this year right alongside the Giants.
Defense as usual is solid, leading the way is Fransoo, Fiala, Thoring and newcomer Eisenkirch. Like I said, solid all around and definetly going to be tough for any team to get alot past their defence.
Strongest goaltending duo in my opinion with Irving and Esposito backing him up. Doesn't matter which one is in goal as they both are terrific puckstoppers with Irving obviously being the more proven of the 2 but when Irving goes off to pro hockey the Tips once again are solid for the future with Esposito as he did an admirable job filling in for Irving against the Giants last year in the playoffs after Irving got injured.
US Division Standings.
1.Everett 100 Pts
2.Tri-City 83 Pts
3.Spokane 77 Pts
4.Seattle 72 Pts
5.Portland 62 Pts
Portland WinterHawks
Key Returnees:Balan, Sauer, Golin, Gordichuk, Mucha, McLaren, Frazee, Bailey, Gabriel, Cepek, Sceviour, Nargang, Fike.
Key losses:Woolger, Hansen, Dubinsky, Bubnick, Funk
Newcomers:F Lewadniuk, F Singleton, F Fraser, F Reddin, F Conboy, F Betker, F Francis, F King, F Sjodin, D Mah, D Ariss, D Alexiuk,
As it stands right now the Hawks look to have the youngest crew in the entire WHL. Losing talented veterans like Bubnick, Woolger, Funk, Hansen and Dubinsky is definetly going to sting. So it'll be up to guys like Golin, McLaren, Frazee, Bailey and Fike to pick up and carry the load because it could very well be a loooong season in Portland.
The Defence looks to be their best position and will be as good as any with Funk, Fike, Gordichuk and Cepek as the teams top 4 D-men. It could be alot of long nights for those 4.
In goal they have a very talented youngster by the name of Kyle Mucha, he was sensational last season when called upon and will be looked upon to carry the load this season. Just like the defence, he could have some very long nights but the positive thing is that it will help him develop into a more solid goaltender.
Spokane Chiefs
Key returnees:Hobson, Ryan, Grabner, Blackwater, Zimmerman, Spurgeon, Haw, Armstrong.
Key losses:Stoesz, Salmonsson, Engman, Lynch.
The Newcomers:F Wahl, D Reddington, F Roman, F Thomas, F Esposito
Not a whole lot of room for youngsters this season, but overall the Chiefs got a solid group up front and will look on Ryan, Hobson, Grabner, and Roman to carry the Chiefs offense.
Defense seems to be their strongest point with Haw, Zimmermanm, Spurgeon all returning and provide the Chiefs with a strong mixture of solid D and offense with those 3 and will be counted on to lead the Chiefs defensive unit.
Goaltending will be solid in Armstrong who was traded to the Chiefs at the deadline, and while he is young has shown alot of promise and will only get better with the more games he plays.
Tri-City
Key Returnees:Aldred, Boogard, Vey, Price, Pickard.
Key losses:Schneider, McDonald, Beeman, Gracik, Stephenson, Emmerson, Stoner.
The Newcomers:F Yellow Horn, F Kaye, F Reddick, F Gorman, F Felde, F Wutzke, F Bartek, F Derickson, F Scurko, D Valach
With the acquisitions of Yellow Horn, Scurko and Kaye the Americans added a significant amount of offense and fills the holes left by McDonald and Beeman. Before these additions they were a team rebuilding and destined for battling for the last playoff spot. But that all changed with the addition of these 3 and the Americans drastically changed and turned into a potential contender in the Western Conference. These 3 will be looked at to carry the offense and they have proven they can handle it. Yellow Horn was a huge addition and should have a big year as well as Scurko.
Defence is ok but not great, will need to add a vet or 2 on the backend to be taken seriously as a threat in the West. Knudsen, Butterfield, and new euro Valach will have to step it up and do their part to make sure the Ams reach their potential and keep pucks out of their end.
Then you have quite possibly the top puckstopper in the dub in Price who was being rumoured to be apart of a deal sending him to the Giants but that looks to have been put on hold and make the Ams to be potentially a scary team. He should have a huge season but only time will tell.
Seattle Thunderbirds
Key returnees:Gagnon, Klinkhammer, Holloway, Durand, Hickey, Jackson. Holloway
Key losses:Bridges, Tomanek, Gibbons, Johnson, Scurko, Barthel, Opshal
The Newcomers:Yeomans, F Quackenbush, F Meidl, F Eberele, F Boyer, D Acolatse, D Scherger.
The Birds will hurt from losing the likes of Gibbons, Barthel and Tomanek but will still be tough to deal with with the likes of Durand, Gagnon and Holloway. the unknowns right now are the euros like Eberele who may or may not pan out but if he can live up to Euro expectations he could add a very nice scoring punch to go along with those returning snipers mentioned above. So the forwad position seems to be their strongest point right now.
Their defence lost Barthel but still return a nice corps with Jackson, Hickey and Schappert. Also watch out for other solid youngsters like Grossman and Stamler as the Birds won't be battling for 1st place, but more than likely a middle of the pack kind of team.
Everett Silvertips
Key returnees:Mueller, Calla, Hamill, Dailey, Fiala, Thoring, Fransoo, Irving, Espositio.
Key losses:Lammers, Wheat, Heshka. Kress
The newcomers:F Guttierez, D Eisenkirch, F Beach, D Hlookoff, D Strong,
The Tips boast one of the most talented teams in the entire WHL and are solid all round. But perhaps their best assest is their offense with guys like Mueller, Calla, Hamill leading the way. They got alot of speed with guys like Dailey, Sonne, Beach, Calla, Mueller and Hamill. Definetly one of the deadliest team in the league this season and once again are a team to look out for as they should dominate the Western Conference this year right alongside the Giants.
Defense as usual is solid, leading the way is Fransoo, Fiala, Thoring and newcomer Eisenkirch. Like I said, solid all around and definetly going to be tough for any team to get alot past their defence.
Strongest goaltending duo in my opinion with Irving and Esposito backing him up. Doesn't matter which one is in goal as they both are terrific puckstoppers with Irving obviously being the more proven of the 2 but when Irving goes off to pro hockey the Tips once again are solid for the future with Esposito as he did an admirable job filling in for Irving against the Giants last year in the playoffs after Irving got injured.
US Division Standings.
1.Everett 100 Pts
2.Tri-City 83 Pts
3.Spokane 77 Pts
4.Seattle 72 Pts
5.Portland 62 Pts