By Phelim McAleer
Copenhagen Post
This is the 3rd part of 4 in the season preview series. Today we are looking at the first division in the Northern Conference, being the Kharlamov Division that comprises of the Northeastern teams.
As always, I rate goalies, top 4 D, and top 6 offence out of 10, the “future” potential of the team out of 5, and cap space out of 3, in order to make a reasonable prediction about the standings for the current year.
I also tried to compare these teams to other divisions in order to keep the rankings consistent.
Goaltending
The Karlamov Division boasts a great set of goaltenders, and by far the best in the league. Given the lower offensive and defensive prowess of these teams, expect low scoring games, unlike last year with this division.
While Rinne (St. Petersburg) and Lundqvist (Helsinki) are by far the best goalies in the league, the extra point goes down to the backup, in which Helsinki has a more dependable backup in Hedberg.
Out of 10:
- Helsinki – 9 Points
- St. Petersburg- 8 Points
- Minsk – 7 Points
- Stockholm/Gothenburg – 5 Points
- Moscow – 3 Points
Defence
The Karlamov Division currently has only 2 star defence man in their midst, compared to 7 and 4 in the southern divisions, and quite a few teams currently have fringe defenseman plugged into their top 4, which could cause trouble in matchup situations. The two top defences have to go to Gothenburg and Moscow, who have the 2 star Dman previously mentioned in Girardi and Keith, but also a good #2 in Robidas and Garrison and #3 in Johnson and Kuba respectively. Don’t count out St. Petersburg however, who have Burns, Bieksa, and Vlasic.
Out of 10:
- Gothenburg – 7 Points
- Moscow – 6 Points
- St. Petersburg – 5 Points
- Helsinki/Minsk/Stockholm – 4 Points
Offense
This division features a lot of current and young stars on the forward side, which will make for great barnburners against the other divisions. Will it work in the playoffs I am not sure of, but it will sure be fun to watch. The top team in this division for offence in this division is Stockholm, who also boasts the biggest 1st line threat in Eriksson, E. Staal, and Doan. However, they also have a veteran 2nd line featuring Koivu/Smyth/Cleary which will cause problems for teams with little depth on defense. Other teams to watch would include the dynamic duo of Ovechkin and Kopitar on Moscow, and the collection of great forwards in Iginla, Filppula, Jokinen, Wheeler, Richards, and Cole on St. Petersburg, which is tremendous depth on the top 6. Minsk will be the team to watch in the future, as they feature a top 6 all under 25 years of age, and that all project to be stars.
Out of 10:
- Stockholm: 8 Points
- St.Petersburg – 7 Points
- Moscow – 6 Points
- Helsinki – 4 Points
- Gothenburg – 3 Points
- Minsk – 2 Points
Potential
As I said previously, the offensive potential in this division will even be greater in years to come. Young stars such as Eberle, Henrique, Alisauskas, Chudinov, Kopitar, Ovechkin, and Eriksson, will, with time, make the Karlamov division a true offensive powerhouse. Leading the way is Minsk, who has a plethora of young talent, all very much under 25. Although I usually only rate the top 5, if we rated the whole division on potential, Minsk would definitely take that by a longshot. However, they do have great top-end potential in Price, McDonagh, and Backstrom/Chudinov. Another team that stands out is the top end talent of Moscow, which has that tandem of Kopitar/Ovechkin.
Out of 5:
- Minsk: 4.5 Points
- Moscow: 4 Points
- Gothenburg/Stockholm: 2.5 Points
- Helsinki – 2 Points
- St. Petersburg – 1 Point
Cap Flexibility
Gothenburg and St. Petersburg are very close to the cap with around 63-64M in payroll already, while Minsk has obviously gone the “future” route and has only 50M in payroll. Whether any potential deals will be made to close that gap is uncertain, but it bodes well financially for Minsk if they can get people in the seats.
Out of 3
- Minsk: 3 Points
- Moscow: 2.5 Points
- Helsinki: 2 Points
- Stockholm: 1 Point
- Gothenburg: 0.5 Points
- St. Petersburg: 0 Points
Summary
The young offences and great goalies in this league will mean lots of interesting and unpredictable hockey, but isn’t that the best type of hockey anyways? This division will be super-competitive, but I see the top team in this division being St. Petersburg for not only the best goalie, but also a good all-around mix of talent which is evidenced by their deep top 6. 2nd place would go to Moscow, as it seemed they focused on having a great but younger offensive “Russian” core in Kopitar, Ovechkin, and Morozov.
Final Projected Standings:
1st Place: St. Petersburg (best goalie, great all-around talent)
2rd Place: Moscow (Keith, Ovechkin, and Kopitar could carry this team to a division championship IMO)
3th Place: Helsinki (Good balance of veteran leadership and young stars)
4th Place: Stockholm (Best offense in the division, but the D is not going to help out Ward too much)
5th Place: Minsk (building for the future will cause them to pay the price this year)
6th Place: Gothenburg (great defence and offensive young stars, they could surprise)
