GM: Jason Haupt
Coach: Rod Brind’Amour
Last season: 8th overall. Lost to Belfast in the playoffs.
Ins and Outs
(Season 12 to Season 13)
In: Tyson Barrie (trade); Nick Paul (trade); Marek Daloga (trade); Marcus Foligno (free agent), Ryan Gunderson (free agent), Brayden Schenn (free agent)
Out: Adam Henrique (trade); Jamie McBain (trade); Tyler Myers (trade), Petr Vrana (free agent), Carl Hagelin (free agent), Jason Brancheau (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Olli Palola/Dylan Sikura/Jordan Eberle
Brayden Schenn/Sidney Crosby/Patric Hornquist
Andrei Svechnikov/Marcus Foligno/Spencer Smallman
Vojtec Nemec/Nick Paul/Mats Rosseli Olsen
Adam Fox/Ryan Murray
Oscar Klefbom/Tyson Barrie
Marek Daloga/Ryan Gunderson
Pavel Francouz/Cory Schneider
Three Questions
1. Frolunda seems to have a lot of depth. How do they get the most out of everyone? Gothenburg’s third-line center has an 81 OV rating. Its fifth defenseman is a 78 OV. The two lowest-rated starters are 74 OV. That’s depth and it seems like a luxury. The kind that would allow Coach Rod Brind’Amour to shuffle lines whenever he wants and match up his checkers to the lines he wants to slow down. For example, in the initial lineup Brind’Amour has penciled in, the veteran line of Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornquist and Brayden Schenn are slated to get 15 minutes or so per game. If that seems too much for the two 36-year-old former Penguins, the coach could move Marcus Foligno’s line up for a couple games and he wouldn’t lose a thing. Crosby and fellow center Dylan Sikura were key reasons Gothenburg was able to take a 10-place leap up the standings in Season 12. Management and fans had to be pleased with the production that crafty Sikura offers. In four seasons, the Canadian has scored between 55 and 75 points and he’s never played more than 15 minutes per game. The truth is, this kid is ready to explode. If he gets top-line ice time, 100 points is certainly possible.
2. What about Fraser? We want to know about Fraser. When they weren’t winning, Gothenburg was still a popular draw because they were not at all afraid to start fights just for the heck of it. They have been in the top 3 most penalized teams each of the last five seasons. Psycho Mikhail Pashnin is gone but the league’s all-time heavyweight champ Mark Fraser is still in the system and ready to rumble. It’s hard to demote a guy who finished first on the team and 9th in the league in plus/minus (+44) the season before, but that is what has happened. Veteran Ryan Murray will get the prime minutes on defense and deservedly so. He scored 12 goals, blocked more than 90 shots, delivered 248 hits and had 12 more takeaways than giveaways last year. Tyson Barrie, Adam Fox and Oscar Klefbom would all be excellent compliments to Murray on the top pairing and one will be. There’s that depth thing again. That leaves the other two – whoever they are – to team up and give Gothenburg as good – and as speedy – a second pairing as any team could want.
3. Where are they weak? Gothenburg can contend for the Cup today. They really have few glaring weaknesses. Olli Palola maximizing his potential on the LW of the top line would really help. He remains a question mark in that spot but we might not be saying that by Game 40 of the season. Pavel Francouz and Cory Schneider may not be marquee names in goal, but they both have 85 goalie ratings, and that’s pretty darn good. The team will definitely have trouble replacing traded Adam Henrique on the penalty kill. New General Manager Jason Haupt has done a good job with some hard choices. Even in the tough Northern Conference, he has a team that could battle for a championship. If anything bothers us about the Frolunda it’s the number of high-potential, good young players who aren’t in the starting lineup. We guess that’s what happens when you have such a solid lineup. Getting experience for youngsters like Oliver Wahlstrom, Kailer Yamamoto and Jack Hughes could pay off because Patric Hornquist and Sidney Crosby could start fading this season and Jordan Eberle could do the same a couple years later.
Rose’s Focus
“When Gothenburg plays, everyone will be watching for Dylan Sikura, Jordan Eberle and Sidney Crosby to weave their way to the opposing net. Not me. My eyes will be on Marcus Foligno. I dated his father Mike back in the day and I know the family. I was actually secretary of the Foligno Boys Fan Club for three years. Look it up. Marcus showed last year in Athens what he can do with some ice time. He can do it all, from winning faceoffs to fighting. I expect that since he’s on a one-year deal he will lay it all on the line this season to pump up his value. He’s 31 now, but it seems he’s just revving up his career. If Foligno remains a third-liner as projected, with future superstar Andrei Svechnikov and underrated Spencer Smallman on the wings, he won’t get any all-star votes, but he might be known as the best third-line center in the league.”
