Belleville Bulls
Head Coach:
Bobby Kromm
Assistant Coach:
Brian Kilrea
Jimmy Gardner (C) -
Skene Ronan -
Dave Christian
Dutch Hiller -
Vyacheslav Anisin -
Bud Poile
Jörgen Pettersson -
Billy Barlow -
Mac Colville
Rob Zamuner -
Stu Barnes -
George Ferguson
Loui Eriksson -
Erik Cole
Doug Crossman -
Arthur Moore
Uwe Krupp -
Bob Plager (A)
Jack Ruttan -
Frank Eddolls (A)
Keith Carney
Kirk McLean
Ilya Bryzgalov
Special Teams Units
PP1: Jimmy Gardner-Billy Barlow-Skene Ronan-Doug Crossman-Arthur Moore
PP2: Jorgen Pettersson-Vyacheslav Anisin-Bud Poile-Uwe Krupp-Dutch Hiller
PK1: Dutch Hiller-Rob Zamuner-Bob Plager-Arthur Moore
PK2: Mac Colville-Stu Barnes-Frank Eddolls-Uwe Krupp
Team Strategies
* First Line - This line has a nice mixture of a glue guy with offensive ability, a scoring force and one of the fastest players ever to hit the ice. Ronan is the guy to watch as he has led the NHA in scoring before and with a good corner man in Gardner who can get the puck to him, and speed on the other wing, Skene may just light some defenses up.
* Second Line - I almost wanted to call this my first line..mainly because I think it may be my best. Dutch Hiller had some offensive capabilities but he was a defense first, corner guy with insane speed..in the middle we have the center of the famous Soviet "kid line"..Vyacheslav Anisin who is known for his brilliant passing and great skating ability, and finally..Bud Poile has a deadly shot and some good finishes including being recognized as a second team all-star.
* Third Line - Think of this as another line that can provide offense but also play great defense. Pettersson was a two-way winger capable of playing in all situations. He was fast, a great puck-handler, responsible defensively and had three 35+ goal seasons. On the other side, I have Mac Colville. Mac will be the "glue guy" to this line as he was a tireless worker who was excellent at creating turnovers and battling in the corners. Finally, in between them was the guy I had as my second line center, but moved down to the third line to add some more speed to this line. Billy Barlow was as good a skater as you could ever be, was 4th on the all-time goals list at the end of the 1899 season (ahead of Routh and Drinkwater) and was a hero in multiple playoff runs.
* Fourth Line - I'm sure you guys are wondering what I wanted to accomplish with this line. Think a defense-only line who could be physical as well. Rob Zamuner was one of the NHL's best defensive forwards over at least a five year span. He worked his tail off and while he was shafted in the Selke voting due to his lack of offense, anyone who saw him play realized how good he was in his own end. Stu Barnes is a personal favourite of mine. Great leader, gritty and a dependable two-way forward. If I could have another assistant captain it would be Stu, but alas he will continue to lead by example for my squad. Finally, George Ferguson made one of the biggest jumps in the draft, and deservingly so. He has excellent defensive play, was very physical, had longevity, playoff experience and great speed. He even put up some respectable offensive numbers over the years.
* First Pairing - Doug Crossman was an excellent puck-mover and a dependable player and leader. He had tremendous offensive instincts and could pass the puck as good as anyone from the back-end. On the other side, I made sure I paired him up with someone who would allow Crossman to play his free-flowing offensive style. Therefore, I have Arthur Moore alongside him. Moore was a tremendous skater, that was a punisher and a very good stay-at-home defender.
* Second Pairing - I love this pairing. Uwe Krupp is a personal favourite of mine as well, and I believe I have had him in the MLD on three occasions now. He was known for his defense and could move the puck..liked to be physical and even had a stanley cup clinching goal. Sounds like a nice all-around player for my second pairing no? With him is a guy I wanted from the beginning of the draft. Bob Plager, the brother of Barclay, was an excellent shutdown defenseman who was as physical as they come. He was dirty, punishing and hard to get by.
* Third Pairing - The ultimate mystery..Jack Ruttan. I understand there is little on him, but in my opinion, he deserves a spot in the MLD if he is in the HOF..to not have him just seems wrong. He clearly did something right other then leading by example, in order to be elected. However, he may not be permanent in my lineup if I need to go with someone who has a more proven track record in Keith Carney. Alongside Ruttan is Frank Eddolls. Like Plager, Frank was another guy I wanted from the beginning of the draft. A terrific leader, who frustrated the hell out of Maurice Richard as he was excellent in shutting him down.
* Goalkeeping Tandem - Bryzgalov is my back-up to relieve the pressure off of McLean once in a while. He has had some excellent finishes and good playoff success. However, my main man is Kirk McLean. He is one of the best goalies in this draft for a number of reasons. First off, two times he was in the top-3 in Vezina voting. Both times he lost to Patrick Roy..pretty damn strong results considering the winner. He also has had some other good years with a poor Canucks squad, earning him a lot of respect across the league. He was great inside the locker-room and was a calming presence. His greatest asset? He was clutch as hell. His playoff numbers are absurd considering the era he played in. He is a work-horse goalie, which is good as it means I can use him often..with a better team in front of him.
* Coaching - Brian Kilrea is my assistant coach..and I'm sure you all know him. The all-time winningest coach in CHL history with over 1200 wins..his team only finished under .500 five times in over thirty seasons. In Junior Hockey, that is simply incredible. Add on to the resume being named coach of the year five times, winning two memorial cups and three OHL championships..and you simply have one of the best assistant coaches in the draft. Our head coach was another excellent coach who won on basically every level imaginable. He was the coach of the year in the CHL, WHA and NHL..making the finals in 8 out of 10 seasons as a coach in the WHA and CHL..before moving to the NHL and taking a horrendous Wings team to the second round. He was known for his defensive style of play while always wanting hard workers and great skaters..you couldn't ask for a better fit..that is our team in a nutshell.
Eras of Each Player
1916 or earlier – Jimmy Gardner, Skene Ronan, Billy Barlow, Arthur Moore, Jack Ruttan
1917-1942 – Bud Poile, Dutch Hiller, Mac Colville
1943-1965 – Bob Plager, Frank Eddolls
1966-1979 – Jorgen Pettersson, Vyacheslav Anisin, George Ferguson
1980-1994 – Dave Christian, Rob Zamuner, Stu Barnes, Doug Crossman, Uwe Krupp, Kirk McLean, Keith Carney
1995-2004 - Erik Cole, Ilya Bryzgalov
in 2011 - Loui Eriksson
** Credit to VanIslander, TDMM, Seventieslord and any other GM who helped contribute to the bio's for each player.