It’s getting close to the time in every NHL season that really gets Websim players’ juices flowing, especially those in Virtual Evolution leagues like EURO.
In a week, the last regular season games of the NHL season will be played and Websim admins will go to work compiling attributes for the next season. Almost all us have some “prospects” in our system and many of them will get their first-ever attributes about 15-20 days from now, meaning they will immediately be added to rosters. Those attributes will be what their entire careers will be based on, whether they are great numbers, lousy numbers, or something in between.
For an example, let’s look at the team with the most handsome general manager. Bratislava is about three weeks away from having defensemen David Jiricek and Luke Hughes, forward Leo Carlsson, and two other prospects join the roster. All of them have played more than the 35 games that usually qualifies players for their Websim attributes for the next season. There will be some good and some bad for the handsome GM. The player he had the highest hopes for won’t get the great ratings he was predicting. Jiricek is 20, has played 40 games with Columbus with 1 goal, 9 assists and 14:36 minutes per game. His plus/minus is good compared to other Blue Jacket defensemen, but the GM is mentally preparing himself to see an 80-83 PO rating like Cam York got after he had a comparable rookie NHL season with Philadelphia.
But then there’s defenseman Luke Hughes, Jirich’s future teammate in Slovakia. GM Massaro wasn’t anticipating the fantastic season Hughes has had this season in New Jersey. He is also 20 years old, has played twice as many games as Jiricek, and he’s piled up 45 points at a team-high 21:26 per game ice time. That’s a little better than Rasmus Dahlin (90 PO) did in his rookie season. Carlsson will be somewhere in between the two prospects; probably in the mid 80s PO-wise. The fact that he’s a top line center for the Anaheim Ducks at age 19 will help him a lot, as will his size and his production of 0.54 points per game.
Bratislava fans are also interested in seeing what ratings Benoit-Olivier Groulx will get because it should be embarrassing. The 24-year-old center who Massaro used a draft pick to obtain has 2 assists in 44 games with Anaheim.
Here’s what the other teams can expect:
Amsterdam
Adam Fantilli and Matthew Knies are both big body forwards who can add some offense and they could have some Ajax forwards worried about their jobs. Urho Vaakanainen is a nice surprise who is going to end up playing about 70 games for the Anaheim Ducks this season on defense before heading to Amsterdam’s farm club in Dusseldorf.
Athens
Vaakanainen’s Anaheim teammate Jackson Lacombe struggled a bit with the plus/minus, but he got a lot of ice time on the blueline as a 23-year-old. He might not play right a way, but he could play a long-term role for the Gods. Another defenseman, Noah Juulsen, finally got his NHL shot with Vancouver, but at 27, he shouldn’t make much of an impact.
Belfast
The Giants won’t get any help this year, but Shane Wright‘s 5 points in 7 games with Seattle gives the Northern Irish team a lot of hope for a year from now, when – presumably – the high draft pick will break in at age 21.
Berlin
It will be interesting to see what the Smurfs get with German forward Lukas Reichel. On one hand, he’s getting great ice time as a 21-year-old in the NHL. On the other hand, he’s a Chicago Blackhawk and his 14 points in 60 games with a -28 plus/minus rating don’t scream high PO rating. But the cheerleaders in Chi-town seem to like him. Speedy right wing Luke Evangelista should do better. The 22-year-old has 35 points as a third-liner in Nashville, and while that might not be huge production, he’s only 22 and that fact will pump his PO rating to a good level.
Bern
The Interrail will have a few new prospects coming down the tracks soon. Tyson Foerster may be forever known as a sleeper pick. He had a better-than-expect start with the Philadelphia Flyers and he gives the Interrail a 22-year-old who put in 20 goals in 74 games as a second-line right wing. Getting him into the lineup will be a trick once injured stars Mika Zibanejad and Elias Lindholm and their $13 million in salaries get healthy enough to return to the ice. But Thomas Harley? A possible future superstar with his 46 points in 76 games as a 22-year-old. That would be very good if he was a forward, and he is a defenseman! Harley has a chance of supplanting veteran and all-star Jake Dotchin as Rasmus Dahlin’s partner on the top pairing. Also on defense for Bern, Scott Perunovich, 25, is still looking for his first goal, but he has 17 assists for the St. Louis Blues.
Copenhagen
Twenty-two-year-old Devon Levi will be a better goalie in the NHL than he will be in the EURO because his rookie season with Buffalo didn’t match the high expectations. But his youth will give him a decent PO rating for the Tridents. Defenseman Kevin Korchinski is in the same situation. Copenhagen can’t be thrilled that Korchinski was rushed into the Chicago Blackhawks lineup. His 13 points this season are OK for someone so young; but his -37 rating is going to hurt his rating. Another defenseman, Owen Zellweger, may just miss playing enough games to get his attributes, but he is doing pretty well in Anaheim. Forward Ridley Greig‘s offensive numbers are just OK (26 points as a 21-year-old starter) but he had the best plus/minus on the Ottawa Senators and that makes him pretty valuable and perhaps the best of the reinforcements in Denmark.
Dublin
The Guinness Chuggers are really hoping skillful Matt Coronato gets benched the rest of the year by the Calgary Flames. He has played almost enough to get his attributes and if he does, they will be disappointing. Seven points in 29 games is probably sub-par for him. The best thing that could happen for Dublin is for Coronato to miss getting into the league this year. He could give it another go next season with the Flames. Nicholas Robertson, on the other hand, did well for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 22-year-old winger produced at a rate of 40 points for a full season, even though he got into only 52 games.
Edinburgh
Scottish fans are going to love Zach Benson, the 18-year-old who broke into the starting lineup this year for the Buffalo Sabres. Quick and tenacious – but small – he has scored 28 points in 68 games, but for an 18-year-old, that translates into a very good PO rating boost. What he did was comparable to what Andrei Svechnikov did as an 18-year-old and his PO rating is 88. Benson could come close to matching that.
Gothenburg
A year from now, the Frolunda could have an influx of talent that could turn the franchise around. There are sky-high hopes for Matvei Michkov and G-burg fans will tune in to Flyers games next year to see if and how the NHL team uses him. Another Russian, Ivan Miroshnikov, got into 21 games as a 20-year-old for Washington, but that probably won’t be enough for attributes in Websim.
Hanover
Unfortunately, the Scorpions are unlikely to get any additions this year.
Helsinki
Hustling Connor Zary will go from a red and gold sweater in Calgary to a red and gold sweater in Helsinki. The center/wing has scored 30 points in 58 games with an excellent plus/minus rating as a 22-year-old. The Jokerits have a player there.
Kosice
Unfortunately, Kosice are unlikely to get any additions this year.
Lisbon
Center Logan Cooley will be a star for Lisbon and he could get some ice time this season. The fact he scored 41 points in 78 games as a 19-year-old means a high PO rating, subject to his other ratings like defense, intensity and others. Defenseman Ryan Johnson will get his attributes and the 22-year-old won’t make a huge splash with his 7 assists in 41 games. People who watched him play for the Buffalo Sabres know he’s a smooth skater and good decision maker, but his attributes may not reflect the player he is bound to be in the future for Buffalo.
London
The Monarchs will get Simon Nemec and the 20-year-old defenseman can really pass the puck. He might not light it up this season, but he should be a fixture on the London blueline in the future. For the New Jersey Devils, he is 4th in ice time among defensemen and he has 19 points in 57 games. Just as good will be Dylan Guenther, a winger with good size who is scoring 0.66 points per game for Arizona at age 21. And Hendrix Lapierre of the Washington Capitals is scoring 0.45 points per game as a 22-year-old although his ice time is relatively low. Still, he can look forward to buying a house in the London area.
Madrid
Unfortunately, Madrid are unlikely to get any additions this year.
Milan
The Guerriero have offensive-mined Pavel Mintyukov joining them this season from the Anaheim Ducks. In 63 games, he has scored 4 goals and 24 assists at nearly 19 minutes per game. Bobby Brink is small, fast and he can score at a decent rate. The 22-year-old right wing has 22 points in 54 games with the Flyers. Ryker Evans is right on the line between getting attributes and waiting a year. The 22-year-old defenseman had 8 points in 31 games for the Seattle Kraken and he’s getting good ice time. Still, the Guerriero probably hope he gets to start over next season.
Minsk
Brock Faber should be the next in a long line of great defensemen to play for the Minsk Hussars. The Minnesota Wild have the 21-year-old playing more than 25 minutes per game. His Stamina rating will be sick. He also will have great offensive attributes. His 43 points in 78 games are almost twice what the next best Wild defensemen have put up.
Munich
Red Bull fans have been licking their chops for a while to see what forwards William Eklund and Marco Rossi can do for them. With the San Jose Sharks, Eklund has become a go-to guy with more than a half-point per game. The 21-year-old left wing has bad defensive stats and if he fixes that next season, alas, it won’t matter because this is a virtual evolution league. Rossi, a year older than Eklund, scored at a lower rate, but he was better defensively, playing for the Minnesota Wild. It will be interesting to see how their PO ratings compare.
Oslo
This season, Oslo might not get any prospects graduating to the team but two will come close, depending on how many players Websim admins take. Connor Timmins, a Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, and Thomas Bordeleau, a San Jose forward, will come closest. Timmins, 25, has played 24 games and has 9 points playing 16 minutes a game so even if he gets his attributes, they won’t wow us. Bordeleau has played 23 games and has a respectable 10 points. The fact he is only 22 could inflate his PO rating to a nice level.
Paris
Unfortunately, Paris are unlikely to get any additions this year.
Prague
Connor Bedard. That may just be all we have to say. As an 18-year-old, he is the top center for the Chicago Blackhawks and he’s scoring nearly a point per game. He is simply a franchise player and every hockey fan in Czechia can’t wait to see him in a Sparta sweater. He will be great, starting now. Alexander Alexeyev of the Washington Capitals should also get his attributes, but he plays sparingly and contributes not much on the offensive end.
Stockholm
When Alexander Holtz was drafted the fans were thrilled because he’s Swedish. But the loudest cheers might be behind Holtz. With the New Jersey Devils, the 22-year-old wing has played third-line minutes and scored 16 goals and 12 assists. His plus/minus was not good. Expect a PO rating of 78 to 82.
Zurich
The Lions may get a good forward from the Boston Bruins in 20-year-old Matthew Poitras. but an injury has left him hanging at 33 games. That might not be enough to get attributes. If he graduates to Zurich, he will be a fairly productive (0.45 points per game) player who plays a hustling, third- or fourth-line type of game.
