Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't very good in the 2000s; a big reason for this is because the Maple Leafs didn't draft very well. In this blog, i will redraft the Toronto Maple Leafs for a decade in hopes of turning them into a contending team. 2000: 24-Justin Williams over Brad Boyes 51-Antoine Vermette over Kris Vernarsky 90-Lubomir Visnovsky over Jean Francois Racine 100-Deryk Engelland over Miguel Delise The Toronto Maple Leafs draft 3 really solid players in Justin Williams, Antoine Vermette and Lubomir Visnovsky as well as a depth defenseman in Deryk Engelland. 2001: 17-Tim Gleason over Carlo Colaiacovo 39-Mike Cammalleri over Karel Pilar 82-Patrick Sharp over Brandon Bell 134-Kevin Bieksa over Kyle Wellwood The Maple Leafs draft two very good scoring wingers in Mike Cammalleri and Patrick Sharp as well as two solid defenseman in Tim Gleason and Kevin Bieksa. 2002: 24-Cam Ward over Alex Steen 57-Johnny Boychuk over Matt Stajan 74-Frans Nielsen ...

Dylan Holloway Univ. of Wisconsin  NCAA C/LW 6'0"/192  Size/Strength       Excellent Skating       Excellent Shot/Scoring       Average Puckhandling        Excellent Physical Play       Great Offensive Play      Great Defensive Play      Excellent Hockey Sense       Excellent Competitiveness    Excellent Strengths 1. A big two-way forward, that has superb hockey iq and is a difference maker in all three zones 2. Terrific defensive awareness, vision and great net front presence 3. Excellent skater, plays with with grit and toughness and engages in physical play. Cause for Concern 1. A lack of offensive production at Wisconsin is concerning 2. Needs to improve his shot Skill: A big two way forward who plays both center and Left wing that will bring grit and toughness to the lineup. Scoutin...

The 2014-15 Arizona Coyotes were the second worst team in the NHL but they got shafted in the draft lottery and ended up with the 3rd pick in the draft. The team lacked offense and their leading scorer was Oliver Ekman Larsson, a defenseman, who had 43 points that year. It would have been a perfect time to tear everything down and rebuild the team entirely, in hopes of building a playoff contender. Instead of trading Keith Yandle to the New York Rangers, the Arizona Coyotes trade Keith Yandle to the Carolina Hurricanes for 1st round pick 2015, 2nd round pick 2016. This is a better trade for the Coyotes because the Coyotes weren't going anywhere anyways so they might as well get a 1st and 2nd round pick for him. The Rebuild starts in the 2015 draft, were a few changes take place. Arizona Coyotes trade Martin Hanzal is traded to the Minnesota Wild for 1st round pick 2015. The Minnesota Wild need to add more depth at center and the Coyotes get a 1st round pick, a win-wi...

The Florida Panthers were an absolute disaster during 2000s because they failed at drafting good players despite having high picks nearly every year. If the Florida Panthers drafted well during those years, they could have perhaps build a playoff caliber team or even a contendening team. In this blog, i will redraft the Florida Panthers from 2000-2010s. Rules for the redraft: Must select a player in every round Must draft 4 players in every draft 2000: 58-Paul Martin over Vladimir Sapozhnikov 77-Lubomir Visnovsky over Robert Fried 115-John Michael Liles over Chris Eade 120-Henrik Lundqvist over David Parley This draft wasn't very good but the Florida Panthers still manage to draft by far the best player in the draft in Henrik Lundqvist as well as 3 good defenseman in Paul Martin, Lubomir Visnovsky and John Michael Liles. 2001: 4-Mikko Koivu over Stephen Weiss 34-Mike Cammalleri over Greg Watson 68-Tomas Pleckanec over Grant McNeill 169-Jussi Jokinen ove...

Seth Jarvis Portland Winterhawks WHL 5'10"/ 172 lb RW Size/Strength       Below Average Skating       Great Shot/Scoring       Great Puckhandling        Excellent Physical Play       Average Offensive Play       Excellent Defensive Play       Average Hockey Sense        Great Competitiveness     Excellent Strengths 1. highly-skilled winger who displays a soft touch with the puck and the ability maneuver around with puck in tight spaces 2. strong skater who zips around the ice, agile on his edges in all three zones 3. Elite Playmaking and scoring abilities Cause for Concern 1. His lack of size may cause teams to pass on him 2. Defensive play could be improved 3. Needs to get stronger to excel at the next level Skill: Highly-skilled winger who displays a soft touch with the puck an...

After Zach Parise left in Free Agency, the New Jersey Devils were a mess and then after Ilya Kovalchuk decided to "Retire" and return to play in Russia, the Devils were left witha mediocre roster that couldn't contend for the playoffs anymore. The Rebuild starts in 2012 Draft Instead of waiting on Zach Parise, the Devils trade his rights to the Minnesota Wild for Jason Zucker. Zach Parise was going to sign with the Wild anyways, so it makes sense to get something for him. Jason Zucker was buried in the depth chart of Wild for years, he would have found success much sooner with the Devils. Martin Brodeur is Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Nick Leddy, 2nd round pick 2013. If Chicago Wins the Stanley Cup, the 2nd round pick becomes a 1st round pick. Martin Broduer gives the Chicago Blackhawks a veteran goalie they can lean on in the playoffs, while the Devils get a young defenseman in Nick Leddy who was always in Joel Queneville's doghouse. New Jer...

The New Jersey Devils were successful in winning stanley cups in the early 2000s however their drafting woes throughout the 2000s have led them to their downfall. If the New Jersey Devils drafted well during those years, they could have remained on top for much longer. In this blog, i will redraft the New Jersey Devils from 2000-2010s. Rules for the redraft: Must select a player in every round Must draft 4 players in every draft 2000: 22-Niklas Kronwall over David Hale 62-Paul Martin 76-Dominic Moore over Michael Rupp 125-John Michael Liles over Phil Cole The Devils upgrade the Defense in the pipeline with the additions of Niklas Kronwall, Paul Martin and John Michael Liles; they might play a major role on defense moving forward. 2001: 28-Derek Roy over Adrian Foster 48-Jason Pominville over Pihlman 67-Craig Anderson over Robin Lebanc 72-Patrick Sharp over Brandon Nolan The Devils add some offensive firepower with the Additions of Derek Roy, Jason Pominvi...

In the last simulation, we left off with the simulation of the 2022-23 season, we will start of this simulation at the 2023 draft. 2023 Draft results DET-Connor Bedard SEA-Matvei Michkov CAR-Adam Fantilli DAL-Brayden Yager NYR-Kalan Lind CHI-Nate Danielson TOR-Hunter Brustewicz CBJ-Dalibor Dvorsky LA-Mikhail Gulyayev VGK-Ondrej Molnar OTT-Noah Elriden BOS-Dominik Petr COL-Riley Heidt FLA-Jesse Nurmi ANA-Arttu Karki FLA-Lukas Dragicevic CHI-Zoehn Ziemmer COL-Connor Levis CGY-Felix Lundgren WSH-Emil Jarventie EDM-Valtteri Lehtosaari TB-Jacob Sagadin NJ-Otto Stenberg WPG-Ludvig Andersson DAL-Axel Sandin Pellikka WSH-Alex Ciernik NSH-Daniil But MIN-Samuel Sisik PHI-Noah Berger VAN-Cam Squires SJ-Colby Barlow BUF-Eetu Levanen Retirements Henrik Lundqvist Pekka Rinne Duncan Keith Joe Pavelski Mark Giordano Jimmy Howard David Backes Mike Green Derek Stepan Tyler Bozak Leo Komarov Buyouts DAL-Tom Wilson NYR-Kyle Turris SEA-Nikita Zaitse...

Connor Zary Kamloops Blazers WHL 6'0"/ 181 lb C Size/Strength       Good Skating       Good Shot/Scoring       Good Puckhandling         Excellent Physical Play       Good Offensive Play       Great Defensive Play       Great Hockey Sense        Great Competitiveness     Excellent Strengths 1. A two-way center, that is a difference maker in all three zones 2. great patience and poise with the puck 3. very good speed and is equally dangerous with the shot and pass Cause for Concern 1. Doesn't exactly wow anyone with his style of play 2. Does everything well but notheing really great Skill: Sound two way Center with terrific speed, puck possesion skills and a good nose around the net. Scouting Report: Connor Zary has been outstanding this past season with the resurgent Ka...

The 2011 NHL Draft was quite strange because the 1st round was faily underwelming and there were still some great star talent in the draft like Nikita Kucherov, Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Huberdeau, Gabriel Landeskog, Mark Scheifele, Mika Zibanejad, Dougie Hamilton. *Check out my previous blogs for other Redrafs* 1. Edmonton Oilers-(RW) Nikita Kucherov Original pick: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins The Best player in this draft is Nikita Kucherov, there isn't another player in this draft that has even come close to hitting the 100 point mark, and Kucherov has done in twice and in back to back years. On top of his regular season accolades, Kucherov also has 29 goals and 61 points in 65 playoff games. The Edmonton Oilers will soon have one of the best powerplays in the league that features Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Seguin and Logan Couture. 2. Colorado Avalanche-(LW) Johnny Gaudreau Original pick: Gabriel Landeskog As great as Gabriel Landeskog has been for the Colorado Avalanche...

Braden Schneider Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 6'2"/ 209 lb D Size/Strength       Excellent Skating       Great Shot/Scoring       Great Puck Handling        Average Physical Play       Excellent Offensive Play       Great Defensive Play       Excellent Hockey Sense         Great Competitiveness     Excellent Strengths 1. right hand shooting, two way defenseman, capable of playing the powerplay and penalty kill 2. physically mature and finishes checks with authority in all areas of the ice 3. Great leadership skills, competitiveness and smarts Cause for Concern 1. limited offensive upside 2. rates more as a complementary player as of now 3. closer to his ceiling than many in this class Skill: A two-way, right handed shot defenseman capable of playing in all situations and has great co...

In the previous blog, i redrafted the entire NHL, in this one i'll be simulating 3 seasons and making some trades, free agent signings and draft picks as well. 2020-2021 Season Simulation: Eastern Conference Atlantic 1. Toronto Maple Leafs 2. Tampa Bay Lightning 3. Buffalo Sabres Metropolitan 1. New Jersey Devils 2. Washington Capitals 3. Carolina Hurricanes WC1-Detroit Red Wings WC2-New York Islanders ------------------- Missing the playoffs: Pittsburgh Penguins Philadelphia Flyers Columbus Blue Jackets Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Ottawa Senators Florida Panthers New York Rangers Western Conference Central 1. Nashville Predators 2. Minnesota Wild 3. Dallas Stars Pacific 1. Calgary Flames 2. Vancouver Canucks 3. Vegas Golden Knights WC1-Winnipeg Jets WC2-Arizona Coyotes ------------------- Missing the playoffs: Chicago Blackhawks San Jose Sharks St.Louis Blues Edmonton Oilers Colorado Avalanche LA Kings Anaheim D...