GAMESPEAK FEDERATED HOCKEY LEAGUE NEWSLETTER

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1 February 6, 2018 Vol. 8, No. 3 Join the Living FHL Experience and follow us on Twitter and Get Game updates Welcome to the February 2018 Edition of Gamespeak. FHL All Star Rosters are announced (P.1-2). Congratulations to those teams that have players on the All Star Teams. This issue will also discuss the FHL Winter Classic (P.4-5); Team Statistics (P.6-7); FHL Trade Central (P.8-9); FHL Player of the Month (P.10); FHL Standings (P.10); and From the Assistant Commissioner s Office (P.11)! Enjoy! FHL All Star Teams By Luc Savard For the fourth year in a row, I get the pleasure to select the All-Star teams. This task, while it may look simple, is pretty hard. There are lots of quality players and each team must be represented. This does affect the line-up and some strong players are unfortunately left out. Enjoy and have fun, which is all that matters! Republic Conference National Conference C N. Backstrom KCI Mark Scheifele GCB LW B. Marchand NYD A. Ovehckin MNS RW P. Kessel NYD L. Draisaitl TGD 1

2 FHL All Star Teams Republic Conference National Conference C N. Backstrom KCI Mark Scheifele GCB LW B. Marchand NYD A. Ovehckin MNS RW P. Kessel NYD L. Draisaitl TGD C M. Backlund CIS S, Crosby CAZ LW N. Ehlers DBA T. Seguin CAZ RW J. Kinner FLE P.Laine LAM C C. McDavid FLE R. Getzlaf MGC LW M. Hoffman CAT B. Schenn MNS RW M. Marner FLE C. Atkinson SPB C R. Rackell MCA M. Grandlund SPB LW J. Benn BOW J. Maschessault NJD RW JT Miller CAT V. Tarasenko MGC D T. Krug FLE V. Hedman DPH D D. Byfuglien CIS B. Burns DPH D R. Josi RYS D. Doughty GCB D E. Karlsson NYD J. Klingberg LAM D R. Ristolainen MCA J. Schultz MNS D K. Shattenkirk FLE O. Klefbom TGD G D. Dubnyk NYD C. Price BUS G C. Anderson CLB B. Holtby GCB G R. Miller DBA S. Brobovsky CAZ 2

3 FHL All Star Teams Please note there were several omissions from the All Stars that one could argue should be on the teams. They are as follows: 1. Evegni Malkin (CAT) 6 first stars out of 26 GP; 12 goals, 16 assists; 28 points. 2. T. J. Oshie (DPH) 5 first stars out of 32 GP; 19 goals, 6 assists, 25 points, +/ Sebastian Aho (DBA) rookie campaign 15 goals, 13 assists, 28 points, +/- 10, 19 TKA 4. Martin Jones (DPH) Although win loss record is underwhelming 13-14; statistics shine: Save PCT..926; GAA 2.19 in GP 29. Notables: 1. Decatur Puckheads first defensive pairing is the National Conference #1 All Star pair. 2. New York Dolphins Brad Marchand, and Phil Kessel are teammate starters for the Republic Conference #1 line. 3. Florida Everblades own the Republic Conference third forward line with rookie Mitch Marner, and sophomore Connor McDavid at C and RW respectively. One hit wonders: 1. Defending champion Kansas City Ice Twisters only had 1 All Star in Republic Conference in Niklas Backstrom. 2. Jon Marchessault (NJD) sneaked in on the 4 th Line of the Nationalist Conference with 15 goals, and 5 assists with a+/- of -3 in GP Oscar Klefborn, D (TGD) made it on with 6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points, with +/- of +3 in GP Roman Josi, D (RYS) made it in for his 2 nd consecutive season with 7 goals, and 12 assists with a +/- of -14. Teams: 1. Florida leads the Republic Conference sending 5 representatives to the FHL All Star game: Jeff Skinner, Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, Torey Krug, and Kevin Shattenkirk. 2. New York trails Florida sending 4 representatives: Brad Marchand, Phil Kessel, Erik Karlsson, and Dean Dubnyk. 3. In the National Conference California Zephyrs and the Minnesota North Stars are tied for the lead sending 3 representatives: Tyler Seguin, Sidney Crosby, and Sergei Bobrovsky for California; and Alexander Ovechkin, Braydon Schenn, and Jeff Schultz for Minnesota. 3

4 FHL Winter Classic Game By Chad Pridemore The FHL is excited to announce the annual Winter Classic is back this year! This year s Classic will take place at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. The game has already sold out to a capacity crowd of 41,313. On the banks of the Anacostia River, Nationals Park is located in the Navy Yard neighborhood of D.C. and will host its first ever outdoor hockey game for the FHL. The long-term forecast is calling for clear skies and a crisp temperature in the mid 20 s Fahrenheit. The Winter Classic will take place on January 3 rd featuring the New York Dolphins and Montreal Canadiens. These two East Division rivals will treat the nation s capital to an exciting game for sure! The Dolphins will showcase their star LW Brad Marchand for the game. Going into the new year, Marchand had an FHL leading 23 goals and 18 assists with a +/- of 22. Matching with Henrik Sedin and Phil Kessel, Marchand has dominated for New York on offense this season. On defense, the Dolphins have Erik Karlsson who has scored 10 goals and 14 assists for the season. Devan Dubnyk will likely start in net for New York. He has a stellar GAA of 1.90 in 31 games played. He sits behind Carey Price (BUS) who is the league leading goaltender. The Montreal Canadiens are lead in goal scoring by Rickard Rakell and Filip Forsberg. Rakell has 20 goals followed by 17 from Forsberg. T.J. Brodie will be the leading defensemen in the game for the Canadiens. The goaltender may be a game day decision between James Reimer and Michal Neuvirth. Both net minders are very close in Sv% and GAA. The Dolphins came into January ranked 5 th in the FHL offensively at The Canadiens were ranked 2 nd in offense at Defensively, New York was ranked 3 rd at The Canadiens have the advantage on the powerplay with 23.4% versus the Dolphins at 17.8%. It will be an exciting game for sure! The predictions coming in are showing a Dolphins victory in the Winter Classic this year. Many fans believe Devan Dubnyk will hold his own and keep Montreal from running up the score. Fans and internet chatter are also speculating that the Canadiens will have a hard time containing Brad Marchand during the outdoor event. The game will not be a blowout but the prediction is New York will defeat Montreal

5 FHL Winter Classic Game October Neutral Ice The FHL looks forward to restoring the annual Winter Classic to its schedule this season. Last season fans were disappointed when a scheduling conflict F with the city of Denver prevented the game from being played. Coors Field and the city of Denver were ready to bring hockey to the mile-high city but it fell apart at the last minute. Good luck to New York and East their coach Cliff 2 Dolgins 1 3 as 6 they meet Montreal and their coach Bill Kay for the annual FHL Winter Classic! West Scoring Summary Per Time Str Team 1 6:36 EV E Gaudreau, assisted by Kane 1 15:13 PP W Panarin, assisted by Weber and Scheifele 1 15:56 EV W Kopitar, assisted by Panarin 1 18:48 EV E Josi, assisted by Kane 2 9:50 EV E Benn, assisted by Stamkos and Josi 3 12:39 PP W Panarin, assisted by Weber 3 16:01 EV E Benn, assisted by Marchand 3 17:23 EV E Kane, assisted by Letang and Karlsson 3 19:48 EN E Letang, assisted by Brassard Penalty Summary Per Time Team 1 3:36 E Brassard 2:00 - interference 1 13:33 E Barrie 2:00 - holding 2 2:00 E Benn 2:00 - interference 5

6 FHL Team Statistics Hockey is probably the most team oriented sports there is. In Professional Baseball the key matchup is the pitcher and the batter. In Professional Basketball it seems more about 2 on 2 or 3 on 2 (i.e. one team s 2 super stars against the other team s 2 super stars) while everyone else stands around. In Professional Football there is a team element but there seems to be a lot of hot dog type players who stress their individual heroics over the team (ex. remember T.O.). However to have a successful hockey team you ve got to have everyone pulling the same way. Selfish individual show boats don t last too long in the world of professional hockey. That is why Gamespeak is happy to present you with the Team Statistics section. We hope you enjoy this presentation of statistics that celebrates the entire team! 6

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8 FHL Trade Central By Chad Pridemore (Assistant Commissioner) Here are all the trades to date for this season in the FHL. Special thanks goes to Ken Perry for making this. Enjoy. 8

9 FHL Trade Central cont d P.8 9

10 FHL Player(s) of the Month Don Lookingbill s Boston Whalers are in 4th place in the East Division with a record of Center Jamie Benn led the way in December with 9 goals and 6 assists and 15 points earning him the forward of the month. Unfortunately that was not enough and he did not make the FHL All Star Team like he did last season when he won the MVP for the Republic Conference. David Sayles s Los Angeles Monarchs Nick Holden scored 8 goals, 4 assists and 12 points and a +/- of 6 for the month of December. Nick has been named defensman of the month for December. The Monarch s hold 2nd place in the West Division with a record. The New York Dolphins Goaltender Devan Dubynk earned goalie of the month in December. Devan gave up 19 goals in 10 games giving him a 1.71 GAA with a.941 save %. New York is currently in 3 rd in their division with a with 52 points. FHL Standings Block 4 for games played to date. 10

11 From the Assistant Commissioner s Office: We are just past the midpoint of the season as winter months go into full force and hockey is at its finest. In the East Division, Calgary and Florida are neck and neck challenging for the top spot. Calgary is in first place with a record with 65 points. But Florida has 6 games in hand with a record with 59 points. Calgary s #1 power play conversion rate at 29.6% is phenomenal and is a big reason they are in first place. Florida is the master of the shootout with 5 shootout wins. The ever-dangerous NY Dolphins is waiting in the wings with record with 52 points. They got the one two punch of Marchand and Kessel. It is lucky for the East that Stamkos is out otherwise they may mounting their 4th Crystal. FHL Schedule: Block 4 Deadline to complete games and export February 11 (Sunday) at 7 PM EST. Block 5 COAs due February 14 (Wednesday) at 10 PM EST Block 5 Start February 16 My Detroit Bandits are defying all odds in first place in the Mid-West with a record with 55 points. It was definitely a good decision to hang onto Mike Fisher who is currently 18 goals, 9 assists, and 27 points with a +/- of +7. Ryan Miller (G) has been playing way over his head with a with 3 shut outs with GAA 2.39 and a respectable save Pct. Drafting rookie Sebastian Aho was definitely the right call as he is 2 nd in my team in points with 16 goals, 14 assists, 30 points, and +/- of 6! He has won more games than my best goalie Jimmy Howard who is only 7-3 with 2 shut outs with 1.99 GAA and.932 save PCT. Unfortunately, he can only play in 16 more games so I will have to pick his spots. I think another key is the Bandits physical play. In the team stats they are 3 rd best in team hits at 23.7/game; and have the highest PIM in 11.7/game. Remember its mean turnovers and as long as I can stay in the top 5 in PK (Detroit is ranked 5 th best at 83.3% PK) my Bandits can continue to play their intimidating style. Minnesota North Stars are in first place now and the reason isn t their offense (sorry Ovie) but it is their defense! They lead the FHL as a team in fewest shots against at At and 58 points they are surging. In the West the California Zephyrs rule. They are predicted to win the whole thing. They made a nice addition Tomas Tatar (LW). He is now starting on the first line next to Johansen and Crosby. He will definitely add to the firepower of an already great team. But Kent gave up a lot in a first round draft pick to Montreal to get him so as they say in poker He is all in! Speaking of Montreal Candiens they are in their first FHL Winter Classsic and New York in their 2 nd. I like this matchup as I already discussed. NY lost to Boston after blowing a big 3 goal lead. I think they will come in hungry to win this one. 11