GM: Neil Taylor
Coach: Dave Hakstol
Last season: 18th overall. Did not make playoffs
Ins and Outs
(Season 17 to Season 18)
In: Christian Fischer (waivers), Matt Rempe (draft), Ty Emberson (draft),
Out: Par Arlbrandt (free agent), Alex Galchenyuk (free agent), Brendan Perlini (free agent), Sean Durzi (free agent), Kilian Van Gorp (free agent), Sonny Milano (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Noah Cates/Valentin Nussbaumer/Christian Fischer
Liam Kirk/Tim Stutzle/Jordan Kyrou
Tyson Jost/Cole Sillinger/Owen Tippett
Liam Foudy/Blake Lizotte/Zack Bolduc
Seth Jones/Layne Viveiros
Linus Hogberg/J.J. Moser
Simon Gnyp/Cale Addison
Carl Lindbom/Jake Oettinger
A Question
What is Liverpool’s strength? After a move from Germany, the franchise settled in nicely in Liverpool as the Boss Scousers and although they failed to make the playoffs, there was plenty of reasons for optimism in Merseyside. Carl Lindbom is an unquestioned talent. The Swedish goalie has proven he belongs in the league with back-to-back save percentage seasons over .900. He is only 23 and on the final year of his rookie contract that pays him $1.37 million. In front of Lindbom, the defense is starting to look good. General Manager Neil Taylor wisely kept Layne Viveiros and then added Seth Jones to the defense corps last year and both played well. Then the younger defensemen started living up to their potential or at least progressed and it looks now like the coach can feel comfortable with his blueline crew. Up front, this is where it’s going to get interesting. New coach Dave Hakstol has some mixing and matching to do to find chemistry. Valentin Nussbaumer, the Swiss center who was selected 1st overall in the Season 13 draft, has come along enough to be the team’s leading scorer last season. He is only 22 but has 308 games under his belt. The forwards are generally all young (Liam Kirk and Christian Fischer are the oldest at 29) and they can all stickhandle and skate well. They should be fine while shorthanded because they have four skaters with good defensive sense, especially Noah Cates, who is that coach’s dream kind of player, someone who does whatever he’s asked to do and does it with all the focus he can muster. Early indications are that Cates will play on the top line this season with Nussbaumer and the very balanced and calm Fischer, so look for him to be one of the breakout stars in the league.
Rose’s Focus
“Holy St. Philomena, patron saint of infants! Have you looked at the photos of the players on the Boss Scousers? They all look like they still have high school in their far off future. They are babies. Last season, Liverpool was 3rd last in goals scored, 3rd last in shots faced, … and dead last in razors used. Yes, I know the Beatles came flying out of the gates as teenagers, but you can’t expect this group of Liverpool boys to do the same. You have to look past Season 18 when you look at this group. What I see is a phenomenal 1-2-3 punch at the center position. Valentin Nussbaumer has great hands and a top-tier hockey mind, Tim Stutzle should be the same kind of weapon he is for the Ottawa Senators in the NHL, and Cole Sillinger is a bigger version of both of them. I can see all three of them battling for the top line minutes for years to come. I’m excited already to watch this team progress over the next few years. With those three talented skaters up the middle and Carl Lindbom in goal, expect more chart-topping performances coming from Liverpool. “
