ATD 2011 Draft Thread II

[BenchBrawl]

Dreakmur is around quite a lot , I'm surprised he missed his clock.

 

[BillyShoe1721]

Completed Jari Kurri bio:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=30644764&postcount=632

Completed Rod Langway bio:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=30670197&postcount=814

 

[jarek]

Firsov, because I like you guys.

Note that all single asterisks represent ties.

USSR Scoring

Goals: 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5*, 6, 6*, 8*, 9
Assists: 1, 1, 1, 1*, 6*
Points: 1, 1, 1, 2*, 3, 4, 6, 6*, 7, 8, 9

Disclaimer: Many of the seasons I found stats for had very fragmented information. Most of those assists finishes were with only 6-8 or so guys with actual numbers recorded, but he was so far ahead of the guys that were recorded that I decided to just add those finishes in.

International Scoring

According to SIHR, he led 3 World Championships (1967, 1969, 1971) in goals, assists and points, as well as leading 1 Olympics (1968) in all 3 stats as well. I'm not sure of an easy way to get scoring finishes for really old international tournaments, but he was 2nd on his team in both goals and points, 1st in assists in the 1970 World Championship. Those first place finishes are also confirmed by Chidlovski.

Credit to Dreak: In the 1970 World Championships, he was 3rd in tournament scoring, 1st in assists and something like 7th in goals.

Award Voting

Soviet MVP: 1st (1968, 1969, 1971)
Soviet All Star: 1st (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969), 2nd (1971)
IIHF Best Forward: 1967, 1968, 1971
IIHF All Star: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971

1972 Summit Series.com

Russia too was missing one of their biggest stars, if not their biggest: Anatoli Firsov

Firsov is one of only 4 players to have his number retired in Soviet hockey (******, Tretiak and Kharlamov being the others). Firsov was perhaps faster than Kharlamov, who of course wowed Canadian audiences with awesome speed.

Joe Pelletier

Some old time Russian observers will tell you he was the best ever.
It was said that Firsov's fast skaters were only out-paced by his mind, as he was always a play or two ahead of everyone else on the ice. He was also known for creativity, especially in his variety of shot selection.

Kings of the Ice

National team coach sfjsd once said of his favorite player, sdfisuido, "He's a star who never fell prey to the egoism of stardom." dfgdfgd always admired Firsov, and together they were a fortunate combination. They both valued hockey above anything else in their lives. For them, hockey was where you could be creative and invent new strategies every day.

For fgdfgdfg, Firsov's total dedication to hockey was backed by a unique combination of abilities. Firsov's style of play was based on his speed in several aspects of the game. The first was his ability to think fast. Firsov's game was a continuous flow of actions. In tough situations, he got his bearings instantly and came up with the most unexpected solutions. He also displayed uncanny speed in executing any technical maneuver in handling or passing the puck. And finally there was his terrific skating speed. Each of these abilities compounded the others. During a play, his thoughts and actions were synchronous and usually resulted in a complete and correct solution.

Firsov's game on the ice consisted of a blend of his own peculiar manner of back and forth skating, stickhandling and sudden and covert passes topped of with a variety of shots on goal. He moved all the time without knowing it, even when taking a shot on goal. He was especially good at the trick of "losing" the puck by letting it slide towards his foot. Naturally the opposing defenseman would make a grab for it, but Firsov would pass the puck with his skate up to the blade of his stick, all the time picking up speed.

No one was as selflessly dedicated to hockey as Firsov or as hard on himself and fanatical in workouts. He even augmented the tough drills designed by dfgdgdfgd. Coming down the ice with the puck, he would perform a variety of hops, skips and jumps at the same time.

Firsov came to the Central Red Army and coach ddfgdfgdgfas a scrawny kid - his bones protruded from under the thin layer of muscle. But at training sessions, he strengthened his body by choosing the roughest, toughest defenseman as his opponents - sdjfhsjkdfsdf and ****** ******.

The Red Machine

Of all the Russian players Seth Martin faced in the 1960s, none, he said, compared with Firsov. To Martin, he was the Gretzky of his time, a creative scoring machine. Firsov wasn't a big man but possessed a whiplash shot. An unselfish player, he enjoyed setting up goals as much as scoring them. fgdfgddescribed his game as "a continuous succession of brilliant thoughts." To Tretiak, he played with "irrepressible rage." The Soviet coaches had tried teaching their players a "skate-stick" feint. The player would pass his stick over the puck, as if missing it, and then, when the defending player went for it, kick it around him with the skate. Only Firsov would perfect it.

Some words from Firsov himself:

Interviewer: How important was hockey for fgdgdg? Firsov: That was dfgdfgd could be called a dictator of the hockey. It could not be in any kind of business, either in art or sports or politics without a dictator of some kind. It was not clear to me who that might be, how one can train himself, self-trainings. First time under his leadership I could not train quietly; I could not understand what he demands from me. But then, when he rooted me love to these trainings, I trained permanently until 27. I did not understand how it is to train once or twice a day. Even on vacations, when I went to Zhemchuzhnyi, there was a stairway of 150 steps. I necessarily in the morning went down on my left foot, than on my right foot, then went to swim, made big exercises with a weight in the afternoon, played tennis in the evenings, forces permitting, run on a hill in the evenings. Therefore today this stairs was named after me.
Interviewer: You did not to turn with your face to gate, you saw everything with your side view? Firsov: When I came to Spartak, there was an outstanding coach there. He was named Alexey Ivanovich Igumnov; he was called "Satan in the Russian hockey". And he gave me first skills already in the 2nd youth team. It is very important at the corner to stand correctly with respect to a gate, and a goalkeeper to be able to feel him with a "second sight", and these training, which I had in the Russian hockey, gave me an opportunity to become a practiced hand and to learn to correctly put my body and feel where is a goalkeeper and certainly to feel weak places of a goalkeeper, how he holds a stick. If he holds it this way, I will certainly pass it to him to be inconvenient. I can do this until now. Therefore I consider that the Russian hockey gave me very much. Although I had been already invited to a professional team of Russian hockey, but ice hockey is more interesting. Sometime one can even fight, in general, to check oneself completely, therefore I transferred.

In the above, the gate likely means the net, and he's talking about how he shot the puck on the net in a very precise manner depending on how the goalie was positioned in the net and how he was holding his stick in order to have the highest chance of scoring a goal. In short: every shot he took was precise and calculated.

Interviewer: Did he want to be the best team in USSR or in the world? Firsov: Well, his purpose was to make our hockey team the strongest in the world, while taking up a little bit of all the best from other countries, but primarily to give that the Russians the best, which are famous for. These are great physical training, big strength and certainly, mental skills developed starting from childhood. Everything what was characteristic for the Russians, what ours has been abandoned today, he developed. He was cruel on trainings, cruel to games. He did not admit sicknesses. I had a temperature on world championship. He told "Firs, it is necessary," and I went out to play, broke a rib, -- I played with a broken rib, like it is normal. He believed that if your legs pain, you must train on arms, if legs and arms pain, let even on ears, but you must make a training. Even when I got a pneumonia, I could not stand up; three days later I went to world championship in Finland. So, for him disease did not exist. Full devotion to hockey. It was a real dictator.

That interview is long (linked on the heading), but there is some really great insight into Firsov's character. He just wanted to win, he cared about nothing else.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

The Minnesota Fighting Saints select and immediately name team captain: Yvan Cournoyer, rw

 

[Velociraptor]

Glad I didn't hold onto pick 105, Cournoyer is who had I planned to take with it. Great pick, he was phenomenal.

 

[jarek]

TDMM takes who I think has been the BDA since Mark Howe was taken - Bill Quackenbush.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Thanks for announcing the pick, jarek/Boy Wonder. I consider Quack on the same level as Guy Lapointe and Mark Howe, so I'm thrilled to get him here.

Here's a summary of why I like him so much, full profile just posted to the bio thread with stats and more quotes. Most of the quotes are shamelessly ripped from EB and 70s old profile.

Bill Quackenbush aka "Lidstrom-lite"

Defenseman Hubert "Bill"Quackenbush excelled at both offensive and defensive aspects of the game. During 14 seasons, he was among the NHL's elite rushing blueliners. More significantly, he was a superior defender in his own end who relied on positioning and discipline rather than physical intimidation for his success. Consequently, his penalty minute totals were remarkably low considering his role on the ice.

Summary

- 5'11", 190 lbs
- Inducted into the HHOF (1971)
- Stanley Cup Finalist (1945, 1948, 1949, 1953)

- NHL 1st All-Star Team (1948, 1949, 1951)
- NHL 2nd All-Star Team (1947, 1953)
- NHL "3rd" All-Star Team (1944)
- In total, was 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 6th in All-Star Voting (this would be two Norrises if the Norris existed)

-7th in Hart Voting (1951)
-Named the Red Wings MVP in 1946-47

-Best poke checker of the 1950s (Ultimate Hockey)
-Cleanest player of the 1950s (Ultimate Hockey)

-Holds the NHL record for fewest PIMs per game by a defenseman

He's one of the best all-around players I've ever played with

Quackenbush was one of the top blue-liners in the NHL, controlling the puck in a way not unlike the Montreal Canadiens' Doug Harvey. Quackenbush was an unique specimen, especially for his time. Not a body-thumper, he liked to poke- and stick-check enemy rushers. He was the single biggest influence in the development of Red Kelly's style of play.

Quackenbush is considered the best all-around defenseman in the game today. yet, the 27-year old last year won the Lady Byng Trophy - a rare feat among defensemen who usually emphasize their ruggedness with rough play. Quackenbush was also a unanimous choice for the all-star team last season.

 

[arrbez]

Not sure if arrbez put this on another thread or what, but I'll be co-GMing with him.

And doing a hell of a job, I might add!

Just a reminder for people to PM both of us, not just me. Starting next week, Vecens24 will probably be around a lot more than I will.

 

[Derick*]

Woah, Dreamkur has to miss his pick entirely because he wasn't there? I thought commish just picked picked for you and did so lazily.

 

[arrbez]

Woah, Dreamkur has to miss his pick entirely because he wasn't there? I thought commish just picked picked for you and did so lazily.

He doesn't miss it completely, he still gets to make it whenever he shows up next

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Woah, Dreamkur has to miss his pick entirely because he wasn't there? I thought commish just picked picked for you and did so lazily.

I would MUCH rather have to make up a pick later than have someone else pick for me.

Dreak can make up the pick the instant he comes back.

 

[seventieslord]

From EB:

With our 3rd selection, the 89th overall in this year All-Time Draft, the Detroit Falcons are very excited to select Left Winger Anatoli Vasilievich Firsov

The ATD cannon are screaming ''NOOO!'', but I truly believe that Anatoli Firsov isn't only the best left winger available (I'm well aware as who's on the board), but the best player available.

Doesn't canon say he is one of the best orwards available? I don't foresee many people disagreeing with you.

Personally, I don't agree with the canon opinion of Firsov but in the other direction - I think we might overrate him a bit.

TDMM takes who I think has been the BDA since Mark Howe was taken - Bill Quackenbush.

Nice pick.

Woah, Dreamkur has to miss his pick entirely because he wasn't there? I thought commish just picked picked for you and did so lazily.

Nope, Dreakmur can come in and select whenever he wants. It's just in his best interests to do it sooner.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

- In total, was 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 6th in All-Star Voting (this would be two Norrises if the Norris existed)

From 1946-47 to 1949-50, the six coaches voted for the year-end all-stars. They were given three votes, weighted 5-3-1 points. Coaches couldn't vote for players on their own team, so a unanimous selection was 25 points (5 points * 5 votes).

Quackenbush was a unanimous first-team all-star in 1949 (5-0-0), and was a single vote away from being unanimous in 1948 (4-1-0). Obviously this is a very different voting system than we have today, but it's still very impressive.

I have a bit of a soft spot for Henri Richard because he's one player that made me think I should pay more attention to the conventional wisdom. Back during the first HOH top 100 debates there were some people arguing that Richard was merely a supporting player on a dynasty, and I was sympathetic to the argument. But after I compiled the even strength scoring numbers and discussed it a bit, I realized Henri Richard was probably all that. The old-timers were right all along.

I agree. I've completed changed my opinion on Henri Richard based on the new evidence that's been found over the past year.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

From 1946-47 to 1949-50, the six coaches voted for the year-end all-stars. They were given three votes, weighted 5-3-1 points. Coaches couldn't vote for players on their own team, so a unanimous selection was 25 points (5 points * 5 votes).

Quackenbush was a unanimous first-team all-star in 1949 (5-0-0), and was a single vote away from being unanimous in 1948 (4-1-0). Obviously this is a very different voting system than we have today, but it's still very impressive.
ar.

Thanks. I'll be honest, I was just copying that line from 70s profile last year.

Is there a source to All-Star voting from the period? I didn't see it on the normal thread on the HOH board, or at least not in the same post(s) as the other award information.

 

[Dreakmur]

Dreakmur is around quite a lot , I'm surprised he missed his clock.

I'm not usually in the hospital

An appendixless Dreakmur will pick in a few minutes....

 

[Dreakmur]

While I don't think he's quite the BPA, he is among the top handful. He is, however, the best fit by far, and I think I need a player like him.

We're happy to select a well-rounded complete player who brings a little bit of everything...

Norm Ullman !!!

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Thanks. I'll be honest, I was just copying that line from 70s profile last year.

Is there a source to All-Star voting from the period? I didn't see it on the normal thread on the HOH board, or at least not in the same post(s) as the other award information.

I should stop hoarding this stuff. Just posted the complete results in the Awards Voting thread.

I'm not usually in the hospital

An appendixless Dreakmur will pick in a few minutes....

Appendices are overrated. Hope you're okay.

 

[Velociraptor]

I'm not usually in the hospital

An appendixless Dreakmur will pick in a few minutes....

Had an appendectomy in November, hope you're feeling well brother.

 

[DoMakc]

While I don't think he's quite the BPA, he is among the top handful. He is, however, the best fit by far, and I think I need a player like him.

We're happy to select a well-rounded complete player who brings a little bit of everything...

Norm Ullman !!!

I liked Dreakmur with appendix more - he didn't steal my picks...

Great fit with Bathgate - goalscoring, very good defencively, great playoff performer.

 

[Sturminator]

I guess it's the new fashion; I had my appendix out last April. Mine was only sort of halfway broken, but apparently burst during the operation, giving me a nice case of sepsis after the fact. There is really nothing quite like vomiting with a stomach full of stitches. Good times.

Enjoy your convalescence.

 

[Sturminator]

I agree. I've completed changed my opinion on Henri Richard based on the new evidence that's been found over the past year.

I like the fact that he was born on February 29th, 1936. He's only 18 years old, man.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Just want to make sure I am correct about our clock...We have about 2hrs 45min left to make our pick right?

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Hmmm, should I send someone a list I won't be back until SUnday night. Not with this pace that's for sure.

 

[arrbez]

Just want to make sure I am correct about our clock...We have about 2hrs 45min left to make our pick right?

I think the clock expires at 9:18 ET, which is in a little less than an hour

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

The Chicago Steelers select Alexander Ovechkin, LW