The Web Hockey League News Volume 13 04-8-2001
Table of Contents
1) Contributing Writers
2) Players of the Week
3) Team News
4) Special Articles
5) Playoff Report
All items should be sent to:
mailto:magazine@platinumcomputing.com
Contributing Writers
Mike Hebert
Craig Stumpf
Chris Kordyback
Chris Kubinec
Lee McEwen
Darren Kinnaird
Players of the Week
Player of the week for week #15 is
Alexei Zhamnov of the
New England Dropkicks.
Goaltender of the week goes to
Martin Brodeur of the
Vancouver Voodoo.
Player GP G A PTS +/- PP SH GW GT S PIM PCT
Dropkicks: Alexei Zhamnov 6 8 5 13 10 3 0 2 1 39 2 20.5
Vipers: Keith Primeau 5 2 9 11 10 1 0 1 0 8 4 25.0
Sparrows: Robert Svehla 5 1 8 9 7 0 0 0 0 8 2 12.5
Stallions: Eric Lindros 5 5 3 8 -2 4 0 1 0 18 23 27.8
Vikings: Anson Carter 6 5 3 8 4 0 0 0 0 23 5 21.7
Bulls: Shane Doan 5 3 1 4 3 1 0 1 0 5 4 60.0
Goalie GP MIN AVG W L T EN SO GA SA PCT
Vancouver: Martin Brodeur 5 300 1.20 5 0 0 0 2 6 139 .957
Dropkicks: Olaf Kolzig 6 365 2.96 3 2 1 0 0 18 185 .903
Bulls: Jeff Hackett 5 300 2.60 3 2 0 0 1 13 143 .909
Sparrows: Eric Fichaud 4 240 2.75 3 1 0 0 0 11 112 .902
Vipers: Brian Boucher 5 310 2.90 2 1 2 0 0 15 148 .899
Stallions: Curtis Joseph 5 305 3.34 3 1 1 0 0 17 143 .881
Team News
Toronto Quiet At Deadline
Toronto, ON (AP)- The Toronto Stallions were quiet at the deadline. General Manager Howe stated the team was as prepared as they could be
Howe: "We picked up the guys we wanted already; we needed another left winger and we acquired Satan. We needed a tough right winger and we acquired Trevor Linden. Our defence was lacking so we acquired Leetch, Duchesne and Jonsson. Our biggest deficiency was in special teams, specifically the powerplay. We were ranked 20th in the league, that's pathetic! So we decided we needed some point men to lead the powerplay and we got Leetch, Duchesne and Jonsson. Our powerplay is now ranked 8th."
The Stallions can credit their new defencemen for a 12 spot climb in the powerplay ranking. They went from a 17.3% efficiency to a 19.2% in just 20 games. In those games the Stallions scored 24 powerplay goals on 97 chances or a whopping 24.7% efficiency. The penalty killing improved as well going from 6th place with an 82.2% efficiency to 2nd place with an 84.0% efficiency. Even more impressive, prior to the Leetch deal the Stallions had scored only 3 short-handed goals, they have scored 7 since.
Sittler has once again had a Jack Adams-type season, leading this team to 49-19-7 record. This is Darryl's 4th consecutive 40+ win season and he is one win away from his first 50 win season. What does he credit his success with?
Sittler: "The players. All I do is line them up and give them some plays. They are the ones who go out and execute them. Guys like Joe (Sakic) and Eric (Lindros) have led this team. Look at how many of these guys are having career years in points, I think there are like 8 of our starters with career high points. There's Numminen, Leetch, Sanderson, Linden and other guys that are close to records like Sakic, Satan, Heinze and Dahl. And Cujo with a career high in wins. These are the guys doing it."
As the playoffs close in, Toronto is playing in high gear having lost just two of their last 11 games. Currently they'd meet the Juggernaughts in the first round, a match-up they should like since they met in the first round last year and Toronto won four game to one. Toronto will not take Montreal lightly, a tense rivalry at the best of times between these two hockey-mad cities, either of these two teams can win on any given night.
Vipers Hammering Opposition Out Of Playoffs
Mississauga, ON - The Waterloo Vipers may have been a minor leagues minor league team 2 seasons ago, but careful building has built a team that is making a nice run into the playoffs.
Day 75 saw the Steelcats, who are fighting for the last playoff spot in the division play the Vipers... 20 games ago the Steelcats were in the playoffs and the Vipers were on the outside looking in.. But players like Demitra, Messier, MacInnis and Boucher have sucked it all in, dug deep and provided the leadership the young Vipers need for a playoff run. The Vipers have passed the Steelcats and Enforcers to move comfortably into the playoffs. With the Steelcats coming to town, the Vipes saw an oppurtunity to keep the Steelcats out of the playoffs and they did just that. A 14-2 pummeling of the Steelcats was the result of a super performance by Keith Primeau, Messier, Demitra, and Jason Arnott.. But it wasn't a oneline effort unlike some teams who have built a super line (cough cough not mentioning names here cough cough), but a concentrated team effort. In the race for league scoring leader, Demitra only needs about 10 games like this to make up the 15 points to take the points league like he did last season. While he didn't score much, his +11 showed his renewed ability to play a complete style of hockey which is helping get his team into the playoffs.
With a game against the Enforcers coming up.. it looks like the Vipers might try to repeat last night's performance in an attempt to not show favoritism to 2 teams fighting for the same playoff spot..
Vipers would like to point out in their last game
Player Name Goals Assists Pts SOG +/- PIM
-----------------------------------------------------------
Keith Primeau 2 6 8 4 9 2
Mark Messier 2 0 2 14 2 0
Jon Rohloff 1 2 3 2 4 0
Jason Arnott 3 1 4 4 4 0
Al MacInnis 0 3 3 5 6 0
Pavol Demitra 4 0 4 10 11 5
Milan Hejduk 1 3 4 7 5 0
--------------------------- ---------------------------
STEELCATS 1 0 1 0 2 STEELCATS 9 15 15 0 39
VIPERS 4 7 3 0 14 VIPERS 22 24 20 0 66
Team Per Time Scorer Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------
VIPERS 1 00:56 Arnott Primeau
VIPERS 1 02:14 Arnott Primeau, Rohloff
VIPERS 1 02:44 Primeau Hejduk
STEELCATS 1 05:25 Willis Savard, Tremblay
VIPERS 1 08:15 Demitra Czerkawski, Johansson
VIPERS 2 01:21 Messier Czerkawski
VIPERS 2 02:11 Rohloff Primeau, Arnott
VIPERS 2 05:48 Primeau MacInnis
VIPERS 2 06:13 Demitra Primeau, MacInnis
VIPERS 2 09:13 Arnott Primeau, Rohloff
VIPERS 2 10:30 Demitra Hejduk
VIPERS 2 19:51 Messier Czerkawski, Roy
VIPERS 3 09:18 Johansson Jonsson
VIPERS 3 11:09 Hejduk MacInnis, Primeau
STEELCATS 3 15:19 Savard Willis, Battaglia
VIPERS 3 17:05 Demitra Hejduk, Doig
Edmonton Fill Hole On Left Side
Edmonton, AB - The trade deadline has come and gone and the Vikings were actually more active than predicted. The team made two deals with the Icedogs and one with the Dropkicks on a very active deadline day. Leaving Edmonton are career Vikings Niklas Sundstrom, defenceman Drake Berehowsky and minor-leaguer Georges Laraque. Joining the Vikings are left-winger Chris Gratton and goaltender Tommy Salo. The club also acquired two draft picks while giving up a late fourth rounder.
Chris Gratton strengthens the depth on what was the club's Achilles heel, the left wing. Tommy Salo has been playing solid hockey in the WFHL and probably won't see action with the Vikings until next year.
In other news the club has called up defenceman Mike VanRyn for the playoff run.
Len Barrie scored his first career hat trick for the Vikings in Friday night's game with Seattle.
Brian Rolston needs two goals to reach the twenty goal plateau for the first time in his career.
Jim Matheson for the WHL Weekly.
Bulls Make Last Deal Of Season In Style
Oakville, ON (AP)- After completing two deals a week prior too the deadline (landing the Bulls players like Kamensky, Osgood and Droppa) all rumors of Oakville making another move before D-day had been put to rest. Bulls GM Chris Kubinec had even stated that he would 'not make any more moves' and that he was 'happy with the players' he had assembled for the playoff run. Yet, the trade happy GM of the Bulls, left a window of opportunity open for speculation of one more possible deal occurring when he told local media that he would consider making one more move if it was an 'impact deal that would help the team substantially'.
So with this said it confirmed that the Bulls GM had not totally ruled out the idea of one more possible trade involving his club before the April 2nd deadline passed.
D-day. The WHL trade deadline approached and phones were ringing off the hooks in Oakville, and none other than Bulls GM Chris Kubinec was in the middle of it all. After coming close to making, what is being reported as, four separate deals, Bulls GM Kubinec decided that pulling the trigger on those deals would not improve his club enough to change the locker room chemistry before the playoffs. As the evening grew darker it seemed as though the Bulls would not make anymore deals this season as the time was already 8:30pm; that's when the phone rang.
The Saskatchewan Enforcers GM Patrick Ström was on the other end when Bulls GM Chris Kubinec answered the phone. Patrick was serious about acquiring a starting goalie for his team and was prepared to make some serious offers in order to get a deal done. As the hours before the deadline shortened more and more, the two teams stayed focused and began finalizing all of the paper work. The two GM's work very hard all night long and three minutes before the deadline a deal had been completed. The Bulls had acquired Jarome Iginla, Sergei Berezin and Bob Essensa for Corey Hirsch, Jonas Hoglund, and Radek Dvorak.
So, there you have it, the Bulls captured the title of having the last deal of the season. It will definitely be a memorable one seeing how high profile players were involved going both ways.
Voodoo Swing Minor Deal, Look To Playoffs
Vancouver, BC - The trade deadline came and went and Vancouver only made one small trade. They sent minor league LW'er Raffi Torres for minor league defenseman Brendan Witt. "It was a simple case of us being deep on the left side and needing another young defenseman. Raffi won't be in the WHL next season, and there is a good chance of Brendan making our team" said GM Darren Kinnaird.
With the playoffs around the corner the Voodoo are getting ready. Unfortunately Bret Hedican will be out for about two weeks with a sore shoulder. Chris Joseph will step into the lineup. Hedican should be back in time for the playoffs.
That is all from Vancouver for now.
Milestones Reached, More to Follow and the Only Good Deal Kordyback Has Ever Made
New England, MA - Several Dropkicks players are reaching team and personal records. Alexei Zhamnov, Teemu Selanne and Chris Drury have all broken the Dropkicks single season record for points, previously 84 shared by Selanne and Mike Modano.
Zhamnov will probably finish the head of Selanne and Drury. Not bad for a guy who was brought in to play on the second line behind Doug Weight. As it turns out Weight has had a tough campaign, if one can have such a thing with 64 points in 75 games.
Zhamnov may yet break the 100 point mark, as he heads into tonight's game vs the Almont Raiders with an impressive 94 points. He notched a hat trick in his last outing against the surging Oceanics, leaving him with 44 goals. If he could break the 50 goal mark he'd be the second Fury/Dropkicks player ever to accomplish that goal. Selanne sits at 54 after scoring his 100th goal as a Dropkick last night.
Yet more news seems to suggest that Zhamnov will be dealt in the offseason. He will demand a large sum of money this summer, but management would be foolish to deal him solely on the basis of economics.
And while we're on the topic of surprises, the Dropkicks deal that sent Petr Sykora and Nikolai Khabibulin among others to the Oakville Bulls appears to have been a decent one after all. Chris Drury currently has 87 points. Not bad for a throw-in that came along with the heart of that deal...a first round pick that ended up being Dany Heatley. Heatley has a good shot at making the big club next year in a limited role, while Drury will continue to be New England's top line left winger.
Special Articles
Random Kicks
The Dropkicks were VERY actively pursuing the 1st rounder currently held by the IceDogs. Rumour has it that names like Legwand, Afinogenov, Heatley and Arvedson came up among others. In the end though, Jon Lemoine's demands outweighed the benefits of getting the number one pick. "There were no Harold Drukens in this year's draft anyway..." said head coach Tom Fowler(ov)...Vegas has the Vancouver Voodoo as the odds on favorites to win this year's Cyber Cup. They are currently 4-1, with the Stallions and Corinthians next at 6-1. Something tells me Al Stricken may have some pull in Vegas...the Olympic scene seems to be coming together nicely. One can only wonder if Express GM Kris Pongratz will stay on the sidelines for long. He failed to secure a role on the Team Canada crew, and most if not all people in the know accredit that to Dropkicks GM Chris Kordyback's decision to sell out to Russian vodka magnate Vladimir Drunkelev and the Russian Olympic team. The entire Russian team will be unveiled in the next few days.
Playoff Report
I will write a playoff preview at the end of the season. If anyone else is going to write a playoff preview send it to the magazine and I will have a whole section made up of previews.
Wales Conference
Rnk LW Team GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT
1 1 STALLIONS 75 49 19 7 343 234 105 .700
2 2 CORINTHS 75 46 23 6 318 240 98 .653
3 3 ICEDOGS 75 45 22 8 302 241 98 .653
4 4 SPARROWS 75 46 26 3 327 245 95 .633
5 6 SEAGULLS 75 39 28 8 248 256 86 .573
6 5 BULLS 75 39 31 5 296 252 83 .553
7 7 VIPERS 75 33 36 6 304 291 72 .480
8 -4 J-NAUGHTS 75 29 39 7 235 273 65 .433
Out ------------------------------------------------ Magic #
0 8 ENFORCERS 75 28 38 9 243 267 65 .433 10
1 -2 STEELCATS 75 27 38 10 248 311 64 .427 9
13 -14 HAWKS 75 21 44 10 240 311 52 .347 3
23 -26 LUNATICS 75 18 51 6 217 298 42 .280 Eliminated
The Bulls and Seagulls jockey for 5th and 6th position. While the Juggernaughts climb past the Enforcers for the final playoff spot. The 'Cats remain in the hunt for the 8th spot as well. Meanwhile the Lunatics become the first victim as they were officially eliminated from the playoffs this week.
Campbell Conference
Rnk LW Team GP W L T GF GA PTS PCT
1 1 VOODOO 75 54 14 7 352 227 115 .767
2 2 DROPKICKS 75 45 21 9 334 246 99 .660
3 3 EXPRESS 75 39 25 11 331 266 89 .593
4 4 KRUSHERS 75 35 28 12 266 226 82 .547
5 5 VIKINGS 75 33 30 12 273 275 78 .520
6 6 ISLANDERS 75 29 36 10 246 254 68 .453
7 7 DOMINATRS 75 30 39 6 252 276 66 .440
8 8 RAIDERS 75 30 41 4 219 269 64 .427
Out ------------------------------------------------ Magic #
4 -4 CHIEFS 75 25 40 10 254 330 60 .400 8
8 -6 SAINTS 75 23 42 10 250 303 56 .373 6
14 -12 OCEANICS 75 22 47 6 236 361 50 .333 3
16 -17 ENDLESS 75 21 48 6 234 316 48 .320 2
The conference seems to have stabilized this week. No one moved although only four points separate the 6th from 8th spot. Chiefs are just four points out of 8th. Endless and Oceanics are nearing elimination.