I will have to wait until all coaches are signed, but I plan to continue my tradition of writing profiles of each team before the season gets under way.
I approach it as if I was a sports writer and try to give the reader an idea of what to expect during the upcoming season. I try to point out the teams’ strengths and weaknesses and I certainly don’t intend to insult anyone. If I do offend you, please understand I’m not trying to. My goal is to give the league a more realistic feel.
These team profiles also serve as a history of each team because their yearly statistics, top draft selections and trade histories are all updated every season.
I have 18 of the 24 started right now and will peck away as the draft and free agency periods are going on. I hope to dump them all onto you between the last free agency step and the start of the season.
Here is an excerpt from the Stockholm profile to give you an idea of what to expect:
“How is the defense? Mikko M has the goalie of the present (Braden Holtby) and the goalie of the future (Carter Hart) signed for at least 3 and 5 years, respectively, and he has two excellent defensemen locked up for more than one season. Season 10 All-Stars Zach Bogosian and Cam Fowler (All-Star Gaame MVP) have OV ratings of 88 and 87, respectively. Karl Alzner and Brady Skjei are also under contracts. The big question for the Eagles this season is can they afford to resign Type 2 stars Ryan Johansen and defensemen Olli Maatta and Swede John Klingberg, or will one of them have to be jettisoned? If the cap becomes a problem that will force either Maatta or Klingberg to leave Stockholm, then Finnish puck-mover Roope Laavainen, 24, might get a regular job.”
You can find previous team profiles by searching for them using the search bar on the right side of this page. “Minsk profile” for example, should get you all the Hussars profiles have been written since just before Season 4 began. I didn’t write these for the first 3 seasons.
You can also click on the “Team Stories” link under “Categories.”
