GAMESPEAK FEDERATED HOCKEY LEAGUE NEWSLETTER

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1 October 2, 2011 Vol. 2, No. 2 Gamespeak Table of Contents: Welcome to the Vol. 2, No. 2 of Gamespeak The 2011 PREVIEW Edition. Thanks for reading this house organ of the FHL. We really appreciate it and look forward to moving forward into season 2 FHL. Enjoy yet another Gamespeak Magnum Opus! The FHL Draft Final Results: See Page 2. Also Assistant Commissioner/FHL Historian Chad Pridemore comments on FHL Winter Classic. See Page 3. Coaches Corner. Manager/owner/coach Lucky Luc Savard of the Gatineau City Bulldogs will provide his expert regular FHL 2011 Season and Crystal Finals Predictions. See Page The FHL 18 TEAM PREVIEWS 2011 by Howard Cosell, JR.. See Page FHL Trades to Date: See Page The FHL Block Schedule See Page FHL Season Administrative Information. See Page Current Owner List and Addresses: See Page 35. Commissioner comments Coaching Tips, Season Start, etc. See Page 36.

2 FHL Draft Results The FHL Draft has been completed. The results are listed below: Gamespeak Panel of Experts declares the following teams reached the top of their class in the draft: A grades 1. Johnston Chiefs (owner/manager Eric Baluth). This grade is based partially on the shrewd drafting of Eric s Johnston Chief s War Room but also based on his low draft picks and picking up Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler in the 1 st round who are both potential future MVPs! 2. Florida Everblades (owner/manager Bryan Salkowsky) despite picking at slot 16 did very well picking up excellent quality prospects in Tedenby, Sbisa (possibly the steal of the draft at this position in the draft), Boychuck, Kruger, and Ellerby. They rounded off the draft with a nice pick up veteran d-man Lydman. 3. Gatineau City (owner/manager Luc Savard) got his man in Eberle for offensive punch. But he also got McDonagh, Dalpe (in the 4 th round this was another steal), Dubnyk (fair pick up but better goalie prospects around see Montreal s pick in same round), Holtby (Luc got better value with this excellent goalie prospect). 4. California rounds out the class with excellent draft prospect selections in Seguin (part of an excellent player development plan with Bruins), Niederreiter (top Forward prospect), Leddy (top defensive prospect), Markstrom (the top goalie prospect), Bobrovsky (surprised he was available), etc., etc.

3 From the Assistant Commissioner s Office: FHL Winter Classic With the FHL season about to begin, the talk of the Winter Classic location has started as well. The Detroit Bandits hosted the Montreal Canadiens in the inaugural FHL Winter Classic game on New Years Day. The game was held at the University of Michigan stadium to a sellout crowd of over 100,000 fans. The Bandits won the game 6-3 with Tomas Holmstrom scoring two goals for the Bandits. In the NHL, the Winter Classic has become a popular event to many sports fans. It doesn t get any better then turning on your TV on New Years Day and watching an outdoor hockey game. That s what hockey is all about! The Winter Classic has been held at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium, Fenway Park in Boston, and Wrigley Field in Chicago. Personally, I have taken a very special interest in the Winter Classic games as I had the opportunity to attend the Red Wings v. Penguins game at Wrigley Field. My seat was located along the first base line 15 rows from the field. I remember we all had to stand for the entire game not only to see the game but also to stay warm! It was three hours of my life I will never forget. If any of our FHL owners have a chance to attend a Winter Classic game, I encourage you to do it. FHL Webpage is finally operational!!! The FHL main webpage is finally online. This is still a work in progress but hope to get the FHL Living Experience available shortly where each team can control their own Team Blog. Please click on this link to access the FHL Webpage: ondor.me/ The NHL has also held outdoor games in Canada known as the Heritage Classic. In 2011, the Calgary Flames played the Montreal Canadiens McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The Flames won the game 4-0. This game was under intense scrutiny as it was played two months after the NHL Winter Classic game in Pittsburgh. Many fans felt this game was only played to appease Canadian fans. The future of the Heritage Classic is in limbo right now. The FHL is currently accepting bids for a location of the second annual FHL Winter Classic. There are several games slated for January 1 st The potential hosting teams this year include Cleveland, Florida, Quebec, Boston, Columbus, California, and Detroit. The FHL is not opposed to holding the Winter Classic in Canada. FHL owners may submit their request for a location if they wish to host the 2011 FHL Winter Classic by posting a site in their respective city. FHL management will have the final approval of the Winter Classic site. California at Cleveland would pit Sidney Crosby (the best FHL overall player despite his limited GP) against Zdeno Chara (the second best FHL defenseman (my Niklas Lidstrom is the #1 defenseman). Kansas City at Boston would be another nice game allowing Boston to showcase their new acquisition in Jeff Skinner against last year s Republic Conference runner up. Winnipeg at Columbus would pit my wife Ashlee s newly acquired weapons in Joe Thornton, and Teemu Selanne against Winnipeg s tough as nails two way center Ryan Kessler, and sharp shooter Patrick Kane. The final choice would be the Crystal Champion NY Dolphins at my Detroit Bandits. My new defenseman of the future Travis Hamonic and my super defenseman Niklas Lidstrom will have their hands full stopping the NY scoring juggernaut. Last but not least is a rematch of the National Conference semi finals with Jesse s McGregor Condors visiting Johnny s Quebec Nordiques. Blood in the water all over!

4 COACHES CORNER: Lucky Luc Savard (owner/manager/coach Gatineau City Bulldogs) is back and makes his expert regular FHL 2011 Season and Crystal Finals Predictions: I hope you all had a great summer. When Jesse asked me to do this, I had no idea it would be that much work, but it was fun. The ratings are solely based on quick review of each team and my view. I do not want to disturb anyone. The ratings are subjective as well, especially the drafting part as we all comes with different perspective, I have looked at it mostly in terms of future talent. The overall future is an overall look of the team. Therefore, someone could have drafted less young talents this year but given the team is so young, they still have a bright future ahead. I included some + in there. If your team have received an A+, it means you are doing great. I hope you will have fun reading this. A = Excellent B = Very Good C = Above Average D = Needs Work PP = Power Play SH = Short Handed Note: The Overall rating is for this year only and does not take into consideration future years. East Division This is a very good division with the league Champions New York and Montreal who was a force last year. Other teams may do well and creates surprises. It will be interesting to see what happen. New York GM: Cliff Dolgins Offense A+ Goaltender D Draft 2011 C Defense C Special Teams B Overall Future A Skating A Grit and Toughness B Overall A Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Steven Stamkos, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan Erik Johnson, John-Michael Liles Jaroslav Halak Jaroslav Halak Bryan Little Nazim Kadri Cliff likes offense and his team is loaded. Steven Stamkos and Corey Perry are monsters up front and will be supported by a very solid offensive group including Jeff Carter, Bobby Ryan and Phil Kessel. They can count on three solid lines; the fourth one may prove to be adequate at best. On defence, Erik Johnson and Tom Gilbert will be counted on to shutdown opponents, while John-Michael Liles and Erik Karlson will support the offense. In net, Jaroslav Halak low rating this year of 6.3 has to be a concern but given that this team should spent more time in the other team zone; he should do better than expected. The PP will be awesome with the likes of Stamkos 17 goals, Perry 14 and Kessel 12 but given the low ratings on D, the SH unit effort may become an issue. This talented team will count on Tuomo Ruutu and Brian Boyle to bring their hard hitting game to allow talented forwards more room to skate. This is fast and talented team! I expect Cliff to bring some forces in when times come and add depth to the team if need be. The champion may remain the champion again if the shortfall can be address. If not, the team is still very young and will be able to win the Cup again in future years.

5 Montreal GM: Bill Kay Offense A Goaltender A Draft 2011 C Defense B Special Teams B Overall Future D Skating A Grit and Toughness C Overall B+ Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Henrik Sedin, Patrick Marleau and David Backes Keith Yandle and Henrik Tallinder Anti Niemi Michael Grabner Ray Whitney Tomas Tatar Bill has a solid team and did a nice job this off season. His team should make the playoffs and unless I predict an early exit as I did last year to the surprise of our commish, he could do well. The team is not very young but not too old either. The time has come and they must compete. The top line will produce and will be a scary trio for opponents. David Backes on the second line will provide offense and defense as well as much need toughness. The defense is solid with a nice mix of offensive support coming from Keith Yandle. The defensive support will come from most of the other defense. Antti Niemi and Semyon Varlamov make up for a very solid duo in net. The PP will again be scary and the shorthanded unit should be good especially with the addition of Henrik Tallinder who was much needed for this team and some very impressive defensive forwards. You can also count on Michael Grabner with six NHL shorthanded goals to be a factor. In a year where most of defensive ratings went down for forwards specially, this team will do very well. They can count on three players rated nine on skating! Bill has build a team as you see in most NHL teams, a very good first line, a solid second and two very solid defensive unit up front. They will make the playoffs! Exton GM: Jeff Murray Offense B Goaltender C Draft 2011 C Defense A Special Teams B Overall Future B Skating B Grit and Toughness A Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Louie Eriksson, Logan Couture and Evgeny Malkin Duncan Keith and Kris Letang Michael Neuvirth Devon Setoguchi Brendan Morrison Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jeff told everyone, I believe, that he was building for the future, well the future seems pretty close in my book. Other than key players being injured in Evgeny Malkin and TJ Oshie, the offense will be decent with the likes of Logan Couture, Loui Eriksson and Andrew Ladd. While they are a little soft in the first lines,

6 they have some major hitters and the league dirtiest player in Matt Cooke. Defensively, this team is very solid with Keith, Letang and Duncan Keith. Goaltenders have to be a concern as Michael Neuvirth 6.9 rating is not very impressive and top rated Cory Schneider can only play 25 games. With four guys at or around the 10 goals mark, the power play should fare well and the shorthanded unit will do very well and is not a concern for this team. This team will be a force next year, this year they should compete but may fall short of a playoff spot. Their playoff hope depends on how many games they will be able to win when Malkin and Oshie are dress. Boston GM: Doug Shirley Offense C Goaltender B Draft 2011 B Defense B Special Teams C Overall Future B Skating B Grit and Toughness B Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Patrick Kane, Jeff Skinner and Nathan Horton Ryan Suter and Marc-Edouard Vlasic Marc-Andre Fleury Sergeir Kostitsyn Brandon Dubinsky Kyle Okposo When you start your draft by adding a first line player like Jeff Skinner then you know that you will have a decent year. While this team has no current superstar, they have a few solid two way forwards that will be able to play on the first three lines. The fourth line will be all defensive as this team, in the draft, added some very solid defensive forwards such as Lauri Korpikoski. The defence is solid while not great and can count on a good mix of defensive defenseman such as Nicklas Hjalmarsson and offensive defenseman such as James Wisniewski. Ryan Suter will provide the full package on defense. They can also count on two solid goaltenders in Marc-Andre Fleury and Ondrej Pavelec. I figure that the special teams will do well specially the shorthanded unit. They could be served better by adding an additional top rated defenseman but they should be fine given their very strong defensive forwards. The power play may need to get creative as the top scoring player in such occasion on this team is James Wisniewski with 7. Doug, did a good job in the draft and his team should be able to compete. Playoffs are a possibility but they may need to be creative offensively to make this happen. They have no speed burners but do have 13 very good skaters. Florida GM: Bryan Sakolsky Offense C Goaltender C Draft 2011 C Defense D Special Teams C Overall Future C Skating C Grit and Toughness B Overall C Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Brad Richards, Dany Heatley, Jason Pominville Mark Giordano, Christian Erhoff

7 Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Ryan Miller Dany Heatley Martin Havlat Matt Tedenby Unfortunately for Bryan, a few of his key players had average years and it cost this team some in ratings. When you see Dany Heatley in both being a top player and as an overachiever, it signals something went wrong. Brad Richards also had an off year. While the first two lines may need to produce offense to give this team a fighting chance, they do have some decent depth forwards such as Ryan Callahan and Brooks Laich. The defense is a concern Mark Giordano and Christian Erhoff should do fairly well specially offensively but after them there is not much other than Tony Lydman. In net, Ryan Miller had an average year and his rating of 7.1 is a little low for him. The PP should do fairly well with Heatley and Callahan having scored over 10 goals apiece and the support of their top two D. However, given the D rating on defense, the short handed unit may struggle. I believe that this team will have a hard time making or coming close to making the playoffs, but they will bounce back next year. They are not the fastest team but they have grit. Mid West Honestly, this is an interesting division, In my book, this division is not the strongest but only time will tell. I suspect Kansas City will finish first and then most probably Cleveland followed by the toughest team Detroit. Cincinnati may surprise Detroit with their talent. Kansas City GM: Joshua Pohl Offense A Goaltender B Draft 2011 C+ Defense C Special Teams B Overall Future A Skating C Grit and Toughness A Overall B+ Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Daniel Sedin, John Tavares and Daniel Briere Alex Goligoski and Luke Schenn Kari Lethonen John Tavares Alex Steen Marcus Johansson Kansas City has one of the league top players in Daniel Sedin and he will make everyone around him better. Daniel Briere had a solid year as well, John Tavares is still developing but will be a force soon and Nicklas Backstrom had an off year but he is still a solid player, normally he would be in this team top three players. They have depth up front with Nicolas Kulemin, Scott Hartnell and Mike Knuble. My question here is, who will center Sedin, I bet on Tavares. The defence is decent. While they have no immediate superstar, they have some decent players in Alex Goligoski who will support the offense and a few guys like Douglas Murray and Luke Schenn to support the defensive side of the game. In net, Kari Lethonen will be counted on to play most games and he should do well given his rating. The special teams, well when you have Daniel Sedin 18 goals on the PP, you know that this part of the game is not an issue. The SH unit could prove more challenging given that there is no overwhelming defense but they should survive. The Ice Twisters could use more speed but they have some heavy hitters on the team. This team will make the playoffs and may contend, they did eliminate Montreal last year in the first round as predicted by one expert.

8 Cleveland GM: Scott Kalman Offense C Goaltender D Draft 2011 C Defense A Special Teams B Overall Future D Skating B Grit and Toughness C Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Ryan Clowe, Patrick Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman James Reimer Ryan Clowe David Legwand Colin Wilson Scott drafted for now and his most recent trades supported this as well. They have no players that accumulated more than 66 points this year but with proper usage some players should surpass their NHL performance. They have solid veterans such as Patrick Elias and Milan Hejduk, and, Kovalchuk who had an off year. They do not have a lot of depth up front given Derek Roy missing a good part of the year. On defense however, even with Chris Pronger missing 32 NHL games (That is why I did not list him in the top two at this time, they are strong and deep with players such as Zdeno Chara, Dennis Wideman and Paul Martin. In net, this could be interesting. Their top playing goaltender Craig Anderson has a rating of 5.9, James Reimer who can play 37 games has the best rating at 7.9 and Brent Johnson who is good for 23 games has a rating of 7.1. It is obvious that Reimer and Johnson will play 60 games, which would force Anderson to play 20 games. The special teams should do well as some forwards are around the ten goal mark and the SH unit is very strong with such a defensive group and forwards like Elias and David Bolland. The result of this team, this year, will depend on how creative they can be offensively and how well Anderson performs when he needs to play. One could expect Cleveland to seek out another goaltender before the trade deadline if they are in contention. This team is not very physical but has decent speed and could surprise some teams. Detroit GM: Chad Pridemore Offense C Goaltender D Draft 2011 C Defence B Special Teams B Overall Future D Skating C Grit and Toughness A Overall C Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Johan Franzen, Shane Doan, RJ Umberger Nicklas Lidstrom and Bryan Rafalski Jimmy Howard Jimmy Howard Saku Koivu Travis Hamonic

9 Most probably the oldest team in the league. I really had a challenge rating this team, with a similar team last year Detroit did good. They have a lot of experience and can only help. They do not have any speed burner but they have a good group of decent skaters. Their top forward point producer is Shane Doan at 60. They could use more depth up front and they may have a hard time filling the last lines. However, the recent acquisition of Matt Moulson will help. On defence, they have solid veteran in Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. However, they traded Tallinder to acquire Moulson, we shall see how their defence will do. In goal, the starter is Jimmy Howard, while he is decent; his rating of 6.2 has to be a concern. The backup Al Montoya was a very good pick in the draft and he is solid, but he can only play 21 games. With Doan, Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen having accumulated more than 10 goals a piece on the PP, this team will be fine but their SH has to be a concern now with the recent trade of Tallinder leaving Lidstrom as the sole man for such important situations. Chad likes defense and toughness. This team will be not knocked around easily. They have no one that accumulated more than 200 hits but they have 18 players that accumulated more than 100, that is impressive! They will fight for a playoffs spot and I am not sure they have enough offense to make it. Cincinnati GM: Francois Lessard Offense D Goaltender A Draft 2011 C+ Defense D Special Teams C Overall Future B Skating A Grit and Toughness A Overall C Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Clarke Macarthur, Patrice Bergeron and Rene Bourque Stephane Robidas and Dustin Byfuglien Henril Lundqvist Tyler Kennedy Jared Stoll Maagnus Paarjavi Francois made a great move by selecting Magnus Paarjavi early in the first round. This kid could do well and gives them hope for the future. Francois is rebuilding and it is obvious. He made moves to acquire youth and will probably continue doing that. It will be a big challenge for this team this year, their offense is weak with only one forward over 60 points, that being Clarke Macarthur at 62. However, their defense is interesting, Dustin Byfuglien gives them a very solid offensive defenseman, Mike Green will be good for 49 games and Stephane Robidas, who may be traded later on I suspect given his age, is solid all around. After these guys, there is not much depth. This team real force is in net with Henrik Lundqvist and Niklas Backstrom. This is an asset that this team may use to improve their offense. I feel this team is rebuilding and will most probably have one of the top pick when next year come, which would be great for their future. They already have good speed and Grit which will be required in this division.

10 West Central There are five teams in this division and I gave an overall rating of B to four of them. This is the most even division and the hardest to predict. It will be a great one to follow! I will do an Eklund of myself (in case you don t know him, this is the guy that predicts lots of things on NHL hockey that never happens or announce it as a rumor after it is already a known news). I predict that one team in this division will trade a defenseman to a team out west for a goals scorer. McGregor GM: Jesse Cheng Offense B Goaltender A Draft 2011 C+ Defense B Special Teams B Overall Future B Skating C Grit and Toughness C Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Jarome Iginla, Ryan Getzlaf and Anze Kopitar Jack Johnson and Kimmo Timonen Ilya Bryzgalov Alex Burrows Andre Brunette Derek Stepan Jesse Cheng has built a solid team. This team will send out night after night two very solid offensive lines centered by Getzlaf and Kopitar. These two centers will be supported by the team captain and best player Jarome Iginla and a mix of talent and grit in the form of Alex Semin and Alex Burrows. The Condors will also count on a third very solid young center in Derek Stepan. On defense, there is a good mix of players that will be lead by Jack Johnson and Kimmo Timonen. They should do well and it should not be a concern for management. In net, Ilya Bryzgalov is solid as a rock and will play the majority of the games and it is not a concern either. The special units should do well lead by Iginla 14 goals on the PP and a good mix of solid forwards and defensemen on the SH unit. I was expecting this team to be a lot faster than what nis on paper, they only have five guys rated above 7. However, they have some toughness and can count on Zenon Komopka to lead the way. This team has a very good blend of veterans and younger players. They should do well and are playoff bound. They could use some depth up front as a few other teams and add some speed but they are solid all over the place and Jesse could be a cup challenger, unless he gets over turned in the first round as predicted again by one expert (Just rubbing it in). Columbus GM: Ashlee Pridemore g Offense B Goaltender A Draft 2011 C Defense D Special Teams B Overall Future C Skating B Grit and Toughness A Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Teemu Selanne, Joe Thornton and Pavel Datsyuk Nicklas Kronwall and Jordan Leopold Tim Thomas Bryan Mccabe Franz Nielsen Jakub Kindl

11 This team acquired much need offensive punch in the off season. Teemu Selanne and Joe Thornton will be two very important players and will be counted heavily as the other two top forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa play a limited number of games. However, when they do play; this team will be a force offensively. On defence, this team is a little weak as only the two D mentioned above are rated above 7.0. Therefore, they will have to be cautious on who they send on the ice against the opponents top lines. In net, Tim Thomas had a great NHL year. He will be counted on to play all of his 57 games and Dwayne Roloson will back up the veteran. When Thomas plays, this team is A++ in net, when he does not; the rate becomes closer to a B or a C. I feel Thomas will see a lot of rubber. The PP unit should do fine with Selanne 16 goals in such occasions. Thornton performed very well in such occasion as well and you add Datsyuk and Hossa and you are in business. On the other hand, the SH unit and mainly because of the short coming on defense could be a concern. However, they have a few very solid and responsible forwards in the defensive zone and this could make them a very efficient team in such occasions. Cal Clutterbuck will be counted to provide the toughness. His 336 hits will be an asset. Ashlee has built a solid team but the future has to be a concern. They must win now, Thomas had a great year but you never know with him and he will perform the following year and he is not getting younger. Also, we never know when Selanne will retire. On another note, Thornton and Datsyuk have several years remaining and they are top players. Ashlee, who I believe is the better half of the Pridemore s may need to work on her defense and she can address that later in the year as Thomas is so solid that he should be able to handle the extra shots. But I would be cautious, this is the strongest division in my book. Indianapolis GM: Andrew Smith Offense B Goaltender A Draft 2011 B+ Defense A Special Teams B Overall Future B Skating C Grit and Toughness C Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Martin St-Louis, Joe Pavelski and Nathan Gerbe Dan Boyle and Brent Burns Pekka Rinne Joe Pavelski Dustin Penner Victor Hedman Martin St-Louis will make everyone around him better. Martin will lead this offense and Joe Pavelski, who I believe will be his center will benefit from it. The Checkers have some solid forwards, two solid center men in Pavelski and krejci and two very talented players in St-Louis and Nathan Gerbe. The concern here is of course size and grit and they may find it hard against such teams. Other than Steve Ott, this team is a little soft. Their defence is deep and talented. Boyle, Burns, Hedman and Shatenkirk and so on assure this team of having a good year and a great future on the back end. Even if they were to trade Matt Carle for a needed scorer they would still be very strong on defence. In net, Pekka Rinne and his back up Jonathan Quick should do fine. Rinne will play most games and he is solid as a rock! The PP will be interesting with Pavelski and Radim Vrbata who each scored 10 of 19 goals in such occasions. Their defence will provide solid support to both the PP and the SH unit. They also have very solid defensive players up front such as Jay Mcclement and Curtis Glencross. They should be decent on the PP and solid in SH occasions. Strong teams are built with strong draft and this team did a great job in the draft. The future is assured specially on defence, they will surely add up front in the future. They are on the right path. What is surprising with this team is the speed of their players. Compared to most teams, they are a little slow and it is surprising given the number of talented players. They will fight for the playoffs, and if they were not in such a strong division, they would be in for sure.

12 Winnipeg GM: J&S Drach Offense C Goaltender C Draft 2011 B Defense B Special Teams A Overall Future C Skating B Grit and Toughness C Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Ryan kesler, Patrick Sharp and Marian Gaborik Tobias Enstrom and Jay Bouwmeester Corey Crawford Jay Bouwmeester Eric Belanger Kyle Turris This is a very interesting. They have solid two way forwards such as Ryan Kesler and Patrick Sharp. They have a top speedster who had an off year in Marian Gaborik but one point of concern for their offense is depth or the lack therefore. After the first few forwards, there seem to be a big drop off. This team will compete every night with Kesler and Sharp and captain Canada Ryan Smyth but one as to wonder if it will be sufficient. We can expect Kesler and Sharp to play a lot in all situations. On defence, they are decent with a good mix of offense with Tobias Enstrom and defence with jay Bouwmeester. The other players will provide depth. In net, they have the young starter in Corey Crawford and a solid veteran in Tomas Vokoun. They should split the games and do OK. Neither has top ratings but they can both play better than their rating. Kesler 15 goals and Sharp 12 will be very dangerous on the PP. Teams will need to be careful as well when these two guys hit the ice in shorthanded situations. Kesler is a monster in all situations! While, Winnipeg has no big hitters, they do have nine guys that accumulated more than 100 hits. John is building for now and the future and doing a good job at it, with strong competitors as Kesler, Sharp and Smyth, this team will be fast and furious!! The team is build around a team concept and players must buy into the concept or get out! This division is so strong; this team is build for war! Johnston GM: Eric Baluth Offense C Goaltender A Draft 2011 A+ Defense B Special Teams C Overall Future A Skating C Grit and Toughness B Overall C Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Alex Ovechkin, Mikko Koivu and Justin Williams Robyn Regher and Joe Corvo Roberto Luongo Brian Campbell Cam Fowler Taylor Hall

13 Eric traded a lot of offense to acquire a solid net minder in Roberto Luongo and this provides this team with stability in the back end. However, the offense suffered. Alex Ovechkin should lead the way on offense and will provide this team with talent and grit. For this year, this team will need to work hard to score goals as other than Ovechkin who had an off year by his standard, there is not one else that is rated fairly high in the game. On another note, Ovechkin is rated as 10 on speed so watch out for him! On defense, this team is fairly solid with three players rated 8.0 or above and some nice depth. They have a good mix of offense and defense. In net, they are more than solid with Luongo and Tuuka Rask. Ovechkin will be called upon to play both on the PP and on the SH unit. The young Taylor Hall should also see time on the Power Play. None of their forwards scored more than eight goals in such occasion so they will need to create their chances. The SH unit should be fine with some solid defense and forwards. With Chris Neil and Ovechkin having accumulated more than 241 hits, this team should be fine and Dany Carcillo will also provide some security for this young team. As you have read, I say often this year. This team had one of the best drafts. They drafted Hall, Cam Fowler, Cody Hodgson, Kyle Palmieri and traded for guys such as Brayden Schenn. This team is a year or two away from being a cup contender. For this year, they will look at the finals from outside but could surprise a few teams. They will be the most improve team next year! West This division will be interesting as well. Quebec will most probably finish first then it will be between Gatineau and California for second place. This is a division that is good and will only get better. Quebec GM: Johnny Francoeur Offense A Goaltender A Draft 2011 B+ Defense A Special Teams A Overall Future A Skating B Grit and Toughness B Overall A Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Henrik Zetterberg, Jonathan Toews and Tomas Vanek Shea Weber and Tyler Myers Carey Price Rick Nash Mike Ribeiro Alex Burmistrov This is one of the league best offenses. They have five forwards with more than 70 points and Nash is at 66. This means that Johnny will play the top two units a lot. If you remember last year, at the end, his fourth unit basically didn t touch the ice and I expect the same this year. The only issue is who will play center and who will play wing or maybe Johnny will move Ribeiro as a 3 rd line center. On defence, they are strong mostly because they can move the puck fast to their forwards. The only defence rated above 7.3 defensively is She Weber with a strong 8.6 but most of the others, as well as him, can pass the puck amazingly. Guys like Tyler Myers, John Carlson, PK Subban, Dion Phaneuf and of course Weber all accumulated over 30 points last year. In net, Carey Price will play 72 games leaving only eight to the lower rated backups but then does it really matter? The PP unit is crazy! Four guys have scored more than 10 goals and it does not count Henrik Zetterberg with nine. The forwards are supported by a bunch of offensive defensemen. Jonathan Toews and Jamie Langenbrunner are solid defensively as well and

14 the team will count on them to make the short handed unit work. Let`s not forget Milan Michalek four shorthanded goals as well. The defence may be a little weak defensively in such occasions so we shall see. On the grit side of things, they have some decent players and should be fine. They are talented. They went to the final and the shocked in game six being beaten by a stronger New York team and the expert still blame Johnny for this as it blemished is perfect prediction record. They have a good chance to go back to the final again and they have the team to do it. Gatineau City GM: Luc Savard Offense B Goaltender B Draft 2011 B+ Defense A+ Special Teams B Overall Future A Skating C Grit and Toughness A Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Claude Giroux, Milan Lucic and Matt Duchene Drew Doughty and Brent Seabrook Cam Ward Evander Kane James Neal Jordan Eberle The Bulldogs are a very young team. While they have no superstar, they will ice one of the most balance team. On offense, Claude Giroux is the only player with more than 70 with 76. However, what they do have is depth with 8 forwards with more than 50 points and 12 others with more than 40 points. This will make it hard on opponents to check one particular player. Last year Gatineau didn`t have much but they did have one of the league best defence with Drew Doughty leading the way. I believe that Gatineau is even better than last year on D with key additions of Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal and Alex Pietrangelo. These players will be counted on to stop other teams top forwards. The team is also very tough with 12 players that count over 100 hits This group is lead by last year Eraser Award winner Dustin Brown. In net, Cam Ward is a very solid goaltender, his rating is a little low for him but he can play a lot. The PP should be fine with Drew Stafford and Chris Stewart having scored 11 and 12 goals apiece in the NHL. With such strong defence and some key forwards such as Mike Richards, the SH unit will be fine. This team is still young as only two players have reach 27 years of age. They may need more seasoning; it will however be a team to watch and should make the playoffs. This team has a lot of depth but could use more speed. They will continue to build a strong team for many years. California GM: Kent Gray Offense C Goaltender B Draft 2011 A+ Defense C Special Teams B Overall Future A Skating B Grit and Toughness A Overall B Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Sydney Crosby, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Morrow Alex Edler and Brooks Orpik Jonas Hiller Pacal Dupuis Brendan Morrow Tyler Seguin

15 With Star player Sydney Crosby out for almost half the games, new manager Kent Gray brought a new approach into town and decided to go for youth acquiring and using appropriately a bunch of top picks. On offense, the injury to Crosby will cost this team. However, second center Tomas Plekanec is solid and Jordan Staal should replace Crosby when not playing. This will ensure this team of two solid centers in every game. On the wing, Brendan Morrow will provide a solid overall game and Mike Cammalleri is a solid contributor. These two are LW which does not leave much on the RW. On defence, they traded away Brent Seabrook and he will be replaced by Alex Edler who is solid but game limited for this year. They have a solid group of defensive defensemen and they will be called upon to stop opponents before they reach net minder Jonas Hiller. Crosby and Morrow are very dangerous on the PP and the SH unit is good as well. The Zephrys is pretty fast with eight guys above the seven rating and they have grit with 10 guys above the 100 hits. Kent is building a great franchise for the future, in a year or two, they will have Tyler Seguin in center with Crosby and Staal, let s not forget Nino Neiderreiter and Jacob Josefson (let s call them NN and JJ) and some added youth in Nick Leddy and Jacob Markstrom on defence and in net. When Crosby plays, they will be a very good team but they would be a surprise to make the playoffs. However, they are going into the right direction and may surprise. Los Angeles GM: David Sayles Offense C Goaltender D Draft 2011 C Defense C Special Teams B Overall Future C Skating C Grit and Toughness B Overall C Top Three Forwards Top Two Defenseman Top Goaltender Overachiever Underachiever Player of the future Vincent Lecavalier, Jussi Jokinen and Erik Cole Tomas Kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg Brian Boucher Ryan Malone Travis Zajac Zach Parise I honestly had a hard time selecting players to complete the grid. This team is not getting younger and their best player, Zach Parise, only played 13 games last years. As they drafted mostly players to complete the lineup this year, I decided that he would be the player of the future. The top scoring forward is Vincent Lecavalier with 54 points but in only 65 games. A group of good veteran surround him and should be adequate. On defence, they have one very efficient defensive defenseman in Rob Scuderi and some offensive D such as Tomas kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg. In net, they have four goalies and I believe they will all get a shot in net. However, I expect Brian Boucher and Anders Lindback to play their maximum number of games, 56 in total. On the PP, Lecavalier and Ryan Malone will be dangerous with 12 and 9 goals each and they will be supported by kaberle, an excellent offensive point player. In SH situation, the forward are food to go but after Scuderi there is a drop off so it could be a challenge to stop other teams. David will use this year to evaluate his team, I doubt that they will make the playoffs but you never know, the game is played on the ice.

16 Year End Awards Sniper Award (most power play goals) Daniel Sedin (KCI) Gunslinger Award (most goals) Corey Perry (NYD) Magician Award (most assists) - Steven Stamkos (NYD) The Federalist Award ((point race winner) ) - Steven Stamkos (NYD) Commissioner's Cup (most points FHL regular season) Quebec Nordiques (QND) The Shield Award (most blocks) Dan Girardi (EXT) The Coaches Cup League MVP player who was the most valuable to his team throughout the season) - Steven Stankos (NYD) Back-Stop Award Best Performance by goalkeeper on a team for a season Carey Price (QND) The T-Rex Award (most PIM) Zenon Konopka (MGC) The Eraser Award (most hits) Cal Clutterbuck (COJ) The Pick Pocket Award (most takeaways) Joe Thornton (COJ) The Rebound Award most improved team/coach - Gatineau City Bulldogs (GCB)

17 FHL 2011 Season Preview by Howard Cosell, JR This preview is based on the final rosters prior to the start of the FHL. Obviously, any trades during the season will change the fortunes of all. Forward: Forwards have two grades, Offense and Defense. The offense is the ability to put pressure on opposing teams and score goals. The defense is the ability to stop opponents from putting offensive pressure on them. In addition, grades can be raised or lowered given the depth of offense or defense among the forwards. Defense: Defense also has two grades, on e for defense and one for offense. The defense grade is a teams ability to protect their goal, minimizing the opportunities of their opponents to score. Offense is the defenses ability to support offensive pressure and even chip in some goals from the blueline. Also, depth plays into both grades. Goalie: This grade is given to the goal position over 80 games. The back ups have more effect on this grade if they need to play more games. PP: The teams power play. It s ability to sustain pressure on their opponent and convert power plays into goals. This looks at both forwards and defense and even depth for a 2nd PP unit. PK: The teams penalty kill. This is the team s ability not to give up goals while short handed. It looks to forwards, defense, and goalies. Depth on PK is crucial. Having only 2 forwards who are good penalty killers can be troublesome if one of the two is the guy in the box. Construction: How solidly the team is built, how many holes it has. A team with 4 great LWs, but only 1 decent C, is not well constructed. Likewise, a team with 5 defensive defensemen and 3 offensive defensemen is in trouble since only 6 can play. In smaller leagues, the more holes you have, the more vulnerable you are. Drafting: This is how a team did in a draft. Drafts can be about filling needs or grabbing prospects. Actually, it is often a matter of balancing both of these factors. Teams generally aren t penalized for not having a pick (i.e. a team that trades off its #1 pick), the grade is given for how teams did with what they have. Exception, teams can trade away too many picks, leaving themselves at a disadvantage.

18 Future: The future is looking ahead 3 to 5 years and how the team looks. This isn t just about age. Young players aren t necessarily good, prospects fail. This is a combination of prospects to help in the future and top players who may or may not still be playing at a high level in 3 to 5 years. How much growth, how much stability (good players who are likely to still be effective in the future) compared to how many important players look to age and fall off from their current form or even retire. For teams contending, having a low future grade may not be a bad thing, now is their time and they will look to the future later. Likewise, teams who have a bright future, may have some rough seasons ahead to get there; lots of prospects generally leads to lots of losses. Grades: C is average, except for PP & PK where average is probably a C+. Anything higher than a C is above average and anything below a C is below average. No A+s were given as that is near perfection. 1 F was given, which is near disaster. Teams are listed in order by predicted divisional finish. The number in parenthesis is the predicted conference order. The percentage number is a teams likelihood to make the playoffs. EAST DIVISION: New York- 1st (1st) 100% Forward: Off- A Def- D Defense: Def- C+ Off- C Goalie: D+ PP: A- PK: D+ Construction: B- Drafting: C+ Future: B+ An amazing offense. The most dangerous #1 line in the FHL. New York s #2 line is as good, if not better, than most team s #1 line. But it s all downhill from there. An average defense and poor goaltending will ultimately be the teams undoing...in the playoffs. While a 6.5 goalie rating maybe average in the 30 team in the NHL, anything below a 7 is below average in an 18 team league. The future is bright for this team. Its core is young and Halak is a solid goaltender who should rebound. The Dolphins will be in the mix for years to come. Montreal- 2nd (2nd) 100% Forward Off- B- Def- B Defense Def- A- Off- C- Goalie: B+ PP: B PK: A- Construction: C+ Drafting: B Future: B

19 An above average offense is complimented by an excellent defense; add in some very good goaltending and you have a recipe for success. The defense doesn t provide much offensive support that and a very average 2nd unit will hurt a little on the PP. Almost no fall off between starter and back up at in the net. A good mix of prospects and veterans should keep this team in the hunt in future seasons. Exton- 3rd (4th) 65% Forward Off- B Def- B+ Defense Def- B Off- C+ Goalie: C- PP: B+ PK: B+ Construction: C+ Drafting: C (trades) Future: B A good offense and good defense make for a strong foundation, although the 4th line couldn t score on a wet paper bag. The downside is the goaltending. Schneider will be awesome...for 25 games. Neuvirth is a bit below average and 7 games (plus games when the starter gets pulled) will fall to Mike Smith...that s at least 5 too many. The team is generally young and has some good prospects to replace its few aging veterans. Add in some talented young goalies and the Igloos will remain in the playoff picture in coming years. Boston- 4th (5th) 35% Forward Off- B Def- B+ Defense Def- C+ Off- C Goalie: C PP: C+ PK: B- Construction: C+ Drafting: C- Future: B- Jeff Skinner was the only impact rookie in this season s draft and he has already had an impact. He upgrades an okay offense to a good top 2 lines. However, the defense is still average and so are the netminders...and Skinner can t help in those spots. There aren t any holes to speak of, but then again, there aren t many dangerous players to opponents either. This is a young team. But it is a team with more questions than answers. If a couple of their prospects pan out, they too could be a fixture in the playoff hunt.

20 Florida- 5th (7th) 0% Forward Off- C+ Def- A- Defense Def- C Off- C- Goalie: C- PP: B- PK: C Construction: C+ Drafting: B Future: C+ The forwards are okay for scoring, but what they have falls off after the 2nd line and no one truly scares opposing defenses. However, it is the best defensive group of forwards in the FHL...if only the actual defense was as good. A very average defense that can t lend any support to average group of forwards. Miller is an average goalie, Theodore is not and he will have to play at least 14 games. Another good mix of prospects and veterans for the future, but the Everblades lack a potential impact players. They need one or two of these to enter the playoff picture on a regular basis. MID WEST DIVISION: Kansas City- 1st (3rd) 100% Forward Off- B Def- C+ Defense Def- B Off- D+ Goalie: C PP: B- PK: C+ Construction: C- Drafting: C Future: B- Kansas City has a good offense from their forwards, and stands alone in that regard in the division. They also have a good defense from the blueliners. The first problem is the forwards are only slightly helpful to the defense and the D-men are of no help to the forwards. Average goaltending comes from 69 games of Lehtonen. 5 skaters on the ice have to play in all three zones. In the East Division, this team would battle with Exton and Boston for their playoff lives. However, in the lackluster Mid West, they are easily the favorites. Daniel Sedin is only 30 (still in his prime for several more years) and some good young players who had off years coupled with some good prospects to replace aging veterans mean that the Twisters will continue to be influential in the playoff picture in the future. Cleveland- 2nd (6th) 0% Forward Off- D+ Def- B- Defense Def- A Off- B Goalie: C- PP: C+ PK: B+ Construction: C-

21 Drafting: C- Future: C- What separates Cleveland from every other team in the conference (except Montreal) is their excellent blueline. Arguably the best set of D-men in the conference, their defense is stellar and they provide good support in the attacking zone. And they have to, because their forwards are better at stopping goals than scoring their own goals. They can piece together one attacking line, but after that it is a very weak offense. Reimer is a wonderful goalie for 37 games. And Brent Johnson provides an average (solid) back up for 23 games. That leaves 20 games of Craig Anderson. The defense will do a good job of protecting him, but you can t protect him all the time. The team has a few young players on the horizon, but it also has too many average mid to late 20 somethings playing forward. Colin WIlson and Perron could help a lot, but the Barons need more from the front line to make a push to become a consistent playoff contender. Cincinnati- 3rd (8th) 0% Forward Off- D+ Def- C+ Defense Def- D Off- C- Goalie: B+ PP: C+ PK: C Construction: D Drafting: C Future: B- The front line is challenged to score, the back line is challenged to stop other teams from scoring, and neither unit is well equipped to support the other...not the best of starts. In this gloom, there is light. Any team with Henrik Lundqvist has at least one bright spot, and Backstrom is no slouch either. This is a very good tandem in net, though King Henrik takes up 68 games by himself. The Swords win on some timely goals and good goaltending. As for the future, the team is very young. And while some of its prospects are beginning to evolve into suspects, there are plenty of other good prospects in the pipeline to get the Swords moving in the right direction. It may take a few seasons, but the Swords could be in the process of putting together the pieces to go hunting for the playoffs on a regular basis. Detroit- 4th (9th) 0% Forward Off- D+ Def- B- Defense Def- C- Off- C- Goalie: D PP: C PK: C Construction: D+ Drafting: D Future: D-

22 Detroit can cobble together a #1 line and have the wings for a #2 line, plus they have Lidstrom...and that s just about it. The hole down the center of this team is where the FHL will be driving toward poor netminding. Umberger is overmatched against most #1 Cs in the FHL and there is no #2 center. Without Lidstrom, the defense would be bad, with him, they are still below average. Montoya is a good goalie for 20+ games, but Howard had an off year and will suffer for it. And the steady parade of Bandits to the Sin Bin will expose a below average PK. And the blunt truth is the future isn t any brighter. Several players have retired, a few are still free agents and several others look to have only 1 or 2 years left, and the cupboard is nearly bare. It is possible this team may have 26 or fewer players on its roster when the disk comes out next summer, it s just that old. Montoya and Howard have talent and could provide good netminding into the future. 1st round pick Hamonic is a good prospect. Beyond that, there is nothing in the pipeline. WEST CENTRAL DIVISION Columbus- 1st (3rd) 70% Forward Off- C- Def- A- Defense Def- D Off- B- Goalie: A PP: B- PK: C Construction: D Drafting: C Future: D- How far can Tim Thomas carry a team? The #1 line is solid, when they play together. The #2 line is okay and the forwards are good defenders. But the blueliners are not. They can support the lackluster offense, but they provide little to no resistance against opposing forwards. Chances are Thomas could be facing 40+ shots a game. WHile Thomas might steal a few games even under those conditions, Roloson is in trouble and will have to play at least 23 games. Thomas and the few pieces around him provide enough to probably get the Jaguars into the playoffs, but that s where it ends. While Columbus is a serious playoff team this season, there future is not so bright. The goalies are 36 and 41 and there isn t a 3rd. The leading scorer is 40. Most importantly, there is no one in the prospect pipeline to replace him or any other forward. There are a few defensemen to build around, and while Thornton, Hossa and Datsyuk are in their early 30s, they still have multiple seasons of top quality play left in them. The clock is ticking to win, because when the alarm goes off, this team will vanish from the playoff hunt. McGregor- 2nd (4th) 50% Forward Off- B- Def- C+ Defense Def- B+ Off- D+ Goalie: B PP: B PK: B- Construction: C+

23 Drafting: B Future: B- The condors have an above average attack from their forwards, especially the Cs and RWs. But after Burrows, the LW situation gets very thin after that. Additionally, the front line provides only modest support to the defense and most of that comes from top line players. The defense however doesn t need a lot of support as it is very good all by itself...at least in protecting the net. Attacking the opposing team s net is problematic and most of the team s D-men seem to be afraid of crossing a blueline. That defense is protecting a Top 5 goalie just to make things tougher on the Condor s opponents. Bryzgalov provides 68 games of very good netminding. LaBarbera is a little below average, but is well protected for his 12 games. Looking ahead, while there are some aging vets, particularly on defense, most of the team s core is young and they have some good prospects down on the farm. A top scoring threat to replace Iginla will help, but the Condor s are well positioned to keep themselves in the playoff hunt for many years. Winnipeg- 3rd (5th) 45% Forward Off- B Def- C+ Defense Def- B+ Off- C- Goalie: C- PP: C+ PK: B- Construction: C+ Drafting: B- Future: C+ The short version is this team goes as far as Kesler can carry them. The long version is the offense is good, when Gaborik is available. The defense is very good at holding the line, but only Enstrom generates any real offensive threat from the blueline. Crawford and Vokoun are just okay. The defense will help protect them. However, if Kesler is in the box, the PK will suffer and if Enstrom is tired, the PP will be limited. There are some talented players, but they don t have the support and depth. When the top guys aren t on the ice, this team is vulnerable. While the Saints are a young team, the prospect list is pretty thin...in fact it s Turris. As a young team, they have the ability to continue on as they are for many seasons, what they need are some prospects (or trades) to help move them to the next level, from fighting for a playoff spot to challenging for a conference championship. Indianapolis- 4th (6th) 35% Forward Off- C Def- B- Defense Def- B+ Off- B Goalie: B PP: C+ PK: B+ Construction: C Drafting: C+ Future: B-

24 An average offense can score with a solid #1 line and respectable #2. Above average defensively, they support a very good blueline lead by two way defenseman Boyle and Burns. Those two plus Visnovsky add some serious firepower to the offense. The Checkers feature 2 other offensively talented D-men, but both are defensive liabilities, where the checkers have things well in hand supporting Boyle and Burns with other capable guys, a very good blueline. Rinne is a top goalie for 64 games. Quick, while just below a 7 rating, backs up for the remainder. The team has goals, but the offense has to be created by others, for his 23 goals, Penner is just a 5.7 offense. Some goal scorers who create their own chances would help take the focus off of St. Louis. A young team, they have several solid prospects and many of their core players have many, many seasons still in their future. However, St. Louis is the most dynamic offensive player on the roster and while the prospects and core are solid, known of them can scare a defense the way St. Louis can. Staying in the playoff picture in future seasons is a real possibility, challenging for my is going to require the addition of my powerful and dynamic forwards. Johnstown- 5th (7th) 0% Forward Off- D Def- C- Defense Def- B Off- C+ Goalie: B+ PP: C- PK: C Construction: D Drafting: A Future: A Offense. Not much really. An off season for Ovechkin and a lot of young players leave the Chiefs on the short end of the offensive stick. The forwards aren t even much help defensively. However, the blueline doesn t need much help. A good group which will help make it equally hard for opponents to score on the Chiefs as it is for the CHiefs to score. Making it harder still for the Chiefs opponents is having Luongo in net for 60 games with Rask as a solid back up. Like any team in a youth movement, it is filled with holes. As for the future, one could list all the top prospects(hall, Fowler, Schenn, etc.), the fact that Luongo at 31 is young for a starting goalie, that Ovechkin just turned 26, but the Chiefs future can best be summed up in one sentence. Enjoy beating up on the Chiefs this season, because in a couple of years, they are going to be beating up on you. WEST DIVISION Gatineau City- 1st (1st) 100% Forward Off- A- Def- C Defense Def- A Off- B Goalie: C+ PP: B+ PK: B+ Construction: A- Drafting: A- Future: A

25 Forwards Offense: The 14 players on the Bulldogs who scored 18 or more games play a total of 1059 games. It only takes 960 games at forward to cover an 80 game season. This team hits in one wave after another. The #3 line outplays and out scores most teams #2 lines. And the #4 would be one of the most dangerous #3 line on any other FHL team. It doesn t get any weaker on defense. An excellent top 6 with 3 puck moving threats. Oh yeah, the top 6 miss a total of 17 games. Cam Ward is a solid, slightly above average netminder...for 74 games. For the few remaining games, Holtby is his equal. As if the team wasn t already loaded down, the future can best be shown by one number: 27. The age of the oldest player. Quebec- 2nd (2nd) 100% Forward Off- B+ Def- B Defense Def- A- Off- A Goalie: B PP: A- PK: B+ Construction: B- Drafting: A- Future: A- Quebec supports a very good attack from the forwards with a formidable top line. Likewise, these forwards do a good job in their defensive zone as well. However, LaRose is the #2 RW, so one can assume someone will be playing out of position. Even with that, a very good attack up front diminishes as you get further down the roster. The defense is a poster board of young, generally two way D-men. Price in goal for 72 games only makes them stronger. The future isn t just about the playoff picture for the Nordiques, in all likelihood there will be at least one championship in their future. Only one thing gets in this teams way, their defense. Only 2 can play at a time, generally only 6 play in a game, but the Nordiques keep collecting them when a stronger more balanced attack from their forwards might benefit them more. Los Angeles- 3rd (8th) 0% Forward Off- D+ Def- B- Defense Def- B- Off- C+ Goalie: D+ PP: C PK: B Construction: D+ Drafting: D+ Future: C- Los Angeles pieces together a#1 line, and that s most of their offensive threat. The defense is above average and can provide some support to the forwards, but that s where the problem in LA begins. Draft choice Anton Babchuk is the biggest offensive threat on the blueline with 11 goals, but he is a major defensive liability. The Monarchs must choose whether to skate defensive defensemen who can t provide as much offensive support or offensive defensemen who can t support their goalies. Speaking of

26 the net, that situation is problematic too. Lindback provides solid work for 22 games and Boucher is an average goalie who can play another 34 games. That s 56 games. Scott Clemmensen is left with the remaining 24 games. It will be a hard choice whether to play defense and try to protect Clemmensen at the risk of not being able to score, or go offensive and hope Clemmensen is up to the task on that day. An older team which is short on prospects doesn t hold out much hope for future playoff chases. The return of Parise will help, but he can t do it alone. California- 4th (9th) 0% Forward Off- F Def- B- Defense Def- B- Off- D+ Goalie: B- PP: D- PK: B Construction: D Drafting: A Future: A Words to choose from to describe the Zephyrs offense: anemic, pathetic, sad, lacking substance. The picture is clear, even a half of a season of Crosby can t make this dog hunt. This team just isn t going to score goals. On the other hand, they will make it interesting by sporting a strong defense, both from the blueline and forwards, and solid goaltending. However, those solid defensive defensemen are seriously lacking in games played though and there will be plenty of games from not so defensive defenseman. Likewise, the goalie situation is fine for 49 games of Hiller, but that leaves 31 games for Bobrovsky who is average, but no Hiller. This team has to scrape and scratch to put enough games together to get through the season because it is filled to the brim with prospects. This will be a very long and difficult season in California, but take Crosby with a number of other young players and add in a healthy dose of prospects and this is another team the FHL better enjoy beating up on tis season, because it won t stay that way for very long. Playoffs: The playoffs are divided into 3 sections, each conference and the championship. Each section gives a percentage chance for who will win. Republic Conference: New York- 45% Montreal- 45% All Others- 10% There is always a chance through match ups that someone could pull off a surprise, but otherwise, the battle is between New York and Montreal.

27 National Conference: Gatineau City- 60% Quebec- 35% All Others- 5% While any of 4 teams from the West Central Division have a shot at making the playoffs, the power in the conference is in the West Division. Gatineau City s depth is too much for Quebec, or will it be? Championship: Gatineau City- 45% Quebec- 30% Montreal- 15% New York- 7% All Others- 3% Gatineau City is the team to beat. The best chance resides in Quebec. While a Montreal/New York conference final is a toss up, Montreal has a better shot at pulling the upset against the National Conference champ. The chances New York s defense can withstand the offenses from either Gatineau City or Quebec and overcome their stout defenses at the same time are slim. Beyond these 4 teams, the chances are slim and none...and Slim just walked out the door. Gamespeak would like to express their gratitude to the authors for the preceding analysis of the teams. However, the preceding articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of Gamespeak or its readers. Any expressed or implied written opinions represents those of the authors and Gamespeak can assume no responsibility or liability for any angst, lost sleep, headaches, euphoria, anger, remorse, etc., etc. (see editorial at end of Gamespeak for further comment on this).

28 Date of Trade Team A Player(s) Draft Picks Team B Player(s) Draft Picks 7/17/2010 McGregor Johann Franzen N/A Detroit Nik Antropov N/A 12/4/2010 Quebec Evander Kane N/A Gatineau Tyler Myers N/A Patrick Berglund N/A Chad Larose N/A Mike Komisarek N/A N/A 12/7/2010 Quebec David Booth N/A NEPA Evgeni Nabokov N/A Kevin Bieska Jamie Langenbrunner 12/19/2010 New York Jamie Benn #1 Fort Wayne Jaroslav Halak #2 12/31/2010 New York Chuck Kobasew #2 Topeka Andrei Markov N/A Unknown Scranton Chad Larose Round 1 Gatineau Ryan Malone N/A 6/26/2011 San Angelo Marc Staal Gatineau Logan Couture James Neal Michael Backlund Patrick Elias Brayden Schenn 6/28/2011 Exton Henrik Zetterberg Quebec Devin Setoguchi 3rd Round Rookie Jakub Voracek Kristopher Letang Corey Schneider Tim Gleason 7/1/2011 Winnipeg Andrew Ladd Exton Tomas Vokoun N/A Peter Regin N/A 7/27/2011 Columbus Roberto Luongo Round 1 Johnstown Joe Thornton Ville Leino Tim Connolly Teemu Selanne 7/31/2011 California Mike Richards Gatineau 8/1/2011 Cincinnatti Paul Martin Gatineau D. Brassard 8/5/2011 Exton Johan Hedberg New York Keith Ballard 8/5/2011 Exton M. Backlund Round 3 Cincinnatti G. Neuvirth Kansas 8/7/2011 City David Steckel Johnstown Mike Knuble 4th Round Pick Daniel Carcillo Colby Armstrong 8/8/2011 Florida Alexandre Burrows McGregor Kris Versteeg 3rd Round Pick 8/12/2011 Cleveland Chris Stewart Round 2 Gatineau Patrick Elias Dave Bolland 13th overall pick (LA Monarch Gatineau 2nd round pick (4th i round.)

29 Date of Trade Team A Player(s) Draft Picks Team B Player(s) Draft Picks 8/14/2011 California T. Purcell Exton 2nd Round Pick A. Asham 8/14/2011 California Craig Adams Exton 4th Round Pick 8/26/2011 Gatineau A. Edler California Brent Seabrook Jordan Staal 8/27/2011 Montreal Cammareli Round 1 California Backes 8/27/2011 Exton Eric Brewer Montreal Matt Cooke 8/28/2011 Gatineau Eric Nystrom Exton 5th Round Pick 8/29/2011 Johnstown Loui Erikkson Round 5 Exton Brayden Schenn Quebec 3rd Round Pick Sergei Gonchar Ian White Sami Lepisto Eric Nystrom Chris Neil 9/22/2011 Exton Sergei Samsonov Cleveland Shawn Horcoff 9/22/2011 New York Blake Geoffrion Exton Sean Bergenheim 9/24/2011 Montreal Matt Moulson Detroit Andy McDonald Mike Fisher Henrik Tallinder Ron Hainsey

30 FHL Block Schedule of Games and Due Dates: Each month of Action PC! Hockey Schedule dates (the games in the play schedule in Action PC! Hockey) will be played corresponding to the following blocks: Block 1: October 2010 Block 2: November 2010 Block 3: December 2010 Block 4: January 2011 Block 5: February 2011 Block 6: March 2011 Block 7: April 2011 Each Team is responsible to play their HOME games only. Internet or head-to-head games is the responsibility of the Home team. FHL Schedule in real world dates/time: October 4, 2011 (Tuesday) at 6:00 PM CDST (note date and time change yes, I ve given you an extra day to work on your COAs) all Road Coaching Profiles are due!!! If you don t get them in on time, then I ll let the computer auto select lines and strategies. October 5, 2011 (Wednesday) Block 1 Begins with release of FHL Block 1 League File. October 30, 2011 (Sunday) Block 1 Ends. October 31, 2011 (Monday) Release of Planning League File to prepare Road Coaching Files (COAs). November 3, 2011 (Thursday) Block 2 Road Coaching Files (COAs) Due. November 4, 2011 (Friday) Block 2 begins with release of FHL Block 2 League File. November 30, 2011 (Wednesday) Block 3 Ends. December 1, 2011 (Thursday) - Release of Planning League File to prepare Block 3 Road Coaching Files (COAs). December 4, 2011 (Sunday) - Block 3 Road Coaching Files (COAs) Due. December 5, 2011 (Monday) Block 3 begins with release of FHL Block 3 League File. January 9, 2012 (Sunday) Block 3 ends. January 10, 2012 (Monday) - Release of Planning League File to prepare Block 4 Road Coaching Files (COAs).

31 January 13, 2012 (Friday) Block 4 Road Coaching Files Due. January 14, 2012 (Saturday) Block 4 begins with release of FHL Block 4 League File. February 12, 2012 (Sunday) Block 4 ends. February 13, 2012 (Monday) Release of Planning League File to prepare Block 5 Road Coaching Files (COAs). February 17, 2012 (Friday) - Block 5 Road Coaching Files Due. February 18, 2012 (Saturday) Block 5 begins with release of FHL Block 5 League File. March 18, 2012 (Sunday) Block 5 ends. March 19, 2012 (Monday) - TRADE DEADLINE (No more trades or free agent claims). Release of Planning League File to prepare Block 6 Road Coaching Files (COAs). March 23, 2012 (Friday) - Block 6 Road Coaching Files Due. March 24, 2012 (Saturday) Block 6 begins. April 22, 2012 (Sunday) Block 6 ends. April 23, 2012 (Monday) Release of Planning League File to prepare Block 7 Road Coaching Files (COAs). April 27, 2012 (Friday) Block 7 Road Coaching files due. April 28, 2012 (Saturday) Block 7 begins. May 6, 2012 (Sunday) End of Regular Season! Playoffs: All Playoff games are encouraged to be played head to head live via net play. If either side cannot connect (after good faith effort to attempt to do so), then games can be resolved as during the regular season after approval by the FHL Executive Group (currently myself and Chad). May 9 May 23, 2012 First Round of Playoffs May 26 June 9, 2011 Conference Finals June 11 June 25, 2011 Crystal Finals Please note some important changes compared to last FHL Season. All Blocks end at the time 11:59 PM CST (or CDST depending on which is in effect). If exported game files are not received by the deadline, then all games will be SIMed. If you anticipate a problem completing your games during a block, then please let me know in advance. Approximately a week before each block ends, I will send a friendly reminder note informing you that the block will end in a week and that you need to complete your games. That is it for the reminders. Other deadlines (ex. COAs, Trade Deadlines, etc. ) will be due 11:59 PM CST or CDST.

32 FHL Season Administrative Information: Please follow this Naming Protocol Exported Games to help FHL Exec Group (myself and Chad Pridemore, League Statistician and Historian), when we gets your exported game files to import for standings. Please name them using the 3-digit code for each of your teams with the visiting team listed first following by the home team and the date with 2 digit month and 2 digit day. Available upon request is a jpeg tutorial on how to export games. Also FHL will post the tutorial on the FHL Webpage. This will greatly assist the FHL in processing the games correctly. Here is an example of a game between New York at Gatineau City played on October 28 (Action PC! Hockey date and time) and how it should be named before exporting and sending file: NYD@GCB1028 Be sure to save the exported game file into the c:\dksports-data\hockey\seasons\fhl2011. Then, after you have typed your recap, attach it to the and sent it out FHL Executive Group (Jessecball@yahoo.com and Chad Pridemore pride5000@woh.rr.com.. Here are the 3 digit codes for each team to use: Republic Conference East Division: Florida Everblades - FLE Boston Whalers - BOW Montreal Candiens - MCA New York Dolphins - NYD Exton Igloos - EXI MidWest Division: Cincinnati Swords - CIS Kansas City Ice Twisters - KCI Detroit Bandits - DBA Cleveland Barons - CLB National Conference West Central Division: Columbus Jaguars - COJ McGregor Condors - MGC Johnston Chiefs - JOC Indianapolis Checkers - ICH Winnipeg Saints - WIS West Divison: California Zephrys - CAZ Gatineau City Bulldogs - GCB Quebec Nordiques - QND Los Angeles Monarchs - LAM

33 Injuries in the FHL FHL Season Administrative Information Cont d: Remember: All injuries in the FHL are turned off! So tracking player usage (games played - GP) is the responsibility of the owner/manager, and is easy to monitor during the season with the computer utility game usage reports. Overuse of players will result in penalties. Penalties will be determined on a case by case basis. Last year Teams were penalized in the 2011 draft one draft position (i.e. shifted down one pick) and one playoff (seeding) position (if qualifies for playoffs) for each cumulative 5 games of overuse. For example, a team with 16 cumulative games of overuse will be penalized three draft positions downward (fractions rounded down) and three playoff (seeding) positions downward. So say if I had the # 1 draft position team overall it would be shifted down to pick 4th. Furthermore, say you qualified for the playoffs with the #1 seed (with home ice advantage through conference playoffs), then that would change to the #4 seed and not guaranteed home ice advantage through the Conference playoffs. This year FHL Executive Group has decided that rule is a bit harsh (especially depending on which player was overused). There were also problems with Action PC! Hockey last year which hopefully have been remedied this year. Dressing Players for a game: You are allowed to dress only 18 skaters and 2 goalies for games. Also when inputting your players to the roster you have to use the "Player Availability & Usage" screen (see below). You must input your players using this to set who is active and who isn t for a game (avoid directly setting players to active versus inactive inside the player grid but use the drop down screen instead (see next page)). With the Release of the FHL Block 1 file to start the season I will try and make sure all the players on your teams have the <Always Active When Available> box UNCHECKED! However you should double check this yourself by using the "Player Availability & Usage" screen. Why is that important? This is because if that box is checked, then the computer may override your roster settings. Last year people were pulling out there hair when the computer was putting in players that were not supposed to be in games. That was because that box <Always Active When Available> was checked. It should be UNCHECKED! Nuff said! Undrafted Free Agents: All Claims made now will lost at the end of the season back to the pool. Please note if any of this is unclear to you the FHL would be glad to contact you telephonically and explain and help. Send us a private . Be sure to check the webpage tutorials (see editorial at end of Gamespeak).

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35 The FHL Owner Membership and Current s Addresses: Detroit Bandits: Chad Pridemore McGregor Condors: Jesse Cheng Winnipeg Saints (old NEPA): J&S Drach Boston Whalers (old Fort Wayne): Doug Shirley Exton Igloos (old San Angelo): Jeff Murray Johnston Chiefs (old Terre Haute): Eric Baluth Indianapolis Checkers (old Columbia Corsairs) New York Dolphins - Cliff Dolgins cdolgin@attglobal.net Florida EverBlades (old Long Beach) Bryan Sakolsky bsakolsky@aol.com Columbus Jaguars Ashlee Pridemore ashlee.pridemore@yahoo.com Quebec Nordiques - Johnny Francoeur johnny.francoeur@gmail.com Kansas City Ice Twisters Joshua Pohl jpkpohl@gmail.com; jpohl@kc.rr.com Cincinnati Swords - Francois Lessard lessard.francois@cgocable.ca LA Monarchs (old Scranton) David Sayles BrkrDave@live.com Montreal Canadians Bill Kay wgkii@yahoo.com Cleveland Barons - Scott Kalman ssk66@att.net ; commish113366@yahoo.com California Zephyrs - Kent Gray kgray6938@yahoo.com Gatineau City Bulldogs - Luc Savard noelsavard@gmail.com

36 From the Commissioner s Office: The FHL Season start is finally upon us!!! Now we can put our best laid plans into action. This will be a very interesting FHL Season. Despite what all the talking heads say in their prognostications, predictions, analysis, etc. we still got to Play the Games. So take what may be said about your team with a grain of salt as the old cliché goes. When the season starts we can make adjustments to circumvent weaknesses. And if all else fails you can still trade! Road Coaching and Home Coaching Suggestions: #1. Remember, to put your best players out on the Road. Why? That is because you can control your home games much better than on the road. #2. When creating lines be sure to try and match TOI/G closely with your linemates, otherwise you ll find toward the 3 rd period that you will have certain players tiring out faster than others on your line of choice. #3. Remember if you send out a lot of forecheckers, you may open yourself up to breakaways (especially with good passing defenseman). FHL WEBPAGE and How to Take advantage of it: The FHL Webpage has a set of tutorials posted for the new owner/managers to go through. They may be even helpful to the veteran owner/manager. The tutorials will be added to as work on the webpage progresses. There is also a link to check the FHL Standings and Statistics which you should check regularly. It will give up to date standings after games are played so you will have an idea of how your team is doing before the end of the block when you get the FHL League File. #4. Watch your defense! If you got a fancy high scoring forward who likes to shoot inside, you may want to pair him with a more defensive minded forward partner to cover for his tendency to get caught up ice. Also watch your defensive transition game (otherwise known as breakout strategy (from your own end)). #5. Also utilize the resources available in Action! PC Sports Hockey Strategy Guide. It is an amazing treasure of information unto itself. Also the Action PC! Hockey User s Manual is full of valuable information #6. Did you know that if you play less aggressively you can reduce your penalties to a degree? If your guy keeps getting into the penalty box, consider playing his line more defensively. Ditto for number of forecheckers (check out Page 12 of the Strategy Guide). #7 Remember if you are the home team to uncheck the 3 rd period adjustments boxes as you can adjust this yourself manually. #8 Watch the energy on your lines. Don t let your players get too tired or else they play less effectively (no matter how highly rated they are). #9 On line changes, consider changing only either the forwards or the defensive pair but not both at the same time. Lots of goals are scored on bad line changes. #10 Beware right after you kill off a power play and your player comes back on the ice. I ve found there is a vulnerability window to being scored on as you try and get your lines adjusted. Also after you score a goal watch out for your opponent as I have seen too many goals scored with a few minutes of your team s goal. Remember to have fun! Get those COAs in ASAP! Let the games begin!!!