GM: Jason Haupt
Coach: Jay Woodcroft
Last season: 19th overall. Did not make the playoffs.
Ins and Outs
(Season 17 to Season 18)
In: none
Out: MacKenzie Blackwood (free agent), Frederik Andersen (free agent), Mikhail Grigorenko (free agent), Rickard Rakell (free agent), Gregory Beron (trade), Denis Malgin (trade), Nejc Kastelic (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov/Jack Hughes/Matvei Michkov
Dillon Dube/Tommy Novak/Olli Palola
Max Jones/Alexandre Texier/Oliver Wahlstrom
Bartek Bison/Jiri Kulich/Mackie Samoskevich
Danilo Tomasevic/Lane Hutson
Adam Boqvist/Adam Fox
Rasmus Sandin/Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Ilya Sorokin/Pyotr Kotchetkov
A Question
What does Gothenburg need to do to reach the playoffs? Two things definitely need to happen. First, the Frolunda need a better offense this season. They were low in the league stats in both shots on goal and goals per game and their powerplay was disappointing. The other thing that has to happen is for a couple of the giants of the Northern Conference to tumble this season. But face it, Helsinki, Minsk, Copenhagen and a few other teams are going to be up in the standings all year long. Gothenburg seems to know that and they seem to be doing the right thing by building a strong foundation for the future. In this year’s draft, GM Jason Haupt added four prospects after collecting nine others in the Season 17 draft. And he’s had some great recent success in developing prospects and fans are dying to see Matvei Michkov, Lane Hutson, Jiri Kulich and Mackie Samoskevich flying around the ice for a full season. The foursome got into 12 games last season and they were electrifying. The defenseman Hutson scored 5 points, Kulich and Samoskevich scored 6 points each and Michkov had 7. Add them to the young core already in place (think Danilo Tomasevic, Adam Fox and Jack Hughes) and Haupt won’t have much trouble selling tickets this season. Gothenburg should have the speed and skill to compete with the big boys, but not the experience, and experience counts in this game.
Rose’s Focus
“Gothenburg General Manager Jason Haupt hates goalies. He hates the way they waddle when they skate, despises the fact they don’t have matching gloves, and he thinks it’s unfair they get to use a wider stick than everyone else on the team. And don’t get him started on the fact they wear masks to protect their pretty little faces. Truth is, Haupt has always hated goalies but he couldn’t say it in public because of all these workplace harassment and prejudice law thingies. Haupt was good at keeping his anti-goalie bias a secret until this off season when he impulsively fired three of his goalies at the same time with only untested but promising Pyotr Kochetkov left standing. I think the only reason he remained is the fact he still has a year on his contract. Ilya Sorokin, Mackenzie Blackwood and Frederik Andersen all found themselves on the free agent list. Haupt allegedly wanted Coach Jay Woodcroft to pull the goalie after the national anthem each game this season, but Woodcroft masterfully convinced Haupt to spend some cash on an actual goalie and Sorokin was reluctantly offered a contract. I didn’t say anything during the goalie purge because A) I don’t want to see or hear the Haupt vs. Goalies soap opera ever again and B) I would love to see the Frolunda skate 6-on-5 for 60 minutes every game. That would be a hoot.”
