NHL All-Star Draft - Team Lidstrom

Eddie and I agreed that we both feel like the Team Lidstrom trio is a little more impressive than the Team Staal trio, but certainly you're not unhappy with either set of superstars. Here's how I arranged my lines:

Forwards

Line 1 - Henrik Sedin, Martin St. Louis, Corey Perry
Line 2 - Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson, Paul Stasny
Line 3 - Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Martin Havlat
Line 4 - Matt Duchene, Daniel Briere, David Backes

Defense

Pairing 1 - Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara
Pairing 2 - Dan Boyle, Brent Burns
Pairing 3 - Dustin Byfuglien, Erik Karlsson

Goalies

Period 1 - Carey Price
Period 2 - Tim Thomas
Period 3 - Henrik Lundqvist

What Happened During the Draft

Coming in, I had only one plan: get Chara. My feeling was that he was the one guy, even more than Stamkos, who was a cut above the rest of the guys at his position. Had Eddie taken Chara first, I'd have obviously settled on the goal-scorer extraordinaire Stamkos, but I was glad that Chara fell.

Of course, after I saw how the first two picks went for Eddie, I immediately questioned my selection of Chara. I mean, Chara's great, but Stamkos, Ovechkin, and Staal or Kesler creates a pretty impossible matchup for even the best opponents. I had to trust my gut, and hope I had planned correctly.

I had been hoping to get both Sedins, but I didn't pay attention to the fact that Eddie already had two centers when I took Henrik. Had I taken Daniel, maybe I'd have been able to snag Henrik the following round. Or maybe it wouldn't have mattered. I'm a big fan of Brad Richards, so I'm okay with how things turned out there.

I really liked the guys in the middle of my draft. Perry, Byfuglien, Toews, Boyle, and Duchene were all guys I had hoped to get. I took Tim Thomas and Henrik Lundqvist a little earlier than I had to, because I didn't want to get backed into having to take Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury can be great, but he can also single-handedly lose games for you.

In the last few picks, I was really just looking for guys to fill out the roster. Havlat's a nice veteran, and Stasny showed during the Olympics that he has the capability to shine on a big stage. David Backes is on my fantasy hockey team, and he's putting up great numbers for me. Also, I heard somewhere that if he got picked last, he'd start knocking heads at the All-Star game. Both Eddie and I agreed that this was reason enough to let him slip to the last pick.

Laying the Lines

Picking the lines was more art than science, in that I didn't really have much in the way of a "valid" reason to partner up certain guys; I just went with my gut mostly.

On the first forwards line, I wanted to make sure I had enough firepower to compete with what would inevitably be a more talented line on the other side. I hear Corey Perry is kind of a bastard to play against, so I like him on that line. Sedin and St. Louis are megastars. I tried to pair up teammates where I could, putting Toews and Kane on one line, Richards and Eriksson on another.

On defense, I tried to make sure that each pairing had at least one rough and tumble type player. That's why Chara, Burns, and Byfuglien are each on different lines (although the idea of putting Chara and Byfuglien on the same line was briefly very appealing). I know you're technically not supposed to "hit" in the All-Star game, but come on. Somebody's gonna get chippy.

I knew I wanted Lundqvist to finish out the game, so he was a no-brainer for the third. I feel like Carey Price is a well-liked player, and certainly exciting, so I chose him to open the game. I put Tim Thomas in the middle to keep the pressure low on him, but also because a good second period can put your team in great shape. And his numbers this year are just phenomenal.

It's a shame that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin weren't able to participate this year. The only thing I really know is that the Caps and Pens don't like each other, and it would've been interesting to see how that manifested itself in this draft. Though maybe we'll still get some snark between Kris Letang and Ovechkin...

Dare to dream.

Team Awesome

Eddie’s Team of Awesome

LW: Alex Ovechkin C: Eric Staal RW: Rick Nash
LW: Daniel Sedin C: Steven Stamkos RW:Claude Giroux
LW: Patrick Sharp C: Ryan Kesler RW: Phil Kessel
LW: Patrick Elias C: Anze Kopitar RW: Jeff Skinner

D: Kris Letang D: Duncan Keith
D: Mike Green D: Marc Staal

D: Shea Weber D: Keith Yandle

1st Period G: Cam Ward
2nd Period G: Marc-Andre Fleury
3rd Period G: Jonas Hiller

Going into the draft I was looking for speed and offense. With the lack of hitting in the all-star game I thought the key to victory was to have quick and mobile defensemen that could jump into the offense and stay in front of big, quick and powerful forwards. I think I did a great job doing this by drafting two of the top offensive D-men in Letang and Keith to go along with assistant captain Mike Green.

In addition with the game played in Carolina I wanted to get as many Hurricanes to get the crowd behind Team Awesome. That is another reason why I elected to start Cam Ward. I am looking for a quick start out of the gate with the young players of team Awesome feeding of the energy of the fans. Also a player like Ovechkin loves to impress and play to the crowd. I am looking for him to have a huge presence and affect on the game. Finally as little of an effect it may have on the game I tried to match opposite handed defensemen together. This will allow them to keep pucks in the offensive zone.

The results are this team is Legan... wait for it... dary. Team Fantastic is lame. I hope Backes gets chippy... Nash and Ovi will drop him.

What are your thoughts? Think I overpaid for any player? Think Loui Eriksson is as hot as I do? Think the Sedin twins will drop the gloves?

2011 NHL All-Star Mock Draft

The NHL is making a twist on their All-Star game once again. This year's game hearkens back to schoolyard hockey (which I've never played, but I hear it's wild. You apparently just play hockey for an extended period of time). Two captains, along with two assistant captains per team, go back and forth selecting players until all 36 players have been assigned to a team. It's got the potential to be really fun TV, and I'm hopeful it pans out that way.

This year's teams set up as follows:

Team Staal
Captain - Eric Staal, C, Hurricanes
Assistant Captain - Ryan Kesler, C, Canucks
Assistant Captain - Mike Green, D, Capitals

Team Lidstrom
Captain - Nicklas Lidstrom, D, Red Wings
Assistant Captain - Patrick Kane, RW, Blackhawks
Assistant Captain - Martin St. Louis, RW, Lightning

So, naturally, my brother and I decided to conduct our own mock draft and see how the teams shake up. My brother took control of Team Staal, I took over for Team Lidstrom. We did a coin flip, and Team Staal won the flip, so they drafted first. Here are the results:

1. Team Staal - Steven Stamkos, C, Lightning
2. Team Lidstrom - Zdeno Chara, D, Bruins
3. Team Staal - Alex Ovechkin, LW, Capitals
4. Team Lidstrom - Henrik Sedin, C, Canucks
   
5. Team Staal - Daniel Sedin, LW, Canucks
   
6. Team Lidstrom - Brad Richards, C, Stars
   
7. Team Staal - Kris Letang, D, Penguins
   
8. Team Lidstrom - Corey Perry, RW, Ducks
   
9. Team Staal - Duncan Keith, D, Blackhawks
   
10. Team Lidstrom - Dustin Byfuglien, D, Thrashers
    
11. Team Staal - Rick Nash, RW, Blue Jackets
    
12. Team Lidstrom - Tim Thomas, G, Bruins
    
13. Team Staal - Shea Weber, D, Predators
    
14. Team Lidstrom - Henrik Lundqvist, G, Rangers
    
15. Team Staal - Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Penguins
    
16. Team Lidstrom - Jonathan Toews, C, Blackhawks
    
17. Team Staal - Cam Ward, G, Hurricanes
    
18. Team Lidstrom - Dan Boyle, D, Sharks
    
19. Team Staal - Jonas Hiller, G, Ducks
    
20. Team Lidstrom - Carey Price, G, Canadiens
    
21. Team Staal - Claude Giroux, RW, Flyers
    
22. Team Lidstrom - Matt Duchene, C, Avalanche
    
23. Team Staal - Anze Kopitar, C, Kings
    
24. Team Lidstrom - Danny Briere, RW, Flyers
    
25. Team Staal - Keith Yandle, D, Coyotes
    
26. Team Lidstrom - Brent Burns, D, Wild
    
27. Team Staal - Marc Staal, D, Rangers
    
28. Team Lidstrom - Loui Eriksson, LW, Stars
    
29. Team Staal - Patrick Sharp, LW, Blackhawks
    
30. Team Lidstrom - Erik Karlsson, D, Senators
    
31. Team Staal - Phil Kessel, RW, Maple Leafs
    
32. Team Lidstrom - Martin Havlat, RW, Wild
    
33. Team Staal - Patrick Elias, LW, Devils
    
34. Team Lidstrom - Paul Stasny, C, Avalanche
    
35. Team Staal - Jeff Skinner, C, Hurricanes
    
36. Team Lidstrom - David Backes, RW, Blues

Eddie and I will set up our lines and post them shortly. Here's hoping the real thing's spectacle plays out well on television.