I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Colorado Avalanche
Goalies
Semyon Varlamov: Youngster with lots of potential, but relatively injury prone. If he stays healthy he is one of the youngest starters in the entire league so if things workout Colorado has signed a goalie who can serve them for nearly two decades, if not they have helped Washington significantly. Rating: 8
Jean-Sebastian Giguere: Veteran netminder did not have the best season of his career with Toronto, but is looking to get back on action. With a injury prone youngster in the goal he might get a lot of starts on his belt. Rating: 8
I like this goalie tandem more than the previous one, but Colorado risked a lot when choosing Varlamov. If worst injuries are behind Varlamov he is worth those picks, but otherwise Colorado easily lost a top ten pick to a risky deal. Giguere has seen his best years, but would not be the only good goalie in the leage who is on the worse side of 30. Or perhaps it is better side for the goalies... Anyway Rating: 8
Defensemen
Ryan Wilson: Good defenseman, my personal favorite to fill the void in first defensive pair left by Liles departure. Still a young man who has room for improvement, but otherewise a god solid player. Rating: 8
Kyle Quincey: One of the best d-men in avalanche squad. Good on both directions on ice, led avalanche d-men in average ice time and tackles couple of season ago, but only played in 21 games last season only adding one assist in them. Rating: 8
Ryan O´Byrne: Was traded from Montreal and found a new home in Colorado. Averaged over 20 minutes per game which is third best in Colorado blue line. Good in defensive aspects of the game, but the fact that he has scored two goals in nearly 200 games tells a cruel story about his offensive abilities. Rating: 8
Shane O´Brien: Played all but two games with the Predators last season. Perhaps acquired to fill the void left by Foote retirement... Probably will go to either bottom defensive pairs, but in my opinion a good capture. Rating: 8
Erik Johnson: The bright star in Colorado Blue line. Acquired as number one pick overall in 06 adds enormous expectations on him. Hopefully he can answer to those expectations. Rating: 9
Matt Hunwick: Came from Boston due to some salary cap adjustments made there. Logged ~18 minutes per game in 51 games after moving from Boston. Decent player, but not outstanding in any aspect. Rating: 7
Jan Hejda: Brings some considerable size to the Avalanche blue line and the most likely player to step up in Foote´s place. A good acquisition to answer immediate need. Rating: 8
Kyle Cumiskey: Did not get too much games last season and i sincerely hoped that either the loss of Liles or Foote would not have been patched so he could have gotten his chance, but sadly looks like an AHL year for him. Rating: 7
Camreon Gaunce: Avalanche has a huge amount of NHL capable defenseman, but sadly he is not one of them. He is still young though so maybe he will be one day. Rating: 6
Colorado has a lot of depth, but true superstars are nowhere to be found. Johnson has potential to be one, but otherwise Colorado just has a bunch of good defenders, and there is nothing wrong with that, but in order to succeed i think they need more. Rating: 8
Forwards
Brandon Yip: Decent right winger, but nothing more. Finished his second NHL age at the age of 26. Scored 12 goals to go with 10 assists in 71 games, which is not bad for a bottom line winger, but will not get him higher either. Rating: 7
Daniel Winnik: Little better than Yip in terms of points. Winnik is a top-9 forward in Avalanche squad, but it might change with the drafting of Gabriel Landeskog who is touted to be ready to step in to the NHL next year. Rating: 7
Paul Stastny: One of the two all-star game players in the Avalanche squad. Considering the amount of points and games he played he had the worse season of his career and hopefully will bounce back to his similar level. Pivotal to any success they wish to have. Rating: 9
Kevin Porter: Good as a bottom line center. Added a surprisingly good amount of points considering the average minutes he got. Rating: 7
Ryan O´Reilly: Good in defensive aspects of the game and important in penalty kill. Perhaps the best defensive forward forward in Colorado... Rating: 8
Peter Mueller: Easily a top-6 forward if fit, but last that i heard is still suffering from a post concussion syndrome. I really hope he will regain match fitness since the Avs are not too strong on the right wing department. Rating: 8
Cody McLeod: Decent bottom line winger, and in that aspect a useful player, but sits more on the penalty box than on ice. has been loyal to Avs and that is admirable. Rating: 7
Jay McClement: Was part of the move that brought Johnson to Avs. Played relatively well the remaining games. Is looking to start his first full season in Colorado. Rating: 8
Joakim Lindstrom: Relatively unknown since he has been playing mainly in the AHL and now in KHL and Elitserien. Played quite well in both previously mentioned leagues and there is no reason why he could not make it in the NHL. Rating: 7
Chuck Kobasew: Was a bottom line winger in Minnesota and will probably continue as one with the Avs. He is good considering the minutes he got in Minnesota and i hope that he might get more in Colorado. Rating: 8
David Jones: Had a career high season in games, goals, assists and points. He scored 27 goals and is the best scorer with Matt Duchene who also scored 27 goals. Really important to his team especially when Mueller is suffering from his concussion. Rating: 9
Milan Hejduk: Veteran forward still has lots to offer. Was one of the four players who scored over 20 goals in Colorado last season. Hopefully will see the reminder of his career with Avs. Rating: 9
TJ Galiardi: Was limited to 35 games last season, but made a visit to Avs first line the season before. Good player, but might be the one who suffers from the Colorado drafted a left winger with the second pick of the entire entry draft. Rating: 8
Matt Duchene: The other all-star forward led Avs in points and tied with Jones for most goals. The soul and spirit in Colorado. Is looking to become the franchise player of Avs. Rating: 9
Colorado does not have the worst squad in the league, but by no standard is near the best. This is a squad that, in my opinion, will be left out of the playoffs. Couple of prospects up and running and they will be back on track. Fro forwards Rating: 8
Lines
Landeskog-Duchene-Hejduk
Galiardi-Stastny-Jones
Winnik-O´Reilly-Kobasew
McLeod-Porter-Lindstrom
Johnson-O´Byrne
Hejda-O´Brien
Quincey-Wilson
Varlamov
Lot is placed on Landeskogs first year. If he rockets straight to a superstar the situation is completely different. Colorado is not yet good enough for winning, but in the other hand they will lose their first pick so nothing should give them any reason to hold back if things do not go as planned. As a whole: Rating: 8
Key factors
+Really good young core
+They did improve their squad from last year
-High risk goalie deal
-Not good enough to win
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti