GM: Eugene Wilkinson
Coach: Barry Trotz
Last season: 14th overall. In playoffs, lost to Berlin.
Ins and Outs
(Season 15 to Season 16)
In: Niko Hovinen (trade), Dylan Sikura (trade), Andrew Dickson (free agent), Juuso Parssinen (draft)
Out: Erik Forssell (free agent), Ivan Provorov (trade), Mike Indrasis (free agent), Jamie Benn (free agent), Morten Madsen (free agent), Stanislav Galimov (free agent), Aaron Dell (buyout), Kyle Palmieri (free agent), Ryan McDonagh (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Clayton Keller/Dylan Sikura/Oliver Björkstrand
Casey Mittelstadt/Jean-Gabriel Pageau/Jesper Bratt
Adam Henrique/Nick Paul/Mathieu Joseph
Samuel Boucek/Tomas Nosek/Mike Hoffman
Moritz Seider/Cale Makar
Noah Hanifin/Alexis Vanier
Nicolas Hague/Cale Fleury
Niko Hovinen/Sandro Zurkirchen
A Question
Is the young defense corps as good as it was last year? No, it isn’t. Munich fans were buzzing about the team’s fabulous young defense corps a year ago – and many GMs around the league were envious – but then the salary cap and the math around it ruined things. New General Manager Eugene Wilkinson had to squeeze the team and Robin Grossman fell out as a free agent. Then he traded Ivan Provorov and now the 6-deep blueline attack is really 4-deep, with untested Cale Fleury and Nicolas Hague being counted on to take care of things on the third pair. But in exchange for Provorov, Wilkinson acquired a center who might be capable of lifting the offense to new heights. Dylan Sikura is a nifty offensive player with a competitive nature. And at age 27, he has a half-dozen of his best years ahead of him. Wings Clayton Keller and Oliver Bjorkstrand will love playing on his line. Last season, Keller moved from the third line to the second line and his production went from 34 to 63 points. You can expect another jump in points this season. And in you want another safe bet for career-best year, look at Jesper Bratt. The Swedish winger was taken first overall in the Season 9 draft, but he really hasn’t been given a good chance to show what he can do yet. After two seasons in the minors, he played three seasons and never seen more than 11 minutes of ice time per game. He should get a good look to start this season and if he sticks on the second line, he should be a lock to exceed his career-best point total of 21, set two seasons ago.
Rose’s Focus
“I like that new GM in Munich … Eugene Melnyk I think his name is. And not just because of the photo I saw of him when he joined the league. You remember it? The one where he posed with another new GM? Eugene was the one on the right with the sultry, handsome eyes, dark hair and easy-going smile. He really does something to me. If I could get this printer to work I could show you. But I also like a few moves he has already made with the team. Getting Niko Hovinen in as the top goalie will do wonders for the Bavarian team. Sandro Zurkichen was over-used at 74 games in goal last season. The poor kid. He kept them in games and got them into the playoffs, but that was probably too much Zurkirchen for one team. I am also very interested in seeing how the acquisition of Dylan Sikura goes. Apparently, new coach Barry Trotz loves the guy because not only does he have Sikura penciled in on the top line, he also has him playing on all four of the Red Bulls’ top specialty teams units … and he’s the new team captain. Who is this guy? Superman? On top of that, with his ultra competitive spirit, Sikura should lead the team in penalty minutes even though he’s a little guy. Last year, the Red Bulls took fewer penalties than any other team, which led to some saying under their breath that the Red Bulls were soft.”
